Gettysburg, 1863

The historians among you may connect the place and date given as a pivotal event in the US nation. Last Saturday marked the 145th anniversary of the Union's defeat of the Confederacy, and we travelled to Gettysburg in southern Pennsylvania for a historical reenactment of three battles.

This was no small event. Both the battle and the reenactment took three days, though we participated in only one. We booked seats in a large stand to witness battles and other events over more than three hours. The number of troops on the field in front of us totalled over 12,000. Yes, you read that correctly, and many were on horseback, including General Custer who later met a sticky end at Little Bighorn. They were accompanied by artillery, including canon and mortars, all of which made very loud bangs and sent synchronised clouds of smoke and dust into the air at 'landing points'. The battlefield itself was close to the actual sites, but not precisely at them, and consisted of open fields and woodland in a gently rolling landscape. And, of course, the troops were all dressed in period costume. This made the reenactment very realistic.

In addition, there were hundreds of people dressed in period costume walking about a kind of tent city which comprised residential estates and shopping centres. The participants were of all ages from babies to the very old and portrayed all social classes from labourers and the military to professional people and Negroes (slaves, servants, etc.). The 'shops' sold all manner of traditional merchandise and souvenirs. My collection of T shirts expanded to include a special souvenir of the day. There were also detailed expositions of drumming and piping, and of the weapons of 19th century warfare including early mortars.

All in all, it was a wondrous day and I, Dot, Emily and Greg greatly enjoyed ourselves. The pictures show canons firing, General Custer on horseback, and a crowd scene in tent city.

AS