Gettysburg

Took off early today for Gettysburg. Beautiful country, green, wooded, hilly. Arrived in the area to have a certified park tour guide lead us to all the different areas of the battlefield, explaining the strategies of winning the battle. The battle lasted 3 days and killed over 6,000 soldiers. It is hard to conceive of that today with all of our automation.......we can kill thousands of people with a single missile. They did it with muskets and bayonets. This was face to face combat.........not just a dot on a map somewhere that we drop something on. It was family against family, neighbor against neighbor. Hard to comprehend.

We received detailed information about President Lincoln. Including that his entire "Gettysburg Address" was all of two minutes long. But he said more in those two minutes than others said in hours of oratory. This war was as much about economics as it was about slavery. Nothing is ever simple.

From there we had lunch at a place built in the 1700s. I am fascinated with old buildings, and this was a treasure. The mere thought of all the people who have touched that doorsill or walked those floors is more than I can wrap my head around. And most of our guides wore period costumes to enhance the experience. The Dobbins Tavern was also part of the underground railroad, and we experienced just how cramped those hiding places were.

After lunch we visited the National Cemetary. All the soldiers are buried in a circle to indicate that no one was more important than another. Infantry or leaders, all received the same burial.

Most of the markers are a simple square

(maybe a foot square) stone marked with a number as so many were unknown.

Rows upon rows of numbered markers line the area. Because they had no way to identify the soldiers, they simply gave them a number. This person was number 825. It's impossible to comprehend the carnage that took place on just this one battlefield. It gave me a deeper appreciation of our history.

The place was filled with statues and

markers.........so much to see and remember.

And the place was also filled with tourists, such as I, but also people from around the world. They seem much more interested in our history that we are.

I wonder if we truly studied the past, we would have more insight into our future.

Tomorrow, we head to Philadelphia.