Gettysburg

Being that I am alone this summer, I have a lot of spare time on my hands (and one can only have so much fun playing with two generally non-responsive cats). I have decided to, with that spare time, hop in my car on my days off and just drive to a random destination. Monday, July 2nd, I went to Gettysburg.

First of all, the drive there was fantastic! I took several back country roads there (not the most direct route, but beautiful). I drove past farms, 2 vineyards and through many colonial-era towns. Of particular interest to my nerdy, horticultural side was the abundance of Day Lilies; in some areas, they were comparable to fields of dandelions back in Minnesota.

In the few hours I was in Gettysburg, I learned a lot about the Civil War. The first thing that surprised me was that the "Battle of Gettysburg" happened July 2-4, 1863. It was very sobering standing on the fields where thousands of men were losing their lives exactly 144 years before. I also saw homes where former military personnel lived and brick buildings still showing scars from bloody shootouts.

Perhaps the most unexpected feelings were those of shock...maybe even a little disgust. To the best of my knowledge, Gettysburg is NOT a Confederate town (it is just above the Mason Dixon Line, but there is a strong sense of "Southern Pride" there. I noticed several Confederate flags flying; one of particular note had "I'm not coming down" stitched across the bottom. Also, traveling around the battlefield, there were many, many Confederate flags and "First National Flag of the Confederacy" flags (I had never seen this last one before Monday).

Maybe I'm confused, but haven't the Confederate flags become signs of racism? I realize that some people reject this concept and say that it is just a symbol of "Southern Pride," but come on...The Civil War was fought mostly (I believe) because 11 "rogue" Southern states felt that they were entitled to keep, nay, own, slaves. Those flags are symbols of that army and thus that polluted ideology. I understand that people are proud of where they come from, but you don't see (normal) people in Germany flying Nazi flags? Japanese citizens flying the "Kamikaze" flags? (side note: I'm listening to Bush talk about the current war right now...it's funny how he turns everything that is supposed to honor our troops into a platform for the war. Anyway...)
The other striking thing was that I did not see ONE person of color the whole time I was there; not on the battle field, not in the town, not in the war relics shop...Again, who can blame them? I wouldn't want to go somewhere people still flew banners that reminded me of how my ancestors were treated as property.

I'll stop now. I just wanted to share some thoughts.
I feel a new interest in the Civil War brewing inside me. Maybe I'll make trips to other Civil War battlefields this summer.

N


Here's a kludged-together panoramic of part of the battlefield