Gettysburg National Military Park

Featuring some of the best Rangers, historians, and authors from across the country, this popular eight-week Winter Lecture Series will once again return to the Gettysburg National Military Park (NMP) Museum and Visitor Center in 2026!

The Winter Lecture Series is held at 1:30 p.m. on weekends in the Gettysburg NMP Museum and Visitor Center from January 10 through March 8, 2026. Seating is available on a first come – first serve basis. Free tickets are available day of at the Gettysburg NMP Museum and Visitor Center. Schedule is subject to change.

This week:

Christina Moon, Licensed Battlefield Guide
The Civil War may have ended in 1865, yet for many veterans, the fight continued in new and deeply divisive ways. Unending War explores how Gettysburg veterans from both the Union and Confederate armies shaped the violent and contested politics of Reconstruction in Louisiana. Focusing on New Orleans as a flashpoint of racial and political unrest, this talk examines the roles played by veterans of the Civil War's bloodiest battle in the postwar world, fueling new battles over civil rights, federal authority, and the future of American democracy. 

Featuring some of the best Rangers, historians, and authors from across the country, this popular eight-week Winter Lecture Series will once again return to the Gettysburg National Military Park (NMP) Museum and Visitor Center in 2026!

The Winter Lecture Series is held at 1:30 p.m. on weekends in the Gettysburg NMP Museum and Visitor Center from January 10 through March 8, 2026. Seating is available on a first come – first serve basis. Free tickets are available day of at the Gettysburg NMP Museum and Visitor Center. Schedule is subject to change.

This week:

Ranger Andrew Regiec, Gettysburg National Military Park
Join Ranger Andrew Regiec to explore the courage and sacrifice of the 134th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment. As Confederate Forces overwhelmed U.S. 11th Corps on the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, one brigade was moved into the town, to keep thousands of United States Soldiers from being cut-off and captured. Of the brigade’s three regiments, the 134th New York went into the battle with nearly 400 men, only about 32 made it to their fallback position that evening.  

Featuring some of the best Rangers, historians, and authors from across the country, this popular eight-week Winter Lecture Series will once again return to the Gettysburg National Military Park (NMP) Museum and Visitor Center in 2026!

The Winter Lecture Series is held at 1:30 p.m. on weekends in the Gettysburg NMP Museum and Visitor Center from January 10 through March 8, 2026. Seating is available on a first come – first serve basis. Free tickets are available day of at the Gettysburg NMP Museum and Visitor Center. Schedule is subject to change.

This week:

Ranger Matt Atkinson, Gettysburg National Military Park
In 1861, the United States reached a defining crossroads, as the unresolved promises and contradictions of 1776 surged to the forefront of national life. Both Union and Confederacy laid claim to the legacy of George Washington and the Founding Fathers, and the outcome of the Civil War would determine whose vision of the Revolution would prevail. In honor of America’s 250th anniversary, this program will explore the echoes, evolutions, and tensions between the ideals of 1776 and the realities of 1861.

Featuring some of the best Rangers, historians, and authors from across the country, this popular eight-week Winter Lecture Series will once again return to the Gettysburg National Military Park (NMP) Museum and Visitor Center in 2026!

The Winter Lecture Series is held at 1:30 p.m. on weekends in the Gettysburg NMP Museum and Visitor Center from January 10 through March 8, 2026. Seating is available on a first come – first serve basis. Free tickets are available day of at the Gettysburg NMP Museum and Visitor Center. Schedule is subject to change.

This week:

Ranger John Hoptak, Gettysburg National Military Park
For General George Gordon Meade, service to the country did not end at Appomattox. Instead, it continued until his dying day, which occurred on November 6, 1872, just seven-and-a-half years following the end of the Civil War and less than ten years after his triumph at the Battle of Gettysburg. Join Ranger John Hoptak for a look at the overshadowed and oftentimes glossed-over post-Civil War career of George Meade, which, among other things, included his efforts to deter the Fenian Brotherhood from invasions of Canada, his role in Reconstruction, and his July 1869 return visit to Gettysburg to help dedicate the recently constructed Soldiers’ National Monument in the National Cemetery.

Featuring some of the best Rangers, historians, and authors from across the country, this popular eight-week Winter Lecture Series will once again return to the Gettysburg National Military Park (NMP) Museum and Visitor Center in 2026!

