Day 3 - Monday, April 25, 2011

Pennsylvania - what a gorgeous state! After an hour and a half drive north of Washington D.C., we arrived at Gettysburg National Park and Battlefield. Along the way, I opened an envelope that my cousin, Peter Van Brunt sent to me prior to our trip. It contained dozens of letters written by the Winans brothers during the Civil War. For each letter was a photocopy of the the original along with a photocopy of my great-grandfather's translation long before I was born. What an amazing record to have. At Gettysburg, we started out in the Visitor's Center where we watched a film about the historic battle, narrated by Morgan Freeman. Afterward, we then proceeded into a circular room where we stood in the center of an oil painting known as The Gettysburg Cyclorama - 42 ft tall x 365 ft in circumference. This really was quite an amazing way to learn about the battle!

Then we experienced Gettysburg the best way possible - with a personal professional tour guide. Jim Martin has two history degrees, spent the last 15 years studying and guiding visitors throughout the historic battlefield, in short - the man was a walking, talking encyclopedia of the Battle of Gettysburg. As our personal guide, he actually got in our van and drove us all over the park, stopping along the way so we could get out and walk about the battlefield. I provided Jim with information on three of my great-great-great uncles who fought and died at Gettysburg. His knowledge was so keen, not only was he aware of the specific units that my family fought in, but he knew exactly where on the battlefield they were on each day of the battle.

We drove out to see the 150th PA Volunteers Monument and the white barn where James Winans perhaps slept prior to his capture in the town of Gettysburg; we climbed up Little Round Top where his brother, Jason Winans and the 83rd PA Volunteers, augmented Col. Chamberlain's 20th Maine; and we sat at the grave of their brother, David Winans, who fought and died with the 18th Mounted Cavalry the day before the battle began.

By days end we learned that there are 1300 monuments in Gettysburg National Park, more than any other battlefield in the world (and Jim Martin knows where everyone is located). We got to see countless monuments, built as a tribute to the valiant men of both the Union and Confederate Armies, including one to Robert E. Lee.

Yes, the kids were definitely over-indulged with intricate Civil War knowledge and the Battle of Gettysburg trivia. But the experience of climbing to the top of the Pennsylvania Monument for a birds-eye-view of the battlefield, reading (and touching) the names of each of the Winans brothers on it's sides, and ending our day sitting in the grass and talking at the Gettysburg National Cemetery, where President Abraham Lincoln gave one of the most famous speeches in the world, will be something that we each remember for the rest of our lives.

Semper Fi!