Yesterday I spent all day at the Gettysburg reeneactment. I was there when they opened the gates and walked around a little. I was grinnning from ear to ear, I was enjoying being there so much. I made my way across the field towards the Union camp because I saw the guys drilling.
View attachment 315000
View attachment 314999
I didn't go too far though because I wanted to catch the 9 a.m. presentation of Union Generals talking in the main activity tent.
View attachment 315008
The talk was basically a brief recap of what happened on Day 1 before they explained their individual actions on Day 2. Surprisingly, General Sherman came out and hang around! Someone later asked him why he wasn't a blue uniform, instead wearing white, and his answer? "Because I
can!"
View attachment 315007
After the Union Generals, General Lee and his wife Mary Anna spoke about their family life and Lee's connection to his children as a father. After that, General Longstreet came and he and Lee spoke about their Day 2 plans.
View attachment 315011
View attachment 315010
View attachment 315009
I didn't hear it all for I left a bit early to catch good seating for the Cavalry battle at 11 a.m. They were reenacting "Hampton at Hunterstown - Custer's Charge". A LBG from Gettysburg provided commentary to what we saw.
View attachment 315013
View attachment 315012
View attachment 315016
After the Cavalry Battle, I walked through the living history camp and listened to the one or other person talk. They had Longstreet's HQ tent, the Signal Corps, ladies presenting period women dresses and underwear, etc. I later discovered that John Bell Hood and Jubal Early had HQ tents there also. And, not to forget, General Forrest came out to Gettysburg as well!
At 1 p.m. I watched the Live Mortar Fire Demonstration. That was quite fun. I then grabbed me a bite to eat and went back to the living history. I didn't quite dare yet go down to the CSA camp to find
@captaindrew . I eventually did though and after some asking around, the two of us met and talked a while. He showed me his tent and his equipment and then it was about time for him to gear up and get ready for the 4 p.m. battle.
View attachment 315017
View attachment 315018
At that point I headed back to the main area and prepared to watch the battle, "Stemming the Tide - East Cemetery Hill." The LBG provided commentary again. It was great fun to watch. The CSA had 2 batteries with 4 cannons each on the faraway ridge, and the Union too had 2 batteries with 4 cannons each on the ridge and lower section near the left side of the bleachers. The
boom was much more spectacular than with the Cavalry Battle where only the Union had cannons out, 1 battery with 3 cannons. It was difficult to actually see when the battle got most interesting as there was a tree in the middle of the field that blocked much of my view.
View attachment 315021
View attachment 315023
View attachment 315024
View attachment 315025
Before the battle, President Lincoln came out and delivered his Gettysburg Address. I caught the entire speech on video, but have to convert the file before being able to post it. Will take a little longer for me to do that.
View attachment 315026
After the battle, I was headed toward the Youth Activities Tent where President Lincoln was having a meet and greet. On my way there though I found
@infomanpa and
@Equestriangirl93 ! We chatted for a while, then broke up as rain clouds were rolling in.
@Equestriangirl93 and I made our way to the CSA camp to find
@captaindrew . When the storm hit, gentleman that he is, he provided us shelter in his tent where we weathered out the storm.
View attachment 315027
When the rain let up a bit, we walked up to the Reenactors Camp Dance. And it was great! I didn't want to dance as I didn't know the dances, but
@captaindrew talked me into the Virginia Wheel. I got dizzy toward the end but I had a spectacular time! The 2nd North Carolina string band played, and their finale - Southern Soldier and Dixie - was awesome; everyone was singing and hollering along.
Getting back to my car in the darkness across a swampy farm field was a challenge, but with my cell's flashlight I managed to find it. I about fell dead into my bed that night; I had been up since 5 a.m. the catch the sunrise.
I'll be heading back out to the reeneactment in a bit and am looking forward to having another awesome day!