Gettysburg National Military Park

Gettysburg National Park is situated in south central Pennsylvania east of Appalachian Mountains, named after the town of Gettysburg, which is next to the Park. The topography of the park is rolling hills and valleys, but looks pretty flat to me, except for a few knolls. The original site of the battle covered over 11,500 acres. The Gettysburg Foundation has recovered almost 6,000 acres.

The Battle of Gettysburg occurred on July 1-3, 1863. It was the bloodiest single battle of the American Civil War, with around 51,000 Union and Confederacy casualties. The battle became known as a major turning point in the war. The battle brought devastation to the residents of Gettysburg. Every farm field or garden was a graveyard. Churches, public buildings and even private homes were hospitals, filled with wounded soldiers. The Union medical staff that remained were strained to treat so many wounded scattered about the county. To meet the demand, Camp Letterman General Hospital was established east of Gettysburg where all of the wounded were eventually taken to before transport to permanent hospitals in Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington. Union surgeons worked with members of the U.S Sanitary Commission and Christian Commission to treat and care for the over 20,000 injured Union and Confederate soldiers that passed through the hospital's wards, housed under large tents. By January 1864, the last patients were gone as were the surgeons, guards, nurses, tents and cookhouses. Only a temporary cemetery on the hillside remained as a testament to the courageous battle to save lives that took place at Camp Letterman.

As we stood and listened to the events of those three days it was hard to imagine the carnage and death. It was very sad.

This is how the battlefield looked, imagine

11,500 acres of bloody battles.

These stone and wooden fences are how they originally

looked as land owners built them. There are cannons in the
places where they were during the battle.

 

There are a few old homes in the area.

Happy Birthday, Holden!

This smart, happy, little guy turns four on Sunday, Oct. 15th. What a month, a birthday and Halloween! Grandma wonders sometimes if her little grandkids know who she is, and the last time we skyped with Holden and family, he called to me, "Grandma.........". Made my heart skip!  We love you Holden.

,

Lainey

Carrie and Lainey spent Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday on their own.  They saw the Holocaust Museum, the Air and Space Museum, the Natural History Museum, the National Archives, the Spy Museum, and I have probably forgotten something.  But, I wanted to post some of Lainey's pictures. She took some good ones. And some of her, that Carrie took.

Sunday with Lainey and Carrie

September 17, 2018

After church on Sunday we took Carrie and Lainey to the Washington D.C. Temple Visitor's Center.It is a special place. Sister Pferdner who serves there with her husband, sat with us and told about giving out Books Of Mormon to a busload of Cambodians, four men from Turkey, and a young couple from Sri Lanka.  That's a normal day for her.

Then we went to the Pentagon 9/11 Memorial. A very special feeling and very special memorial. 184 people died in the terrorist attack when a plane crashed into the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m. Each victim's age and location at the time of the attack is permanently inscribed into the Memorial by unique placement and direction. When you go, you can dial a number and listen to a 30 minute narration of events. A surviving victim tells his story and a speech by a brother of a victim, who spoke at the dedication of the Memorial, is on the narration. It was very sobering.

Driving into the Pentagon. You couldn't park there, you had

to park farther away and walk in.

The different colored stainless steel strips have

the year the victims were born. The youngest three

years old, the oldest seventy-seven. There is a starting point

that has the date September 11, 2001 which I didn't get a

picture of. Then you start walking along the year strips.

There are 85 Crape Myrtle trees on the grounds.

They flower beautifully.

There is a bench for each victim, a lighted pool of flowing water underneath,

and the victim's name inscribed. Victims aboard the plane had benches pointed

in the direction the plane was going. Victims in the Pentagon had benches pointed

toward the approach of the plane. So they were each in the opposite direction of each other.

There is a inscribed stone to the right of the doors denoting the spot the plane hit.

Name of victim on front. Water underneath. It lights up at night.

It's hard to see but there is an Age Wall. It grows one inch per year in height.

As you move through the Memorial, the wall grows from three inches to 71 inches.

Friday with Lainey and Carrie - Part 3

The Capitol Building - Wow! It was really interesting and gorgeous. Tyler arranged for a tour with an intern from Senator Daines of Montana's office. Something else we would not have done given our opinion of the current state of Congress. So, thanks to Tyler and Carrie.

This building has been built, burned, rebuilt, and added onto many times. It is

a huge complex now, with several office buildings, parks, and memorials.

Our tour guide/intern, Will. He told us a thousand stories, facts,

and trivia. He was a great guide, who loves his country, her government,

history, and future. He talked for two full hours. Everything he showed

us has a meaning and reason for being built, or placed where it was.
We rode the same underground train the congressmen ride to get to
chambers to vote.

Greg loved the architectural details.

This is the  crypt right below the dome of the Rotunda upstairs.

Forty columns, sandstone floors.

Originally they wanted President Washington buried there, but Martha was

having none of that, so it has been used for many things, even a bike parking

area. The star (below) in the floor is where four quadrants of the city meet.

It is a cool space.

The Capitol is covered with frescoes and murals designed by
Constantino Brumidi. He had a lot of help. No two are alike and
they are beautiful. Our pictures do not due them any justice.
One of the highlights of the tour.

Every  panel was different, different flowers, vegetables, fruit.

Different small animals, mice, birds, squirrels, and many

more.

Brumidi's artwork covers every wall and ceiling

in the hallways. Stunning!

The following pictures are of the old Senate Chambers.

It is full of paintings, and sculptures. Very beautiful.

Brumidi's Frieze of American History -
goes all the way around the room.

George Washington resigning his commission as Commander

in Chief of the Continental Army to the Congress in 1783.

It was very hard to get a picture of the ceiling. The painting is called
The Apotheosis of Washington by Brumidi. It is 180' high, covers
4,664 square feet and depicts George Washington rising to the heavens in
glory, or becoming a god. It took eleven months to accomplish. If you look
George Washington is the figure in pink (purple, but looks pink) of the
bottom center. He is surrounded by figures from classical mythology.
On each side of him is the goddesses Victory and Liberty.

Every state has two statues of people who

were important to the state's identity and

prosperity. All statues get moved
around to different areas of display.

The following three pictures are of the old Senate Chambers.

The chairs are replicas, the originals are still be

used in the present chambers.

The old Supreme Court before they got their own digs.

The clock on the wall is original and has never needed

any work.

Replica of the Statue of Freedom that sits atop the Capitol dome.