My World Tuesday: Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

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Here is a Louisiana memorial at Gettysburg. This dead young man is clutching the Stars and Bars as this angel flies above him, the very real, very earth harbinger of death carried below her but above the soldier.

My daughter and I came to this memorial at the end of our self-guided audio tour last week. We were led along by Dude (so we called him), the little old man stuck inside our very old cassette recorder (Remember those?) whose voice was fresh when half the intersections through which we crossed were controlled by stop signs rather than lights. Dude got us there but he did not tell us in whose behalf this angel with the incredible abs and thighs but woefully masculine face sailed in. Luckily, virtualgettysburg.com filled in the gap.

My daughter was enthralled by Gettysburg. I had not expected her to respond with such enthusiasm. She was all over that battlefield, reading to me from history books as we made the rounds. It's a strange thing that we mark our history by our blood-lettings. Then again, though, we need to remember.

My World Tuesday

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61 Comments

  1. Love the photos-they really show the power behind the statues. Glad your daughter enjoyed the trip-I think mine would too.

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  2. powerful sculpture piece..and thanks for sharing with us :)

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  3. That is one BIG statue(s) memorial! Interesting to see through your eyes.

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  4. It's an impressive statue, Sandy! It's sad that young boys have to die for a cause they even don't understand themselves. As long as I live there has been war. But let's enjoy the good things! Spring, sunshine and good friends and relations.
    Thank you for sharing and also for your visit ans kind words.
    Have a wonderful week Sandy!

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  5. My dad and your daughter would have a good time together. When we were kids he would drag my sister and I around to all the battlefields. Gettysburg is amoung one of his favorites.

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  6. Oh my! how detailed photos of the sculptures. And the hands and the feet, bigger than mine, hehe! It is a piece of our history that we will never take for granted. Good for your daughter, I admire her.

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  7. Very impressive pictures of an important place! Austria has no such memorials because we always lose our battles :)
    But every little village has a small memorial reminding of the dead soldiers of World War I and II. And in Vienna there is a beautiful Holocaust Memorial, too.

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  8. Strange indeed! And not that strange, that those who died live on in our memories... it's compensation, maybe they deserved it.

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  9. That is a beautiful statue. And a very interesting perspective of it indeed.

    Thanks for your visit to the farm and thanks for the advice about the pvc pipe control, that's what I tried to describe when I said long pipe, my brother tried to get me to put one in a long time ago but I like my little visits out to the dam. Gives the beavers something to do, me too. I'll pobably put one in when I'm too old to climb over bush and stumps, hopefully that won't be anytime soon. Well lunch is over, back out to work, again thanks for the visit and thanks for introducing me to an amazing statue.

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  10. What fabulous photos! and what a marvelous memorial! Sounds as though you had a great trip and it was fun reading about your daughter's enthusiasm! And we do indeed need to remember!

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  11. Very poignant shots. Gettysburg is staggering in its reality and the reminders of our checkered past. . .we lived close by for 5 years. My first experience was to take the walking tour alone and I've never forgotten that experience--a bit like a punch in the stomach.

    Thanks for sharing, Sandy.

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  12. Anonymous4:16 PM

    Very interesting post. I'm so glad you're daughter really enjoyed the tour too. And that's she's interested in history.

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  13. Wow. A great and wonderful statue.
    Excellent memorial.
    Thanks for sharing.

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  14. I remember going to Gettysburg with my parents in the late 50s. It was one of the most moving experiences of my life, young as I was then, and I still remember it clearly, though more in terms of the feeling, the energy of the place than things I actually saw there. I enjoyed looking at your photos - that particular monument wasn't there when I visited, and from the standpoint of art, it's interesting to see. But ooking at a monument to the war of a country that very nearly tore itself apart, kind of makes my heart ache in a different way.

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  15. Excellent photos of this outstanding statue, wow.

    Have a great week!
    Guy
    Regina In Pictures

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  16. Sandy, this post gave me chills. That sculpture is powerful. I'm glad your daughter took such an interest. How sad but true about how we mark our history. If it was my child and his blood, I would want him remembered too! "There is no greater love than this..."

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  17. This is amazing. The details is off the hook! I don't blame your daughter, I would be devouring this this to. I have always wanted to travel around America and see the many wonders of my country. Thank you for sharing this.

    By the way, I have been working hard these last two weeks and have to play catch up, as I don't want to miss nothing.

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  18. That photo of hand on hand is great. Gettysburg is such a moving place, I could almost feel the battle raging around me when we visited. I'm glad your daughter was able to appreciate it.

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  19. Anonymous5:58 PM

    Wonderful statue, great shots.
    Thanks fos sharing.
    Thanks for visiting me.

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  20. Those are fantastic sculptures and you did them proud with your photography. I love the way you made me feel like I was running my hands over them with the detail of your shots.

