I’m late again. I was hoping to post a piece on July 4th, but I was out celebrating my favorite national holiday … July 4th, Independence Day. To me, every Fourth of July is special, but this one is the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg.
The Battle of Gettysburg lasted three days, beginning on July 1, 1863. The climax of this battle was Confederate General Pickett’s charge on the Union forces entrenched on Cemetery Ridge, which ultimately turned the tide of the war in the Union’s favor. Over 50,000 casualties on both sides were inflicted during the three-day battle.
What I find most compelling about this image and this particular area of the Battle of Gettysburg, is the contrasting themes of the canon and the graves; i.e. the cause-and-effect of those two elements. Both sides, the Union and Confederate soldiers, were Americans fighting and willing to die for what they believed in. This commitment and spirit is what I remember on the Fourth of July.
Thought for the Day: The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor powers to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. Abraham Lincoln, Gettsyburg Address
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