The Gettysburg Foundation is pleased to host author Scott L. Mingus, Sr. for a special after-hour program on Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, from 6 until 7 p.m. at the Gettysburg Lincoln Railroad StationTM, home of Ticket to the Past—Unforgettable Journeys virtual reality experience. Tickets are required in advance for Mingus’ presentation, “Railroads in the Gettysburg Campaign,” which will take place under the covered pavilion of the historic station.
More than a dozen railroads in Virginia, Maryland and southern Pennsylvania played roles in the 1863 Gettysburg Campaign. These, of course, included the Gettysburg Railroad and its connecting partner, the Hanover Branch Railroad. Mingus will start with the Battle of Brandy Station and explore how railroads influenced the Confederate strategy, Union defensive tactics and the impact on the civilian populace who relied on rail transportation.
Mingus is a scientist and consultant in the global pulp and paper industry and holds patents in self-adhesive postage stamps and bar code labels. He has written 19 Civil War and Underground Railroad books. His biography of Confederate General William “Extra Billy” Smith won multiple awards, including the Dr. James I. Robertson Jr. Literary Prize for Confederate History. He has also written articles for Gettysburg Magazine, as well as for various historical journals. Mingus and his wife live in York, Pennsylvania, and for more than a decade, he has been writing his blog, Cannonball, on the history of the Civil War in York County. His great-great-grandfather was a 15-year-old drummer and rifleman in the 51st Ohio Infantry under General George “Pap” Thomas and other family members fought at Antietam and Gettysburg in the 7th West Virginia.
Located at 35 Carlisle Street in downtown Gettysburg, the virtual reality experience inside the station is open from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Event ticket holders can purchase tickets at a discounted rate for an available showtime prior to the program or on a future date to experience history in a virtual reality encounter with historical figures associated with the station during the 1863 battle and its aftermath. Ticket to the Past—Unforgettable Journeys features virtual encounters with three historical figures, Basil Biggs, Cornelia Hancock, and Eli Blanchard. Visitors also get a glimpse of President Lincoln’s arrival before the dedication of the National Cemetery, where he delivered the Gettysburg Address.
In addition to 10 other locations, Ticket to the Past—Unforgettable Journeys is an experience on Gettysburg’s new self-guided Black History Trail that launched late last month as part of a collaborative community effort. More information is available online about visiting the 11 sites on the Black History Trail that tells the stories and honors the legacies of various historic figures in Gettysburg.
Tickets for the Aug. 23 program and admission tickets for Ticket to the Past—Unforgettable Journeys are available by phone, 877-874-2478 or 717-334-2436, online at GettysburgFoundation.org/Ticket-to-the-Past, at the Ticket Counter inside the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center, 1195 Baltimore Pike, Gettysburg or on-site at Ticket to the Past—Unforgettable Journeys.