Saturday, March 22, 2008

History Turns at Gettysburg

On Tuesday, April 22 our Team will be taking a field trip to the Gettysburg National Military Park. On that day we will literally walk in the footsteps of those brave soldiers who gave the "last full measure" of their lives in order for their country to survive. Whether that country was the United States of America, or the Confederate States of America, those soldiers fought on the very soil where we will be standing. The conditions they endured on those 3 days in July, 1863, is impossible for us to fully appreciate or comprehend, but maybe we can experience a slight glimpse into their world if we allow ourselves to imagine and empathize with their lives 145 years ago. The world has changed dramatically since then, but how different would the world be today if events at Gettysburg would have turned out with a Confederate victory? Gettysburg could have been the turning point battle on the road to a permanent Confederate States of America. Robert E. Lee would be the George Washington of his new nation. How many of us would be proud citizens of the C.S.A., instead of the U.S.A.? More importantly, how much longer would slavery have lasted and what would race relations be like today? What would international relations be like between the U.S. and C.S.?

No comments: