Gettysburg Licensed Town Guides

08/24/2025

The LaRussa family and the Gettysburg Licensed Town Guides thank you for your support and condolences. When asked about his tours, Jerry would say, "I don't do boring." And when he left us, he made sure that his celebration of life wouldn't be boring either.

This weekend we celebrated our friend, mentor, and patriarch. Jerry was the OG. He touched so many and it was an honor to remember and celebrate a life lived to the fullest.

08/22/2025

Our back to school "What I Did This Summer" essay:

"My family and I went on a walking tour in Gettysburg. We saw a cannonball in Laura Bergstressor's house, learned about Mag Palm, and practiced spelling "Schimmelfennig". Our tour was epic! The End"

Walk around town with us and give your kiddos something to talk about. Check out our website at https:www.gbltg.com for tour information or call 717-253-5737. Tours can also be booked at Viatour and GetYourGuide.

08/20/2025

From our friends Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center

in 1913, Gettysburgians opened copies of the Compiler to find that lightning struck the Seminary Cupola two days earlier.

The paper described the “wonderful electric storm” that caused damage as “one continuous performance of thunder and lightning, crash after crash.” According to the report, “The first lull of the storm over the town came as it reached Seminary Ridge and in a short time came a fire alarm, a bolt of lightning having struck the cupola on the old historic Seminary building. There was great consternation at first when it was feared that the old historic landmark might be destroyed and it was a relief to discover at an early moment that only the cupola was doomed.”

Officials credited a slate roof and copper cupola floor for quelling the blaze’s spread. The Gettysburg Fire Department arrived with a steam-powered engine and two hose reels, hauled by horses. Firefighters connected the apparatus to a hydrant at the flooded base of the ridge, and pumped water through a “ladder wagon...to the height of the cupola.”

Workers restored the Cupola to its previous appearance by the following spring, and remnants of the damage and subsequent repairs are still seen on the interior of the structure today.

Image Courtesy of Gettysburg Compiler (Google News Archive, August 20, 1913)

08/18/2025

We are deeply saddened to share the news of the passing of our guide and dear friend, Jerry LaRussa, on August 3. Jerry was a member of the Gettysburg Licensed Town Guides since our establishment and gave the first tour in 2005. Jerry possessed boundless energy and an exceptional gift for storytelling. He will be sorely missed. We remember him today as he is laid to rest at Indiantown Gap National Cemetery and we look forward to celebrating his life and legacy this weekend.

08/08/2025

If you're interested in telling Gettysburg's stories...we're interested in hearing from you. And...if you are interested in becoming a town guide here's how to get started:

Deadline for letters of interest: August 25, 2025. Email letter of interest to [email protected]

Interviews for candidates: September- October 2025

Written exam: January 3, 2026

Oral exam: February 1 - March 31, 2026

See our website at https://www.gbltg.com for more details.

08/01/2025

A vintage reproduction gas pump honoring a Union and a Confederate officer stands on a grassy plot of ground beneath a tree next to the parking lot of the Heartland Diner. Countless cars pass by it daily and most likely the drivers never notice it. Patrons of the diner may see it but not give it a second glance...but if they do, they may have questions but no answers. In a town with monuments to President Lincoln and a battlefield with monuments to regiments and states, a fiberglass reproduction gas pump is the most unexpected and perhaps most unusual reminder of the Battle of Gettysburg.

Although the subject of the gas pump-turned-public art is the battle, the gas pump itself is an homage to the Lincoln Highway, the nation's first coast-to-coast highway between New York City and San Francisco...a highway that passes through Gettysburg. In the years before turnpikes and rest stops, travelers on the cross country Lincoln Highway depended on gas stations. When the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor Commission was looking for a symbol to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the highway in 2003, gas pumps were the most obvious choice. They commissioned six murals and 22 gas pumps to be placed on the 200 mile corridor between Abbottstown and Irwin to not only mark the anniversary but also to encourage tourism.

Known as The Lincoln Highway Pump Parade, the Gettysburg pump was originally placed on Chambersburg Pike near General Lee's headquarters with an interpretive sign. At some point the pump, featuring Lt. Col. Rufus Dawes (6th Wi.) on the front and Col. Henry Burgwyn, Jr. (26th N.C) on the side, was moved to the current location. The back of the pump portrays Lincoln Square. The pump is not just a relic of a bygone era but an artistic reminder today of the importance of the Lincoln Highway.

The gas pump may be seldom seen, as are other seldom seen locations in Gettysburg. We cover some of the seldom seen sights (but not the gas pump) on our Seldom Seen walking tour. See our website at https://www.gbltg.com or call 717-253-5737 for tour information. Tours can also be scheduled through Get Your Guide and Viatour.

