Gettysburg

So cooool!!!

Tom says its very Whitty. That is what we call Whitman Students, my Alma Marta. We used to do Renaissance fairs and host dinners in medieval costume. Gettysburg is a civil war encampment this weekend. Women in hoop skirts and children in woolen clothes run by. soldiers and farmers dressed as they would be in 1863 abound. Tents of white canvas cover the fields with Fire pits and cast iron grates in front. Wooden camp chairs and tables are set up in the tents with canvas cots draped in either wool blankets or home made quilts. It is so authentic, you feel like you have been dropped back in time. I felt like I needed to go buy a homespun dress at one of the stalls and cover my exposed legs.


Trevor wanted to buy a coat, but it was $230. I told him he needed to wait until he stopped growing. We bought lots of T shirts. and I begged Tom nicely to do a wet print with me as a family. Its old fashioned tin type photograph with the black curtain and the box. We dressed in costume and had to sit still for 6 seconds while the photographer created the picture on tin. We could have done glass, but the photographer pointed out glass breaks. Tin was wonderful. I looked so homely in a blue plaid dress with my hair pulled back. Riley dressed in a blue uniform and Tom and Trevor chose Gray. $60 later we had a family photo that looked as if we were born before the war and the family was going off to fight.

Getting to Gettysburg was tricky. We left the hotel in the morning after our huge complimentary breakfast. We take a plate up to Tom in the room. Once on the Freeway the map looks as if you can't miss Gettysburg. But we catch an expressway and miss the cross freeway we need to catch. I am not a good navigator, but getting on the expressway and blowing by our exit didn't help. I told Tom if we reached Harrisburg we had gone to far. We were 6 miles from Harrisburg. We stop at a mini mart for directions and get turned around and reach our destination.

The camp is north of the Gettysburg Memorial. We never do get to the Memorial, spending all day living and breathing 1863. We walk through the area where the soldiers " Bivouac", where the soldiers live and sleep. Horses are picketed on strings between the trees, if they are not out being ridden by soldiers on reconnaissance. A widow in black with black lace and hoops watches us pass her tent. It gives me goose bumps. I have a hard time meeting her eyes. Like I am intruding in her grief at the loss of family in the war. Acres of land are covered with these civil war camps.

We talk to a doctor about civil war techniques. He shows us how to remove a bullet, but more likely its an amputation. If you can't get yourself to the doctor in time, the limb would be amputated to prevent Gangrene. The tools were not washed between soldiers. It was an assembly line with one doctor for 1000 soldiers. Initially in the war you could only be treated by your brigade's doctor . If you went to the wrong doctor he would send you to find the one you were supposed to see. That policy changed shortly after Antietam. Piles of limbs sat festering outside the doctor's area. Flies swarmed and the smell would knock you back. Doctor's thought the sign of puss in the wound was a good sign of healing. When they ran out of string they started using horse hair. To make it more pliable the horse hair was boiled. All of a sudden soldiers with horse hair started doing better than the ones using wool. Doctors took note and continued with the horse hair, since it was also easy to come by.

They did have Either and Chloroform when available. They saved that for the amputations. Bullet removal they preferred the patient awake. If you were not awake when you arrived at the doctor's tent you were not treated. They considered unconscious patients not worth their time. The patient couldn't tell them where it hurt and more likely they would die anyway. There was a dieing tree where gut wounds and unconscious soldiers were taken and made as comfortable as possible. I ask about whiskey, the doctor response that they drank that good stuff. Infection? what was infection, puss was healing. It must have smelled like the dump on a hot day.

We watched a motar fire and were amazed at the accuracy. They waited between each shot for the cannon to cool so there wouldn't be an accident. During the war the soldiers would not have that luxury. At 6:00 pm the reenactment of the Brickyard occurred. Tom loved it . We had bleacher seats . I had not realized it would be so far away. It was across the field on another hill. Tom said that was so we got perspective. It looked more fun for the participants than the audience. I loved the camp. Tom loved the reenactment. Soldiers shooting from distances, cannons going off, Calvary horses battling.

I had thought it would be more like a rodeo. It was too far away. Living the day in that encampment was worth the trip. Even the boys got into it. I had to tell them If it didn't fit in the suitcase then they couldn't buy it. No guns!! There were some cool souvenirs. Both boys bought bullets. Riley found a clay bullet. Once the soldiers ran out of lead, bullets were made of clay and baked.

There was no Beer. I did buy Tom a hand wrapped cigar soaked in Rum. Tom drank Root Beer and Sarsaparilla and lemon aide. It had a fair like feeling but there was only food sold that would have been found at the time. No Yakisoba or Giros. Hot dogs, hamburgers, ham, and roast beef were available. I was surprised no apple pies or strawberry shortcake.

We stopped in the town of Gettysburg on our way out after the reenactment. Traffic was heavy so we thought we would wait until it cleared out a little. The center of town is full of brick buildings on a town circle. The David Wills House where Lincoln stayed was open. We toured the house and read the Gettysburg address. I bought the boys ice cream from a shop. We wondered the town for an hour. There were street performers in costume. There were town residents walking in the evening cool in costume. The town was pretty substantial when you think that these buildings were built around 1840.

David Wills had been given the job of setting up the Gettysburg National Cemetery. When Lincoln visited he found that due to rains, the shallow graves were being washed open, and body parts were becoming exposed. These soldiers on both sides that had given their lives, needed more respect than just a shallow dug hole in the ground. People in the city of Gettysburg had even become sick and died from the exposure to the unsanitary conditions, after the three day battle. Thousands of horses had been killed and had to be burned. Bodies were burned in order to hurry up disposal. It was a nightmare for weeks. Then it rained and became a muddy quagmire.

Lincoln's invitation to speak at Gettysburg had been an afterthought. A famous orator of the time was speaking and he took 2 hours for his speech. Lincoln's speech was ten lines. Presidents did not usually leave the capital,. It wasn't safe and traveling was difficult. It could also potentially put you out of touch with people if need arose. Lincoln though had been looking for a win in which to make a speech and infuse new dedication to the cause. Gettysburg was a blow to Lee. It was his final try to invade the North and he had been repulsed. Lincoln chose this battlefield to make one of histories greatest speeches.

You could see his pain and suffering on his face through the photos taken of his years in office. In a few years he had aged dramatically.

It was late by the time we headed back to our hotel. Not getting lost this time. We got a little confused by the freeway exits as Gettysburg is in Pennsylvania and Hagerstown is in Maryland. I went out to the store to get Yogurt and chips and snacks for everyone. Tom had gone for yogurt the night before.

Tomorrow we head to DC and return the car.