We awoke early to get a head start on the history Gettysburg would have to offer. We were, however, stalled by the Indian owner of our lousy motel, who proceeded to lecture us on his own greatness--how he does everything, fixes everything, himself. Staring at a window with a taped up bullet hole, we were having trouble giving him the attention he probably didn't deserve. Plus his accented English was practically a different language, and his disfigured teeth were rather unpleasant. One thing we were able to catch was his confident proclamation that he knows "all engineering--electrical, mechanical, and chemical." Frank was pleased to hear this.
So back to the main event: Gettysburg. So much history in one place. We weren't sure where to begin, so we drove over to the main visitor center of the Gettysburg National Military Park. There, we each dropped $8 dollars to visit one of the most extensive, amazing exhibits I've ever seen. It was huge, for one, and it covered the entirety of the Civil War period through myriad preserved artifacts--everything from guns to cannons, lice combs to recreations of tent areas. Also included was a special, beautifully rendered room for the Gettysburg Address.
After spending some time in the museum, we decided it was time to roam the actual former battle sites--despite a sudden thunderstorm. The whole battle was fought over such a large area that almost everywhere we drove or walked in this fairly sizeable town, we saw a massive sculpture, monument, or plaque. We mainly only visited the site of Pickett's charge and of Lincoln's delivery of the Address, but overall we had a fantastic, informative experience in Gettysburg.
On a final note, I'm not sure what is more fascinating: the war or our country's fascination with the war. This war, in particular, is not necessarily something to be proud of. Remember it and commemorate those who died, we should; but reenacting and recreating battles, erecting gargantuan statues, glorifying it all, all where real men gave and received vicious, gruesome deaths--it seems wrong. As one Confederate soldier was quoted as saying, "War is a strange scale for measuring men."
So back to the main event: Gettysburg. So much history in one place. We weren't sure where to begin, so we drove over to the main visitor center of the Gettysburg National Military Park. There, we each dropped $8 dollars to visit one of the most extensive, amazing exhibits I've ever seen. It was huge, for one, and it covered the entirety of the Civil War period through myriad preserved artifacts--everything from guns to cannons, lice combs to recreations of tent areas. Also included was a special, beautifully rendered room for the Gettysburg Address.
After spending some time in the museum, we decided it was time to roam the actual former battle sites--despite a sudden thunderstorm. The whole battle was fought over such a large area that almost everywhere we drove or walked in this fairly sizeable town, we saw a massive sculpture, monument, or plaque. We mainly only visited the site of Pickett's charge and of Lincoln's delivery of the Address, but overall we had a fantastic, informative experience in Gettysburg.
On a final note, I'm not sure what is more fascinating: the war or our country's fascination with the war. This war, in particular, is not necessarily something to be proud of. Remember it and commemorate those who died, we should; but reenacting and recreating battles, erecting gargantuan statues, glorifying it all, all where real men gave and received vicious, gruesome deaths--it seems wrong. As one Confederate soldier was quoted as saying, "War is a strange scale for measuring men."
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