Orchard Beach, on the shores of Lake Erie in the Northwest corner was our first stop in Pennsylvania last fall. I imagine the name of the beach comes from all the orchards in the area. We were only in this part of PA a short time before entering NY on our way to Niagara Falls.
This is where we spent the most of our time in PA, Gettysburg National Military Park. And, because I already wrote about our visit here last fall (October 29, 2015 "What Can I Say About Gettysburg....") I will only post a few more photos from there.
Far across the bean field, the meadow with picket fences, past the tour buses, high on a hill is the Eternal Light Peace Memorial dedicated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the observance of the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, July 3, 1938.
This monument was the inspiration for the eternal flame on President John F. Kennedy's grave at Arlington National Cemetery.
The State of Tennessee Monument was the last of the Confederate state monuments, dedicated July 2, 1982. The monument stands on a base of the outline of the state of Tennessee.
Monuments were not the only things I took photos of. How could I pass by this colorful mound of fungi and not take a picture? I doubt if they were edible, though.
Perspective is everything. While it looks like a very small monument is setting on this large boulder, in actuality the monument is some distance beyond the rock and only the top of it is visible.
The Maltese Cross, symbol of the 5th Corps tops the monument to the 91st Pennsylvania Volunteers.
The twenty-five and half foot tall monument is in the form of a castle tower. This monument is at the summit of Little Round Top.
Red barn and other buildings on the historic Joseph Spangler farm. This barn was built after the war, but the farm and buildings there during the battle did provide cover and concealment for Union Cavalry.
Along the Avenue where all the Vermont memorials stand is this large evergreen tree.
Looking more closely one can see how the tree grew over a large boulder....a different type of monument? One to perseverance?
Standing next to the monument of the 13th Vermont Infantry - the Regiment of my Great-Great-Great Grandfather, John Hull. He was 43 years old when he fought here and was wounded during Pickett's Charge. His daughter, my Grandma Lynam's beloved Grandma Aggie was 13 years old.
If you have a personal connection to the Gettysburg Battlefield, it makes a trip there even more meaningful.
The one thing I regret not doing while in Pennsylvania was going to the area where a great-great-great grandfather on my mother's side of the family lived and is buried. I should have figured out ahead of our trip how near we would pass to Indian Head, PA, home of my branch of the Ridnour family. Next time??
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