Saturday, October 20, 2012

Gettysburg


Oct 15, 1012 Mon
On my way out of PA I stopped by Gettysburg. I am sooooo glad I made this detour. I’m sure you are all aware of the Civil War battle of Gettysburg and the speech given by Lincoln. The national park service has a new visitor center in Gettysburg. The center includes a wonderful museum, an informational movie, and an awesome diorama. http://www.gettysburgdiorama.com/
At the visitor center you can also catch a bus tour or a tour with a private guide, or rent a CD and take your own auto tour at your own pace.
My campground provided me with the two CD self-guided auto tour of the battlefields. This is about a 25 mile trip.
The battlefields have hundreds of statues, monuments, and artifacts. The Cd's were very informative. I was able to spend as much time as I chose at each stop or in between stops. This was a great way to tour Gettysburg. The CD’s do not pull any punches when it comes to describing the horrible conditions and atrocities of war. The CD’s tell of wagons full of amputated limbs from wounded soldiers. They tell the story of a local stream that ran red with the blood of fallen soldiers. It even includes artillery fire in the background as it describes the movement of the troops.
One night a storm formed and we had lightning and thunder and so much rain all at once I thought I would float away. I couldn’t help but think of the thousands of soldiers living and fighting and lying wounded out in the open fields in these conditions with 1860’s equipment.
I stood near the spot where Lincoln gave the now famous Gettysburg address. I talked to ghosts in the cemetery and on the battlefields.
Will we ever be a world without war? It’s such a stupid concept.
I highly recommend a stop at Gettysburg if you find yourself in the area or even if it's out of the way.
Cemetery Hill - Gettysburg
3 Inch Ordnance Rifle and View from Cemetery Hill - Gettysburg
Lookout at Little Round Top - Gettysburg
On Little Round Top Looking Toward the Pennsylvania Monument - Gettysburg
 Robert E Lee and his horse Traveller -Gettysbury
Artillary - Gettysburg
Monument to Irish Troops from NY - Gettysburg
Ordnance Wagons - Gettysburg
Major General Oliver Otis Howard from Maine - Gettysburg
Eternal Flame - Gettysburg
12 Pounder Napoleon - Gettysburg
Father William Corby Chaplain - Gettysburg
A very sad place with hundreds of graves marked as unknown
Soldiers National Memorial - Gettysburg
Lincoln stood near this spot when he gave the Gettysburg address

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