Washington, D.C. and Gettysburg, PA

The Civil War was fought in the United States between the Union and the Confederacy from 1861 to 1865. Museums, sites and monuments commemorating this important period in our country's history are scattered throughout New England, especially in the cities of Washington, D.C. and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. History buffs and general tourists alike can now access the World Wide Web to find numerous resources on these historical cities and the various Civil War attractions found there.

Vacationers to Washington, D.C. can visit Civil War-related sites like Ford's Theater, where President Abraham Lincoln was shot, the Petersen House, where he died, and Anderson House, Lincoln's summer home. They can then trek to the National Museum of Health and Medicine to view a permanent Civil War exhibit and the National Building Museum to look over displays that depict the Union's various infantry, artillery, cavalry, naval, quartermaster and medical corps. Visitors to the nation's capital will also want to stop at the Frederick Douglas National Historic Site, which is the home of the former slave turned abolitionist leader, and such Civil War graveyards as the Soldiers' Airmen's Home National Cemetery.

In Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, tourists on a Civil War pilgrimage will find the Sachs Bridge and the Wills House Museum as well as the Seminary Ridge, Cemetery Ridge, and Little Round Top historical sites within the Gettysburg Battlefield and the Gettysburg National Military Park. They will also want to venture to Cemetery Hill, home to the Gettysburg Museum of the Civil War, the Gettysburg Cyclorama, which is a mammoth circular painting of Pickett's Charge, and the National Cemetery, where President Lincoln gave his Gettysburg Address. Needless to say, there are an infinite number of attractions that will keep any tourist busy on their next trip to Washington, D.C. and Gettysburg, PA, and they can utilize the many resources available on the Internet to plan their Civil War vacation.