Trip to Gettysburg...... part 2

OK so after we left the visitor center we went to Cemetery Hill (where Union troops had retreated to at the end of the first day and fought to maintain ground on the second day).....

The picture below doesn't show too much but Mike is standing under the tree at the crest of the hill and the boys are on the other side....it was quite steep....imagine charging that hill under fire! 

Then we went across the street to the Gettysburg Cemetery.  What a breathtaking sight... to see all of the graves of the soldiers who died at Gettysburg....and these were only Union soldiers, the Confederate soldiers are buried elsewhere.



These are graves of unknown soldiers.  There are just under 1000 of these numbered stones.  There are also mass graves of unknown soldiers as well as others located around the statue that marks where President Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address.





Your Own Proud Lands Heroic Soil
Must Be Your Fitter Grave
She Claims From War His Richest Spoil
The Ashes Of The Brave



There were also some graves of those who fought in other wars......

There is a beautiful monument of the death of General Armistead.  Apparently he was a Freemason and gave the signal of distress which was recognized by a Union soldier, also a Freemason, who went to General Armistead and allowed him to pass on his belongings and a message to his family and his best friend, General Hancock of the Union Army.

This statue pictured below marks the spot where President Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address.

After we left the cemetery we went to the place of the first day of battle....I know, we were backwards....McPhearsons Ridge.  They have a monument there that states that it is an "enduring light to remind us of unity and fellowship". 

Another side of the monument with the parts of the battlefield in front

We then went to see the Virginia Monument and after that the Mississippi and Louisiana Monuments

The Virginia Monument has General Lee on his horse Traveller and the men at the base of the monument represent those who served under General Lee.

 I was awestruck by the next two monuments.  The Mississippi State Monument shows a man fighting over a fallen comrade.


This monument reads:
On this ground our brave sires fought for their righteous cause
In glory they sleep who gave to it their lives
To valor they gave new dimensions of courage
To duty its noblest fulfillment
To posterity the sacred heritage of honor



And the Louisiana Monument showed an angel perched on what appears to be a magnolia tree over a fallen soldier.





We then went to Little Round Top and the Devils Den.  Here are a few pictures of the sights from these places.

This monument is dedicated to the 44th NY Infantry and is located on top of Little Round Top

You can see Devils Den at the left side of this picture....its a big rock formation



I don't remember who this monument represents but with sundown and the colors I couldn't not post the picture :)



Then Mike took me to see a monument that was placed in tribute to the Irish Brigades 63, 69 and 88

 We then went to a barn that still has a canon hole in its side from the battle.....

You can see the hole right under the diamond shaped structures

Then we went our separate ways.  I went back to the site of the battle on the third day and took a few more pictures.  Earlier in the day there were crowds of people but when I returned there were very few tourist left and it was even more beautiful for its serenity.

I hope you enjoyed looking at my pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them.  If you have never visited Gettysburg it is well worth the trip.....and I can rent out my brother as a tour guide....I promise to split the proceeds with his wife!

Bronwyn