Gettysburg (Civil War), Pennsylvania

The week started in agony, absolute screaming agony for 3 days. I woke last Sunday feeling fine but by lunchtime my shoulder muscle (trapezium muscle for the clever dicks) was seized with a big knot. Referred pain went down across my collar bone and in my shoulder blades and I just screamed every time I moved. It - was - painful !! First task Monday - find a physio. Easier said than done. I could be seen the following WEEK on anyday, but NOT TODAY. Eventually I got one to see me in the afternoon. I said I would need dry needling to release the knot. Oh, you'll need a Dr. referral. What??? Second task, get into the Dr before the physio appt. By some miracle I got in before the physio and got the bloody referral. Walking around the city for these appointments was not a pleasant experience. Once at physio, she massaged my shoulder area and while that gave some relief, I was still in agony. As for the dry needling - well the physio who does that wasn't available until next Wed, that is, in 10 days time Wednesday!! I nearly cried. So the rest of the week was spent in much pain and discomfort and although I had another physio appt to loosen the muscle a bit more, the knot is still there. By Friday, I felt more relief and it was a blessing. It feels better but I'm still quite stiff and will still need dry needling on Wed to hopefully release that knot. I was not a happy camper this week but thankfully I was ok on the weekend.

On a much happier note, a friend from primary school messaged me on Facebook. He asked if it was actually me and said his mum had always given him a hard time cause he never said goodbye to me (when he left in Grade 4). So the story goes, I had a little crush on him and we were good mates. He moved south at end of Grade 4 and I was pretty upset. 37 years later, and we've re-connected. He then tells me his mum kept a letter I gave him before he left...the letter said...Tick a Box - I love Merryl or I hate Merryl. He said it was probably why he took off suddenly because he was scared to reply. Awww, primary school romance. Well, I did have a crush on him but I have no memory of this letter. But it gave me a great laugh and smile especially that his mum kept that letter !!  To my new friend, if you're reading this blog post, I can tell you that I am embarrassed but do find this very cute and funny too :) I hope one day we can catch up for a drink.

GETTYSBURG. The big highlight this week was our day trip to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. So yes, we've touched another state but it's just across the border so I will not count Pennsylvania just yet, maybe when we've been to Philadelphia. Everyone has recommended Gettysburg and it was totally overwhelming to see this historical place and learn about an important event in US civil war history. We watched a few documentaries the night before to at least get a headstart on the history. It is about 90 min drive from DC so we had an early start and packed in a solid day as usual. We first went to the visitor centre (massive) and watched a 20 min video on the Gettysburg battle and then into this display called the Cyclorama. The cyclorama is....standing in a massive room surrounded by a 360 degree dome wall/roof. It is painted floor to roof with battleground scenes and has artefacts on the ground between you and the wall to give the impression you are in the middle of the battlefield. They tell a story and you get a feeling as if you are there. I found it quite hard to understand where I was supposed to be looking at certain times but it was very impressive and certainly gave you a sense of 'being there in the war'. I got these pics from the internet as my photos would not do it justice.

 

 The Battle of Gettysburg is important as it is considered the turning point of the civil war (North versus South). The civil war was largely about the Southern 'slave' States leaving the Union after President Lincoln was elected with the goal of abolishing slavery. The southern states went independent, because they believed slavery was their constitutional right and underpinned their agricultural (cotton, tobacco) livelihood which was a huge economy. The formed the Confederate States of America. After peace negotiations failed (because Lincoln refused to keep slavery), the Confederates (south) fired upon the Union (north) in 1861 and so began the bloodiest battle in US history. The war raged for four years, until 1865. There were many battles and there are other battlefield sites around the US which offer similar historical value. However, the battle of Gettysburg was a three day battle on 1, 2, 3 July in 1863. (Note that 4 July has no relevance here as Independence Day is from the American revolution back in 1776.)

The very long story really short is....the Confederates had pushed up into the North near Gettysburg and the Confederates felt that if they could win this battle, it could possibly win the war. They thought Lincoln would give-in at that point. So for three days, the Confederates and the Union fought at a cost of 51,000 casualties (dead, wounded, missing).   At the end of the third day, the Union had overcome the Confederate attack and the Confederates retreated and headed back south the following day. 

 

A fabulous part of our day was taking a tour with a battlefield guide who drove our car around the huge battlefield and explained day by day how the battle was fought. It was fantastic. We could see the fencelines, strong points, high ground and exact locations where key events happened. It was fascinating, sad, overwhelming and incredible all in one. Our guide was excellent - he has written two books on two war generals who have proven interesting if not controversial. I didn't take a lot of photos because we didn't stop too much but there were a LOT of memorials, artefacts and statues. So much effort has been taken to preserve this historical place. The whole time though, we kept remembering that thousands upon thousands of men fought and died here - EACH DAY !!! What a terrible loss of life.

After the battle of Gettysburg, the war raged for two more years but eventually, the Union (North) won as we all now know. With that success, slavery was abolished and the 13th Amendment was eventually passed. Lincoln however, was assassinated just two months before the end of the war and sadly, never saw his goal achieved in 1865 when the 13th Amendment was finally adopted.

 

The Battle of Gettysburg left the town in shambles with wounded and dying crowded into nearly every building. Most of the dead lay in hastily dug or inadequate graves, some had not been buried at all. Within four months, the Soldier's National Cemetery was dedicated (Nov 1863) and this was where Lincoln gave his infamous Gettysburg speech. It was only 272 words and two minutes long, but it is considered a masterpiece of the English language. It transformed Gettysburg from a scene of carnage into a symbol, giving meaning to the sacrifice of the dead and inspiration to the living. I never understood the significance of Lincoln's speech that day but after learning about the battle today, I appreciate the importance of this speech and why it is so famous. Lincoln gave his address at the memorial on the left, but there is a wall dedicated to Lincoln and his address about 250m away (see below). Take time read his address, it really is quite moving and brilliant.

 

We also toured the museum in the visitor centre which again, was excellent. The information, artefacts and presentation were well worth seeing and it helped consolidate our tour around the battlefield. We are keen to go back again and drive ourselves around the battlefield to stop and look at the many things. The town itself has a lot of tourist spots too so it's a great place to visit. 

It's a long weekend here, Labour Day, so we're enjoying the extra day off. A few pics to finish off the blog this week. Check out the gun-support guy with his NRA (National Rifle Association) shirt on. It says 'Free men do not ask permission to bear arms'. I'm not sure what was more scary - his shirt or his dress sense !!

Cricket - sound asleep

Sitting with Lincoln - an inspirational man

Some of the wildlife - a squirrel