Day 8, Shall not Perish from the Earth (Gettysburg, PA to Mountville, PA) (5/19/19)

Oh, I didn’t see you there! On account of the fact that I can’t see you!

Hehe, sorry, welcome to Day 8 of our trip!

Today we explored much of the town and sites around Gettysburg, home to the major Civil War battle of the same name, as well as the Eisenhower Farm, where General and U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower lived for a good portion of his life. We easily spent the entire day here, as there was so much to cover.

Word of Warning: This is my longest post yet, so feel free to view this day at your own leisure. It’s a bit.

So, without further ado, this is our look into the extensive history and depth of Gettysburg, one of the most Historic towns in America!

 

Gettysburg National Military Park

 

First, let me start off by saying that we originally thought that we would only spend about 2/3 hours in Gettysburg. How wrong we were…

2/3 hours eventually turned into 8 hours…we had no idea how filled with content the entire vicinity of this park and it’s surroundings was.

We were very pleasantly suprised by the size and cleanliness of the visitor center, which was only 10 years old! Definetly one of our better ones to visit.

Our dear Abraham Lincoln (we’ve seen a lot of Lincoln stuff haven’t we?), immortalized in this statue.

He was our tallest President (which many of you might probably know), at 6’4.

After obtaining more information from the information desk, we got ourselves full-admission tickets, which encompassed a bus tour of the Gettysburg battlefield, the museum portion of the building, admittance to one of only two Cycloramas in the entire country (the other, in Atlanta, Georgia, we have actually seen! I’ll explain in a bit), and shuttle access to the Eisenhower Farm (the only way to get to the site).

First, we eagerly got on our battlefield tour bus, and we were off on our two-hour trek!

Situated near the Blue Ridge Mountains, Gettysburg has countless memorials and historical markers that dot the landscape. This was just outside the gate too, so this is just a taste of what’s to come.

First going through Gettysburg town, we could easily see that this was a city that was completely inside the ring of History that the Military Park surrounded it with. Imagine living in a town of such import like this.

This house on the outskirts of town was the site of the only civilian casualty of the entire battle. A young woman was baking bread in her kitchen, when a cannonball broke through the roof and killed her instantly. Now she is remembered by the statue in front of her house.

This Presbyterian Church is where General Eisenhower worshipped while he lived in Gettysburg (he is one of our eight Presbyterian Presidents, yet before he became so, he was a Jehovah’s Witness).

The Wills House was where Abraham Lincoln stayed during his time in Gettysburg, and where he finished his legendary “Gettysburg Address”. His room was on the second level, second window from the right.

We then entered onto the battlefield itself.

It was absolutely massive… makeshift fences, rolling hills, and regiment monuments as far as the eye could see.

The entire battle lasted three full days, from July 1st, to July 3rd of 1863. Confederate forces, led by General Robert E. Lee,

(That’s him,) sought to gain a foothold in the north by capturing Gettysburg, a crossroads town that not only could control major supply and reinforcement roads, but also levy pressure away from the siege of Vicksburg to the south.

Seeking to intercept Lee’s army was the Grand Army of the Potomic, led by Union General George G. Meade

(shown here), came upon the enemy by suprise, and three days of bloody fighting erupted…

These are just some samples of the regiment memorials located here. The first two are New York regiments, and the third is of a Pennsylvania regiment. They each vary in shape and size, and there is at least one marker for every state that participated in the battle (including those in the Confederacy).

Cannons of this like were used by both opposing sides, and rested all over the fields, especially along the fencelines and roads. This particular cannon has suffered heavy oxidation, resulting in it’s greenish tint (The Statue of Liberty has the same case).

This monument is called the “Eternal Light Peace Memorial”, dedicated by over 1,800 Civil War veterans towards the goal of “Peace Eternal in a Nation United”. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy had visited the site, and had so moved her, that she got the inspiration to add an Eternal Flame to the gravesite of her soon-to-be late husband.

Yet more memorials. Plaques like the one in the second picture above can be found all over the place. This particular one commemorates the actions of the Army of Northern Virginia: Robert E. Lee’s main fighting force.

A very expensive house property on the border of the Park. Can I say how envious I am of this house?

This neat memorial is dedicated to those who hailed from North Carolina who fought in the Confederate Army. Many people often forget that these rebels also haved loved ones and homelands just like those of the Union Army, and suffered equally disastrous carnage in their families.

