On November 7th, 2025, 16 students and six staff members from New Hope Academy went on a school trip to the Gettysburg National Military Park. This trip is an annual visit for the school, one that’s important for students to return to each year.
Imagine being a Confederate soldier in 1863, wearing an outfit made of cotton and wool in around 80°F weather in July while carrying large heavy bags filled with an array of items such as: a canteen, eating utensils, possibly the Bible or other large books or journals, clothing for the winter, tents and blankets, smaller guns, and a rifle on your back. This is all you need while you are walking up a steep hill in an attempt to quietly sneak up on the much more hydrated union army on Little Round Top. Even today–in light clothing and with nothing on my back, and with the addition of crudely made stairs, the walk up from Devil’s Den to Little Round Top was extremely fatiguing and exhausting. This was one of the more important parts of the trip, feeling more connected to the physical discomfort of a soldier during the time period. A reason people visit places like this is because they want to know how the people that really were in this situation felt as it was happening.
When you are standing on the battlefield, you are seeing the landscape that the soldiers saw during the war; when you go inside the museum and look at The Battle of Gettysburg Cyclorama, a giant painting made by Paul Philippoteaux in 1884 depicting the war, you see the death and destruction that those soldiers were surrounded by. Truly a spectacle, it reaches 42 feet high, and 377 feet in circumference. That’s larger than two adult male giraffes, and about three blue whales in circumference! As you would expect in this painting, there are large clouds of smoke up close, in the distance—gunfire, artillery, soldiers and commanders, structures, horses, and unsurprisingly—death. This painting also has great detail as even small things such as someone simply tripping over a fence.
This is something that some may see as “unserious,” however, this adds levels of realism and believability to the painting. War is difficult and most people would be inexperienced. Another thing about this painting is that it’s making something beautiful out of something ugly. This painting never lets you forget what you’re looking at, as it is a fully connected circle around you.
Some good examples of things people may want to go back for after visiting are other sections of the battlefield that are important to the war, and to experience the new virtual reality exhibit that shows you important moments in the war in person. Overall, this was an important visit because it helps people to learn in different ways and encourages thinking about what it may have been like being a soldier in Gettysburg.
dean.roskos@newhopeacademy.net
