Our Trip to D.C. (2)

"To the Best of My Ability"
Pt. 2 - Gettysburg

We had originally planned on taking the metro back to D.C. on Monday, January 19th to pick up our tickets to the inauguration, but luckily we were able to get them on Sunday while we were at the reception. That left Monday open, so we decided to take a bit of a drive to visit the Gettysburg Museum.

The drive through the PA countryside to Gettysburg was beautiful. It was lightly snowing and very peaceful. While there were suburbs and newer homes, by and large we were able to really get the sense that we were going back in time as much of the area has been around much longer than we are used to seeing in Missouri. By the time we arrived in Gettysburg, there was about half and inch of snow on the ground, making the inside of the museum that much more inviting.

We started our stay at the museum with a short film that plotted out the battle, giving a play-by-play of the events, narrated by Morgan Freeman. It was a very emotional prelude to the day.

After viewing the film we moved on to the cyclorama, 360 degree work of art depicting the Battle of Gettysburg. After years of being in storage, it was restored and reinstalled at the Gettysburg museum. The cyclorama was painted soon after the battle. With creative lighting and story telling, it was the "movie" of its time and was said by those who were in the battle to be extremely accurate. The art itself was incredible and the restoration was amazing.

After seeing the film and the cyclorama, Charlie and I, both in somber moods, headed toward the museum of artifacts. There we split up and each took our time looking at countless displays of uniforms, ammunition, articles, and other antiquities depicting the life around and in Gettysburg as well as the Civil War. It was a trip back in time, but it was also a poignant nod to the present and to the future. For the North the war was about stopping the spread of slavery into the territories. For the South it was about keeping their economy stable. For those who supported slavery it was about the fear of losing jobs to the inexpensive labor freed slaves would provide. For those who were against slavery it was about freedom, liberty, and treating all men equal. Other than committing the day to service, it was a perfect way to honor Martin Luther King Day. It was also a great way to spend the day before the inauguration of the first African American President.

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this
continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition
that all men are created equal.....that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall
not perish from the earth." ~ Abraham Lincoln