I visited Gettysburg for the fourth time in my life - the second or third where I could spend some time absorbing the battlefield and understanding the importance of specific points of those three days and not just my personal favorites - Little Round Top and 20th Maine's fight and the march of Pickett's Charge.
I know that, in my mind and the minds of many historians, Gettysburg was the most important three days of American history. Had there been a different outcome 155 years ago we might have a far different geopolitical map than what exists now. Many, many Americans do not realize what might have happened if Buford hadn't dismounted his cavalry, if Chamberlain had gone down, or entire Pennsylvania line had broken.
On a gorgeous summer day we visited Cemetery Hill, Oak Hill, the Peach Orchard, the Wheat Field, Little Round Top, and Culp's Hill. We walked the open field where Pickett left over half his division in pools of blood up to the Angle.
It is hard not to walk that field and think of the men on who marched to their doom. I believe in service to the nation requires an understanding of the sacrifices of those who went before us.
For me, it is a touchstone to the importance of what we do in the military. Some day, when they can understand and appreciate it, I will bring the kids here.
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| 20th Maine Fighting Position |
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| Little Round Top looking into Gettysburg |
The National Cemetery
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| Pickett's Charge towards the Copse of Trees |
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