Our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal"
After we left Niagara Falls, we packed up and headed to Gettysburg, PA.
Over the past year, Davis has developed this love of all things Civil War. I am not really sure how this love affair began, but regardless, Davis loves it! This summer, we took Davis to sign him up for the reading program at the public library. After we filled out all the paperwork we asked him if he wanted to check out a book. Instead of going to the children's section - yep - you guessed it - he headed straight to the history section and checked out a book that weighed almost as much as he does. AND he looked at each and every page!
As we were planning this trip, we knew we could not get this close to Gettysburg and not let Davis visit this hallowed ground.
Davis was able to spend some time with 'ole Honest Abe. Abraham Lincoln is by far Davis' favorite president. (sorry about his eyes being closed, we forgot his sunglasses....we eventually stopped to buy him a new pair)
We bought a package tour that was AMAZING! It included three things......
The Cyclorama
A bus tour......
That allowed us to stop at the important events that took place during the battle. Our tour guide was WONDERFUL! I learned so much on this tour....so many things I never learned in high school or college
And the last part of our package was the museum. Now let me say, I am not one for museums, but this one was amazing. The amazing attention to detail was apparent. It was almost as if you were living out the civil war yourself. They also did a great job of adding some technology, which was great for younger people.
These are some example of the technology they had.....this particular activity, you were given a list of about 20 things that you could choose to pack before you set off for war. You could only pack so many pounds, but you had to include everything you needed for your journey.
As you can tell in this picture, Davis only packed 7 of the 14 items needed. He didn't do so well because he wouldn't let us help him and he chose silly things like cigarettes and risque photographs of women......hopefully he had no idea what he was packing! Hahaha!
After we packed our bags full of completely inappropriate items, we went to the Soldiers' National Cemetery where Abraham Lincoln gave his most famous speech, The Gettysburg Address.
I memorized this speech at some point in high school and I always knew it was an eloquent speech, but to walk those battlefields and then stand in the place where Abraham Lincoln gave the speech, I was overcome! What an amazing loss of life but more importantly what an amazing display of patriotism and courage!
As I was researching information for this blog, I found an interesting quote that brought tears to my eyes:
On June 1, 1865, Senator Charles Sumner commented on what is now considered the most famous speech by President Abraham Lincoln. In his eulogy on the slain president, he called it a "monumental act." He said Lincoln was mistaken that "the world will little note, nor long remember what we say here." Rather, the Bostonian remarked, "The world noted at once what he said, and will never cease to remember it."
How true! 150 years later, students are still memorizing these words, visiting that site, giving their lives in service of this country and young seven year old boys still see that man as their favorite president ever!
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
