There just may be more monuments in Gettysburg than people. Just thought I throw that out there. In all honesty though, there are so many monuments on and around the battlefield that I took 363 pictures and still probably didn't get half of them. There is a monument for every brigade. For every general. For every state that had troops fighting. There are monuments to commemorate where General Bob Joe knelt down to tie his shoe. Not that I'm complaining though, quite the contrary I think its brilliant. I mean, to have all the pivotal people and moments of this historical event preserved for eternity in granite and bronze is, I think, excellent, and only accentuates the gravity of the battle. Of course, some monuments are more monumental than others, but I'll get into that a little farther down.
We started our self-guided CD audio tour on McPherson's ridge, and that is when I started to feel the pressure: so many monuments, so little battery life. Anyway, there was nothing overly exciting about that, but then our second stop was the Eternal Light Peace Memorial. This was exciting. One of the largest monu
ments in the park, it was dedicated on July 3, 1938, on the 75th anniversary of the battle (and interestingly enough only a couple of days before the birth of my father), by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Walking up to it, I could legitimately picture him standing on a podium atop the memorial, with buntings hanging from the walls and crowds of people gathered to hear him speak. On that day a flame was lit atop the stone tower symbolizing eternal peace, and the flame has not faltered yet.
From there we visited Oak Ridge, the North Carolina Memorial, and the Virgina Memorial. Both of the state memorials were particularly striking, both featuring bronze statues of men in various battle stances, and Virginia's showcasing its favorite son, General Robert E. Lee, astride his horse upon a might, column, ironically only a football field away from the spot of Pickett's charge, where his army would make its final inroad into Northern territory. But that will be explained later.
The next stop
s were Pitzer's Woods, Warfield Ridge, and Little Round Top, all crowded with monuments I might add. Especially Little Round Top. On top of Little Round Top, there was a stone structure that only after photographing it I realized was a memorial to a brigade from New York. You could walt up stairs to the top of this structure, and enjoy perfect views of the Wheatfield, Bloody Creek, Death Valley, etc. (I may have gotted some of those name mixed up). When at Little Round Top I ventured into the woods and spotted, on and adjacent hilltop, a monument whichh I trekked through about 400 yards of brush to get to and photograph. That is dedication.
After Little Round Top, there was the Wheatfield (which the audio said is the only wheatfield in America spelled witha capital "W"), the Peach Orchard, and what I had been waiting for all my life, the Pennsylvania Memorial. The Memorial is in all actuallity breathtaking. The largest and most expensive memorial in the park, raised to honor the sons of Pennsylvania who did battle to protect their homes, it pushes majest
ically from the ground in the most surreal of manners. My pictures do not do it the least bit of justice, but I have hoped to convey at least a small sense of the grandeur and gravity that it purveys. Listed on its sides are the names of every man who fought for Pennsylvania during the battle of Gettysburg, a truly humbling site, and from the top (yes, there is an observation deck), you can see all of the land that Pickett made his charge on. Right next to the monument, actually, is what is know as the High Water Mark. It is where Armsted fell, and the extent of the Confederate advance not only on Gettysburg, but on the North as a whole. A very important spot indeed.
Finally, there was Culps hill, which has a very interesting back story if you care to look it up, but I want to go to bed soon so I won't venture to tell it. At any rate, it has more monuments and an observation deck for further observation. I would also like to note that my camera is THE SHIT. It held out for 6 hours when all other cameras would have failed. I only ran out of battery at the very end, but I will be returning to snap the pictures I missed tomorrow. I also look forward to visiting the cemetary tomorrow, and exporing more of the town of Gettysburg before I leave. Until then, cheers once again.
ments in the park, it was dedicated on July 3, 1938, on the 75th anniversary of the battle (and interestingly enough only a couple of days before the birth of my father), by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Walking up to it, I could legitimately picture him standing on a podium atop the memorial, with buntings hanging from the walls and crowds of people gathered to hear him speak. On that day a flame was lit atop the stone tower symbolizing eternal peace, and the flame has not faltered yet.
From there we visited Oak Ridge, the North Carolina Memorial, and the Virgina Memorial. Both of the state memorials were particularly striking, both featuring bronze statues of men in various battle stances, and Virginia's showcasing its favorite son, General Robert E. Lee, astride his horse upon a might, column, ironically only a football field away from the spot of Pickett's charge, where his army would make its final inroad into Northern territory. But that will be explained later.
The next stop
s were Pitzer's Woods, Warfield Ridge, and Little Round Top, all crowded with monuments I might add. Especially Little Round Top. On top of Little Round Top, there was a stone structure that only after photographing it I realized was a memorial to a brigade from New York. You could walt up stairs to the top of this structure, and enjoy perfect views of the Wheatfield, Bloody Creek, Death Valley, etc. (I may have gotted some of those name mixed up). When at Little Round Top I ventured into the woods and spotted, on and adjacent hilltop, a monument whichh I trekked through about 400 yards of brush to get to and photograph. That is dedication.
After Little Round Top, there was the Wheatfield (which the audio said is the only wheatfield in America spelled witha capital "W"), the Peach Orchard, and what I had been waiting for all my life, the Pennsylvania Memorial. The Memorial is in all actuallity breathtaking. The largest and most expensive memorial in the park, raised to honor the sons of Pennsylvania who did battle to protect their homes, it pushes majest
ically from the ground in the most surreal of manners. My pictures do not do it the least bit of justice, but I have hoped to convey at least a small sense of the grandeur and gravity that it purveys. Listed on its sides are the names of every man who fought for Pennsylvania during the battle of Gettysburg, a truly humbling site, and from the top (yes, there is an observation deck), you can see all of the land that Pickett made his charge on. Right next to the monument, actually, is what is know as the High Water Mark. It is where Armsted fell, and the extent of the Confederate advance not only on Gettysburg, but on the North as a whole. A very important spot indeed.
Finally, there was Culps hill, which has a very interesting back story if you care to look it up, but I want to go to bed soon so I won't venture to tell it. At any rate, it has more monuments and an observation deck for further observation. I would also like to note that my camera is THE SHIT. It held out for 6 hours when all other cameras would have failed. I only ran out of battery at the very end, but I will be returning to snap the pictures I missed tomorrow. I also look forward to visiting the cemetary tomorrow, and exporing more of the town of Gettysburg before I leave. Until then, cheers once again.
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