This Month's Headlines:
Editor's Letter
Autumn has arrived in historic Gettysburg. At The Gettysburg Experience we welcome the season with a series of historical articles, delicious fall recipes, and our updated Calendar of Events – all beginning on page 11 of this issue. Read More >
"The Sweet & The Bitter": General Lee's Last Days
When the Confederates laid down their arms at Appomattox, Robert E. Lee was just fifty-eight years old. Considered in those days beyond middle-age, Lee nevertheless should have enjoyed many more years of life. The war had taken its toll upon the devoted Virginian, and its outcome affected him mentally and emotionally as well as with his physical hardships. “He was exhausted in body,” wrote his biographer Douglas Southall Freeman, “heavy of heart, and troubled for the future of the defeated Southern people.”1
Read More >
"The Best of Us" Lincoln's Cabinet
When Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States in 1860, one of the first decisions he made that November was whom he would choose for his Cabinet. While most Presidents usually chose friends and those who helped them get elected, Lincoln entertained a different approach.
“We needed the strongest men of the party in the Cabinet,” he argued. “We needed to hold our own people together. I had looked the party over and concluded that these were the very strongest men…I had no right to deprive the country of their services.”1
The men he selected were those who had vied for the Presidency themselves. Not one was a friend. Most were jealous of his victory. Many disliked each other. Yet, they formed one of the most essential and historic Presidential Cabinets in the annals of our nation. Read More >
"One Dread Chorus": Gettysburg Remembered
War ranks at the top of the most hideous actions human beings can inflict upon one another. No one understood that fact better than the soldiers who fought. Here are some of the words left to us by those, both military and civilian, who witnessed the Battle of Gettysburg.
“I shall always remember the storm of rebel shells raining about our house through a back window at the foot of a short flight of stairs leading to the attic, one hitting the brick work of the window, opening a glancing blow, shattering the window frame and sash, splintering the face of one of the attic steps, rebounding and knocking out several of the banisters of the winding stairs, and the terrific crashing sound and rattle it made…”1 – Robert D. Carson, age 5 Read More >
Editor's Corner: The Graveyard Shift
The provenance of some of our common phrases usually stems from occurrences that happened centuries ago. One of them is the usage of the expression “the graveyard shift”, a term that means having to work late nights at a profession, usually overnight.
When Scotland united with England in the early 18th century to form Great Britain, the long-time wars between them ended and the two nations entered a time of peace, at least among themselves. The economy began to prosper. Education became more prominent, and many embarked on the new fight to end disease and wide-spread poverty. The quest was a long and arduous one, taking nearly two centuries to abolish, or at least ameliorate, the effects of epidemics such as cholera, typhoid, influenza, and tuberculosis. Other fatal conditions, such as heart and lung diseases, and even cancer, also needed extensive research.Read More >
Recipes
Chile Con Carne
Popcorn Balls
The Books
A Gettysburg Collection,
A Biographical Treasury
By Diana Loski
Diana Loski is the editor of The Gettysburg Experience magazine. For the Civil War enthusiasts, for the visitor passing through, or for the long-time Gettysburg resident, this book will capture the essence of this unique and wonderful, and sometimes tragic, place known to the world as the Borough of Gettysburg.
$12.00 plus $4.50 S&H
Books are available for purchase
by calling
717-359-0776.
About Us
The Gettysburg Experience magazine, a publication exploring the Gettysburg of yesterday and today. We offer an array of interesting articles – most of which have a direct relation to historic Gettysburg from the Colonial era through the turn of the 21st century, often with an emphasis on the famous battle that occurred in the summer of 1863.
The Gettysburg Experience also offers a comprehensive Events Calendar (for those who want to know what special happenings to attend when they visit – any time of the year), delicious recipes, Gettysburg trivia, profiles of people and area businesses.
Having served the Gettysburg area since 1997, The Gettysburg Experience extends our magazine to a wider circulation of readers, offering a glimpse into one of America’s most fascinating towns.
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