Summer of 21 - #13 - Gettysburg Battlefield#2 -July 1st,1863 - Eternal Light Peace Memorial, Oak Ridge, Barlow Knoll, Seminary Ridge Ave.,McMillan Woods

 May 11th, 2021 - Battlefield Tour Part 2 of 8

July 1st, 1863 - Day 1 of the Battle of Gettysburg continued........

We continue the first day leaving the Railway Cut and heading to the Eternal Light Peace Memorial.

There were some magnificent monuments on the way.

Stop 2 - Eternal Light Peace Memorial

At 1pm Maj. Gen Robert E. Rodes Confederates attacked from this hill, threatening Union forces on McPherson and Oak Ridges.  Seventy-five years later, over 1,800 Civil War veterans helped dedicate this memorial to "Peace Eternal in a Nation United"

The Eternal Light Peace Memorial was dedicated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on July 3rd, 1938, the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg.

We would do well to remember his words that day. "All of them we honor, not asking under which flag they fought then- thankful that they stand together under one flag now"

It took a while and a few attempts to get a picture of the flame as it varied from very very low to a gradual full flame in a matter of seconds. The wind played a part in it as well.

Slight flicker

Nearly full flame

We spent a significant amount of time at the memorial, high on the hill, looking over the former battlefield in front of us.

It is so peaceful here now that you feel that these soldiers' souls must be at peace.  There are spring/summer flowers everywhere and it is very serene.

Let us hope and pray that there will never be another Civil War although I don't like the way history is being eradicated because some don't agree with it. History is history and we must learn from it, not destroy it!!!

Next we went through Oak Ridge on our way to Barlow Knoll.

Stop 3 - Oak Ridge

Union soldiers here held stubbornly against Rodes' advance.  By 3.30pm the entire Union line from here to McPherson Ridge had begun to crumble, finally falling back to Cemetery Hill.

We entered Schultz Woods.

See the house in the background in the picture below.  How neat would it be to live in a prior battlefield!!! Spooky or not!!!  Bryan could do it but I'm not sure I could.

There's a Bed & Breakfast, very tempting........I could probably stay a day or two!!

and a house for sale.......Here's the LINK if you want to buy it......$499,900.  You have to be prepared to have people driving past on the auto tour though!!!! The neighborhood was very nice and you'd probably have company every night.😂

Next we went through a historic district of the town. 

The Seminary Ridge Museum looks like an interesting place to visit.  We gave it a miss this trip but did watch a you tube video giving a tour around it. That saved us some money. I know it's not quite the same as doing it but time is short. There are several videos that the guides have done about Gettysburg that tell the story of different areas/battles. Some are very interesting.  Find a guide that you like and then search for anything else he has done.  You can do the same for any area you would like to visit but will maybe never get there. 

McMillan Woods has a youth campground here now but in WWII it was used as a POW camp.

"When the first day ended, the Confederates held the upper hand.  Lee decided to continue the offensive, pitting his 70,000-man army against Meade's Union army of 93,000."

Here is a summary and map of the first day taken from the Battlefield Tour Map Brochure:

"Elements of the two armies collide west of Gettysburg during the early morning hours.  The fighting escalates throughout the day as more Union and Confederate troops reach the field. By 4pm the defending Federal troops are defeated and retreat through Gettysburg, where many are captured. The remnants of the Union force rally on Cemetery and Culps Hills."

Red are the Confederates and Blue the Union.

The next blog will start Day 2...........