RussLeona Trip 10/16/12 Gettysburg

This has been one of the soberest experiences of our trip.  It is a beautiful area but a sadness seems to linger everywhere.  107,000 soldiers battled here with ~50,000 casualties.  We watched several movies and attended a couple spectacular dioramas on the battle.  The bravery, loss of life, and suffering is beyond believe and very emotional.  The Confederacy and the Union soldiers lined up and rushed each other all around the battlefield, until less than half remained. General Mead's Union Army was so tired and short of supplies that they could not immediately chase General Lee's shattered army.  General Mead was able to quickly replenish his supplies and General Lee was not. General Lee's wagon train of wounded as he retreated after the battle was 17 miles long. The town of Gettysburg was left with thousands dead and wounded. The outcome of the battle would determine the outcome of the war.  If just a couple things had went differently the outcome of the battle and the war might have been different.  One must ask himself, if that would have happened how would our country look today.

This is looking down onto Gettysburg from the top of Culp's Hill.  The first day of the battle, the Confederate forces drove the Union forces through the town.  They reorganized on this hill and the Cemetery Ridge to the left.

Monuments like these are all over the battlefield.  They were put their by the Brigades on the site that they fought.  Small concrete markers mark the edge of their battle line.

Looking down from Little Round Top. This was called Death Valley because of the great loss on both sides as the Confederates tried to take this hill from the Union Army.

This is looking across what became know as Pickett's Hill.  The Confederate forces attacked across this field towards the bunch of trees on the ridge that the Union Army held.

This is looking down Pickett's Hill from the Union line.  The trees on the left are the ones that the Confederate forces were attacking.  Greater than 50% of Pickett's forces were killed, wounded, or missing.  The bodies were stacked up at the fences and walls.