Gettysburg

Gettysburg......that's in Pennsylvania, if you didn't know.....I guess this means we are in for a history lesson.

Why did I decide to write about Gettysburg?? I am not really sure, and if you ask my husband he would say I have no business writing about Gettysburg. He's somewhat right, here's why.


I am not a fan of history, never have been. I understand why it is important, but I also have no more room in my already overfilled brain to remember any of the interesting tidbits about war, battles, or which happened first. Before I go on I need to apologize to any of my former high school history teachers. I paid attention then, I just don't care so much now....I have to worry about when I am going to do laundry and what's for dinner, and that comes before history.

Thankfully my boys didn't inherit my lacking interest of history, they actually enjoy it. Phew, I did something right. Now we have traveled across this wonderful country, and we were lucky enough to visit the Battle of Little Bighorn also known as Custer's last stand in Montana but for me it wasn't as interesting as Gettysburg. I actually would like to go back to Gettysburg, so I have done a little research and I hope to make my children and husband proud of what I have learned, as long as they keep in mind that if there is laundry to do or dishes to be put away I may just forget some of this information.

So here we go,  things you may or may not ever want to know about Gettysburg......

From July 1 to July 3, 1863, Gettysburg was the site of one of the largest battles of the American Civil War, the deadliest by a wide margin, and one that is widely considered the closest the South came to winning. Also, on November 19, 1863, it was the location where Abraham Lincoln delivered The Gettysburg Address.

One of the most persistent legends, is that it was fought over shoes. Ten weeks after the battle, Confederate general Henry Heth, a Virginian whose troops were the first to engage on July 1, filed a now-famous report in which he explained why he had sent a portion of his division into the small Pennsylvania town. "On the morning of June 30," Heth wrote, "I ordered Brigadier General [Johnston] Pettigrew to take his brigade to Gettysburg, search the town for army supplies (shoes especially), and return the same day."

So what are the real reasons for the battle? There is no question that the Union and Confederate armies collided unexpectedly at Gettysburg (in what, in military terms, is called a "meeting engagement"). It is also true that Heth's men—indeed, much of the Army of Northern Virginia, were short on shoes. (and they say women love shoes)

The oldest soldier to volunteer, John L. Burns, a resident of Gettysburg, was 70 years old when the battle started.   Hearing the sounds of war, and being a former soldier, he grabbed an eighteenth century flintlock rifle and ran out to take part. On the way to the battle, he found a wounded soldier and traded his gun up.  After volunteering his services, he was sent to the front line.  Three bullets struck his arms during the battle, and he was abandoned as the Northern soldiers abandoned the position.  Southerners found him, and he lied to them, claiming non-combatant status so he could receive medical attention instead of being shot. He outlived the battle by seven years, even though it was unusual in his day to live as long as he had when the battle started.

The Southern cavalry, under General J.E.B. Stuart, was attempting to ride round to the rear of the Northern position, where they could have wreaked havoc on the Northern supplies and greatly compromised the Northern position.  They were intercepted by the brash Brigadier General George Custer, known to most today only as the guy who got killed by Native Americans at Little Bighorn.  He managed to stop a much larger Confederate unit, and said of his own attack, “I challenge history to cite a more brilliant cavalry charge.” 

From the Battle of Little Bighorn, the site where Custer died.

Robert E Lee had a pet chicken named “Hen”. Hen was kept at headquarters tent and would lay an egg under Lee’s cot each morning. He would eat the egg each morning for breakfast. Hen did survive the battle of Gettysburg, however it is reported that Hen did not survive the war.

After the Battle of Gettysburg, the discarded rifles were collected and sent to Washington to be inspected and reissued. Of the 37,574 rifles recovered, approximately 24,000 were still loaded; 6,000 had one round in the barrel; 12,000 had two rounds in the barrel; 6,000 had three to ten rounds in the barrel. One rifle, the most remarkable of all, had been stuffed to the top with twenty-three rounds in the barrel.


Enjoy the summer, and maybe your plans can include a visit to Gettysburg and you'll have an amazing time.

I know this...In My Life teaching my children about history is much more fun than doing laundry, just don't quiz me about it later....