Today I got to walk the grounds of Gettysburg. During the engagements that took place there from July1st- 4th of 1863 over 51,000 people were killed, wounded, or went missing. During the ill-fated Picketts Charge on July 3rd, over 7000 soldiers on both Union & Confederate sides lost their lives in just one hour- ONE HOUR. As I walked along the very field where so many had fallen, I came up to where the Confederate artillery had been placed 151 years ago. My eyes surveyed the long, open mile that those men (and some cleverly disguised women) had to walk as they attempted to take the Union held Cemetery Ridge. As I approached one of the canon that stood in that field I found a single rose propped up on its base with a card which read: We stand at the viewpoint of the Southern soldier as he was about to embark on a trip that was not likely to lead him home and of the Northern soldier as he pursued the goal to unite others by tearing some apart To the 6,555 Confederate and 1,500 Union soldiers who gave the ultimate sacrifice to the cause they believed in We honor you with this rose. It took nearly every part of my being not to burst into tears as I read those words. I am humbled by the ability I have to me moved by such things and am so grateful for the experiences I have had over the past few days visiting some of the battlefields of the American Civil War. I am aware and in awe of my own luck and privilege to be living the life I am living, in the time that I am living in. I hold onto these thoughts in a solemn gratitude this evening as I prepare myself for bed.
Posted on: Thu, 05 Jun 2014 03:21:46 +0000
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