07/25/2025

Have you ever wondered about the civilian experience as the artillery rolled through the streets of Gettysburg and thundered over the homes during the battle? Our friends at the Gettysburg Foundation can help with that. The Gettysburg Foundation is offering a "Historians After Hours" program that focuses on the artillery. The after hours program will be this Saturday, July 26 at the Children of 1863 Museum.

Author and historian Stephen Evangelista and Gettysburg Licensed Town Guide Ted Hirt will discuss the fascinating story of the Gettysburg Gun, the only existing cannon known to have served in the Battle of Gettysburg still in its original condition, as well as how the artillery affected the civilians over the three day battle.

The program is free and begins at 6:30 p.m. Doors open at 6:20 p.m.

07/16/2025

We love telling Gettysburg stories and if you love Gettysburg stories and would love to tell Gettysburg's stories we would love you to be part of our organization. That's a lot of love!

Here's the dates:
Deadline for letters of interest: August 25, 2025
Interviews for candidates: September- October 15, 2025
Written exam:January 3, 2026
Oral exam: February 1 - March 31, 2026

See our website at http://www.gbltg.com for more details.

Letters of interest may be sent to: [email protected]

P.S. We would love to hear from you 😊

06/30/2025

During the Battle of Gettysburg there were times when the ultimate sacrifice was required. President Lincoln called it "the last full measure of devotion." For Colonel Coster's Brigade that time was the afternoon of July 1, 1863.

Now it's your time to discover the brigade's Brickyard Fight. Join us on a new 90 minute walking tour that will follow Coster's Brigade into battle in "historic time". Walk in their footsteps, hear their words, and learn of their sacrifice in the almost forgotten brickyard fight.

For tour reservations or information see our website at https://www.gbltg.com or call 717-253-5737. Reservations accepted up to 2:30 p.m. July 1.

📷 rmzajko

06/20/2025

OTD 1863: Gettysburg's Committee of Safety is formed.

When Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin issued a proclamation in mid-June 1863 urging the creation of an emergency militia to counter the Confederate invasion of the Commonwealth men from Adams County as well as men across the state responded. They served as the 26th Pennsylvania Emergency Volunteers.

Gettysburg itself also took steps for it's defense, meeting at the courthouse and establishing a Committee of Safety to act as "minute men". One of their goals was to secure the mountain passes west of town by building barricades to slow down the Confederate advance. However, it wasn't front page news; it was noted on page 3 of The Adams Sentinel

Also OTD, the 26th PEV received their uniforms at Camp Curtin. It took some effort to match the soldiers with the correct size uniform. "We looked pretty well in town in our uniforms," boasted one soldier. "This morning as we marched to town a soldier asked if we were regulars? And he wasn't speaking ironically."

From June 30 through July 5, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. we will be featuring a 60 minute Battle in the Streets walking tour. See our website at https://www.gbltg.com or call 717-253-5737 for more information or to make a reservation. Our other tours are also available and can be booked through our website or phone or through Viatour and GetYourGuide.

Sources:

The Adams Sentinel, June 20, 1863.

Wingert, Cooper H. Emergency Men! Schroeder Publications, 2013.

06/13/2025

Prior knowledge is not a requirement for our walking tours but we find that all of our school groups know something about Gettysburg before we begin....and this group of Montessori students from Texas was no exception.

Before the tour began these students knew:
▪︎ who Gen. Meade was and his nickname
▪︎ Elizabeth Thorn and her story
▪︎ every single fact about Penelope
▪︎ the name and background of the sculptor who designed the "Return Visit" monument
▪︎ and just about everything else

Their Gettysburg knowledge was phenomenal!

We provide individual and group tours, including the Scout Heritage Trail tour. See our website at https://www.gbltg.com or call 717-253-5737 for tour information and group rates or to schedule a tour. Tours can also be scheduled through Viatour and GetYourGuide. Friday evening tours in partnership with the Shriver House Museum at Gettysburg can be made through the Shriver House or The Adams County Historical Society at Gettysburg websites.

05/23/2025

When Ted isn't wearing his Gettysburg Licensed Town Guides hat he's wearing the kepi of Battery B, 1st Rhode Island Light Artillery.

Ted and Battery B will be at the George Spangler Farm this coming Saturday, May 24, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Sponsored by our friends at the Gettysburg Foundation, this living history event is free. Visitors can drive directly to the farm.

Kick off your family's summer with a day of history and adventure when you visit the best preserved field hospital from the Battle of Gettysburg.

In addition to the field hospitals, almost every public building and home in town was used as a hospital before Camp Letterman was established. Many of those buildings are highlighted on our walking tours. For tour information or to schedule a tour, check out our website at https://www.gbltg.com or call 717-253-5737. Tours can also be scheduled with Viatour and GetYourGuide.