Gettysburg PA

Our December 3 visit to the National Military Park at Gettysburg PA greatly exceeded our expectations.  We were both moved to tears during the film "A new birth of freedom" which was our introduction to the site.  A principal focus of the film is the role which the issue of slavery played in the Civil War.  The film ends by raising the questions of where we are today in terms of "All men being created equal"....and of what remains to be done...

We then had the incredible experience of viewing the Cyclorama, a sound and light show accompanying and enhancing the original painting by French artist Paul Phillipoteaux.  The painting, completed in 1884, is 42' high and 377' long, and shown in a circle. To view it, you go up an escalator and then stand in the middle of the work, walking around a full circle and thus viewing it in its entirety.  Amazing!!!

 

To learn more about the cyclorama, go to http://www.nps.gov/gett/learn/historyculture/gettysburg-cyclorama.htm

 We then toured the excellent museum and ended our day with a visit to the military cemetery where thousands of soldiers and veterans of the US's many wars, including of course the Civil War, are buried. An emotional day...

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The last photo is of the site where Lincoln delivered his famous Gettysburg address including the most quoted excerpt about a government "of the people, by the people, for the people"...