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"  Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee looked across Seminary Ridge on July 3, 1863, and watched as his bedraggled and bloodied army returned from a hellish charge against the center of the Union lines at Gettysburg, a small town in southern Pennsylvania. &amp;quot;It is all my fault,&amp;quot; Lee cried as the wounded and shaken of &amp;quot;Pickett&amp;#039;s Charge&amp;quot; limped past. One hundred and fifty years later, the Civil War battlefield at Gettysburg is one of the most hallowed sites in the United States, drawing more than 1.5 million visitors each year. And Gettysburg is just one stop on a highway of history\u2014U.S. Route 15\u2014that stretches from Pennsylvania to Virginia. Route 15 is a road trip time machine to the very beginnings of our nation. The trip down (or up) the corridor is officially known as the Journey Through Hallowed Ground. Preservationists created the moniker in an attempt to protect a region continually threatened by urban sprawl. The 180-mile-long, 75-mile-wide passage connects four states, nine presidential homes, 13 national parks, and a multitude of battlefields from the French and Indian War, Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and American Civil War. The corridor includes not only such well-known sites as Thomas Jefferson&amp;#039;s grand estate at Monticello, but lesser-known venues including Ball&amp;#039;s Bluff Battlefield and National Cemetery, where the Union suffered one of its worst defeats during the first year of the Civil War. And while history rules on this road trip, the region is a breathtaking drive through verdant pastures, charming main streets, and delightful back roads lined with wineries, gourmet eateries, and antique shops. National Museum of Civil War Medicine The cities and towns along Route 15 and nearby Route 20 are home to many museums. In Frederick, Md., for example, visitors can tour the National Museum of Civil War Medicine. Exhibits include bone fragments, prosthetic limbs, and a replica field hospital. More than 10,000 Union and Confederate soldiers were treated in Frederick during the bloody Battle of Antietam, fought just a few miles away. David Wills House After the battle of Gettysburg, the governor of Pennsylvania, Andrew Curtin, asked local attorney David Wills to build a cemetery for the dead. Wills, who lived in a tidy house near the town square in Gettysburg, did as the governor asked. When the time came to dedicate the cemetery, Wills asked President Abraham Lincoln to make some &amp;quot;appropriate remarks.&amp;quot; Lincoln agreed, and stayed the night in Wills&amp;#039; house, where he put the finishing touches on the Gettysburg Address. Monticello Southeast of Charlottesville, Va., sits Thomas Jefferson&amp;#039;s private estate. Jefferson designed the impressive structure, where he lorded over a vast plantation cultivating wine grapes and more than 300 types of vegetables. Those gardens are still blooming today. Looking north from Monticello&amp;#039;s terrace, Jefferson peered through a telescope and watched as workers built the University of Virginia, which he helped design. Monticello is also home to a wonderfully detailed visitor and education center. Jefferson is buried on the estate, as are many of his slaves. Montpelier James Madison&amp;#039;s home features archaeological sites, hiking trails, and dozens of exhibits. It was here at Montpelier that Madison spent months researching and organizing his thoughts on how Americans should govern themselves. Madison eventually molded his ideas into theVirginia Plan, which would later become the constitutional framework for our system of government. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/adventure/outdoors/a9577/get-out-there-retracing-history-on-us-15-16030843/>