Gettysburg

Yesterday, to celebrate Independence Day, Ian, Amanda, Clara, Henry, and I visited Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.  I was a bit of a drive to get there, but it was certainly a worthwhile trip.  The entire area was beautiful, with rolling hills and lots of greenery.  The memorials were well crafted, beautiful, and numerous.  Henry in particular kept pointing at the next memorial, usually with a statue on top and declaring that "I want to go there!"  One thing that I appreciated about the trip was seeing the actual numbers of lives lost in the battle of Gettysburg, often carved into granite or written on a plaque and prominently displayed on the memorials.

All parts of the memorials were established as a reminder that our freedom isn't free.  Over the centuries since the United States was founded, millions of men and women have sacrificed themselves to protect the liberties that we enjoy.  Gettysburg was an unfortunate battle, but a necessary one, in that it was a part of the Union Forces to not only end slavery once and for all, but to also keep the country together as one.  What better way to celebrate Independence Day than to be so strongly reminded of that?