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| Mary with Union Soldiers |
We left Cleveland the next morning early since we would have a long way to drive to get to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The weather was lovely and although we went on a toll road, the initial drive went smoothly. We did start to see a great many trucks riding on the three lane road, and we felt like a small fish among the leviathans of the highway as we made our way east. At times the toll road decreased into two lanes and since we were riding in the slow lane, we were constantly being passed by the huge monsters sucking at us as they barreled by. John slowed even more when there was nothing but the railing on the right. He didn't want poor Moby Dick scratched on top of having to take on this awful toll road. I could see beads of sweat forming on John's brow as he hunched over the steering wheel flinching each time a Peterbuilt pressed by. The road sign said, "Keep Alert!" Well, that was an understatement! He had taken a 5 Hour Energy Drink and hour ago and his eyes were as wide as a deer's in the headlights.
We stayed on toll road 76 as we passed into Pennsylvania and now we saw even more trucks. TRUCKS, TRUCKS, TRUCKS ... I could imagine him seeing these in his sleep tonight. This was certainly truck alley. We were literally engulfed in a sea of trucks all heading east. As we neared Pittsburgh we saw a fewer number as they started to leave the toll road and for a time we got a breather and enjoyed sitting back in our seats. I found another 5 Hour Energy Drink and gave it to John along with some fig newtons. He was breathing easier no, and as we got to the next toll booth, he relaxed and ate a few more fig newtons.
To change the mood I went back to playing Mountain Music which was bit more relaxing than Rock and Roll. We soon got off the turnpike and got on highway 30. It was so pleasant to be off the toll road and on to this lovely two lane, tree lined road. We were settling in listening to Mountain Music and eating fig newtons. Then we started to climb higher and higher and make quick turns going down into steep valleys. John was alert again using the first and second gears going down the steep hills in order to save the breaks. We were navigating the Allegheny Mountains as if they were huge waves in a turbulent sea. Up and down, up and down the rest of the afternoon. Finally we crossed the Appalachian Trail and came down into the town of Gettysburg.
We knew that the Koa where we had made plans to stay for two nights was near the town but we were not sure where. So we texed the address in to the Garmin Girl and let her lead us to the sight. We would have never made it without our GPS system as the roads in this area were not straight and sometimes changed names at the crossings. We had to put all our trust in the system and we were too tired to search for a map. Soon after some tricky switchbacks we saw the entrance of the Koa and we drove right in.
The Pool in front of the Koa store was full of kids mostly teen-agers. We went in and found that our tent sight was near the cabins and close to the multi-use building and a short walk to the bathroom and showers and Pool. We went in and set up our sight signed up for dinner and took our showers. That evening there was to be a film on Gettysburg and its part in the Civil War. We were eager to see it as we planned to go to the Gettysburg National Park the next day. The DVD was set up in the Multi-use building and we had our dinners there while we watched the show. The film explained about the conflict between the North and South and the arguments that preempted the war. Then it went on to explain the deciding factors for the start of the war and the part the Gettysburg played in turning the tide of the war including the Gettysburg address given by Lincoln. At the end we were pretty satisfied both in body and mind. So we went to snuggle into our sleeping bags watching the lightning bugs float above our heads.
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| A Monument for the Cavalry |
The next morning we got up and got ready to go on our expedition to Gettysburg National Park. We rented a CD that went along with the signs all over the park and told you what happened at each sight. We were excited because it was like a scavenger hunt. The first place we were told to go was to the visitor center. We entered and were ushered into an auditorium where the film about Gettysburg was to be shown. It was produced by the History Channel and the sequence of events were in greater detail than the DVD we had seen the night before.
