Bush gets guided tour of Gettysburg battle site

GETTYSBURG, Pa. (AP) — President Bush brushed up on his Civil War history Friday, touring the battleground of Gettysburg, the site of one of the deadliest battles of the Civil War.

Normally for a $55 fee, visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park can tour the area along with a licensed guide. But on Friday, Bush had with him Gabor Boritt, an Abraham Lincoln scholar and director of the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College, who could explain chronological events of the war to match each site of the battleground.

The president began his tour at the Virginia Memorial, one of 1,300 monuments on the park’s grounds.

He also was treated to a sneak peek of the park’s museum and visitor center, which opens Sept. 26.

At the museum, Bush had the opportunity to check out various artifacts in the galleries, view a film on the Gettysburg battle and see the Gettysburg Cyclorama Painting, an immense circular canvas depicting scenes from the battle.

Bob Pinsley, chairman of the Gettysburg Foundation Board, was in the museum for the president’s visit, along with former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, former White House political adviser Karl Rove, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, and Karen Hughes, former undersecretary for public affairs for the State Department.

The town in the Pennsylvania countryside is the site of a three-day battle where Union troops successfully defeated Confederate troops’ advances. More than 7,000 troops died.

The president was invited to the grand opening later this month but couldn’t attend, according to museum staff.