Last Friday, on July 28, 2017, Brett and I drove by car from Williamsport to Gettysburg, which is about two hours away. At first, we just walked aimlessly across the National Cemetery, the cemetery where all soldiers who died during the Battle of Gettysburg are buried.

Memorial on National Cemetery, sign showing the place where Abraham Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address.

Later, we just joined for a short time a guided tour across the cemetery. After the tour participants went back to their tour bus, we went to the souvenir store. In this store, many different kinds of souvenirs were available, for example a replica of the scroll with the Gettysburg Address by US President Abraham Lincoln, imitations of Confederate caps, or mugs and glasses with the picture of Donald Trump. Some things also seemed to me to glorify war a bit, for instance the snow globes or some postcards, where soldiers standing next to canons were idyllically portrayed. After we looked at the souvenir shop, we made a tour across the former battlefields by bus. The tour lasted about an hour, during which, I dozed off for a short time because of the rapid speaking speed of the tour guide. The bus drove through the fields near Gettysburg, passing former Confederate troop positions which were marked by brass signs. We passed a field, about which the guide told us that directly after the Battle was filled with many dead soldiers. So many, that if someone would have wanted to cross the field, he wouldn’t have touched the soil because of the huge amount of dead bodies.

After the battlefield tour, we passed a memorial which illustrates a dramatic story concerning two friends.

Friend to Friend- Denkmal — Friend to Friend Memorial

Friend to Friend Memorial.

Their names were Union General Winfield Scott Hancock and Confederate General Addison Armistead. Prior to the Civil War, they had fought together for the Union Army. Armistead, who originally came from the south, refused to fight against his fellow southerners, which is why he joined the Confederate Army. In Gettysburg, they were destined to meet again after 27 months of the Civil War. At an attack of the Confederates on a Unionist’s position, the regiment led by Hancock fought against the regiment led by Armistead. Ironically, when Armistead was mortally wounded, Hancock was also wounded. The memorial shows Captain Henry Bingham, a personnel assistant to Hancock, rendering aid to the mortally wounded Armistead. It’s possible to see, that Armistead gives his watch and his personal belongings to Bingham to pass them on to Hancock. Hancock survived the war and died in 1886. Armistead died two days after the battle, on July 5, 1863, in Gettysburg. Bingham obtained the status of a General, and served in the United States House of Representatives for 32 years. He was known as the „Father of the House“.

What I want to say by telling this story:

War is terrible, and on both sides of the battlefield there are people. In the end, we are all humans, no matter on which side of the battle we stand.

And we all are responsible, that never again, friends will have to fight against each other.

So, this was a bit more thoughtful, than in my other blog posts, but it is important for me to tell this story, because its message today is crucially important.

And now, enough of writing, here are some pictures:

Pennsylvania Monument, memorial for all soldiers from Pennsylvania who served during the Civil War.

Panorama view over the former battlefield.

Selfie under the Pennsylvania Monument.

• Allgemein