The first place we went on Day 4 was to Gettysburg. Apparently I went there when I was in 8th grade.....I have absolutely no recollection of this at all. And I don't know how I could have forgotten it cuz it is super cool. It was probably my favorite part of the whole trip.
If you're as good at history as I am, then you may not even know what happened at Gettysburg:) Well I learned that the Battle of Gettysburg was the turning point of the Civil War. The South was winning the war by a long ways until Gettysburg.
This is just a picture of a battle field, with us listening to our tour guide Joy who did an awesome job. This is where the first of three days battles took place.
This is where General Reynolds was shot and killed on the first day of the battle. He saved the day for the North, even though the North lost the first days battle. Without him bringing his troops the North would have been pushed way back and lost the high ground (p.s. Kurtis is telling me what to write, cuz I forgot again, imagine that)
This is looking out on the battle field towards Little Round Top, that hill on the right. That's where a lot of the fighting took place the second day. Really you have to go there. It's amazing to hear these stories and their strategies and what went on.
This was a cool monument dedicated to the soldiers of North Carolina that made the final charge on the third and final day of battle. It kinda looks like the Iwo Jima Memorial.
That group of rocks is called Devil's Den. It's at the bottom of Little Round Top. Lots of fighting took place here on the second day, and this is where the North kinda turned the tide of the battle.
Just another view of the battle field
Us from the top of Little Round Top. When we first got to the top of the hill our tour guide just started laughing to herself and said she had just thought of something funny. So when she was done telling us the history part she pointed out those "mountains" that are in the distance behind us. Those are considered mountains back there. She pointed out that those are probably rolling hills back in Utah! You can't see it very well in this picture but off to the left of us is a "mountain" with two lines going down it, like a ski slope. That is where Michelle Obama and her girls came for a vacation that winter, to ski on that huge mountain:) It seriously looks like a small bunny hill from a ski resort in Utah...too funny.
A monument dedicated to the soldiers of Pennsylvania. It had lots of names around it, around 34,000 names of people from Pennsylvania that fought in the Civil War. They have monuments all around the park dedicated to the soldiers from the different states that fought.
The monument on the left is where the southern General Lewis Armistead was shot and later died. His best friend was a General for the northern army, General Hancock. There's a cool story told here about their friendship and having to fight against each other.
610,000 Americans died in the Civil War. 610,000! Holy Smokes! There were almost as many Americans killed in the Battle of Gettysburg, which lasted 3 days, than the whole Vietnam War which lasted 16 years! Our tour guide brought it all into perspective for us. She made us all cry. She pointed out how all this death happened not because Americans were fighting another country, but because Americans were fighting Americans. Pretty sad.
Just another view of the battle field
Us from the top of Little Round Top. When we first got to the top of the hill our tour guide just started laughing to herself and said she had just thought of something funny. So when she was done telling us the history part she pointed out those "mountains" that are in the distance behind us. Those are considered mountains back there. She pointed out that those are probably rolling hills back in Utah! You can't see it very well in this picture but off to the left of us is a "mountain" with two lines going down it, like a ski slope. That is where Michelle Obama and her girls came for a vacation that winter, to ski on that huge mountain:) It seriously looks like a small bunny hill from a ski resort in Utah...too funny. 
A monument dedicated to the soldiers of Pennsylvania. It had lots of names around it, around 34,000 names of people from Pennsylvania that fought in the Civil War. They have monuments all around the park dedicated to the soldiers from the different states that fought. 
This is where the last days battle took place. It's seriously so cool to listen to someone that knows their stuff tell the story of this day of battle.
It's so weird to think of how they fought back then. They just marched right into the enemy, knowing it's total luck if you don't happen to get hit. How scary would that be? I can't imagine just marching right towards thousands of men who are just waiting for ya.
That monument in the middle of the trees is Robert E. Lee. It's a long story and a really cool story, but to make a long story short, almost 9,000 southern soldiers died on this field.
The monument on the left is where the southern General Lewis Armistead was shot and later died. His best friend was a General for the northern army, General Hancock. There's a cool story told here about their friendship and having to fight against each other. 
610,000 Americans died in the Civil War. 610,000! Holy Smokes! There were almost as many Americans killed in the Battle of Gettysburg, which lasted 3 days, than the whole Vietnam War which lasted 16 years! Our tour guide brought it all into perspective for us. She made us all cry. She pointed out how all this death happened not because Americans were fighting another country, but because Americans were fighting Americans. Pretty sad. I vowed to be a History Channel nerd after this day:) Pretty interesting stuff!
And I think Gettysburg is a must see for everyone!!
And after Gettysburg we went to the Amish Country.
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