If you ask
your Freedom tour child today, “How was your day?” they will most likely
respond with “emotional,” “sad,” “hot,” and/or “serious.” Then you’ll ask why because one-word answers
on this trip don’t cut it.
I do hope
my classmates respond with one of the following topics.
We began
our day in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. There our busses experienced an amazing
tour of the battlefields, hills and forests. We learned about General Lee and
why he chose to charge the Union, the history of the memorials, how to identify
cannons, the only civilian death, and the very idiotic General Sickle.
Though
General Sickle was an idiot we must (as Brunswickians) thank him for one thing
– making a bad choice that allowed for General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlin to
shine as a commanding general. Without Sickles poor choices we wouldn’t have
such a hero that once belonged to our community.
General
Sickle was a politician and a lawyer. He did not attend West Point and only
became a general because he supported Lincoln even though he was a
Democrat. It was important that the
President had support from both parties.
Sickle was put in charge of a small amount of men, yet he managed to
kill many more. Why? He didn’t follow
orders at all. The commanding General of
Sickle gave him strict orders. He was to hold a hill and field that connected
him with the next unit. He, however, moved about a mile forward leaving a huge
gap between himself and the next unit.
Another officer was sent to check out the situation and found atop of the
hill only four flagmen. He sent his men to find more men to cover the hill.
Enter the 21st Regiment
of Maine
The 21st
of Maine was on reserve that particular day so when the soldier came to them
asking for help, the 21st offered their help.
The 21st
adversary (a regiment from Alabama) deserves recognition. They woke up at 3:00 am to march 22 miles to
Gettysburg. Upon their arrival to the
confederate camp they joined the ranks of the confederate soldiers marching
into battle. They did not rest or refill
their canteens. They only break they
received was on the top of Big Round Top.
After they hiked dense foliage uphill, the 21st then faced
their adversaries and that battle commenced.
Sickles own
soldiers suffered a great deal. In an
orchard he created an angle in his formation that exposed both sides to heavy
fire. There his men had 50%
causalities. In a wheat field not too
far away, soldiers were walking across bodies.
The last
group that suffered under General Sickle was the 1st Minnesota.
General Sickle realized there was a gap in his line so he sent the tiny 1st
Minnesota. They were outnumbered 6:1. They experienced 68% causalities.
We left
Gettysburg for Arlington, Virginia. There we visited Arlington Cemetery. We watched the Honor Guard protecting the
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We also
visited the Kennedy graves. Both places were incredibly emotional. There were over thirty funerals that
day. The Honor Guard marches 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
During the final test of Honor Guard training there is a 90% failure
rate. During past hurricanes the Honor
Guards were given the opportunity to leave duty, but the valiantly refused.
Our final,
and most emotional, stop of the day was the Pentagon Memorial. As many know, it was created to honor the
memory of those who fall that day and tow who rose to the occasion to
help. I entered the memorial believing
that I wouldn’t cry, but left as an emotional wreck. The memorial is beautifully pieced together. It highlights every fallen person from the
youngest (age 3) to the oldest (age 71).
It honors those working that day, who kissed their loved one goodbye
early that morning. As I reread the speech, I thought of those who died and
those who were left behind. Today made
me reflect on what I would have done if my parent’s names were on that list of
those who perished.
I hope my
classmates come away with a greater understanding of the events that impacted
our friends and families.
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