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| Napoleon Cannon |
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| Little Round Top |
On the first day July 1863 the armies collide just west of Gettysburg. Confederates pushed the Union Army to a low hill called Cemetery Ridge. On day two the Union soldiers hold off attacks on the left flank at Devil's Den and Little Round Top, Wheat Field and Peach Orchard, and on the right a full scale attack came at Culp's Hill an Cemetery Hill. On the third day fighting continued on Culp's Hill and the Cavalry battles raged east and west. Lee attacked the middle of the Union army with Pickett's Charge. The Confederates had to cross a mile of farm land. 12,000 men charged the Union soldiers as they were mowed down by artillery fire and cannons from above. Around 51,000 soldiers died in those three days. The next day Lee's army retreats back to Virginia leaving the dead on the field for the residents of Gettysburg to bury. The Union army buried their own before they followed the Confederates toward the Potomac River. Four months later Abe Lincoln came to dedicate the cemetery where those that had fallen were buried. In his address he emphasized that the country now will be forever one "of the people, for the people, by the people, shall not parish from the earth."
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| Looking down from Big Round Top |
No one fell asleep through this presentation as the cannons were booming and there was yelling and gunfire everywhere. When it was over there was a stillness in the hall and then everyone gave a resounding applause. We all slowly got up and were ushered to another hall up stars. We walked up to the Cyclorama Painting which was the whole three day battle painted in a circular wall. Everyone stood and watched different parts of it as the story was told again with loud sound effects as if you were right in the middle of the war and should be flinching bullets with surround sound. The painting was full of detail of the war. In one area was the medic tent where amputations took place. That was the only way they could save a person's life. A pile of arms and legs was seen in all its gore next to the tent. The painting was done by the French artist, Paul Philippoteaux he painted in 1883. It was lost and rediscovered and showed in different cities and finally a huge restoration project with many artists took place in 2008 and now its permanently displayed at the Visitor Center.
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| Monument to the Soldiers |
We then were ushered into the museum where we walked around learning about the Civil War. The first section talked about slavery and all the arguments surrounding the freedom of slaves and how that would change the economy of the South. It showed an auction for slaves and how much each one was worth. Then we saw how the soldiers lived in little tents and played dominoes as a past time. The generals lived in large tent and had a table and chair where they had their maps and made battle plans. There was a quiz box of different bugle tunes each meaning getting up in the morning, call for food, going to bed, etc. Finally, there were samples of the woolen uniforms worn by the soldiers. It was difficult to imagine how they were able to wear such hot clothing, carry all their gear, and rifle and walk miles and miles in humid hot weather. There must always be a better way to settle differences without such loss of life for so many young men.
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| Fish Hook |
We couldn't believe that the morning had passed. We went to the restaurant and had lunch before we planned to go on our "scavenger" hunt. After lunch we walked back to our car and got out our CD. We followed her directions that lead to the number 1 sign. It was near the memorial for General Reynolds and continued to follow the sign each with a bit of commentary on the war. Mary sites had a memorial for the men from each state that died in the battlefield. We stopped where all the major battles took place around the Fish Hook. Then we climbed up to Little Round Top and Big Round Top. It was easy to see having high ground in a battle could be an advantage as we looked down at the Fish Hook from the top. We then followed the tree lined lane to see the cannons. The light blue ones were called Napoleons because they were the same as those use by the French Emperor. We finally approached the high scaffold from which we could see Eisenhower's Ranch. He planted a pine tree for every state and these boarders the lane that let to his home. Eisenhower was a great student of the battle and came here often before retiring to Gettysburg.
By the time the shadows were getting longer, we were feeling a bit of fatigue. We finished our CD and headed into town looking for Chinese Food. We talked to our server and told him where we spent our day. He asked us if we had seen any ghosts. We said no, and had to giggle. But he was serious. He dared us to spend the night in a tent in the Peach Orchard. He said that ghost had been seen wandering around at night. Well, that sounded pretty spooky and we hoped none of them followed us home to our tent, the fire flies were spooky enough!
That night we went to bed thinking about all that we had seen, and we couldn't imagine how men could fight each other for a cause that was so important they were willing to give of their lives. In some cases they might even have been brothers from the same family fighting on opposite side. Finally, we drifted off to sleep only to be waked by a symphony of crickets. We eventually had to put ear plugs in our ears to blot out the crickets only to dream of cannons booming in our dreams.
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| Ready, Aim, FIRE! |
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