Clippity-clop. Clippity-clop. During our recent trip to eastern Pennsylvania, we spent a few days in Gettysburg. On our second day, we toured the Civil War battlefields in the back of a buggy, pulled by a beautiful pair of dappled grey Percheron horses named Lu and Tory who work for the Victorian Carriage Company. Over the course of two hours, a licensed battlefield guide retold the story of this epic battle and the three days that changed America’s history.
The route we took traveled through areas of the battlefield not frequented much by automobiles. Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable about the Battle of Gettysburg and the Civil War in general. Seeing the battlefield this way allowed us to cover a lot of ground and learn things we never would have learned on our own.
What I found to be the most fascinating, was hearing what happened to the people of Gettysburg who lived near the battlefield at that time. Frequently, when their houses were commandeered by soldiers, they would return home to find clothing, food–or their house– gone. These images stuck with me and stick with me still: the human side of battle. Looking out at the pastoral landscape, I found it difficult to envision that over a span of merely three days, these rolling hills, fields and farms were stained with the blood of nearly 50,000 men who lost their lives, the countless more who were injured, and the women and children they left behind.
The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.
President Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, November 19, 1863
Take the road less traveled, Beth
Viviane says
Toward the end of World War II, my grandma’s family was told to evacuate their house and temporarily head west to get out of the way of any potential fighting between the German and Russian armies. When they returned to their village a few months later, their house was burnt down as it was a bit outlying and had been in the line of battle. They lost everything except for what they carried on their backs. My beloved great-aunt Elsbeth Rex (after whom Rex was named) went through the ashes of their house to salvage anything possible, but the only thing she found was a charred wooden tool used to stir/knead doughs. I have this stirrer now and treasure it. I always think more about how wars affect those off the battles fields than about those on the battle fields.
Beth Shepherd says
Me too, Viviane. There were so many lives “lost” that history never accounts for. In some ways, those left behind suffer mightily in comparison to those who die on the battlefield: starvation, loss of home and financial support, loss of property. Many women had to marry again to have any hopes for survival and many children ended up in orphanages or destitute and on the streets.
Your wooden tool is a reminder of the enormity of it all and how lives are changed and generations impacted.
Viviane says
Most definitely.
My grandpa was the son of a World War I widow and her second husband.
Really, as far as 20th century German history goes, I can tell it all through the example of my own maternal and paternal ancestors. Both sides of my family represent different paths these generations took. It’s worthy of a book, but I am too intimidated to write it, probably because I am too close to it all still.
Anwar says
Interesting thing about their houses being commandeered, that is pretty bad though. You do sometimes not think about the human side of the war. I haven’t been to Gettysburg in years, i remember going there as a boy scout many years ago and it was one of my most memorable trips with them. I have been meaning to go back and it is fairly close to me so I really need to stop making excuses and visit!
Beth Shepherd says
Definitely go! It was a beautiful area and I particularly enjoyed the “behind the scenes” scenes. Past all the big monuments and memorials…there’s a lot of individual history.
Ariana says
I’d like to hear the stories being told about the tragic event that happened in the past. This beautiful place can’t be pictured out as a bloody battlefield because it turn out to be a magnificent place.