Gettysburg 150th
This week has been a huge one for Gettysburg, as it celebrates the 150th anniversary of the battle. For the 4th, Jason and I decided to go up for a day of the re-enactment--my brother, Daniel, is a re-enactor for the Union and was be one of 10,000 (!) re-enactors participating. It's also such a momentous event, we wanted to say we were there. Moreover, it's looking like we're going to be having our anniversary trip elsewhere this year, so we wanted to get some G-burg goodness in.
We got there at about 11, and found parking in the town near a sign that advertised itself as a 150th hospitality center. Figuring it'd be good to learn the lay of the land, we popped in to what turned out to be the Prince of Peace Episcopal church, where there were three very kind church ladies who just wanted to give out pretzels, cold water, and make sure the thousands upon thousands of visitors had a shady place to sit and a toilet that flushes. So, not so much with the information, but we were grateful anyway. They didn't even want to let us make a donation for the water, but dude-- if I can donate $5 for two bottles of water, that's still $1 less than most people were selling it, and you get to buy more water for people who can't afford to pay. Win-win.
Tangent: I really, really love the Episcopal church (she says as a former altar-girl). If I ever decide to become a Christian again, not that that's particularly likely to happen, I'd join the Episcopal church. Seriously, the nicest people you could ever meet, and very patient with 10-year-old me's thousands of questions about why Jesus would let people who'd never heard about him go to hell just because they logically hadn't accepted him as their savior. After being sent to my father's Southern Baptist and very irritated pastor many times for confusing my Sunday School teacher, the best answer I ever got was from Reverend Fran (a lady pastor! my mind was blown!) at Church of the Redemption. She smiled and said, "you know, sweetie, the Jesus I believe in wouldn't let that happen." So, four for you, Episcopal church. Keep on being awesome.
Anywho. So, we walked around a bit in the town. Got a strawberry shortcake cupcake from the place across from the Farnsworth with the most delicious buttercream. We saw all of the pop-ups and add-ons to accommodate the visitors, like lots of lemonade stands manned by grinning kids, and a new beer garden at the Farnsworth. We bought tickets for the re-enactment from one of the numerous gift shops, and the man who sold us our tickets was a bit funny because he seemed to have very little sense of spacial awareness. The circle mere blocks from here was at least a mile! The re-enactment site was at least 6 miles from town! (It wasn't.) In the end, we decided to drive straight to the site rather than take the offered shuttle.
First of all, the re-enactment did not take place on the military park land, which makes sense now that I think of it, but we were surprised yesterday, because it appears the re-enactment of Pickett's Charge on the 3rd had taken place where it'd originally occurred. (This photographer has beautiful photos of it.) The event we attended took place on a large field about 3 miles north of the town which was set aside for 4 days of festivities, including at least two re-enactments a day on a large "battlefield," a large civil war-era vendor's village (called the sutler village), and activities tents. There was also a giant "living history" area where visitors could stroll through the encampments where the re-enactors were staying, and at least when there were spectators, doing their business as they would have in 1863. There were also your usual festival foods-- turkey legs, funnel cake, and, blessedly in the heat, snow-cones and slushes.
The first hour was taken up with simply re-hydrating ourselves, as it was unbelievably hot and humid and crowded. We saw visitors from every state, Canada, and even further abroad. (Did you know that there are US Civil War re-enactments in England, France, and Germany? Yeah, me neither.) We took a stroll through the sutler village, and saw all of the period canteens, boots, hats, and jackets for sale, as well as photographers hawking ambrotypes. There were tents set up with actors portraying various hangers-on of camps and towns-- "rest-stations" with women for "conversation," and families sitting down for a scraped-together meal.
We found my brother with the 3rd Maryland in the Union camp, and I was surprised to see a number of black re-enactors among his company, even a black woman portraying a soldier. I know that there were certainly black companies within the war and even at least 400 women (or trans men, in some cases) who disguised themselves and fought. Obviously, re-enacting gives a bit more leeway, but it was still a bit surprising to see, as civil war re-enactment tends to be a largely white male hobby. (I want to take a moment to share Ta-Nehisi Coates's piece related to the racial aspect of the topic for The Atlantic.) I was asked by my brother's commanding officer when I'd be "joining up," though I begged off because I already have quite enough expensive and time consuming interests, thank you very much. I feel like if I ever were to get into any kind of serious re-enactment group (or hell, even the SCA), you might never hear from me again. I have an obsessive personality like that.