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  21. The hand on the hand is an absolute winner. Fascinating place like where the Magna Carta was signed in the UK, you just know you are wnadeing in Historic footsteps.

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  22. I smiled at your description of "Dude". Beautiful sculpture and you captured it beautifully.

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  23. Anonymous7:37 PM

    I've never been there, so thanks for showing this amazing statue. Very powerful - and I love your closeups and angles.

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  24. Yes, war is not good for children or other living things. It is too bad that one has to go to a cemetery, battlefield or some other such place to find a gorgeous statue.

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  25. Wow! What a huge, magnificent statue! I'm not so sure about that angel, male female? Dunno.

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  26. I haven't been to Gettysburg in too many years; you make me want to go back. Thanks for that link!

    I do wish we built as many monuments to peace efforts as to war--but heartbreak is a powerful thing.

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  27. Great photos of the grey bronze against thhe paler grey trees. You have captured the details so well including the rope eyebrows.
    I do think it is god to remember but not so good to glorify the slaughter by re-enactments.

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  28. Wow very magnificent statues and nice information on them too.

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  29. What great photos. Must be a fantastic place to visit, all that history.Thanks for sharing your world with us.

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  30. Never been there. Has to be at the top of my must see list. It is hard to find any political history that doesn't have the shedding of blood involved somewhere.

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  31. enthralling captures

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  32. Very nicely done. Those perspectives are fantastic

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  33. Great pictures and information on an interesting statue. Gettysburg is definitely on my bucket list.

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  34. The guy had some really long toes. Nice shots.

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  35. those statues are really powerfully done and like your daughter, i'd probably be very interested going all over the field. Really nice photos you took of the statues.

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  36. I remember going to Vickburg as a teenager and being enthralled. I even surprised myself!

    Love these photos, especially the hand on the hand.

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  37. Thank goodness You had Dude to guide you along! That is a great statute, i always forget about the mounments when I go, it is the history buff in me thinking about the actions that took place when and where. Thank you for reminding me of them! Lest we forget the ones that went before us! Nor should we forget the ones that stand ready right now!
    Great post Sandy My Friend!

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  38. Well done - both the photography and the teaching moments! War is hell, but sometimes necessary to preserve freedom. We have taken our grandsons to Gettysburg several times. If you took US 15 through Maryland on your trip you saw some of the country that appears on my blogs.

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  39. what an astonishing Memorial... and the close up details of the statues are quite stunning..

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  40. Beautiful photos of the statues and very informative post. You had really nice and interesting days with your daughter, Sandy.

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  41. That is one huge memorial!

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  42. It's beautiful when we know our history, especially for kids. Without the history, we have no roots. We have to teach our kids values and ideals to keep the history alive.

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  43. Interesting images, Sandy!

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  44. Anonymous7:26 AM

    What an inspired piece! So glad your daughter enjoys history!

    I can remember how much I loathed it all the way through high school. In fact, my least favorite teacher was my senior year history teacher. I skipped more classes than I attended, actually.

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  45. I guess all of us here learned that blood-lettings are always part of history..thanks for the thoughts and photos.

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  46. Sandy: What a wonderful memorial in a very special place.

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  47. I'm always happy to see the young learning and enjoying History.

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  48. Wonderful post, Sandy. And great photographs. Especially nice in black and white.

    Sometimes when history is more "alive" for kids, they appreciate it so much more. I'm glad you both enjoyed the trip and thank you for taking us with you a bit.

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  49. massive and quite interesting..Im interested in history and am now reading about how memorials or hero stones as they were called were built by ancient rulers in India 1000 years ago

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  50. Stunning.. and I am so pleased you showed the finer detales.

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  51. What wonderful photos. I would love to go there.

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  52. Soon as I saw the second shot I realized it was a war memorial and it made me strangely sad.
    These are great shots though and you are right that we should not forget.
    A very powerful statue all in all.

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  53. Wonderful sculptures, we tend to do the same with our history too!

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  54. Yes, so much better than a battleship. The battleship tells a story but this tells a deeper one.

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  55. Great pictures. I've toured Gattysburg maybe three times, with the cassette tape. A very moving experience. So, a battldeship and a battlefield. All that remains is taking Adella to West Point or Annapolis and enrolling her!

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  56. "It's a strange thing that we mark our history by our blood-lettings." An astute observation, Sandy.

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  57. that's a marvelous statue. it's detailed and it somewhat represents beauty.

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  58. wonderful teaching experiences with your daughter. sounds like you had fun too...

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  59. Very nice photo set. I really like the hands. Well done!

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  60. I've enjoyed your Gettysburg posts so much. When I retire in another year, a visit to Gettysburg is at the top of list of places to go.

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  61. Is that your hand, Sandy?

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Thanks for being here.