Gettysburg, Day 3

Yesterday we learned that a number of soldiers signed up because it was a way to get girls.  In the beginning, women were encouraging men to sign up.  The ranger told of a gal who sent her fiance a dress and a note, saying he'd better sign up or start wearing the dress.  As the war went on, women then encouraged their men to drop out.

On Sunday, the other enactment we saw was a group of volunteers showing infantry, sharpshooting, and artillery.  They fired their guns, and a cannon.  Garvin was thrilled.

The men below are standing shoulder to shoulder as they would have done to march and fire in battle.

Our time here has been incredibly interesting, sobering, and humbling.  

We went to the Cyclorama painting display yesterday where a 360 degree painting (done after the war by a Frenchman) is lit and narrated to show the progression on the last day of the battle.  Then, in the museum, one of the final exhibits is a quiet room with a recording of the Gettysburg address.  Both events were so moving and gave a meaning to Lincoln's inspired speech and all the battles fought here which I appreciate much more fully now.

Last night we signed up for one of the numerous ghost tours in town.  It focuses on telling stories of various encounters people have had over the years and took us into the house of Jenny Wade, the only civilian killed in the battle of Gettysburg.  She had moved to her sister's house at the edge of town thinking she'd be safer since Confederates surrounded her house in town, and then even changed her position in the house while kneading dough to be away from a window.  Bullets struck all over the brick house, and then one came in and passed through two wooden doors before hitting her.  Much to Garvin's dismay, there were no ghostly appearances during the tour, though he was sure he heard footsteps.