Day 3 - Gettysburg Battlefield!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

From Daniel, the verse of the day: “…for out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks…” Mt. 12:33 He picked this verse because it applies to everyday life and it we have to apply it because we aren’t good with it. He was also thinking about what Robert E. Lee said to us (in person) he had no grudge against the Union.

After a good night sleep, we were up and at ‘em. We decided to walk to our car rental spot – it was just 10 minutes. Would you believe me if I said that we met, along the way, a real-live Montana Cowboy with his horse grazing along L Street in downtown D.C.? Well, we sure did, and we have pictures to prove it. As a disabled Veteran, who couldn’t get an audience with his own Governor, he was on a trek from Stevensville, MT to have someone to listen to his story and the story of those like him who are not getting the benefits that he thought he deserved. It is true, and he had been sleeping outside with his horse until that time came. See what we would have missed had it not been for a nice walk? It was a breeze to find our car rental place and Dennis did a magnificent job maneuvering out of the city as we made our way to Gettysburg, PA! Along the way we saw the architecture change as we approached Georgetown, crossed the Potomac River and entered the lush terrain of the George Washington Memorial Parkway. Many of the homes are beautiful old brick, very different than in Spokane. It didn’t take too long to get to Pennsylvania. We were thrilled to be in yet another state, and document it as well. Daniel was the first to be in Pennsylvania. As a family, we even stood in two different states at the same time. Dennis and I took a photo of us at the Pennsylvania State sign stating "Scranton or Bust!" The air was very thick and humid as we arrived, but most of the day was spent inside a great museum. It started out with a movie that set the context of the battle of Gettysburg within the larger scope of the Civil War. It was excellent. One quote that I remember by Frederick Douglas, “What to the slave, is the 4th of July…” Following the movie we were ushered into a “Cyclorama.” This was a 42 ft high, 377 ft around painting by Philippoteaux. The way it was created made it look 3 dimensional. There was a short presentation where they lit up particular parts of the painting and described different portions of the battle. It was amazing. Next was a quick lunch and then on to the museum portion of the park. The first section was the introduction of the battle, a description of the three day battle, then the aftermath. Did you know there were up to 90,000 men fighting on one side at a time? We was curious how they communicated and we were shown in a hands on display how they paired a combination of the numbers 1 and 2 with the alphabet and then using a flag tapping either right or left they communicated from higher ground to the troops. Of course there was a heavy emphasis on Abraham Lincoln throughout the exhibits. It is interesting how at the end of the Gettysburg Address he stated that his words would not long be remembered…how wrong he was! One of the highlights for me was turning around and seeing, it’s true, Robert E. Lee and his wife Mary in the flesh! We were the first to have an audience with them. They spent a few minutes with us answering questions, and then, it was almost as if they vanished! I really enjoyed the quotes that were posted along the way. Here’s another from Frederick Douglas, “I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong…” We spent some time in the gift shop, then on to an audio/car tour of the entire battlefield. It is 25 square miles of monuments that numerous states have erected in honor of their brave brigades who fought in the Gettysburg battle. Did you know that at one point, 25% of those fighting were from North Carolina? We did find scripture today but unfortunately it was misused to create a framework for hatred: A copy of a book by Rev. Fred Ross called “Slavery is ordained by God” and quoted Romans 13:1 which states “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” I really don’t think that God intended this verse to be used to justify slavery. Here are a few highlights from the rest of the crew:

Daddy: Enjoyed seeing the actual battlefield, Pickett’s Charge and Little Round Top. He is also amazed by the amount and scope of history at his fingertips. He had about a 20 minute conversation with a clerk in the gift shop. He is clearly in his element.
Erin: Loved most the cyclorama of the battle.
Campbell: When pressed for a favorite, responded, “I kinda liked all of it”
Daniel: Liked the movie at the beginning of our tour and all of the weapons used in battle. He and Campbell both selected replica weapons for souvenirs.

We ended up having dinner in Gettysburg proper at Ruby Tuesday's. It was a humerous dinner because we kept spilling our drinks. Daniel especially loved the dinner because he had Tilipia for the first time and Campbell had the steak and lobster special. We enjoyed our waitress who went to school in Scranton...of course we had questions! Then we headed back to the city. Again, Dennis did an excellent job navigating, even when there was a bridge closure…he is so saavy! We are thankful again for another blessed day learning about the fascinating history of our country!

Tomorrow we will go further back in U.S. history with our visits to Jamestown and Colonial Williamsburg. Plus Dennis will include his top ten experiences in Washington D.C. prior to our arrival.