The New Birth of Freedom Council partnered with The Gettysburg Foundation and Gettysburg National Military Park to offer the Scouts of south-central Pennsylvania and beyond a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. On September 27-29 over 3,000 Scouts and leaders camped out on the grassy fields of the George Spangler Farm, which was used as a field hospital during the battle. All of the buildings at the time of the battle still exist and tent sites were carefully laid out throughout the farm, along with temporary power, water, lighting and restroom facilities.
Scouts arrived at Spangler Farm on Friday afternoon and evening to
set up their campsites. The National Park Service provided nearly all of the event’s programming on Saturday with a day-long, round-robin schedule of activities, including visiting the park’s Museum and Visitors Center. Scouts also provided two different service projects to help restore parts of the park to how these areas would have looked in 1863 during the Battle of Gettysburg.
Saturday evening concluded with an amphitheater show back at Spangler Farm that educated Scouts on how the country was changed forever as a direct result of what happened in Gettysburg and the Civil War. Re-enactors provided the voices of people who lived through the events that took place at Gettysburg.