Gettysburg getaway

Travel America, March-April, 2005

In a small south-central Pennsylvania town that lives and breathes one of the Civil War's most crucial battles, visitors can further immerse themselves in the 19th century with an overnight stay at Lightner Farmhouse Bed & Breakfast. The 1862 red-brick house, three miles from the center of Gettysburg and the battlefield, saw action for two weeks as a Union Army field hospital. Breakfast is served in the original dining room, the scene of amputations during the 1863 battle.

Guests find Civil War memorabilia on display and plenty of books and magazines relating to the period. The cozy Common Room in the basement, with its white stucco walls, beamed ceiling, stone fireplace, and bar, is stocked with board games and videos, including a Gettysburg Battlefield game and the epic Hollywood movie Gettysburg. The upstairs parlor and front porch are other places to relax. Six guest rooms with private bath ($99 to $150 a night) are furnished with antiques and reproductions. A two-night minimum is required most weekends.

A nature trail spotlights the farm's trees, plants, wildlife, and history, and leads to White Run, a fiver running through a ravine. Minutes away is an outlet mall, Gettysburg Village Factory Stores.

Contact: Lightner Farmhouse Bed & Breakfast, 2350 Baltimore Pike, Gettysburg, PA 17325; (717) 337-9508 or (866) 337-9508; www.lightnerfarmhouse.com.