Day 33 – Gettysburg Battlefield

Today we spent all day at the Gettysburg National Military Park. In 1863, the future of freedom hinged on the Civil War battle of Gettysburg – the largest, bloodiest battle of the war.

We started with the new Visitor Center. The film was very good, and the Cyclorama was incredible. At first you think you just get to view the brilliant 360° artwork painted in 1884, but then it comes to life through the use of sound, lighting and commentary. I wasn’t expecting to be so impressed!

Then we started our drive around the battlefield. Without our purchased audio-tour, the area mostly looks like pretty farmland sprinkled with hundreds of markers, memorials and cannons. But the tour helps us understand the magnitude of the sacrifices made here. My favorite areas were Devils Den and Little Round Top.












By lunch time, the kids had enlisted as soldiers to fight the battle. They didn’t want to appear as cowards, and they were guaranteed to be heroes. Since they were supposed to be 18 to enlist, they wrote “18” on a piece of paper, stuck it in their shoe, and when asked, replied that they were “over 18”. They were paid $13/month, issued a uniform (dreadfully hot wool, as they were Union soldiers), and carried some basic necessities. Their favorite part was learning how to load and shoot their musket – esp. at their parents. (Are we the enemy?)

Before we left we attended a ranger talk about the care of the wounded men. Though the doctors appeared to be butchers, they were saving lives with amputations. And shockingly, the biggest sickness that claimed the most lives was common diarrhea!

Back at the campground our new soldiers ran around pretending to be in battle, and writing decrees with their new quills, ink, and wax seals.