Hangin' with Abe

On Sunday morning, we drove down to Gettysburg. We turned off the freeway on Hanover Road and passed some activity in this field. We stopped to have a gander and discovered that a live re-enactment was to take place later in the day, so we said thank-you-very-much-we-will-be-back and carried on our way.

We drove to the Visitor Center, which was overrun with hordes of Boy Scouts, so we checked out the Park Ranger tour information and left, deciding that we would return the next day. We walked around the town a little bit and then went back to the re-enactment. 

Jeff and this Confederate wannabe had a great political conversation, complaining about Obama and his minions. And I got to hear the other side of the Civil War debate. Which reminded me that things are rarely simple and that there are often valid points on both sides of an argument.

The re-enactment of the skirmish was kind of lame.

Can I say that?

This was the site of a field hospital, so there were lots of very gory mannequins lying around, and piles of limbs and stuff.

And then they practised firing their muskets and everyone stood around and watched.

We decided to take the walking tour of the town.

We visited all 42 points of interest on the walking tour.

Yes, we did.

We said Hello to our friend, Mr. Lincoln.

And proceeded to walk.

And walk.

And walk.

Here are some photos of old houses, many of which stood during the battle of Gettysburg.

We learned about some of the individuals who lived in the town of Gettysburg at the time of the battle, such as Tillie Pierce, fifteen, who wrote an account of her experiences, and Jennie Wade, twenty years old, who was baking bread at her sister's house when she was hit by a bullet that penetrated two wooden doors before it killed her, making her the only confirmed civilian casualty of the battle.

Many of the houses and other buildings still bear the marks of battle.

Someone obviously has a sense of humour. 

Let's hope this sign at a closed gas station never becomes reality!

We stopped by the Gettysburg National Cemetery for a couple of ranger talks, because you know they are my favourite thing to do. The ranger gave an impassioned recital of the events leading up to Lincoln's speech at the cemetery, which was very enlightening for me, as I was fuzzy on the facts.

Imagine our surprise when the one soldier he told us about (to illustrate a typical soldier who died here) was an Osborne. No relation, that we know of. 

We went directly to a second talk across the parking lot, where we heard many more battle stories. We were even more surprised when one of the first people mentioned in the presentation was Thomas Osborne, Jeff's ancestor.

Cool.

I got very tired of battle stories and wandered around taking lots of photos, many of which illustrated the first post in this series, so I won't subject you to more.

We finished up the walking tour as it was getting dark, neatly avoiding solicitations to join a ghost tour. 

And I refused to talk about battlefields any more. 

Until tomorrow.

Are you ready for a history lesson? Or two?

Our flight to Harrisburg, PA, via O'Hare, was blessedly uneventful. 

By the way, I am designating O'Hare as the coolest airport, due to the traveling neon rainbow colours that flicker down the paths of the people-movers. 

I wanted to stand and watch them, but Jeff said, No.

We were driving from Harrisburg down to Annie's house near Fayetteville, NC, so rented our car from Costco, who have The Best rates for this kind of thing. Our car was a cute little Kia Soul, which Jeff despised immediately but had to concur (after a while) that it was a pretty good drive.

Our first stop was  QVC, because he had forgotten his contact lens solution.

Our next stop was for dinner at Panera Bread. Jeff was hungry, and you don't mess with the man when he's hungry.

Oh my.

I'm not one for eating out very much (my Dad always used to say, after taking us out to dinner, "Else, let's just buy a nice chicken and eat at home next time," and I am apt to think the same thing) but I may have discovered my nemesis in the restaurant business. I looked everywhere we went for another Panera, but never found one. 

Then, a quick drive down to Dillsburg to our airbnb booking. 

I am clearly redeemed for my bad choices on Kaua'i, as this place was so quaint we almost died from quaintness.

This is the old mill that was renovated by Art and Donna, the owners of about twenty years.

The log house that was moved onto the property and painstakingly re-assembled by Art and Donna.

Some people have so much talent and energy I can hardly comprehend it.

The room was over-sized and included a sitting area and a kitchen. The bed was comfortable, the bathroom charming and spotless, in fact the whole place was immaculate and authentically decorated. The fridge was stocked with breakfast vittles and Donna had made some sweet breads, which were sitting on the counter, waiting to be devoured. 

If you've never tried airbnb, I highly recommend it. We paid $130 for two nights in a setting that was idyllic and well away from the hustle and bustle of the city, yet we were only about twenty minutes away from Gettysburg, our destination. Clear Springs was once a thriving community centred around the mill, but is now just a few houses on a quiet road that sits just off the main highway.

I spent considerable time attempting to get some artistic shots of the property, which included the mill, log house, some sheep, and a sawmill. 

Here's a smattering of the purported artistic photos.

\

Are you still there, or did you die from the quaintness?
More to come, but I am going to keep these posts short, for your sanity and mine.

Echoes of war

In honour of the sesquicentennial of the Gettysburg Address, and also of our visit to that famous site in this auspicious year, I want to tell you about a movement that is afoot to encourage people of all ages to memorize, study, and apply the 272 words that were spoken by Abraham Lincoln on November 19th, 1863. You can go here to read more about it.

Meanwhile, here it is, complete with appropriate photos taken one day before the government shutdown.

If that's not ironic, I don't know what is.

 

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.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.

We are met on a great battle-field of that war.

We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live.

It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate - we can not consecrate - we can not hallow - this ground.

The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.

The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.

It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.

It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -

 that from these honored dead we take take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion -

 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.

Interestingly, Lincoln was not the big draw for the crowd at the cemetery dedication; it was Edward Everett, one of the time's great orators. He spoke for two hours, recalling other civil wars from the history books, and was much lauded. Lincoln himself thought that his words would be of "little note, nor long remembered", yet today, his two-minute speech lives on as one of the greatest speeches of his career.

And I challenge you to memorize it by the end of October. 

Feel free to leave me a comment when you complete the challenge.