Winter’s Best View of Gettysburg

By Cory Runk – If you’re like me, you like to be up high to gaze out over the area to understand the land that surrounds you. This is particularly true when it comes to Gettysburg. I love nothing more than to pack my camera bag, put on some hiking boots and explore the battlefield but sometimes, you just need to look at things from a different perspective. When searching for that perfect blend of battlefield and downtown view, I knew exactly where to go, The Gettysburg Seminary Ridge Museum.

The view atop the Seminary Ridge Museum in its cupola is simply breath-taking. Not only are you able to see the battlefield, you’re also treated to the view of the town and surrounding mountain ranges. When speaking with some of the staff of the museum, they all agreed that the view from the cupola was better viewed during the winter months. During the winter days with no haze, you can see for miles. In fact, on a clear day you can see over 12 miles in distance! When viewing to the west, you’re able to view the Appalachian Mountain range and Liberty Mountain Ski Resort. To the south, you’re able to see Big Round Top and Little Round Top. When I gazed out from the cupola, I felt like there wasn’t a place around town that could match the panorama I was seeing. The Seminary Ridge Museum isn’t just high-vantage viewing area, it is an interactive and unique museum that provides the story of Gettysburg a little differently than what you might expect. When speaking with Dru Anne Neil, Director of Marketing, she had this to say about the museum:

The Seminary Ridge Museum doesn’t just provide exhibits on the battle, it also covers topics such as religious beliefs, human rights in Adams County, medical care for the wounded and the civilian struggle during the battle. As I was taking the tour of the museum, I found out very quickly that this building houses so much history. Before the battle, it was apart of the Lutheran Theological Seminary as a dormitory for students. During the battle, it was commandeered by the Union Army and turned into a field hospital. Less than a day later, it was captured by the Confederate Army with Union soldiers still healing inside. After the battle concluded, it remained a hospital for a short while before returning to its prior state as a dormitory/class rooms.

As I walked with Dru Anne through the halls of this beautiful museum, I made sure to stop in each room to experience every exhibit. She had me start on the top floor of the museum and work our way down to the ground level. This is the normal route taken for all who come to experience this piece of living history. The fourth floor focuses on the first day of the battle and how the building was involved. When walking through each room of this floor, you truly feel the impact that the battle had on this building. I got a sense of how quickly this building transformed from a religious place of learning into a place pain and healing. With their detailed maps, you understand where the Confederates came from to attack Gettysburg and where the Union was deployed to defend it. The informative video and interactive exhibits really brought the first day of the battle to life for me.

As we made our way down to the third floor and began experiencing each exhibit room, I was completely caught off-guard by the realism and severity of the battle. The exhibits of this floor do not hold back on what it took of the human body to defend the peace of this nation. I saw photos of the wounded I’ve never seen before. If the fourth floor did not captivate you and make you realize what really happen, then the third floor surely will. It is a very somber floor of the museum and it took me a minute to understand what I was seeing. This floor is not meant to scare you or make you feel uncomfortable, it was meant to depict the sacrifice this battle demanded of many soldiers and civilians. After going through the entire floor, it made appreciate everything these soldiers did for us.

After leaving the somberness of the third floor, I arrived at the second floor with an uncertainty of what to expect. As we started walking through the exhibit rooms, Dru Anne explained to me the theme of this floor. This is the floor of religion and freedom. I wasn’t sure what to expect because these are not topics traditionally covered by most Civil War museums. After making it through each room, I came to appreciate what it took to abolish slavery and the people that made it happen. During the 1860s, the topic of slavery often went hand-in-hand with religion. What the Seminary Ridge Museum does well is shedding light on both sides of the argument. Certain exhibit rooms are dedicated to religious interpretation of slavery and allows for you to voice your opinion with interactive exhibits. This floor is designed to put you in the position of answering one of the greatest questions, what would you do in that situation?

As I walked out of the museum, I took a moment to process everything I learned and reflected on the tough situations this building and the town of Gettysburg was put through in the summer of 1863. I walked out of the Seminary Ridge Museum appreciating the stories of triumph and devastation a lot more than I did walking into the building. I highly recommend experiencing this museum for yourself. If you do, I challenge you to ask yourself what would you do if you were in these situations? What would you do in the situation that the civilians, soldiers, slaves and religious leaders found themselves in during the battle of Gettysburg. Questioning those topics will make you appreciate this great tragedy more than you ever have.

Click here for more information on The Seminary Ridge Museum: Website – The Seminary Ridge Museum, Facebook – The Seminary Ridge Facebook Page.

About the Author
Cory Runk is a native of the Adams County area and has spent many years frequenting the fine establishments of Gettysburg. Despite spending the majority of his life in or around Gettysburg, Cory still manages to learn new and interesting facts about the town and finds that to be one of the greatest features of the town. Cory is an avid photographer, nature hiker, sports enthusiast, and beer lover. Cory currently lives in Waynesboro, Pa., with his wife, Bridget.

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