First we located the DC Temple which was interesting to see from the Freeway and then try to drive to. You had to wind through little streets lined with trees to get there. There were so many trees in the area that you didn't know you were there until you pulled into the actual parking lot of the temple. I hear that at night it is beautiful and bright to behold. Wish I could have seen it then.
From there we traveled about an hour north to a place called Gettysburg. Another one of those sacred places that just humbled me.
Inside the visitor's center is this panoramic painting of the historic battle that happened here. An amazing work of art. Wish I could have captured it all on film.
And just across the street from the visitor's center is the actual field or opening in which the battle occurred over three days in July of 1863.
There were monuments every where spread out among the land representing the different states and regiments that were represented and that fought in the this deadly battle. These monuments are meant to honor those who fought at Gettysburg but it gives to me a small glimpse into the tens of thousands of soldiers that were involved.
I read in the information pamphlet that over 51,000 soldiers either died, were wounded or missing after this Battle. Because so many soldiers lay dead in the field, land was purchased here by Pennsylvania's governor to give the soldiers a proper burial. This National Cemetery was dedicated four months after the Battle of Gettysburg took place and it is of course where Abraham Lincoln, then President, delivered his short but famous, inspirational speech, the Gettysburg Address.
