Dec 2 and 3-Gettysburg, PA

We had to switch gears historically-speaking, because we just spent two days at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Moving from the Revolutionary War to the Civil War took a bit of adjustment. We’re almost a hundred years later. The country is divided over states rights. The South wants to be left alone and have each state govern itself (and allow slavery of course). The North favors a central Federal government. I’m not a civil war expert, this is just what I gleaned from two days studying…so blog me if I make an error! I believe that the fight at Gettysburg takes place in more or less the middle of the war and that the Union (North) wasn’t doing so well. There wasn’t anything to fight over at this particular location, just farmland and a town of about 2,400 people. It just happened that the two armies met here for three days in July of 1863. The Southern army (Confederates) were led by General Robert E. Lee. They’d marched through Virginia, into Maryland and Pennsylvania. Lee’s cavalry (the do the scouting) was on a raid somewhere so he had no idea where the Union army was. It just so happens that they were behind him, led by Maj. General George G. Meade (Ulysses S. Grant was busy fighting somewhere else). The two armies touched by chance at Gettysburg on June 30th. The main battle started on July 1st, when the South attacked the North. The North was outnumbered, and was overpowered and pushed back to a place that’s called Cemetery Hill. There is a National Cemetery there now, and that’s where Abe Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address. “Four score and seven years ago, our Fathers set forth on this Continent, a new nation…” But that doesn’t happen till later that year, November 19, 1863 when they finished burying the dead and were dedicating the cemetery.
Back to the battle! On the second day of fighting at Gettysburg, there were quite a few battles. One of the battles involved a fellow named Sickles, a Northern leader who was politically appointed and had no battlefield training. Sickles moved his troops without orders from Meade and left a huge gap in the Union line. Day two didn’t end any better for the Union than day one had. On day three though, Lee’s artillery let loose a two hour bombardment of the Union lines. Both sides had cannons at the time that could fire accurately at a distance of two miles. His plan was to finish them off the Union after 2 successful days of fighting. Lee (or an underling) then sent 12,000 confederate soldiers marching across an open field toward the hill where Meade and his army were. This was known as Pickett’s Charge and didn’t go well for the Confederacy. More than 5,000 soldiers became casualties in one hour. The Confederate army was overwhelmed and had to retreat to Virginia. The battle was over. Meade was criticized later for not pursuing Lee’s troops, but he is remembered as the man who won the Battle of Gettysburg. Gettysburg is called the “High Water Mark” of the Civil War because it is the northern-most battle of the war.
Whew! Probably more than you wanted to know! We hired a private tour guide at the National Park visitor center. We all hopped in our jeep and he toured us all over, explaining the battle along the way. It was a great way to get a feel for the battle. There are a few buildings with cannon damage that are still standing. I’ll post a picture of a barn with a hole in it. There are monuments everywhere. The guide said that there are between 1,300 and 1,400 monuments in the park. We even happened upon a marker for a soldier from Michigan named Howe! I may have to post this from Seattle as I will be flying home in the morning. Gene is staying to explore Washington DC and promises to keep posting. I’ll see some of you in a few days!