Gettysburg Guides to mark 100^th Anniversary with Special Program

At Gettysburg National Military Park we frequently get asked: “What is the best way to see the battlefield?”  Our answer is simple:  “With a Licensed Battlefield Guide!”  We recommend that anyone who wants a Guide should make advanced reservations. You may also make advance reservations by calling 1-877-874-2478. Information is also available from The Association of Licensed Battlefield Guides at 717-337-1709.

The Licensed Battlefield Guides (LBGs) continue a tradition of excellence that began in July 1863 following the battle of Gettysburg.  Immediately after the battle, hundreds of relatives and friends of the wounded and dead inundated the town of Gettysburg in search of loved ones.  The town’s residents provided escort services to grief stricken visitors. 

When Gettysburg National Military Park was authorized by an Act of Congress on February 11, 1895 and placed under the jurisdiction of the War Department, the Department inherited a system of battlefield guides that had grown into a tradition. In 1915, the War Department to undertook the regulation of guides.  Starting after October 17, 1915, the War Department issued a directive that only guides licensed by the Department would be allowed to conduct battlefield tours for a fee.  As a direct result, the quality of guide services improved and continues today.

The history of licensed guiding at Gettysburg will be the focus of a public presentation as part of The National Park Service Winter Lecture Series: "A Peculiar Institution — A Century of Licensed Guiding at the Gettysburg National Military Park". The presentation will be held on February 14^th at the Park Visitor Center. Battlefield Guide Frged Hawthorne will be the speaker.

Information about the lecture series can be found at the official park blog. http://npsgnmp.wordpress.com/