This Month's Headlines:
Editor's Letter
May is a month of remembrance, and especially so in Gettysburg. To commemorate this month, we are eager to bring you another issue of historical articles, delicious recipes, and our updated Calendar of Events.
To commemorate the approaching Memorial Day, we offer Remembering the Fallen: Memorial Day in Gettysburg, beginning on page 21. The life of one soldier who gave his life on Little Round Top is chronicled in “Death Found Him Ready”: Lt. Charles Hazlett at Gettysburg, beginning on page 31. Our Editor’s Corner examines one who remains integral to American history, yet seems to have been the subject of less-than-stellar accusations of late. We examine it with Was George Washington a Flawed Man?, beginning on page 41. Read More >
Remembering the Fallen: Memorial Day in Gettysburg
Gettysburg has for many years been the ideal place to remember those who came before us. After the guns grew silent in 1865, the idea to honor the fallen on an annual basis grew and was finally instituted in 1868.
General John A. Logan, who commanded the Union’s Army of the Tennessee in the final year of the war, was elected to Congress from his home state of Illinois. He also earned the honor of becoming the commander of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), the post-war veteran organization for those who fought for the Union in the late war. Nationally recognized and respected, Logan issued as commander of the GAR General Order #11. The order proclaimed that May 30, 1868 would be declared Decoration Day, now Memorial Day, a day set aside to honor the fallen of the Civil War. The day was to be commemorated as an observance “with no set form or ceremony…but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services or testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit.”1 Read More >
"Death Found Him Ready":
Lt. Charles Hazlett at Gettysburg
On the afternoon of July 2, 1863, the key to the battlefield at Gettysburg, Little Round Top, was empty of fighting troops. It was a definite oversight. The commander of the Federal Third Corps, Dan Sickles, was supposed to have occupied it with members of his own troops – but through misunderstanding, he instead left the main Union line, moving his men forward and elsewhere.
When General Warren from General Meade’s staff noticed the hill without defending troops, he hurriedly ordered units from part of the Union Fifth Corps to secure it. It was, after all, the left flank of the Union line – and were it to fall into Confederate hands the entire Federal army was in danger of complete surrender. Read More >
Editor's Corner: Was George Washington a Flawed Man?
With the 250th anniversary of the birth of the United States approaching, there are numerous lectures, documentaries, films, and books about the year 1776 and the Founding Fathers. George Washington is foremost among the subjects discussed. He is called The Indispensable Man by the author and historian James Thomas Flexner, a title that is still reiterated in many documentaries and lectures. He is also called by some a flawed man, deeply flawed, in fact.
While we are all human and we all have flaws, General Washington does not seem to be, upon closer examination, excessively flawed. In studying his life, he actually appears to be exemplary, in spite of the accusations of some today. Read More >
Recipes
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.
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Books are available for purchase
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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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