We visited with the company for a bit, and then strolled through the rest of the Union side of the living history section, past the Union HQ and the tree-shaded cavalry section where horses were being watered and prepared for the 6pm battle. I would have liked to stay longer there, but my presence felt a bit like intrusion. Even though I knew that the area was open to the public, there were relatively few of us there, sticking out in our modern clothes as the actors huddled around campfires chatting or practicing with the musical corps. Yes, they were acting, but they were also in their own camps away from the general public area-- for me, it discouraged tarrying and interacting for fear we'd just be a nuisance. It was not a performance that invited, I felt, onlookers.
We headed back to one of the activities tents, where we listened to a band singing period songs until it was time to head to the grandstands to watch the battle.
The battle, while exciting to watch the set-up, started late and then was so far-off that it was difficult to make out even from the grandstand. The narrator fell silent through most of it, so that was little help, and it ended rather abruptly, before the Union withdrew from the field (we were watching a portion of the first day's battle).
As we'd chosen the grandstand nearest to the entrance, we were able to beat most of the crowds and leave the site quickly enough to grab a quick dinner at the Farnsworth, which was both packed and seemingly under-staffed, with one poor bartender handling all three seating areas. I wish we could have stayed for a walk or even the mature tour, but we had to get home to Olive.
A side note-- the few Confederate re-enactors I spoke with did nothing to disabuse me of the notion that generally, they're not simply racist shitheads in their everyday lives. I realize that's a wide brush to paint literally thousands of people with, but I do not and probably will not ever understand this "Confederate" mindset in modern people, and truth be told, my modern sensibilities still struggle to understand the Confederate mindset even in the 19th century. I can understand that a portion of the Confederates joined up because the Union was laying waste to their homes and countrysides. And I am under no delusions that the Union army were angels to civilians when passing through, either. Still, there is no way around the fact that the Confederates were fighting for their rights to own other people, no matter how prettily that fact is couched in terms of "Northern Aggression" or "State's Rights." The primary and overwhelming cause of the Civil War was slavery, and the Confederates were fighting to continue it. I will never be able to viscerally understand that. Just like I will never understand the mindset of someone, who, 150 years later, sympathizes with the Confederacy.
"A lot of things have been forgotten. But what I can never forget is the difference between those who fought a war for slavery and those who fought a war for liberty." - Frederick Douglass, 1883.
I am sure that there are re-enactors who portray soldiers of the Confederacy for reasons other than racist shitheadery, and who only ever display Confederate flags when participating in living history events. I have yet to meet any.
The kind that I tend to meet are those who will drop in comments about coming to "get" President Obama next. The most identifiable kind of pro-Confederate spectator in the crowd yesterday were ones who acted in surprise when it was pointed out that the so-called "Confederate Flag" was not, in fact, the official flag of the CSA. These are the same people who claim that their display of the flag is rooted in pride and Southern identity, and not in flagrant racism. It's often pretty clear, after even the most cursory of discussions, these people know little about the history that they claim to want to preserve. If they truly took pride in Southern heritage, there are a multitude of ways to show this without raising a flag of treason, sedition, and blatant racism. But I think most people know that the "Southern heritage" excuse for flying that flag in modern context is bullshit, and I saw that played out again yesterday by civilians in their battle flag tee shirts. It's no different from someone wearing a Swastika shirt and claiming "I'm fine with Jews, I'm just really proud to be German. And anyway, it was originally a positive symbol. But [blah blah insert anti-Semitic comment here]."
I've also found it pretty funny that people in battle flag tee shirts tend to be the ones who want to be gatekeepers of what it means to be patriotic-- they're the ones who loudly proclaim that liberals who criticize the government are anti-American and should just leave the country. Oh, the irony.
Not to end on a sour note-- I largely had a good time yesterday. Jason and I were mistaken for an engaged couple several times, and I joked to him that that must be a good sign, since other people can still see we actually like each other.
