Tuesday, November 19th

We were part of history today.  It was the 150th anniversary celebration of President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address given on November 19, 1863.   TODAY!  Crazy that we were here.   We were 4 out of about 10,000 people to attend the commemoration held at the cemetery.  We even got to listen to "Abraham Lincoln" give the Gettysburg Address.  President Lincoln was invited to the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery and was asked to give a few remarks.  His speech was only 272 words long but was one of the greatest speeches ever.   We learned a lot today about the Civil War and particularly the Battle of Gettysburg.  The battle was on July 1st-3rd, 1863.  There were 11,000 that died in this battle.  It was the bloodiest battle of the Civil War.  The Union (aka the North) won.  This battle marked the beginning of the end for the Confederates (aka the South) even though the war went on for almost 2 more years.  

After the ceremony ended we went to the Visitor's Center for. First we watched a short film and then into a cyclorama of the Battle of Gettysburg, specifically Pickett's Charge.  A cyclorama is a massive oil-on-canvas painting that displays in special auditoriums and is enhanced with landscaped foregrounds sometimes featuring trees, grasses, fences and even life-sized figures. The result is a three-dimensional effect that surrounds the viewers who stand on a central platform, literally placing them in the center of the great historic scene.  (thank you Wikipedia)  It was awesome.  Completed in 1883, the original painting was 22 feet high and 279 feet in circumference.   

We then spent a hour or two in the museum.  Tons of info!  After that we drove around to see some of the memorials on the battlefields.  There are a lot of them!  We had an early dinner at a restaurant that the building was there when President Lincoln rode by on his horse to go give the famous speech.  What a historic town!  Another very educational day!   **Sara