Photo gallery here
If I thought Antietam had a lot of monuments and statues, you should see Gettysburg. Ai yai yai, there are over 1300 monuments alone. Plus, there are many more markers and placards.
Anyway, I took a short drive from Frederick to Gettysburg, PA to the National Military Park. I pulled into the visitors center and the place was full of tour and school buses and a ton of kids on field trips. I wanted to turn around and go back. I don't want any runny-nosed kid mucking up my photos. It turned out not to be a problem. The place is so big that everyone just spreads out as they tour the sites on their own from their vehicles.
One of the cool things to see are the areas of the park that were photographed after the battle. The famous photo of the dead "sniper" at Devil's Den taken by Alexander Gardner is perhaps the most famous faked photo ever. The photographer dragged the dead Confederate soldier from about 40 yards away, propped a rifle against the rocks and shot the photo. Were there no ethics back then. Of course I've dragged dead bodies into different positions to make better photos. Who hasn't
Gardner's photo from 1863
My photo of the same spot in 2007Over the 3-day battle of Gettyburg from July 1-3, 1863, 51,000 Americans were either killed, wounded or missing. Antietam was the worst single day battle and Gettysburg was the worst battle ever fought on U.S. soil.
It's afternoon now and I'm beat.
Photo gallery here
Last night I went online to check my hotel reservations in Williamsburg, VA and then checked out the Jamestown website. The same Jamestown that the Queen of England visited the other day. I was hoping all of the hoopla would be over. WRONG! It turns out that this weekend is their big 400th anniversary celebration. Crap. That means big crowds. I had to buy my ticket in advance (triple the normal price). Found out where to pick it up at will call and which parking lot I need to park at in order to be shuttled in to Jamestown. Since they are anticipating huge crowds, the regular parking lot is closed and there are 8 shuttle equipped park and ride lots. Wait, it gets even better. It turns out Ricky Skaggs is performing the same day I'll be there. Not the day before or the day after, the exact SAME day. How awesome is that! Aw Crap.
Observations from the day:
Why would a kid - probably 16 or 17 - wear a heavy, wool Union "uniform" and hat to Gettysburg. It was way too warm for that. I mean, great, you're a Civil War buff, but relax kid and have a good time. Leave the uniform at home.
Tomorrow: Travel to Williamsburg, VA
It's afternoon now and I'm beat.
Photo gallery here
Last night I went online to check my hotel reservations in Williamsburg, VA and then checked out the Jamestown website. The same Jamestown that the Queen of England visited the other day. I was hoping all of the hoopla would be over. WRONG! It turns out that this weekend is their big 400th anniversary celebration. Crap. That means big crowds. I had to buy my ticket in advance (triple the normal price). Found out where to pick it up at will call and which parking lot I need to park at in order to be shuttled in to Jamestown. Since they are anticipating huge crowds, the regular parking lot is closed and there are 8 shuttle equipped park and ride lots. Wait, it gets even better. It turns out Ricky Skaggs is performing the same day I'll be there. Not the day before or the day after, the exact SAME day. How awesome is that! Aw Crap.
Observations from the day:
Why would a kid - probably 16 or 17 - wear a heavy, wool Union "uniform" and hat to Gettysburg. It was way too warm for that. I mean, great, you're a Civil War buff, but relax kid and have a good time. Leave the uniform at home.
Tomorrow: Travel to Williamsburg, VA
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