Today, I have custom work to do, and then I plan to set aside some reading time. I've just started Michael Shaara's The Killer Angels, which I am surprised I haven't read yet.
Farewell, Gettysburg. 'Til next time.
We got there at about 11, and found parking in the town near a sign that advertised itself as a 150th hospitality center. Figuring it'd be good to learn the lay of the land, we popped in to what turned out to be the Prince of Peace Episcopal church, where there were three very kind church ladies who just wanted to give out pretzels, cold water, and make sure the thousands upon thousands of visitors had a shady place to sit and a toilet that flushes. So, not so much with the information, but we were grateful anyway. They didn't even want to let us make a donation for the water, but dude-- if I can donate $5 for two bottles of water, that's still $1 less than most people were selling it, and you get to buy more water for people who can't afford to pay. Win-win.
Tangent: I really, really love the Episcopal church (she says as a former altar-girl). If I ever decide to become a Christian again, not that that's particularly likely to happen, I'd join the Episcopal church. Seriously, the nicest people you could ever meet, and very patient with 10-year-old me's thousands of questions about why Jesus would let people who'd never heard about him go to hell just because they logically hadn't accepted him as their savior. After being sent to my father's Southern Baptist and very irritated pastor many times for confusing my Sunday School teacher, the best answer I ever got was from Reverend Fran (a lady pastor! my mind was blown!) at Church of the Redemption. She smiled and said, "you know, sweetie, the Jesus I believe in wouldn't let that happen." So, four for you, Episcopal church. Keep on being awesome.
Anywho. So, we walked around a bit in the town. Got a strawberry shortcake cupcake from the place across from the Farnsworth with the most delicious buttercream. We saw all of the pop-ups and add-ons to accommodate the visitors, like lots of lemonade stands manned by grinning kids, and a new beer garden at the Farnsworth. We bought tickets for the re-enactment from one of the numerous gift shops, and the man who sold us our tickets was a bit funny because he seemed to have very little sense of spacial awareness. The circle mere blocks from here was at least a mile! The re-enactment site was at least 6 miles from town! (It wasn't.) In the end, we decided to drive straight to the site rather than take the offered shuttle.
First of all, the re-enactment did not take place on the military park land, which makes sense now that I think of it, but we were surprised yesterday, because it appears the re-enactment of Pickett's Charge on the 3rd had taken place where it'd originally occurred. (This photographer has beautiful photos of it.) The event we attended took place on a large field about 3 miles north of the town which was set aside for 4 days of festivities, including at least two re-enactments a day on a large "battlefield," a large civil war-era vendor's village (called the sutler village), and activities tents. There was also a giant "living history" area where visitors could stroll through the encampments where the re-enactors were staying, and at least when there were spectators, doing their business as they would have in 1863. There were also your usual festival foods-- turkey legs, funnel cake, and, blessedly in the heat, snow-cones and slushes.
The first hour was taken up with simply re-hydrating ourselves, as it was unbelievably hot and humid and crowded. We saw visitors from every state, Canada, and even further abroad. (Did you know that there are US Civil War re-enactments in England, France, and Germany? Yeah, me neither.) We took a stroll through the sutler village, and saw all of the period canteens, boots, hats, and jackets for sale, as well as photographers hawking ambrotypes. There were tents set up with actors portraying various hangers-on of camps and towns-- "rest-stations" with women for "conversation," and families sitting down for a scraped-together meal.
We found my brother with the 3rd Maryland in the Union camp, and I was surprised to see a number of black re-enactors among his company, even a black woman portraying a soldier. I know that there were certainly black companies within the war and even at least 400 women (or trans men, in some cases) who disguised themselves and fought. Obviously, re-enacting gives a bit more leeway, but it was still a bit surprising to see, as civil war re-enactment tends to be a largely white male hobby. (I want to take a moment to share Ta-Nehisi Coates's piece related to the racial aspect of the topic for The Atlantic.) I was asked by my brother's commanding officer when I'd be "joining up," though I begged off because I already have quite enough expensive and time consuming interests, thank you very much. I feel like if I ever were to get into any kind of serious re-enactment group (or hell, even the SCA), you might never hear from me again. I have an obsessive personality like that.