More batteries overlooking to the east. Due to Union sighters, the Confederates had difficulty maintaining this strategic spot.

The wooded dells of this place are just beautiful…

One of several Equestrian statues in the field. This particular one is dedicated to Robert E. Lee.

A recently opened up field, where countless men on both sides fell. When not by ranged artillery and guns, fighting fell to close combat with bayonets and swords.

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More Confederate Memorials.

This is looking towards the Eisenhower Farm! We’ll gt back there in a bit.

Yet more memorials. Behind them is the Peach Orchard, which sadly was dampened by the blood of so many of the fallen.

A makeshift barricade/fence.  I am sure that most of these are not original, yet were made in the same fashion as those that were.

Devil’s Den, a rugged place of rock and fern, became a valley of death, particularly when Texan and Alabaman forces tried to storm Little Round Top, the nearby mountain.

And this is Little Round Top (as opposed to Big Round Top, which was involved little in the battle). The majority of the highground in the surrounding area, this was a strategic point that the Union Troops continued to hold throughout the three days, and repelled all Confederate attacks on it.

The view from the hill was absolutely picturesque. Like something from a postcard or painting, but much much better…

Down the hill was “Cemetery Ridge”, which would prove to be an unfortunetly proper name..

Some of these markers are absolutely HUGE!

Like this one from Vermont.

Or this Equestrian Statue,

Or the largest of them all, the Pennsylvania Monument!

Each large plaque on the wall is inscribed with all the Union Participants of the battle, including those that were felled on the bloody fields.

Abraham Lincoln, who is no doubt honored for his famous speech here. My dad, who visited this place over 50 years ago, remembers this particular monument.

Up on the observation deck (yes, there is one here), one can see a terrific view of the skies and the field (thankfully, that raincloud came nowhere near us).

This statue is of the last surviving veteran of the Civil War, who lived until 1956, at over 100 years old! Can you imagine that?

General Meade’s headquarters, which he stayed in for most of the battle. Any building in the vicinity was converted into amakeshift hospital for the dead, the dying, and the wounded. The throng of screams and decay was enough to horrify even the strongest of souls.

Gettysburg National Cemetery has headstones very much similar to those of Arlington National Cemetery. Though we only caught a glimpse of it, it still conveys much of the same feelings as Arlington did.

 

Then, once we arrived back at the visitor center, we took some time to explore the Museum, and the Cyclorama!

Hm? What’s that you ask? Well, let me explain.

A Cyclorama is a 360 degrees panoramic painting, designed in perspective so that it feels that viewers feel immersed into the events that the painting portrays. They were kind of the “movies” of the 1800’s if you will.

Only 16 Cycloramas currently exist in the entire world. While four of those are located in the United States, only two are are still functioning: “The Battle of Atlanta” located in Atlanta, Georgia (which we have seen), and the one here at the visitor center, “The Battle of Gettysburg”.

I feel that this one is much more immersive than the one in Atlanta. The ground decor in front of the painting only lends to the realism of the piece.

The painting is slightly curved in perspective to create the illusion that the painting is 3D. It certainly looks like the mountains in the distance are really there, though no camera could truly capture the magnificence and scale of it.

Like this picture! You cant even tell where the real decor meets with the painting! It meshes in so well… my only regret is that we had less time to spend in it, since tours were on a timetable basis.

So, we proceeded to the museums.

A massive assortment of rifles and muskets used by both Union and Confederate soldiers. This museum has perhaps one of the largest collections of Civil War artifacts in all of the world!

Various artillery shells, many of which have various effects, such as scattershot, grapeshot, or just plain power damage. Who knows what else might be found out in the fields of Gettysburg undisturbed for generations?

Various regiment buttons and signils. It’s amazing that they are still legible.

An impressive assortment of pistols. It makes you wonder the story behind each one.

The museum was both very detailed and very immersive, and delved into the very causes and leading factors that led to the Civil War. It also explored several key events and battles that occured during the war, such as Fort Sumter, The Emancipation Proclamation, and of course, Gettysburg.

This drum was used during the Mexican-American War, which helped to substantially increase the territory of the U.S. The increasing aquirement of new land often offered the question of introducing slavery to it or not. This bitter idea would only divide North and South.

