Fourth of July - Virginia Style

Gettysburg Battlefield

What's more appropriate on the 4th of July than a visit to a Civil war battlefield...


With over 1400 memorials, statues, cannons, field guns, and state brigade and division battle marker stones it is one of the most conserved battle sites in the world.  Driving up from Leesburg in only an hour we cover the distance it took Lee's Confederate army several days to traverse.  Meanwhile the Union army who had discovered the troop movements of the CSA had started moving major Corps up on a parallel road to the east - keeping themselves between Lee and a possible swing east to Washington DC.

Lee's plan was destroy a bridge over the Susqhuehanna and a railway to the West, split the Union army forces and destroy them.   His goal was to defeat the army while threatening the northern cities and states and hoping that the threat would have them sue for peace.


As it turned out, he had lost touch with his recon Stuart cavalry - stuck on the opposite side of the Union army and unable to warn Lee of the size and location of the Union army.  Lee did not want to fight at Gettysburg, but when the Union army showed up, occupying the higher ground he was forced to commit.  The first day the Confederates made several gains in territory and victories hard fought, but could not reinforce their positions - the Union Army was able to recover them the next day.  Three days of back and forth - and finally a rash move by Lee - Pickett's Charge caused severe losses and the Rebs had to retreat back into Virginia.

Today the Battle Park is full of tourists - overstuffed Americans - unlike the starving, skinny soldiers of either army.  The Rebs hardly had uniforms and few had shoes.  Surviving on a pound of wheat flour for a week (mix with water and boil), these were tough skinny men and boys.

The new Museum Center is quite the introduction to the battle.  A theater, displays of weapons, and a phenomenal bookstore - a small sample here.



So we head back to Virginia along the same route of Lee's army with more to look forward to for this Independence Day.   

Here we are on the 4th July and even the wine gets into the act.  


Fireworks on the Calvert farm with typical American antics - mock baseball game, throwing a football, a game of Bocce ball (my partner Al and I are big winners!!). 

Happy 4th of July!




Comments

  1. Donald DadeyJuly 14, 2021 at 5:42 PM

    Keith,
    Thanks for the update and how historic to be at the site when the battles were actually fought! Yes, Gettysburg, PA was always a site for us to visit and it is quite impressive with it's strategic positions such as the hills Little Round Top and Big Round Top, which served the Union positions well. On a more bizarre note, studies show that in mid July, there are large flocks of birds that still descend upon the battlefield area. Apparently, these birds have been genetically predisposed to the fact that ancestors found this to be a great feeding site in July.
    So glad you guys had such a great trip there and got to spend the holiday with the family.

    ReplyDelete

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