Littlestown, Pa., connects to national Civil War Trails program
Sign one of more than 1,000 installed nationwide
(Gettysburg, Pennsylvania) - 4/19/2010
CONTACT:
Carl Whitehill
Media Relations Manager
Gettysburg Convention & Visitors Bureau
(717) 338-1055
[email protected]
Littlestown, Pa., is now part of the National Civil War Trails program, a network of more than 1,000 Civil War sites expanding six states.
A sign was recently installed near the square in Littlestown, in front of a building currently occupied by the Littlestown Historical Society and the Littlestown Chamber of Commerce.
“Towns such as Littlestown can benefit through this program by attracting attention of the millions of Gettysburg visitors who are always looking to learn more when they visit. This Civil War Trails program is built to do just that,” said Norris Flowers, President of the Gettysburg Convention & Visitors Bureau.
The first two signs were installed in Gettysburg a year ago with the help of the Gettysburg Convention & Visitors Bureau, who provided 50 percent of the funding needed to install and maintain the signs. In Littlestown, the Chamber of Commerce provided the remaining 50 percent of the funding.
Signs were installed along Emmitsburg Road at the southern tip of the Gettysburg National Military Park and in front of the Cashtown Inn.
“The Littlestown Chamber of Commerce working with the Gettysburg CVB and the Littlestown Borough Council is proud to have brought the Civil War Trails marker to Littlestown. It was truly a group effort,” said Matthew Turley, President of the Littlestown Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.
On June 26, 1863 – just days before the Battle of Gettysburg – a band of Confederates entered Littlestown in advance of Gen. Jubal Early’s division. Three days after that, a division of Union cavalry camped around Littlestown. Both Gen. Judson Kilpatrick and Gen. George Custer lodged at the Barker House, located along West King Street in Littlestown.
It was the word of Union cavalry in Littlestown that eventually led to the Battle of Hanover.
Leading up to the Battle of Gettysburg, nearly 30,000 union soldiers passed through Littlestown on the way to Gettysburg. After the battle, hundreds of wounded soldiers were brought to Littlestown where they were placed on railroad cars. Gen. Daniel E. Sickles, who lost his leg at Little Round Top, was among those wounded soldiers.
The signs placed in Adams County help complete the “Gettysburg: Invasion & Retreat Trail,” as part of the Civil War Trails program. More sites in Adams County, Pa., are being considered for wayside markers.
Signs are currently in more than 1,000 locations throughout the United States – including North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.
The Civil War Trails program includes maps, directional signs and wayside markers to orientate travelers through Civil War sites, many of them not otherwise interpreted. On average, more than 2,000 map-guides are downloaded weekly from the program’s website.
For visitor information about the Civil War Trails program, visit www.civilwartrails.org.
The Gettysburg Convention & Visitors Bureau, the official tourism promotion agency, markets Gettysburg – Adams County as a premier travel destination, producing a positive economic impact.
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