Abner Doubleday, according was legend, was supposedly the creater of American Baseball, and his name might be found in certain Baseball Merchandise.

Four cannon shells that bombarded the Union fort during the Siege of Fort Sumter, which was the first conflict in the Civil War. Lincoln sent reinforcements to protect the Union, and more states seceeded to help form the Confederate States of America.

The leaders of both nations were U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, and Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Davis, in comparison with Lincoln, was more stubborn, domineering, and prideful in his leadership skills, which did not contribute well to fighting the Union, which was backed by the contemplative, decisive and morally-driven character of Lincoln.

Can you imagine carrying all this weight around like a Union Soldier had to back in the day? Together, a water canteen, a rifle, ammunition pouch and knapsack would weigh well over 30 pounds, and be enough to slow down anyone.

An officer’s uniform, as one might have seen during the battle.

The smallest chess set that I have ever seen in my life… soldiers often resorted to card and board games like this to keep their minds off the carnage of war.

A typical rebel uniform, which wasn’t always in unison with the other confederate uniforms.

A copy of the Emancipation Proclamation, and shackles that once bound a slave’s limbs together. Though the document is merely a copy, Abraham Lincoln’s actual signature is found here, written after printing.

A typical officer’s camp. It was a lot of effects, come to think of it.

The cot, desk, and other effects used by Robert E. Lee during the invasion of Pennsylvania. Lee might I add, was a distant relative of George Washington, his wife being General Washington’s great-granddaughter.

The cot used to carry away a mortally wounded Stonewall Jackson during the battle of Chancellorsville. The table was where they amputated his arm in an attempt to save his life… this is just plain eerie.

More assorted pistols.

Look at the sharpshooter rifle on the left. I have never seen anything like it in my life, and it weighs over 30 pounds…

Some shoulder braces that belonged to George Armstrong Custer, the same General who would fall years later at the Battle of Little Bighorn in his famed “Custer’s Last Stand”.

And for reference, this is “Custer’s First Stand” (Heh, I’m just kidding. I love Far Side Comics).

Photos of many of the participants of the battle. Looking into their faces makes me realized that many were young teens, who had to witness all of these horrible things.

Certain medical tools used by medics… and yes, THAT in the top is a bone saw, used for amputation. Infections couldn’t be treated back then, so that was the only way.

Words cannot express how sickening this is. I won’t even try.

And finally, the very pen used to sign the surrender of Robert E. Lee at Appomattox Courthouse, which offically ended the Civil War. The telegram there was also located at Appomattox, used to relay the message of the surrender abroad.

 

The battlefields have long laid dormant since it was tinged with the blood and scorch-marks of the Civil War… long enough it would seem, that new growth has begun to heal this place. The battle was a turning point in the Civil War, and yet it’s intimate memory has faded into the past, forcing us to rely on such signs as the battlefields and artifacts here for us to interpret and understand.

“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.”

-Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln truly forsaw that the struggle and sacrifice would be remembered here. The last gifts of strength that all of the deceased have given together to provide special spirit into the burrows and heights of this place. It was here that individuals, just like you and me, struggled and endeavored to protect the prospect of freedom that was being threatened by the divisiveness of the war… We can never forget the sacrifices of the past that have been made for us, for they are the reason that we are living and breathing here today. And so, let us keep the Union. Let us keep the Union.

“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 increased devotion to that cause for which they 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…”

-Abraham Lincoln

 

After visiting the gift shop, we then prepared to head to our final destination of the day, which can only be accessed via shuttle bus from the Visitor Center. And so, let us now pay tribute to a very esteemed man who called this place home.

Eisenhower National Historic Site

Ah, we’re here.

General Dwight D. Eisenhower and his beloved wife Mamie wanted a place to actually own and live-in… they had moved almost 40 different times over the past few years because of “Ike’s” military career, but all of which were only temporary venues. Seeing that this place was infused with special history (Gettysburg Battlefield, which he loved to visit), and it was a quiet place of simple-taste, the couple sought to create a farm of their own, and in 1950, they got just that.

Of course, it wouldn’t turn out that way. He would soon become temporary head of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), and then as 34th President of the United States. In close proximity to the White House however, Eisenhower spent much of his time at this ranch, and it served as a personal retreat as well as a diplomatic tool. He welcomed esteemed guests here, such as Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle, and the most infamous of them all, Soviet Premier Nikita Khruschev.

