A New and Improved Little Round Top

While in Gettysburg this weekend, I had a chance to walk around Little Round Top following a two-year restoration. Overall, I think the changes improve the overall experience of this part of the battlefield.

One of the features I noticed immediately is the updated signage, beginning with these two welcome panels

The map is incredibly helpful as it differentiates between the different types of trails that take you to different points on this section of the battlefield. More on that in a minute.

The other one features a visual overview of the fighting and which hearkens back to to the illustrations in Natonal Geographic’s centennial issue. I am also reminded of the large colorful depiction of the battle of Chancellorsville outside the visitor center. I suspect young children will appreciate the imagery here.

The National Park Service did an outstanding job of both extending old paths and creating new ones that offer entirely new lines of sight on the Little Round Top landscape.

I am not able to identity the surface, but it is easy on the knees and seems to be part of a broader concer with drainage and safety.

As for an entirely new path, check out this one beginning from the base of Little Round Top. As you walk up to the top you gain a much better understanding of the challenges Confederates faced as they advanced and how the landscape itself shaped the assault and Union defense.

The contrast between what the landscape looked like before and after the restoration is highlighted in a couple of photographs close to the ground.

One of the things that I really love is the number of newly-created gathering places along the crest of Little Round Top. They offer opportunities to interpret the fighting from different perspectives.

This is significant, in my mind, because it allows for visitors to appreciate the extent to which Union defenders maneuvered rather than maintained a static position. All too oftent the battle is interpreted as one where Confederates attacked or acted and the U.S. military remained static and waited to unleash shot and shell.

I was curious about the wooden border placed around the stone marking the approximate place where Hazlett fell on July 2. It likely intended to discourage visitors from stepping on it and suggest that it is being treated more explicitly as a memorial. Perhaps a more permanent border and one more attractive and fitting is forthcoming.

Lots of stone walls have been restored. Perhaps they look too manicured and uniform, however, over time we should see a change as visitors return. One thing is clear. The NPS set out to ensure that visitors remain in specific areas, which we should all appreciate as it will go far in preserving the site for future generations.

It should come as no surprise that the path leading to the 20th Maine monument has been widened and the coins and other trinkets left by visitors is already returning to normal.

The new wayside markers also do a good job of asking visitors to look beyond Col. Joshua Chamberlain. That appears to have been intentional on the part of the NPS.

There are some legitimate concerns. Parking is an issue given the number of spaces that have been removed, but like I said up top, overall this is a clear improvement.

That said, it is always important to appreciate the ways in which changes to the landscape shift interpretation and perspective. Where paths are laid out matters and decisions made about which monuments to highlight continues to influence how visitors think about the battle and its outcome.

This has always been the case at Gettysburg and will continue for as long as we have a need to experience the ground on which these men fought.

I hope you have a chance to see these changes for yourself in the near future.