“Ticket to the Past-Unforgettable Journeys,” a virtual reality experience at the Gettysburg Lincoln Railroad Station at 35 Carlisle St. provides visitors with a journey into the history of the station, a place with a special interest in U.S. history.
Visitors travel back to July 1863 when the station became the first army field hospital even before the Battle of Gettysburg began and November 18 of the same year, when an enthusiastic crowd gathered outside the station in hopes of catching a glimpse of President Lincoln as he arrived in Gettysburg for the dedication of the national cemetery.
Also included in the tour are insights into the citizens, medical personnel, and soldiers that made the station stop a focal point of local history.
Visitors to the museum can choose to follow one of three historic figures:
Cornelia Hancock, Soldier Caregiver and Hospital Heroine. You might volunteer with 23-year-old Cornelia, who defied the odds and society norms to travel alone to Gettysburg to serve as a nurse.
Eli Blanchard, Iron Brigade Soldier, Musician and Amputation Assistant. You could sign up with 18-year-old volunteer soldier and musician Eli, who quickly went from drummer for the Iron Brigade to assisting surgeons in make-shift hospitals like this station.
Basil Biggs, Gettysburg Resident and Facilitator for the Fallen. You could follow Gettysburg resident Basil, a free black man, who collected supplies at the station for the unenviable task of exhuming bodies of the fallen Union soldiers for proper burial in the new national cemetery.
Tickets to the museum range from $7.95 to $9.95 for the 40-minute experience and can be purchased here.
