060520 - GETTYSBURG, PA
5/20/2006
Gettysburg, PA
When you travel north on the east coast, it can seem like a lot of territory with very few miles.
As we exited North Carolina, thru Virginia, west Virginia, by Washington D.C., thru Maryland to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Sounds like an exhaustive journey but in reality they are small states and quickly traversed.
Having watched the history channel for many years, I felt that I was quite knowledgeable about the Civil War and it's various battles and so I had mixed feeling about going to Gettysburg. I had the same feeling when I planned a previous trip to Mount Rushmore.
I discovered that there is a tremendous difference between knowledge and experience.
For all the books and movies and documentaries that I was exposed to thru all of the various mediums, the only one that really counts is being there. The pastures and fields were clean and well kept, the fences mended and the roads paved. The only signs of what had happened on these grounds over 200 years ago were the stories told by the battle monuments, grave markers, militate pieces, and statues that illustrated the and pointed to the bloodiest encounters our country's history had ever displayed.
We opted for a live tour guide vs. a recorded one, and we were not disappointed. He was a young man, a native, and had a real flair for describing the battles, the military strategies, and the personalities of the soldiers and their commanders in the heat of battle. He made the events seem to come alive as he spoke and waved his hands and pointed here and there to indicate the action and movements of troops and artillery that created planned havoc across the country side.
Realizing that this area was a small portion of the historic event that both split and re-united our country in it’s infancy and made it stronger for the experience.
There was much more we could have visited and seen in the town and surrounding area but walking is becoming more challenging and so we settled for the tour and went back to the Beast to rest, but very happy for the opportunity.
Gettysburg, PA
When you travel north on the east coast, it can seem like a lot of territory with very few miles.
As we exited North Carolina, thru Virginia, west Virginia, by Washington D.C., thru Maryland to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Sounds like an exhaustive journey but in reality they are small states and quickly traversed.
Having watched the history channel for many years, I felt that I was quite knowledgeable about the Civil War and it's various battles and so I had mixed feeling about going to Gettysburg. I had the same feeling when I planned a previous trip to Mount Rushmore.
I discovered that there is a tremendous difference between knowledge and experience.
For all the books and movies and documentaries that I was exposed to thru all of the various mediums, the only one that really counts is being there. The pastures and fields were clean and well kept, the fences mended and the roads paved. The only signs of what had happened on these grounds over 200 years ago were the stories told by the battle monuments, grave markers, militate pieces, and statues that illustrated the and pointed to the bloodiest encounters our country's history had ever displayed.
We opted for a live tour guide vs. a recorded one, and we were not disappointed. He was a young man, a native, and had a real flair for describing the battles, the military strategies, and the personalities of the soldiers and their commanders in the heat of battle. He made the events seem to come alive as he spoke and waved his hands and pointed here and there to indicate the action and movements of troops and artillery that created planned havoc across the country side.
Realizing that this area was a small portion of the historic event that both split and re-united our country in it’s infancy and made it stronger for the experience.
There was much more we could have visited and seen in the town and surrounding area but walking is becoming more challenging and so we settled for the tour and went back to the Beast to rest, but very happy for the opportunity.
posted by The Highway Guys @ 9:42 AM
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