Gettysburg events an economic 'success,' officials say

GETTYSBURG - One-hundred-fifty years ago last week, the Confederate Army retreated from blood-soaked fields here with their numbers depleted by catastrophic casualties.

But in 2013, as visitors, spectators, and reenactors left Gettysburg following a 10-day sesquicentennial celebration, the activities in this rural town were decidedly more positive.

Carl Whitehill, a spokesman for the Gettysburg Convention & Visitors Bureau, said total attendance was well over 100,000. A final tally will be unavailable for several weeks, he added.

"It's been fantastic," said Sami Abate, 37, from Centerton, N.J., who was getting something to eat before the final battle Sunday afternoon. She added, "This town has always been really special, but there's really been a buzz here this week."

The four-day reenactment just north of Gettysburg this weekend, put on by the Gettysburg Anniversary Committee, was the largest event surrounding this anniversary, Whitehill said.

About 23,000 spectators attended Sunday's final reenactment, according to Andrea DiMartino, a committee spokeswoman, bringing total attendance above 60,000, she said. About 10,000 reenactors had pre-registered, she added, but that number may have ended higher given the sunny weather.

"It was a great show," she said.

Other activities have also been taking place since June 28, Whitehill said, from a smaller reenactment last weekend - put on by the Blue Gray Alliance - to commemorative ceremonies and historical lectures.

Some events drew crowds far higher than expected, he said. The commemorative walk along Pickett's Charge on July 3 drew more than 30,000 spectators and participants, about double the number anticipated, Whitehill said.

Whitehill said it was too early to measure the visitors' economic impact. But the events calendar this year was about twice as long as in previous years, he said, and hotel rooms were booked all over the region, from York to Hagerstown, Md.

The surge has been felt by local businesses. Fran Wickham, who co-owns a Civil War hat shop, Dirty Billy's Hats, with her husband, Bill, said that they have been working nonstop to keep up with the flood of hat-seeking visitors.

While crowds are always large around the annual reenactment in early July, she said, Wickham estimated that sales this year had been "at least 10 times as much" as in previous years.

"This is the 150th, so this is a much bigger deal than this town has ever seen before," she said.

Eric Uberman, whose family has owned the American Civil War Wax Museum and Gettysburg Gift Center for more than 40 years, said he thought this year's crowds were bigger than on previous notable anniversaries.

"This has been the largest week that I can remember," he said.

The crowds have not come without problems - traffic during this weekend's reenactment has clogged roads all over the area, often stretching several miles from the reenactment site to the town square.

But Gettysburg Police Chief Joe Dougherty said drivers had handled the traffic as well as could be hoped for, and he said there were no arrests or other anniversary-related incidents to report.

"It's unbelievable," he said, adding that the department had received no more than the usual number of calls over the past 10 days, even though the town of 7,000 had been hosting more than 35,000 people some days.

Visitors kept coming despite temperatures that crept above 90 degrees. About 260 were treated by medical staff, some related to the heat. officials said.

Overall, officials said, the events of the week were a success. And for most fans and reenactors alike, the chance to celebrate the anniversary of one of the fiercest battles in American history was a dream come true.

"We don't want it to end," Abate said. "They'll never have this again. They'll never have the 150th again."