Tag Archives: Pennsylvania

High Water at Gettysburg

“High-Watermark of Picket’s Charge”
Gettysburg National Park, Pennsylvania

This post continues my series on some of our National Parks. Gettysburg National Park has always been one of my favorite places to visit. My first visit was over 50 years ago, back in 1966 when our family took a cross-country vacation in the “Blue Blimp”, a blue and white Dodge motor home. I was fascinated with the battlefield back then. When we lived in the Washington, DC area, we made several trips with our visitors, learning more each time. During our 16 years in the Philadelphia area, we must have made 9-10 visits. My last trip to the park was 2 years ago, when we visited the Washington, DC area. Each time I visit the battlefield, I learn something new and gain a greater understanding of what what this turning point in the Civil War meant to the Country and our people.

This particular site is a solemn point. It was the farthest point that the Confederates made against the Union forces during Pickets charge. The Confederates sent 15,000 troops across this field and suffered fifty-percent casualties. Gettysburg along with the concurrent Confederate surrender at Vicksburg marked the turning point of the Civil War.

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