I wrote this post a few days ago, as I prepped for our trip. (I find that going places is much more meaningful if I actually know something about it before I show up. You may be surprised, but I don't seem to get much time to read the plaques and programs. :) When I had Sam edit it he didn't seem to get why I explained the whole Civil War and the importance of Gettysburg. "Everyone knows all this, Janae."
Um, Sam, I think you overestimate the human race. Just because you know it, does not mean everyone else does. Anyway, the main readership of my blog are stay-at-home moms whose brains are slowly disintegrating. Just like mine. Not that that is a bad thing! Okay, so it is true that Harvard came out with a study a few years ago that showed that although IQs are stable throughout life, they actually fluctuate within a certain range, and that women hit their lowest IQ point during the period that they stay at home with kids. But I'm okay with that. To everything there is a season right? I just passed my 'Intelligent' season a decade or so ago. Right now I am in 'Survival' season. Next up: 'Retirement'.
We took this picture because right before we went home when we realized we hadn't taken any pictures of them!
We started the day by forking out $16 just to see a 22-minute movie narrated by Morgan Freeman. (Everything else was free, so we figured what the heck.) It ended up being worth every penny! I bawled through half of it and took a good 15 minutes after it ended to actually calm down. Then we walked through the brand new Civil War Museum - which Samuel and I voted to be hands down the BEST museum either of us have ever been to. For real. It was amazing! After a picnic lunch, we hopped in the car and did an Auto Tour of Gettysburg. There is a whole designated trail that guides you through the Battle of Gettysburg and ends where Lincoln gave his address. That was really neat - and perfect for the kids because they got to take long naps! The whole family agreed: this was our favorite trip yet. Now on to the historical part:
An understanding of Gettysburg starts with the Civil War. During the presidential elections in 1860, the Republican party campaigned against expanding slavery beyond the states where it already existed. When the Republican candidate, Abraham Lincoln, won, seven states seceded from the Union (four more joined them later on). On April 12, 1861, Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina. Lincoln responded by calling for a volunteer army from each state, and the Civil War began. In September 1862, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which made ending slavery a war goal.
75th Anniversary, where both Union and Confederate soldiers gathered together.
The turning point of the Civil War was the Battle of Gettysburg. Confederate General Robert E. Lee invaded the North, hoping to reach as far as Philadelphia, but was repelled as he reached the city of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. On July 1, 1863, more than 165,000 soldiers converged, and the battle began. By July 2nd most of both armies had assembled, and on July 3rd the Union armies resisted the Confederates' last push (Pickett's Charge) and won the battle. The Battle of Gettysburg would become the bloodiest battle of the Civil War, with more than 51,000 casualties.
Despite the success at Gettysburg, the mounting casualties led to anti-war and anti-Lincoln sentiments in the North. When President Lincoln was invited to dedicate the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg on November 19, 1863, he used the opportunity to redefine the purpose of the war. Although he was invited almost as an afterthought, was asked only to give "a few appropriate remarks", and followed a 13,607-word discourse by a famed orator, his 10 sentences and 271 words made a lasting impression. Lincoln stated that "the world will little note, nor long remember what we say here", and yet we all know that:
"Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal... [and] That we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
13 comments:
Hello!
In Portugal we have the same, every one nows abut the batlles that were betwin Spain and Portugal, but the important details no one remembres. Luckly we have books taht marks taht importante things for us to remember, like this;
The first king of Portugal D.Afonso Henriques, have to batlle agins is mother because she was married with a spanish king.
But the story that i like moste is D. Pedro and Ines de Castro, they were very much inloved, buy is father was convincedc she was a spy from Spain and have her killed in front of her children. Soking. But is one of the graets love storys taht we have.
So i´m with you history is importante to remember
Okay, my turn to be jealous of you! I've always wanted to go to Gettysburg. I LOVED learning all about the civil war. The Gettysburg Address was the first big thing I ever memorized. I still remember most of it. (My mom claims that with each pregnancy brain cells are taken from you and go into the Baby's brain...I believe it.) :o) Someday I WILL go there! But until then I am living vicariously through you.
That is so cool that you travel a lot. We regret everything that we did not see when we were out east. Take advantage of it! BTW, I have been the Laurel Advisor in YW for a year now if you need any advice. I don't know how much help I'll be, but I'll try.
I just passed my 'Intelligent' season a decade or so ago. Right now I am in 'Survival' season. Next up: 'Retirement'.
1. you CRACK me up.
2. I also loved that you cried during the Morgan Freeman film.
3. The kids look really cute in that first picture!
4. Thanks for the bit o'history!
i always looking forward to traveling vicariously through your posts! what great memories!
Thanks for boosting my intelligence today :) Tell Samuel I love your intellectual posts and they are well worth the effort!
Very cool pictures as well. I'd love to go on an American History tour someday!
Reminded me again of the book I read about Gettysburg..."Killer Angels" by Michael Shaara, I think. I bet you would really enjoy it, especially cause you were just there. Not that you would have time to read right now. :)
Yay for your trip to Gettysburg! I'm glad you got to go there. I went there for the 135th Anniversary Civil War reenactment. (Did you know I used to be a Civil War reenactor??) Anyway, it was awesome! 35,000+ reenactors there. They were only short by a few hundred reenactors to the actual number of soldiers that fought. Did you see any ghosts? ;-) I'm glad you enjoyed your time there and I'm jealous about the new Civil War museum!
What a neat experience! Thanks for sharing.
Yes, Janae, you are right. I for one certainly need those refreshers and facts about history. I've never been one to remember historical facts. I'll be re-learning it all when Rylan learns it in school!
And can I just say how much I love your excursion posts? You guys are awesome!
Very fun post Janae. Luckily I'm not a stay-at-home mom ... it would be depressing to drop from a double digit IQ to the single digits. Asialene and I have been to a lot of these historical sites out East, but we've never been to Gettysburg. Now it's on the top of my list! 640k soldier deaths?! Crazy! It's amazing to think how different our country would be if we hadn't had the civil war.
Thanks for the history lessons. I appreciate it since I too am going through my I'm stupid phase. I don't feel like we had that busy of a summer, but I do think you have been busy on your weekend trips. That totally sounds like something we would like to do someday. James would love to live in the East for a few years at some point.
I like the history review. There is no way I still have all that information in my head and I am only on child #1!
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