My interest in the American Civil War has peaked in recent years. Initially interested for the photography aspect alone, I have now begun to harbor a deep respect for the men that fought for both the Federals and Confederates, learning much along the way.

 

The following were taken in July, while I was attending the 146th Annual Gettysburg Civil War Battlefield Re-enactment. These are a handful of the 2,000 photographs I took over the period of a week, documenting not only the event, but the Battle of Gettysburg. Along the way, I met some of the more interesting folks that I've encountered for 2009. From a battlefield photographer who portrays a medical doctor while re-enacting to the full-time elementary school teacher that is a wonderful cook, I've learned much along the way.

 

I'll post more photos in this thread in the near future, which will end with a full post on the Battle of Gettysburg.

 

My drive to Gettysburg was marred in rain and cold -- for July. Encountering sheets of rain, 50 degree weather and fog at the higher elevations, the drive was relatively placid and moody. But after crossing one mountain range on U.S. Route 30, the skies opened up and it became quite warm.

 

 

Patriotism runs strong.

 

I envy this individual.

 

Nice.  I love Gettysburg.

I always thought those re-enactments were weird, but your photos are very nice.

Beautiful photos of a place with a tragic history.

 

Reading accounts of the battle adds to the intensity of the experience of visiting the battlefield. The slaughter was ghastly and battlefield medicine was primitive by modern standards. Wounded young men died in terrible agony as the battle raged around them, sometimes after lying unattended for hours, and field hospitals performed wholesale amputations without anesthetics. Without antibiotics, many died from infections after surviving surgery.

 

The statisics on various regiments' memorials itemize killed, wounded, and missing. I wonder how many of the missing were atomized by canister shot at point-blank range, and how many saw the carnage and said "f**k this!" and started walking home or to parts unknown.

Yeah. I've learned a lot about the battles -- from Cynthiana to Richmond to Perryville (all Kentucky) and many others, and it's become sort of a thing I try to make it out to see at least three or four times a year. It's engaging. You'll soon realize that the crap they spoon-feed you in school textbooks is really far from the truth.

 

More photos coming tonight. I took over 2,500 photographs over a week time period, many of that during the re-enactments for redundancy. But I have many from the battlefield.

If there ain't an Auntie Anne's Pretzel, I won't be goin'!

Sherman, you might find it interesting to visit the Allen County (IN) Public Library's Lincoln Collection. It was unfortunate that the Lincoln Museum in Fort Wayne closed, but at least the collections stayed intact and in Indiana.

 

Artifacts went to the State Museum in Indianapolis, and documents and texts, "an incomparable repository and resource for information on the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln," went to the local public library, where they're available to to scholars and researchers and are being digitized to make them available on-line and free to the general public.

There were vendors selling delicious made-on-site pretzels, turkey legs, burgers and other (fattening) foods! I always enjoy the drinks more than anything else -- various drinks and ales made out of natural roots.

Great pictures, I went to Gettysburg for the 1st time earlier this year.

    If I remember right, the two armies marched side by side in parallel paths 100 miles long and 20 miles wide on either side of a mountain range before realizing that they were right next to each other, and then they met at Gettysburg.

 

    Can you imagine that happening today?

 

    Thanks for the photos.

 

 

 

Gettysburg National Cemetery

Beautiful views of a place with a tragic history. I saw similar vistas in August 2008, but the fields were parched and brown, the sky was bright overcast, and the heat and humidity were sweltering. It helped me visualize (without the monuments) what Union and Confederate troops might have experienced, with the misery exacerbated by wool uniforms and heavy packs, as they moved into their positions before the slaughter began.

I know what you mean. I was out at the re-enactments during the middle of the day, and I was taking accutane at the time. The first day I neglected to put on moisturizer and sunscreen, and I was a lobster in just two hours. It made for a painful night of sleeping. The next day, with sunblock and all, it was much more enjoyable -- but hot.

... and I was taking accutane at the time ...

 

Increased sensitivity to UV radiation is just one of the possible side effects of Accutane. In teens it's been linked to psychotic behavior and even suicides. It's hellish expensive, too.

 

I took it for more than a year after I finished my radiation and chemo in 1997, because it was thought to have "chemo-preventative" value; chemo and radiation are, themselves, carcinogenic, and some research indicated that accutane's strong anti-oxidant properties might help prevent the formation of new tumors from forming as a consequence of the treatments. Subsequent studies found that it might, in fact, have just the opposite effect. I stopped. I do remember being very susceptible to reallyreally bad sunburns while taking it.