Our first stop was Gettysburg, PA. My high school history teacher who I recently reconnected with after 20 years, drove 6 hours to give my children and I a guided tour of the battlefield that potentially changed the outcome of the 'War Between the States', or the 'Civil War', or if you are from the deep south, the 'Recent Abomination' or 'War of Northern Aggression'. What a FORTUNATE TREAT to have this expert on civil war history and Gettysburg in particular, give us a guided tour!!
I highly recommend the movie Gettysburg. It is four hours, and we watched it before we went, to really get an idea of what we would be seeing. The film was done on location, it does not get any better than that for a teacher! Even my five year old hung on every scene and could really appreciate Gettysburg while we were there. I was a little worried about her being bored SILLY, but she was quite interested! Prior to Gettysburg, we watched 'Gone with the Wind' to give them that Antebellum feel of the southern way of life and the romanticism that they were fighting to preserve.
We spent four delicious hours there! I think it would be worthwhile to hire a knowledgeable guide. Apparently, you can hire one on site. I felt so lucky that my favorite teacher OF ALL TIME, made the journey for us! Apparently, I was a bit of a history geek in his class in high school, so....
Gettysburg was a three day battle that was important, no...CRITICAL, because essentially, almost by accident, the ENTIRE forces of the Confederate and Union armies descended on this unassumming town. Three days later, the stench was so bad from the dead and dismembered and scavenger birds were circling overhead. The confederates took heavier casualties. I found it interesting that many of the officers on both sides knew each other from West Point or fought beside each other in the Mexican War.
Until then, the Rebel army under Robert E. Lee had won many victories. Some seemingly random miscalculations of both cannons and leadership changed the game entirely. It is said the pride and morale of the south never fully recovered from the defeat of Pickett's Charge. The movie masterfully shows the difficult decisions made by the leadership on both sides. It shows Lee's big gamble that led to defeat, but would have likely changed the outcome of the war if victorious. Although the film would have us do so, second guessing his thought process does not acknowledge his great POTENTIAL for victory.
My children and I walked Pickett's charge and scaled the 'Damn Yankee' fence that apparently was placed so solid into the ground that the charging rebel soldiers had the darndest time scaling it while under fire. They expected the first wave to be able to dismantle it but it was too difficult so the soldiers would hand their guns to the soldiers behind them and climb over while cannons and light and heavy artillery fired upon them.
If you go be sure to research the 20th Maine and what they did at Little Round Top. Kids also love to climb around Devil's Den rocky area. Ciao!
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