Photos of Gettysburg National Battlefield Park

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, is a lovely small town surrounded by farms. The area is awash in green, rolling hills, and is almost stereotypically serene and peaceful.

This was not the case during July 1-3, when two massive armies collided in and around the town in the costliest battle in U.S. history. The Confederate retreat on July 4, combined with the surrender of Vicksburg to Major General Ulysses S. Grant on the same day, effectively doomed the Confederacy.

Photos from Gettysburg

Parrott Rifle, a type of muzzle-loading, rifled cannon on a Napoleonic carriage, near the Peace Light in the northwestern part of the battlefield.