Battlefield diary

…..or more accurately, battlefield tour diary. The family and I have just returned from a long weekend family trip to Gettysburg and I thought that I would share my experience with anyone who is interested.

  April 16th, 2011: Unlike the first three days of July in Gettysburg in 1863, it was in the forties, very windy and raw, with a steady rain heavy at times. The weather didn’t matter because we were at the site of one of the most famous battles of the Civil War, the history of the location helped to overcome the less than perfect weather conditions.

  Our first stop on Saturday was Cemetery Hill, there were statues and cannons facing the fighting field and we were all in awe of the fact that we were standing on the ground where a great battle once took place. We could see Culp’s Hill–the Union’s right flank– in the distance; we were all surprised at how “intact” and unchanged the area of the battle was, it was if it was frozen in time.

  From Cemetery Hill we made our way over to the “Soldiers Cemetery” where the Union soldiers who died at Gettysburg are buried–and the site where President Lincoln gave his most famous speech. The graves of the soldiers form a semi-circle pattern and they are buried by state regardless of the rank they held when they were felled. Seeing so many graves in one location–and so many graves of unknowns who were so horribly disfigured they couldn’t be identified–really drove home the enormity of this three day battle.

  When we left  the cemetery we headed to the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitors Center. This is a must see for anyone who decides to take this trip. The museum is full of Civil War relics–from weapons to uniforms to just about anything else you can think of–including the desk and bed that General Lee carried with him to Gettysburg and the stretcher that carried General Jackson off of the battlefield at Chancellorsville.

  Now it was time for a little lunch, so we decided to eat at General Pickett’s All You Can Eat Buffet–which was fittingly located at the edge of Emmitsburg Road. After lunch we began what I thought was the best part of our trip–the auto tour of the battlefield. The auto tour is basically a circuitous road around the battlefield where you can see all of th major points of this battle.

  We started out on Confederates Way–monuments mark the exact locations of Confederate divisions. We are basically on the Confederate line at this point and it is remarkable to see how long the line of battle was. From here we travel to Little Round Top.

  Standing on Little Round Top I can envision it:

  Col. Chamberlain is told that his division–the 20th Maine–is the end of the line. He must hold his position until the last. He cannot let his line be turned and he cannot retreat and he will not be reenforced. The 20th Maine holds off several advances from the Confederates but they are all but out of ammunition when they see the Confederates mounting yet one more attack.

  Knowing that there are only two possible outcomes–victory or death–Col. Chamberlain orders a daring bayonet charge on the Confederates and against all odds manages to repel the last Confederate advance on Little Round Top.

  With the attacks on the Unions right and left flanks both ending in failure General Lee–who until this point has never lost a battle–has but one option left, attack the Union center. And that is exactly where the auto tour took us next.

 The family and I are now standing on Cemetery Ridge, right next to THE copse of trees that General Lee orders the attack to focus on. We are looking over the vast field below, with Emmitsburg Road about halfway between where we are standing and the woods in the distance.

  Again, in my mind I can see this all play out:

  It has gone down in history as Pickett’s charge, but in reality Pickett was only one of three generals who participated in this charge. As I look over the fields which continue from left to right as far as the eye can see, I can see it. Out of the woods comes a battle line one mile long making its way across the field, attempting to march on the position I am now standing on one mile away.

  Against all odds the Confederates manage to continue advancing in spite of the heavy artillery fire. But then they hit Emmitsburg Road-with its fence on both sides–and are shot dead as they try to advance beyond this obstacle. The bodies pile up at the fence, but still the Confederates do not stop.

  Amazingly and against all odds the Confederates manage to reach and break the Union line, but General Stuart’s cavalry–which was supposed to meet Pickett’s charge from the rear and split the Union army in two–never reaches the battlefield because he is intercepted by the soon to be infamous General Custer. Union soldiers manage to reverse the Confederate attack–which suffered over 50% losses. The Confederate attack had failed, and on July 4th 1863, General Lee retreated from the battlefield. Looking down from Cemetery Ridge and seeing how far the Confederate soldiers advanced while facing withering artillery fire is simply amazing, but they simply pushed ahead in spite of the long odds.

  Looking over Cemetery Ridge and seeing how enormous this attack must have been is hard to describe–standing at the copse of trees, and at Little Round Top looking at the monuments that mark the “Devils Den” and the “Slaughter Pit” really drive home the enormity of the struggle that occurred here.

 Gettysburg has done a great job at upkeep in regards to the battlefield. There are modern amenities in the town but the battlefield remains unchanged. I have always wanted to visit the Civil War battlefields in the south and now I want to visit them even more. Anyone who is a Civil War buff should make the trip to Gettysburg–you will not be disappointed.

  The weather did not make it easy to take pictures, but here are the pictures that we were able to get on our trip, enjoy: