Gettysburg - 3 days in July, 1863

The fighting at Gettysburg is history. On these peaceful Pennsylvania fields, more men fell than in any other battle fought in North America before or since; 51,000 dead, wounded or missing. Many of the Union soldiers who died here are buried in the Soldiers' National Cemetery where Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address.
Much has been written about the Battle of Gettysburg, the greatest battle of the Civil War. There are many treasured artifacts collected in museums here and across the country.  But the most moving and tangible evidence of those 3 days in July is the battlefield itself.  We spent 3 days exploring all we could of the area and the opportunity to think on and try to understand what happened here.

It all started with the  rental car on Friday. The guy from the rental company who came to pick us up was so knowledgeable about the area; he suggested places to go and see, practically mapping out the 3 days for us. We followed his advice.

Our first stop was the Gettysburg National Military Park Visitor Centre and Museum where we watched a film - 'We are Met on a Great Battlefield'  narrated by Morgan Freeman; then a Cyclorama - 'The Battle of Gettysburg' and visited the Gettysburg museum of the Civil War which places the campaign and the battle into the larger context of the war.  We were there for 4 hours.
The next day we went to the Battlefield. What a day! We followed the auto trail - a 24 mile self guided tour.

We saw living history demonstrations - 146th Pennsylvania Infantry and Purcells Artillery Battery - informative period reenactors giving insights into aspects of the war. There are thousands of reenactors throughout the country who give up their time and money to study and then portray the period. They travel across country at their own expense, purchase their uniform, even their ammunition.  In 2013 on the 150th anniversary of the battle, the Battle of Gettysburg will be replayed by thousands of Civil War reenactors.

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address was delivered on 19 November 1863 at the dedication ceremonies for the new Soldiers' National Cemetery. His brief speech of just 272 words, which took 2 minutes to deliver and is considered a masterpiece of the English language, transformed Gettysburg from a scene of carnage into a symbol giving meaning to the sacrifices of the dead and  inspiration to the living. He declared that the war would lead to a 'new birth of freedom' for the nation.