Taps and Free Battlefield Guide Tour

I mentioned earlier that the very friendly people at the Shriver House suggested that we go by the cemetery at 6pm for a free one hour Licensed Battlefield Guide tour... so we did!

I did not catch the name of the great guide we had, but he was very informative.  He talked about the battle, and about how the National Cemetery was set up.  He told us that a photo was discovered of Abe in the Cemetery.  The photo was discovered 40 or so years ago, and using angles and all that, they were able to determine that Lincoln gave his famous Gettysburg address NOT where the monument is now, but probably about 140 feet away.... and he would have actually been standing in the Evergreen Cemetery.

The guide hung out after his tour and answered questions.  I mentioned before that on our visit to town in 2015 we hired a guide for a tour, so a FREE one with a guide is kind of a big deal!  It was very generous of him to donate his time to this.  I did see someone in the group offer a tip, which this guide declined.

Right after our tour, a fellow came out and played Taps at 7pm.  This was part of the park's, "100 Night of Taps" series.  A different bugler plays Taps each night at 7 for 100 nights.

The gentleman who played Taps the night we were there was from Arkansas.  He was presented with a special challenge coin after playing.

AND trust me....  hearing Taps in the Gettysburg National Cemetery was moving.  If you didn't have goose bumps, hair standing up, and a tear in your eye at this special moment....  well, there is something wrong with ya.