Gettysburg

We drove to Philadelphia by way of Gettysburg. It's not exactly a straight shot, but Pennsylvania is a lovely state; I wish that we would have had more time to spend there.

For the record, I love the story of Abraham Lincoln. I always cry at the Lincoln Memorial, at Ford's Theater, at readings of the Gettysburg Address and when our choir sings The Last Full Measure of Devotion. I have such respect for his character under incredibly difficult circumstance. This past spring there was an amazing television series on the History Channel called, America, the Story of Us. Did you see it? That program singlehandedly made it possible for me to ride a spin bike for over an hour. I couldn't look away--it was incredibly powerful! The series had a full section devoted to the Civil War. People were so angry with Lincoln for his stand against slavery--ultimately, he paid for it with his life. It was such a tragic loss.

Lincoln was asked to give an address at the fields of Gettysburg. He prepared his statement in Washington before he left, but when he arrived at the hotel near Gettysburg he felt like he needed to change his prepared statement. What he wrote, now known as the Gettysburg Address was what he felt inspired to say. During the ceremony, the governor of PA spoke to the crowd for two hours! Lincoln stood before the crowd (the guest of honor) and gave his remarks. He only spoke for two minutes. He left feeling like he had disappointed the people. It wasn't until months later that he realized the impression he had made upon those who read his words.

Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth

on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and

dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing

whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so

dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-

field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of

that field as a final resting-place for those who here gave

their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether

fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate…we cannot

consecrate…we cannot hallow…this ground. The brave men,

living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it

far above our poor power to add or detract. The world

will little note nor long remember what we say here, but

it can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the

living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished

work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly

advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the

great task remaining before us…that from these honored

dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which

they gave the last full measure of devotion; that we here

highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain;

that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of

freedom; and that government of the people, by the people,

for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Ahh, doesn't it just give you chills! The Gettysburg museum is incredible. I regret that the kids were too little to understand the significance of what was being seen. I would have liked to have gone through the "quiet" sections of the museum. We spent most of our time exploring the battlefields.

This hill was the Union Army stronghold. They held this ground until the end of the three-day battle. The battle was fought from July 1st to July 3rd. There were approximately 50,000 casualties from this single battle, but it was a turning point for the Union forces.

Poor Lachlan. She is a head-sweater. You've never seen sweat like this on a kid's head. It's like she dunked her head in a bucket of water. She kept telling us that she was "soaking wet!"
Lincoln gave his address in the cemetery. Only Union soldiers were buried here. Confederate soldiers were taken to Virginia (I think). I was also surprised to learn that a number of soldiers from the World Wars were also buried here. The gravestones for the Civil War casualties are flat stones like these. There are also mass graves for soldiers only identified by their state names.