It is hard to overstate the importance of the Battle of Gettysburg which was fought 150 years ago on July 1-3 of 1863. When it ended, on July 4, 1863, there was a new independence for the United States, one not recognized immediately, but one that was there nevertheless. Gettysburg, you see, was the battle that finally made clear that the USA was no longer an amalgam of states but rather was a nation composed of states. We Americans were citizens of the USA first, not Virginians or Pennsylvanians or New Yorkers. And we were all, ALL free.
It is a curious fact that the celebration of the 150th anniversary of this event has been left unnoticed by the powers that be in Washington as well as by the national media. The only coverage that I saw was about the tens of thousands of re-enactors who dressed in Civil War uniforms and fought battles in the fields around Gettysburg. To the media, the celebrations was a gathering of kooks dressed up in vintage clothing, not a commemoration of perhaps the most important three days in American history since the signing of the Constitution. None of this matters, however. Gettysburg was and is the starting date of the modern American state, and it deserves to be remembered as such.
If you have never been to the battle site, I strongly recommend that you go. The battle there was one that is completely unimaginable to the modern mind. Think about it. In Iraq and Afghanistan, there have been a little more than 5000 soldiers killed in twelve years of fighting. In three days of fighting in Pennsylvania in 1863, there were between 7000 and 8000 killed and there were another 25,000 wounded (many of whom eventually died from those wounds.) It was carnage unlike anything today. And remember, none of these dead were killed by bombing aircraft or very long distance artillery. Those who dies mainly were killed by other men at close range. It was a desperate struggle by a hundred and fifty thousand men, and the fate of the Union hung in the balance.
We owe a debt of gratitude to all who fought there. Yes, even to those who lost. We can give thanks that the Union side won, but each man who fought was there supporting what he believed in. This was not some sophistic argument for political gain like many that we hear from Washington these day. Gettysburg was the primal battle of all these soldiers for the triumph of their basic beliefs.
It is a curious fact that the celebration of the 150th anniversary of this event has been left unnoticed by the powers that be in Washington as well as by the national media. The only coverage that I saw was about the tens of thousands of re-enactors who dressed in Civil War uniforms and fought battles in the fields around Gettysburg. To the media, the celebrations was a gathering of kooks dressed up in vintage clothing, not a commemoration of perhaps the most important three days in American history since the signing of the Constitution. None of this matters, however. Gettysburg was and is the starting date of the modern American state, and it deserves to be remembered as such.
If you have never been to the battle site, I strongly recommend that you go. The battle there was one that is completely unimaginable to the modern mind. Think about it. In Iraq and Afghanistan, there have been a little more than 5000 soldiers killed in twelve years of fighting. In three days of fighting in Pennsylvania in 1863, there were between 7000 and 8000 killed and there were another 25,000 wounded (many of whom eventually died from those wounds.) It was carnage unlike anything today. And remember, none of these dead were killed by bombing aircraft or very long distance artillery. Those who dies mainly were killed by other men at close range. It was a desperate struggle by a hundred and fifty thousand men, and the fate of the Union hung in the balance.
We owe a debt of gratitude to all who fought there. Yes, even to those who lost. We can give thanks that the Union side won, but each man who fought was there supporting what he believed in. This was not some sophistic argument for political gain like many that we hear from Washington these day. Gettysburg was the primal battle of all these soldiers for the triumph of their basic beliefs.
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