History Lesson: Gettysburg, Day 2

Day 2: I drove 45 minutes south near the Maryland border to see the historic site of the Gettysburg Battle of July 1-3, 1863. It was another beautiful but humid day and I am very glad I got there early because by mid-afternoon it was swarming with people.
First I went to Visitor Center to understand a bit more about the details of the battle. The picture you see below is of a painting in an auditorium of the visitor center that created a full circle and depicted the famous Picketts Charge on July 3 and the last real attempt by the Confederates to gain the Union's ground. It failed and the Confederates had to retreat but not before the loss around 50,000 men lost their lives. It is known as the bloodiest battle of the Civil War. It was a bit surreal to see the fields where so many men died fighting for a cause that changed the course of American history. The world would have been a lot different today if the Confederates has won or even if they had one this particular battle. Gettysburg marked a turning point in the war and made way for the Union Army to be victorious.

Cyclorama (circular painting) depicting the Battle of Gettysburg - it is 27 feet high and 359 feet long!

Gettysburg Battlefield - these canons were everywhere on the field.

After the visitor center I took a Park Ranger guided walk up closer to the main battlefield. It was fascinating to hear all the history. He used General Meade's life (picture below) as the framework for his story of the battle. General Meade was promoted to General 2 days before Gettysburg began. He was going up against General Lee from the Confederates, who up to this point was thought to be unbeatable. It was a remarkable story especially as we walked up the ridge where General Meades headquarters for the battle stood and looked out across the fields to where Confederate men were charging towards Union troops. When looking at the fields you could imagine what it must have been like...or at least tried.

General Meade - the Union General during Gettysburg

Picketts Charge - the field where 16,000 Confederate men charged at the ridge where the Union soldiers had higher ground. They ran a mile up to the ridge at 3pm on July 3 in the hot sun just for both of the men to meet their deaths.

Gettysburg Field

After the Ranger talk I took the 26 mile drive to see monuments upon monuments commemorating the loss of American lives on this Battlefield. It was such an amazing piece of history that while extremely tragic it was hard to imagine the world without the sacrifices of these men and the events they set in motion. I feel like everyone should come here to understand the history of our nation and the stories of the men (yes mostly men) who shaped the nation we have today.

Day 3: Philadelphia (back in time to 1776 and the birth of our nation)