Full Day

Begin your week of Civil War discovery in the towns that were first ransacked by the Confederate invasion into the state of Pennsylvania. Learn about the people and places affected by the Southern invasion at the museum and galleries of the Cumberland County Historical Society.

Stay in Carlisle and visit the U.S. Army Heritage & Education Center to experience the Civil War through firsthand accounts of soldiers. This facility houses the largest collection of Civil War photography in the world. After discovering the indoor exhibits head outside on the Army Heritage Trail that features outdoor exhibits including recreations of Civil War Winter Cabins and a section of the Hagerstown Pike (Battle of Antietam).

Make it a Weekend

Continue on the path of the Confederate invasion to the famous town of Gettysburg. This town found itself in the center of what would become a pivotal point in American history. Begin at the Gettysburg National Military Park. Visit the Museum and Visitors Center for an introduction to what happened in Gettysburg. Watch the short film “A New Birth to Freedom” and gaze at the restored Gettysburg cyclorama before heading out on to the battlefields.  Discover the battlefields by guided bus tour, Segway, on horseback or in your own car.

Make it a Week

Cumberland Valley is the perfect place to plant your feet for your Civil War weekend. Stay with us and plan day trips out to the surrounding areas to fully experience the heart and history of the American Civil War.

The Greater Reading area features the Central PA African American Museum and is home to cemeteries where soldiers and slaves are interfered together. 

The journey continues to York where Lincoln visited the Hanover Junction Train Station in 1863 en route to deliver the Gettysburg Address.

In Pennsylvania’s capital, Harrisburg, visit the National Civil War Museum and the Harrisburg Cemetery for a closer look at how this war impacted the state.

General Robert E. Lee and 65,000 men headquartered in the town of Chambersburg before deciding to move east to meet the Union Army. Discover this important piece of history at the Chambersburg Heritage Center.