All that was relayed to us by our park ranger (the National Park Service owns both the farm and the Gettysburg Military Park), who went on further to explain that the Eisenhowers lived their retirement here, and, following “Ike’s” death in 1969, Mamie continued to live here until the late 1970’s.

The barn, served as a storage place for farming equipment,

such as this tractor.

This building served as a one-room guesthouse, where many famous individuals (like the ones mentioned before), stayed.

This sundial is completely useless… I mean come on, it’s not even in the sunlight!

And here, is the personal house of Dwight and Mamie.

Let’s step in, shall we?

This wallpaper seems very presidential, which is proper, considering.

The formal parlor of the Eisenhower estate. Eisenhower did not use this room very much, yet put many displays around to show their family’s history and items.

And there is Mamie herself! She’s just precious.

She is famous for popularizing the color “Pink” in fashion in the 50’s, as well as the “Pillbox” hat.

A picture of David Eisenhower, “Ike’s” grandson.

See the resemblence?

David Eisenhower would go on to marry Julie Nixon, who was none other than Richard Nixon’s daughter. The Nixon/Eisenhower Family union would become very well known, and receive much publicity.

Some prized items of Mamie. Mamie Doud originally hailed from a rich family in Iowa, thus she inherited many heirlooms. Her mother Elivera once told her to “Never learn how to cook”. That way, no one will expect you to do that”.

I’m not sure whether to laugh at that or scratch my head. I think i’ll do both.

This fireplace came from the White House! How they moved it all the way from D.C. is beyond me.

The porch room was the main hub of the Eisenhowers’ activity. Ike would often paint in this room, which was one of his many hobbies. In casual occasions, Ike and Mamie would eat from TV Dinner trays in this room.

When they visited, their grandkids would often watch TV here. The Eisenhowers loved the TV, and it’s said that Mamie adored the soap opera, “As the World Turns”.

The Eisenhower’s Dining Hall, used for formal occasions. Ike was actually a very good cook, and sometimes cooked meals for visitors.

We then headed upstairs.

The General’s personal bedroom, which is ironically small.

The Master Bedroom (which was really Mamie’s room). Much of the rooms are dark to help preseve many of the original items here.

Mamie’s Bedroom. She loved the color pink.

Mamie’s Closet,  She also loved the color pink (Do you seem to notice a pattern here?)

A guest room (formerly Mamie’s mother’s room, before she died).

The kitchen, which is also ironically small.

Ike’s den, which he likely used as a personal retreat.

This very small office was where Eisenhower would work on any official matters that came to him during his administration and his retirement. He spent nearly an eighth of his Presidency here at the farm…

Ooh, a windmill! This one is decorative, but still adds a nice touch.

And this is the back of the farmhouse. It must provide an excellent view of the lands around it.

Some neat railroad bells, alluding to the fact that Ike’s father worked on the railroads back in Kansas, where most of the former’s childhood memories were (and in the present day, his Presidential Library and gravesite).

Eisenhower loved to tend to the vegetables he grew on the property (he also maintained an excellent herd of Black Angus Cattle for show.

“Eisenhower’s Green”, where he practiced his golf puts. Eisenhower was one of the most enthusiastic golfers ever to be in the Oval Office. I look at this view and I chuckle, it’s easy to picture him swearing after hitting off a faulty shot.

 

Though this was only a brief stop, it was special to see a place like this. After all, how could a man, who is viewed like this:

Also be in this?-

It’s a fascinating comparison… places like this are where one can find the true nature of their subjects… Eisenhower was many things, a five-star general, a President, a farmer, and a proud grandfather. All of that could be found meshed in this special place, where he intended to “Leave the land better than he found it”. You’ve got to admire that. After seeing his personality imbued in this place, I can say with certainty,

 

Well, thank you for bearing with me (well, for any of you who haven’t fallen asleep yet), for what is currently the record-breaker for the longest post i’ve ever done!

We are currently staying in Mountville, Pennsylvania, an hour and a half away to the east from Gettysburg. We now plan to explore the town of Lancaster to discover the “botched” legacy of President James Buchanan, as well as the wooded crags of “Valley Forge”, where the Continental Army bedded down during the American Revolution.

Thanks again everyone, and take care!