Cashtown (@ 9 miles) - While the town itself is extremely small, the Cashtown Inn, which functioned as 
Confederate General A. P. Hill's headquarters from June 29 through the morning of July 1, is worth visiting if only to have a delicious lunch or dinner.  The inn is also a Bed & Breakfast.  For more information, visit the webpage located at http://www.cashtowninn.com/history.html .

Emmitsburg (@ 14 miles) - A Union Signal Corps station was located on the mountain south of town, and townspeople actually observed the battle with binoculars and telescopes from there.  For more information, locate the "Letters From Emmitsburg's Past: The Battle of Gettysburg seen from Indian Look - Sixty People with telescopes watch the day’s fight" on the Emmitsburg Historical Society's webpage located at http://www.emmitsburg.net/history/article_index/war.htm .   

Fairfield (@ 8 miles) - Another minor cavalry action which occurred during the Battle of Gettysburg was the skirmish early on the afternoon of July 3 near Fairfield.  While the Rebel cavalry was successful in driving off Union cavalry, this did not affect the overall outcome of the battle, but it did allow the Confederates to secure control of the Hagerstown Road, a potential route of retreat that soon would be needed for that very purpose.  A trip to Fairfield may be worthwhile, if only to have lunch or dinner at the Fairfield Inn, reported to be one of only five inns in the United States that has been in continuous operation since the 1700's.  If you would like to read more about the cavalry skirmish, see the article written by Eric J. Wittenberg located at http://www.historynet.com/magazines/american_civil_war/3806896.html .

Hanover (@ 17 miles) - The skirmish on June 30 in Hanover between Union cavalry under the command of General Judson Kilpatrick and Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry resulted in a stand-off, and forced Stuart to head to the east instead of west, which caused a further delay in his efforts to link up with the main body of the Confederate forces.  There is a self-guided tour (with 18 wayside markers) which I plan to take this summer.  To view a copy of the brochure, go to http://hanoverchamber.com/wayside.html .

(UPDATE):  I have recently learned that there is to be a reenactment this year at 6:00 p.m. on July 3 by roughly 200 Confederate cavalry reenactors.  For more information, go to http://www.lcacnet.org .  To read a recent newspaper article in the Hanover Evening Sun about the upcoming reenactment and events, go to the webpage at http://www.eveningsun.com/localnews/ci_9665323 .

Hunterstown (@ 6 miles) - The relatively minor cavalry action here on the afternoon of July 2 nevertheless had serious ramifications involving the Confederate attack on Culp's Hill later that day.  For more information and photographs, go to http://www.civilwaralbum.com/gettysburg/northfield1.htm .

(UPDATE):  On July 2, 2008, there will be a monument dedication ceremony by the Hunterstown Historical Society honoring the Union cavalry and General Custer's involvement during the action.  For more information on the dedication ceremony and the annual walking tour, visit the Hunterstown Historical Society's website at http://www.hunterstown1863.com .

For those of you who are interested in venturing further distances, the state of Pennsylvania has a tourism webpage located at http://www.visitpa.com/visitpa/civilWarTrails.pa that is devoted to all major areas and towns involved in the Civil War, such as Carlisle (@ 35 miles), Chambersburg (@ 25 miles), Harrisburg (@ 39 miles), Wrightsville (@ 42 miles), and York (@ 30 miles).

Harrisburg, the home of Camp Curtin during the Civil War, is now the home of the National Civil War Museum (http://nationalcivilwarmuseum.org).  I visited the museum in February, and it was a worthwhile experience.

Wrightsville, the site of the covered bridge over the Susquehanna River that was burned by Union militia to prevent Confederate troops from threatening Lancaster and Philadelphia (as well as Harrisburg from the south), has a small diorama museum (http://www.geocities.com/historicwrightsville/diorama.html) devoted to that historic day of June 28, 1863.

York, although it does not yet have an official walking tour similar to the one in Hanover, does have an annual celebration at the end of June (called "Patriot Days") to recognize its involvement in the Civil War.  There is a webpage, however, dealing with York and its participation in the Gettysburg campaign.  For more information, go to the website at http://www.yorkcivilwar.com .  In addition, there are two blogs that are worth checking out: the blog by James McClure, the author of the book "East of Gettysburg: A Gray Shadow Crosses York County, PA" (see my "Books Worth Reading" page), which can be easily found by going to http://www.yorktownsquare.com/war/civil_war , and the York Civil War Round Table's blog by Scott Mingus at http://www.yorkblog.com/cannonball .  

For more information on all these sites and on planning side-trips, you may want to consider obtaining the book "Pennsylvania Civil War Trails: The Guide to Battle Sites, Monuments, Museums and Towns" (go to http://www.pabookstore.com/peciwartrgut.html) .  To view the Civil War Trails brochure, go to the webpage at http://www.visitpa.com/docs/cwtrails_brochure.pdf .

In addition, for those of you who are interested in learning more about the route of J.E.B. Stuart's ill-fated and controversial ride around the Union Army on his way to meet up with the main body of the Confederate Army, there is a comprehensive, detailed driving/walking tour available through Eric J. Wittenberg and J. David Petruzzi, the co-authors of their well-respected book, "Plenty of Blame to Go Around: Jeb Stuart's Contro-versial Ride to Gettysburg" (see my "Books Worth Reading" page).  I have not yet taken the tour, but have added it to my "to do" list for 2008.  For more information on this unique and personalized tour program, visit http://www.stuartsride.com/tours.htm .

For those of you who are interested in learning more about Lee's retreat and Meade's ensuing pursuit, Mr. Wittenberg, Mr. Petruzzi, and Michael Nugent also conduct similar driving/walking tours based on their book, "One Continuous Fight: The Retreat from Gettysburg and the Pursuit of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, July 4-14, 1863" (see my "Books Worth Reading" page).  For more information on this new book and the tours, go to http://www.gettysburgretreat.com .