Our Dance: My Birthday

I had the best birthday this year!! I woke up to breakfast on the table. I usually get breakfast in bed, but this year I think I surprised my family by how early I woke up. Ok it was still 10am but that is still pretty early for me (on days I don't have to get up with Caitlynn and Dalton)

While we were eating breakfast I was told to go get ready as soon as I was done.... and to make sure I wore something warm. It was probably 11:30 by the time we headed out the door. I still had no idea where we were going. When we turn left out of our subdivision I had a hint... just a hint where we were going. By the time we got to Emmitsburg, PA I knew. My family was taking me to Gettysburg. What a birthday present. We stopped to get subway sandwiches for later. Even better... My family had packed a picnic. I love picnics. Once at Gettysburg our first stop was the new visitors center. We saw a short film and then roamed around in the museum. Which by the way, if you ever visit Gettysburg plan at least the entire afternoon in the museum. It is very cool. The entire time we were in the museum Caitlynn and Dalton were walking around. So by the time we actually headed to the battlefield they were pretty tuckered out.

We left the museum around 4:00 which meant we only had at the maximum 2 hours of daylight left to see the battlefield. Our self guided audio tour said it would take 3 hours. We are masters of fitting 3 hours into 2 so off we went.

Ok you know I couldn't do a blog about history without giving you a history lessons. So here it goes.

To understand the importance of Gettysburg you have to understand what lead us to this point in the war.

In Sept 1862 the confederate army tried for the first time to invade the North which resulted in the Battle of Antietam. (see other blogs about this battle). The Confederate Army was unsuccessful. After that battle in Dec 1862 the confederate and union armies met in Fredericksburg. (I am not sure if I blogged about this. We went to Fredericksburg last November. We didn't see any sites, but do have plans to visit it again. It is about 2 hours south of here). At this battle the confederate army had a decisive win, but at the loss of one the most beloved Generals, Stonewall Jackson. On a high, Robert E Lee once again decides to invade the north. The two armies meet up in Gettysburg just by chance on July 1-3 1863.

While Antietam holds the record for the most losses in one single day, Gettysburg holds the record for the most losses in one single battle. Over 51,000 died on this battlefield in those 3 days of fighting. The confederated ended up loosing this battle. Thus stopping any further invasion into the North.

The battle took place south and west of the town of Gettysburg. What is soo cool about this battefield is they have done a very good job of preserving it just like it was in 1863. The battlefield is not fenced off. You will be driving down the road and the all of a sudden you are on the battlefield. The battlefield itself is about 25 square miles.

There are a couple of towers where you can climb up and get a birdseye view of the battlefield. The kids climbed up one, despite the wind, and took these pictures for me.

This is a picture of the town of Gettysburg

Also all over the battlefield are monuments. Although I don't know what each one represents, I do know there are several that signifies where major battles took place, the exact places Generals were killed, etc.

I have to say the actual tour of the battlefield was quite boring. I really am not much into the strategies of the battles. I want to hear the stories. For example, we saw the house where Jennie Wade lived. She was the only civilian killed during the battle. That in itself is just amazing. If you want to learn more about the actual battle I have posted a link.

After the battle there were so many dead and wounded the surrounding towns did not know what to do. It was decided there should be a Cemetery designated to the dead. (Most of the time the dead where just bured where they lie). On Nov 1863 Lincoln was asked to come up to Gettysburg and say a few words at the dedication. Those "few words" are the most famous words spoken. The Gettysburg Address.

Ok so we have now toured the battlefield and it is now 6:00 and we are hungry. We still have a picnic but it is way too cold and windy to eat outside. So we eat our Subway sandwhichs, chips, macaroni salad and gaterade the car. It was GREAT!! I loved it!!! That was the best birthday dinner I think I have ever had.

After dinner Caitlynn and Dalton were getting restless. We decided to find a McDonald's playland so they could run around before our 1 1/2 hour trip home. No such luck. So we had to resort to the next best thing. WALMART. Yep we took the babies to Walmart so they could run around. And of course we let them play with the toys. It was hilarious.
We first had to see the fish