Gettysburg Celebrates the 150th Anniversary of the Battle That Was a Turning Point in the Civil War

This year marks the commemoration of the 150^th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, and the celebration will include amenities that soldiers would have relished 150 years ago, according to the Associated Press. These amenities will include expanded cellphone coverage, dozens of portable toilets and a landscaped path to the top of Little Round Top.

The National Park Service (NPS) is working with a group of community organizers to finish preparations for the commemoration of the Civil War battle, which proved pivotal, placing the small town of Gettysburg in the history books. The town is expecting tens of thousands of visitors over the course of a 10-day schedule of events that will begin on June 29.

"I think we're ready," Bob Kirby, the superintendent of Gettysburg National Military Park, said in a recent interview with the Associated Press. "We're ready for what the world would like to see."

The NPS is helping visitors reflect back on the Battle of Gettysburg, which occurred between July 1-3, 1863, and resulted in approximately 51,000 casualties. It was considered a major turning point in the war where Northern forces were able to turn the advancing Confederacy away.

The area had gradually taken on a feel out of place with the historical setting, and so a battlefield rehabilitation project started. It began in 1999, and the work is almost complete, with timing nicely falling near the anniversary. The work concentrated on areas that saw major action during the battle.

"You can't ever go back in time to 1863, but you can deal with the major features so you can better understand the story," Kirby said.

A visitor's center was added in 2008 and is operated by the Gettysburg Foundation in partnership with the NPS.

The park typically receives 1.2 million visitors a year, a number officials expect to exceed this year. About 200,000 visitors are expected for the anniversary week alone, according to Carl Whitehill, a spokesman for the Gettysburg Convention & Visitors Bureau. Most of the 2,600 hotel rooms in the area are booked.

An additional event is planned for November to mark the 150^th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address, famously delivered by President Abraham Lincoln at the dedication ceremony for Soldiers' National Cemetery.

President Obama has been extended an invitation to attend the November ceremony.