Later that same day . . .
Near the Pennsylvania Memorial we met up with a camp of reenactors.
The New York Infantry, we were told, had one of the highest casualty rates of any company at Gettysburg. We wondered if maybe they might have done better if they had had rifles.
In an attempt to overtake the Union forces entrenched here on Cemetery Ridge, 12,000 Confederate soldier charged across this open field. In one hour, 5,000 men were dead. The Confederate army, crippled by such heavy losses, began its retreat to Virginia.
In 1973, the Park built this huge observation tower. It costs $5 a person to go up, but it is well worth it.
This is part of what you can see from the top; the grave yard, the town, the battlefield.
My boys, Benjamin, Mitchell and Michael
We left the battlefield late in the afternoon, having stayed longer than we imagined yet wishing we had more time. That evening, we visited with some of our extended family, then retired to our motel room to plan the next day's activities.