| Gettysburg
N.M.P. Gettysburg, PA |
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Gettysburg is a place of monuments, memorials and graves. It is a vivid reminder of the bravery and dedication of thousands of men, the determination of those that believed in the unity of our country, and the regrettable loss of many, many lives. It was a gloomy, cold day for our self-guided auto tour of the 18 miles of roads. The gray weather made us even more moved by the story that played out here on three horrible days in July of 1863. The chance encounter of the Confederates, led by Robert E. Lee, and the Union Army, led by George G. Meade, turned into the "High Water Mark of the Confederacy," and one of the saddest pages of American history. |
) Harrison
learned how a cannon crew works together. "An officer looks after
two cannons. A noncommissioned officer commands one gun and 7 other men.
Two handle the ammunition, and another carries it to the gun. Four other
men operate the gun: the first loads the cartridge (cannonball, gun powder
and wadding wrapped in flannel), the next rams the cannonball and wadding
down into the barrel, another pierces the packet of gunpowder through a
hole in the barrel and inserts a fuse. The next person puts a removable
site on the barrel and aims. Someone pulls a string attached to the fuse
and fires the cannon, then thumbs the vent while the person who rams cleans
out the barrel." |
The
Causes of the Civil War |
) McMillan
Woods provided some shelter from the fire of thousands of muskets. During
the three days of battle, 7 million musket balls were fired. The hail of
lead was so thick, crops were mown down and livestock killed. Houses and
barns of the 2,400 residents of Gettysburg were hit, and one civilian woman
was killed when a ball entered through her kitchen door, striking her in
the back as she made biscuits. |
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Lincoln
at Gettysburg : The Words That Remade America |
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Amanda: "Visiting Gettysburg made me feel very sad because a lot of men died. Good men fighting against their country and for their country to make it a better place for everyone. Many dads, brothers, uncles and cousins died in the war. I'm glad there are no more slaves, and that our country is united, but I'm glad I didn't live back then." |
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We
thought this would be a short stop, since it was out of chronological
order for our studies (we were only up to the Revolution). But it turned
into a full day of Civil War study and reflection on the sacrifice of
51,000 soldiers.
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If
You Lived at the Time of the Civil War 
The
Blue and the Gray : The Story of the Civil War As Told by Participants
: The Battle of Gettysburg to Appomattox (The Classic History of the
Civil
