Physical
Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Speech TherapyJobs in
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Perhaps no other place can
conjure such powerful ghosts of blue and gray,
smoke and battle, loss and death as Gettysburg can: It was
along the ridges
near this small city that the Civil War reached a crucial
turning point.
Today, it's the country's largest battlefield shrine and a
must for anyone
interested in Civil War history.
Gettysburg National Military Park surrounds
the city and encompasses the
battlefields. Begin at the visitors center, where you can
tour the excellent
Gettysburg Museum of the Civil War. It's an impressive collection,
including
uniforms and weaponry used during the conflict. Next stop
should be the
Cyclorama, a massive canvas-in-the-round depicting the third
(and last) day
of the battle. Painted by French artist Paul Philippoteaux,
it's one of only
two paintings of its type remaining in the U.S. (The visitors
center and the
Cyclorama Center will be replaced in 2004 -- the new buildings
likely will
be located elsewhere. The current site will be cleared to
make it look more
as it did at the time the battle took place.) Before heading
from the
visitors center to the battlefield itself, you can orient
yourself using an
electronic map.
A road circles the site of the major engagements
of the three-day battle,
and there are many turn-offs and information signs along the
way. There are
several ways to see the area: You can tour on your own (an
audiocassette can
be purchased that provides narration and music), you can join
a group tour
or you can hire one of the National Park Service-approved
tour guides to
escort you around the battlefield. We prefer the last option
-- it makes the
site much more personal and evocative.
Whatever method you choose, take some time to
venture away from the roads
and the information points. When you're out among the boulders
of Devil's
Den, for instance, where fierce fighting took place, you get
a better feel
for the danger of the battle and the courage of those fighting
it. Another
must-see is the place where the climactic end of the battle,
"Pickett's
Charge," took place. It's a broad expanse of about 1
mi/1.6 km. The
Confederates tried to cross it in the face of withering Union
fire. They
didn't make it.
After seeing the battlefield, walk over to the
Gettysburg National Cemetery,
where President Abraham Lincoln delivered his "few appropriate
remarks" --
better known as the Gettysburg Address -- to commemorate the
battlefield
cemetery in 1863.
If you have time to spend a second day in Gettysburg,
visit the Eisenhower
National Historic Site (President Dwight Eisenhower's only
permanent home),
Jennie Wade's House (home of the only civilian killed in the
battle of
Gettysburg) and Robert E. Lee's Headquarters.
If you're so inclined, you can also visit a
number of other attractions that
vie for Gettysburg visitors. Among the choices: the Hall of
Presidents
(presidents in wax), the National Civil War Wax Museum (life-size
figures in
30 tableaux), the Gettysburg Railway (scenic train ride) and
the Soldier's
National Museum (great Civil War relics). There's also the
Lincoln Train
Museum. What do Lincoln and trains have in common? Well, he
rode one to
Gettysburg to give his speech, and you can ride along on a
simulation of
that journey and see a collection of toy trains. And for those
visitors
seeking a recreational outlet, two of Pennsylvania's most
popular ski
resorts -- Ski Liberty and Whitetail Resort -- are nearby.
Gettysburg is 110
mi/177 km west of Philadelphia.
Interested in pursuing a therapy job opportunity
in Pennsylvania? Fill out the application below to discuss
current openings:
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