We visited with the company for a bit, and then strolled through the rest of the Union side of the living history section, past the Union HQ and the tree-shaded cavalry section where horses were being watered and prepared for the 6pm battle. I would have liked to stay longer there, but my presence felt a bit like intrusion. Even though I knew that the area was open to the public, there were relatively few of us there, sticking out in our modern clothes as the actors huddled around campfires chatting or practicing with the musical corps. Yes, they were acting, but they were also in their own camps away from the general public area-- for me, it discouraged tarrying and interacting for fear we'd just be a nuisance. It was not a performance that invited, I felt, onlookers.
We headed back to one of the activities tents, where we listened to a band singing period songs until it was time to head to the grandstands to watch the battle.
The battle, while exciting to watch the set-up, started late and then was so far-off that it was difficult to make out even from the grandstand. The narrator fell silent through most of it, so that was little help, and it ended rather abruptly, before the Union withdrew from the field (we were watching a portion of the first day's battle).
As we'd chosen the grandstand nearest to the entrance, we were able to beat most of the crowds and leave the site quickly enough to grab a quick dinner at the Farnsworth, which was both packed and seemingly under-staffed, with one poor bartender handling all three seating areas. I wish we could have stayed for a walk or even the mature tour, but we had to get home to Olive.
A side note-- the few Confederate re-enactors I spoke with did nothing to disabuse me of the notion that generally, they're not simply racist shitheads in their everyday lives. I realize that's a wide brush to paint literally thousands of people with, but I do not and probably will not ever understand this "Confederate" mindset in modern people, and truth be told, my modern sensibilities still struggle to understand the Confederate mindset even in the 19th century. I can understand that a portion of the Confederates joined up because the Union was laying waste to their homes and countrysides. And I am under no delusions that the Union army were angels to civilians when passing through, either. Still, there is no way around the fact that the Confederates were fighting for their rights to own other people, no matter how prettily that fact is couched in terms of "Northern Aggression" or "State's Rights." The primary and overwhelming cause of the Civil War was slavery, and the Confederates were fighting to continue it. I will never be able to viscerally understand that. Just like I will never understand the mindset of someone, who, 150 years later, sympathizes with the Confederacy.
"A lot of things have been forgotten. But what I can never forget is the difference between those who fought a war for slavery and those who fought a war for liberty." - Frederick Douglass, 1883.
I am sure that there are re-enactors who portray soldiers of the Confederacy for reasons other than racist shitheadery, and who only ever display Confederate flags when participating in living history events. I have yet to meet any.
The kind that I tend to meet are those who will drop in comments about coming to "get" President Obama next. The most identifiable kind of pro-Confederate spectator in the crowd yesterday were ones who acted in surprise when it was pointed out that the so-called "Confederate Flag" was not, in fact, the official flag of the CSA. These are the same people who claim that their display of the flag is rooted in pride and Southern identity, and not in flagrant racism. It's often pretty clear, after even the most cursory of discussions, these people know little about the history that they claim to want to preserve. If they truly took pride in Southern heritage, there are a multitude of ways to show this without raising a flag of treason, sedition, and blatant racism. But I think most people know that the "Southern heritage" excuse for flying that flag in modern context is bullshit, and I saw that played out again yesterday by civilians in their battle flag tee shirts. It's no different from someone wearing a Swastika shirt and claiming "I'm fine with Jews, I'm just really proud to be German. And anyway, it was originally a positive symbol. But [blah blah insert anti-Semitic comment here]."
I've also found it pretty funny that people in battle flag tee shirts tend to be the ones who want to be gatekeepers of what it means to be patriotic-- they're the ones who loudly proclaim that liberals who criticize the government are anti-American and should just leave the country. Oh, the irony.
Not to end on a sour note-- I largely had a good time yesterday. Jason and I were mistaken for an engaged couple several times, and I joked to him that that must be a good sign, since other people can still see we actually like each other.
Today, I have custom work to do, and then I plan to set aside some reading time. I've just started Michael Shaara's The Killer Angels, which I am surprised I haven't read yet.
Farewell, Gettysburg. 'Til next time.