Gettysburg Battlefields

Thursday morning was again sunny so we decided to return to Gettysburg and visit the battle fields.
Followed the road signs this time instead of Gypsy so made it there without any detours.
Stopped in the town itself to walk around a little. Neat to see all the buildings that were standing during days of the battle. If walls could talk….This building was built in 1863 it is right next door to the David Wills House. That is where Lincoln stayed overnight while in Gettysburg.

There is a bronze statue of him outside of the house. He was a tall man!

The Gettysburg Hotel was also open then.

I love the buildings.

Took lots of pictures but will spare you them. This one is a church that is still being used. During the war it was used as a hospital.

A dress for sale in one of the downtown shops. They specialize in period clothing.

From downtown we followed the map we had bought the other day and drove around the battlefield. “The three days of combat in the Gettysburg area left 51,000 casualties: 10,000 killed, 30,000 wounded and 10,000 missing or captured. 170,000 soldiers had fired 569 tons of metal artillery rounds and 7 million small arms cartridges.” This from a booklet I picked up about the battle. Wonder who figured out all that stuff.
There are hundreds of monuments along the roads. Each depicting a battle or a group of men – both North and South. Some are very plain small concrete pillars with bronze plaques. Others are elaborate statues.
One of the first ones we parked and walked up to was the Eternal Peace Light Memorial.

It was dedicated by President Franklin Roosevelt in July 1938. 1800 Civil War veterans attended the ceremony. Made me stop and think – The Civil War didn’t happen so terribly long ago. Makes history seem more relevant.
A main battle of the first day – July 1 – took place around this hill. Each stop on the driving tour has information about what happened there.

One unusual one was to the 90th Pennsylvania. It is shaped like a tree and has military equipment and a robin’s nest. The story about it is – As this area was torn by artillery fire an occupied robin’s nest was found in a shattered tree. Risking harm, a soldier grabbed the nest, climbed back up the tree and placed it on a branch.

Looking out over the peaceful farmland now it is hard to believe the carnage that took place there. In places sections of the stone walls the soldiers built still remain.

Off in the distance from the Peace Memorial we could see a barn that still stands in the same place. This is what they saw. The barn was also used as a hospital before it was all over.

A couple of the monuments will be hard to forget. The Virginia Memorial honors Robert E Lee and the men who served under him. The figures at the base represent men who joined the army from all walks of life.

Another was a fallen figure holding a battle flag. His toes come through his torn boots.

I took pictures of many, many more but……
It was so eerie walking around that area. There were a lot of people there but no noise. Everyone was speaking quietly. Cannot imagine what it must have been like during the battle.

Really glad we went back – enjoyed the experience. Makes me realize how much of this country’s history I’ve forgotten. Shame on me.