The Winter Lecture Series is held at 1:30 p.m. on weekends in the Gettysburg NMP Museum and Visitor Center from January 10 through March 8, 2026. Seating is available on a first come – first serve basis. Free tickets are available day of at the Gettysburg NMP Museum and Visitor Center. Schedule is subject to change.

This week:

Historian Codie Eash, Seminary Ridge Museum
Hours before Abraham Lincoln delivered his iconic Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863, at least three eyewitnesses recalled that the president toured the battlefield, including a personal guard, a foreign ambassador, and United States Secretary of State William Seward. According to the latter, the party “visited the ground around the Seminary, and Mr. Lincoln joined in.” Join Codie Eash, Director of Education and Interpretation at Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center, as he explores the Lutheran Seminary in the aftermath of battle, examines the role of Seminary personnel in the dedication of Soldiers’ National Cemetery, and uses historical evidence to investigate whether Lincoln made his apparent battlefield visit.

Featuring some of the best Rangers, historians, and authors from across the country, this popular eight-week Winter Lecture Series will once again return to the Gettysburg National Military Park (NMP) Museum and Visitor Center in 2026!

The Winter Lecture Series is held at 1:30 p.m. on weekends in the Gettysburg NMP Museum and Visitor Center from January 10 through March 8, 2026. Seating is available on a first come – first serve basis. Free tickets are available day of at the Gettysburg NMP Museum and Visitor Center. Schedule is subject to change.

This week:

Richard Goedkoop, Licensed Battlefield Guide
The 75th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg marked the largest gathering in the town’s history. This illustrated program explores the origins and major events of the reunion, culminating in the dedication of the Eternal Light Peace Memorial. Highlights include President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s commemorative address, as well as a reflection on the reunion’s impact and enduring memory.

Featuring some of the best Rangers, historians, and authors from across the country, this popular eight-week Winter Lecture Series will once again return to the Gettysburg National Military Park (NMP) Museum and Visitor Center in 2026!

The Winter Lecture Series is held at 1:30 p.m. on weekends in the Gettysburg NMP Museum and Visitor Center from January 10 through March 8, 2026. Seating is available on a first come – first serve basis. Free tickets are available day of at the Gettysburg NMP Museum and Visitor Center. Schedule is subject to change.

This week:

Ranger Erica Uszak, Historic Preservation Training Center, NPS
Gettysburg was one of the first Civil War battlefields to be established as a national military park—a result of Civil War veterans who feared that they would be forgotten. However, this achievement masked bitter arguments over how to preserve the battlefield, where to place each monument, and who deserved to be recognized. Discover the battle for the memory of Gettysburg, waged by these veterans with literature, litigation, and legislation.

Featuring some of the best Rangers, historians, and authors from across the country, this popular eight-week Winter Lecture Series will once again return to the Gettysburg National Military Park (NMP) Museum and Visitor Center in 2026!

The Winter Lecture Series is held at 1:30 p.m. on weekends in the Gettysburg NMP Museum and Visitor Center from January 10 through March 8, 2026. Seating is available on a first come – first serve basis. Free tickets are available day of at the Gettysburg NMP Museum and Visitor Center. Schedule is subject to change.

This week:

Historian Daniel Brennan, West Virginia University
General Alpheus Starkey Williams was considered one Union’s most reliable commanders, having led troops across seven states. Despite this, he began and ended the war with the same rank, passed over for promotion while less experienced men advanced. He once wrote in frustration, “there is an unwritten history…that somebody will be obliged to set right some day.” Discover Williams’s history, marked by battles between personal insecurity and deep pride in his men; between military success and postwar obscurity.

Featuring some of the best Rangers, historians, and authors from across the country, this popular eight-week Winter Lecture Series will once again return to the Gettysburg National Military Park (NMP) Museum and Visitor Center in 2026!

The Winter Lecture Series is held at 1:30 p.m. on weekends in the Gettysburg NMP Museum and Visitor Center from January 10 through March 8, 2026. Seating is available on a first come – first serve basis. Free tickets are available day of at the Gettysburg NMP Museum and Visitor Center. Schedule is subject to change.

This week:

Every artifact has a voice—if we’re willing to listen. If These Things Could Talk invites you to explore the powerful personal connections that Gettysburg National Military Park staff have with objects in the park’s museum collection. In this special interpretive program, rangers and staff members share the stories behind their favorite artifacts—some well-known, others rarely seen—offering unique insights into the people, events, and legacies of Gettysburg. Join us to uncover how even the smallest item can speak volumes about the past, and reflect on what stories the objects around us might one day tell.