Last Day at Gettysburg

Back to the reenactment site today, to purchase all the goodies I had looked at on Thursday.  Two books, one about the Gettysburg Address and the other about Civil War canines.  Both authors signed their books for me.  Then over to the “Witness Tree” booth where I bought more than I should have, but when will I ever get the opportunity to get a piece of the trees that stood at the time of the battle and the address?  One item was shaped into a paperweight and the other contains a bullet, a coin, the piece of the tree, and a photograph from the period indicating the tree itself.

Once again I attended a discussion of Civil War medicine.  Each presenter has something new to tell us, and this one actually performed a leg amputation on a mannequin using tools from the period.  It was emphasized that sterilization was nonexistent in the war, primarily due to the fact that the correlation between a sterile environment and infection was not understood.

Then off to the grandstands and my front-row seat for the final battle of the entire reenactment this year.  The cannon were so loud that some car alarms were activated. 

 This time, like last time, was narrated to help us understand what was happening.  As soon as it was over it began to rain.  I had taken a shuttle to the site today, so I hurried to catch one back to where I had left WindDancer.  Too late.  A few hundred people were in front of me, and as we waited for the next bus and the next, the rain pelted down on us and the wind chilled us to the bone.  I tried as best I could to protect my purchases, but the Gettysburg Address book and the Witness Tree item containing the photograph were damaged by the rain.  Every time I look at them I will be reminded how we all stood out in the rain getting soaked to the skin.  Lucky me, though; instead of crawling soaking wet into a car and driving to a hotel to change, I was able to jump into WindDancer, dry off and get into some dry clothes right away.