We have just returned from a two day vacation in Gettysburg, PA. We went to celebrate our forty-seventh wedding anniversary. One of the things we did was to take a Segway tour of the battlefield. It was just one more trip together on our journey through life.
Touring the battlefield was a very sobering experience for me. We stood on this peaceful, green countryside and remembered the tens of thousands of lives that were lost during this three day battle. The ground had been covered with the bodies of men who were fighting for what they each believed was holy and right. They fought for a cause that was worth more than their own lives. They died willingly and courageously. I felt like I was standing on holy ground. The picture of us on the Segways was taken at the High Water Mark of the Confederacy. This is the place where Lee’s troops almost broke through the federal lines. If they had succeeded here, the course of our country’s history might have been very different.
This is the spot where General Lee waited to greet his returning troops after the failure of Pickett’s Charge. Over half of his troops were killed. It was a great defeat and turned the tide of the war.
This is the view from Little Round Top looking down into what became known as the Valley of Death. This little hill was the site of great carnage.
This is a wonderful monument. It was erected in 1938 and dedicated by Franklin Roosevelt. Present at the dedication were many of the veterans from both sides of this great battle. The Eternal Peace Monument was erected as a symbol of this nation’s commitment to live together united in peace. I found it symbolic that one of the cannons placed there to indicate where it had been during the battle now held the nest of a bluebird.
It is my prayer that one day all the guns of the world become the home for nesting birds.
8 comments:
swords into plowshares!
"With all this blood newly dried in the desert, can we not fertilize the land with something else? There is no nation by God exempted. Lay down your weapons and love your neighbor as yourself."
- Amy Ray & Emily Saliers
I'm jealous about the segways, were they fun? Fun like "besides that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?" fun?
The Segways were a lot of fun. It was a little scary riding them on the road with traffic, but most of the trip was on lightly traveled roads. I have bad ankles and knees and was hurting when we were done, but no one else had that problem. You can get up to 25 mph, which feels really fast.
Wonderful history tour/photos and the Segways look like fun. I read back thru all that I have missed....and I have missed you, Sue.
Well Happy anniversary!!
Thanks for the photos,and thoughful descriptions of Gettysburg.
That time in our history has always fascinated me.
It looks like you had a great time on those segways. Belated happy anniversary.
Congratulations! Fabulous! I went there as a little kiddo when we were living in Springfield VA, way back in the 60's. Dad was stationed at the Pentagon while mom, brother and me did our growing up thing. The battlefields were so eerily quiet and serene. My brother found several Civil War bullets in the knolls.
Thanks for sharing your good time. You're looking mighty hip on those segs.
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