The Sesquicentennial “150th Anniversary” of the War Between the States continues in remembrance of Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson who died in May 1863 and the men of Blue and Gray who fought at the Battle of Gettysburg. The Georgia Division Sons of Confederate Veterans commemorates the memory of the Confederate soldier. Read more at: http://www.150wbts.org/
Fifty years had passed since the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1st- 3rd, 1863, when the Veterans of the North and South braved again the summer heat to meet at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
One hundred years have passed since….
President Woodrow Wilson, a son of Virginia, summarized the spirit of this historic event with his July 4, 1913 Gettysburg Reunion Address by saying: quote "We have found one another again as brothers and comrades in arms, enemies no longer, generous friends rather, our battles long past, the quarrel forgotten—except that we shall not forget the splendid valor.” unquote
From June 29 to July 4, 1913, 53,407 Confederate and Union Veterans of the War Between the States came to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania for a Reunion and encampment. Veterans came from 47 of the 48 states of the Union and the Chief Surgeon said of the event, quote “Never before in the world’s history had so great a number of men advanced in years been assembled under field conditions” unquote.
It was the largest combined reunion of War Between the States Veterans.
Do you know who Gen. Robert Edward Lee, Major Gen. George Edward Pickett and Major Gen. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain are who met at Gettysburg in July 1863?
“Comrades and friends, these splendid statues of marble and granite and bronze shall finally crumble to dust, and in the ages to come, will perhaps be forgotten, but the spirit that has called this great assembly of our people together, on this field, shall live forever.” -----Dr. Nathaniel D. Cox at 1913 Gettysburg Reunion
The youngest Veteran was reported to be 61 and the oldest was 112 years young.
The United States and Confederate flags flew side by side at the Gettysburg soldier’s reunion of honored men who had been enemies on the field of battle.
The State of Pennsylvania hosted the 1913 reunion at the insisting of state Governor John K. Tener. Tener also encouraged other states to arrange rail transportation for the participants. Down South in Dixie, the United Daughters of the Confederacy helped raise money for the transportation and uniforms for their Confederate Veterans.
The soldiers of Blue and Gray, Black and White, came with heads held high and full of war stories. It is written that the hosts did not count on Black Confederates attending the meeting and had no place to put them but the White Confederates made room for their Southern brothers. Black Union veterans also attended this event.
It is written that nearly 700,000 meals were served that included fried chicken, roast pork sandwiches, ice cream and Georgia watermelon. The temperature soared to 100 degrees and almost 10,000 veterans were treated for heat exhaustion and several hundred more were hospitalized. The United States Army was also present in support and it’s written that the old men loved the attention.
A highlight of the reunion was the Confederate Veterans walk on the path of Gen. George Pickett’s charge that was greeted, this time, by a handshake from the Union Veterans.
Let’s not forget!
Kewel ...
President Woodrow Wilson...quote “...the quarrel forgotten”...
I’m guessing Wilson isn’t a Freeper!
In before the America haters
LOL
Love stuff like this. Very interesting. Of course, I’m waiting for the sourpuss who will lament that fistfights didn’t break out and chide the confederates for collaborating with the enemy.
Also... it was 100 degrees??? Clearly global warming was getting an early start.
"The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here."
Must have been a drummer boy.
Thanks for posting this, I didn’t know about this event before so the vintage photos of it were wonderful to see. Some of those old fellas had beards longer than the ZZ Top boys.
Few things amuse me more than to hear advocates for the North declare the Confederacy a “foreign government,” and its followers traitors.
Few things are more home-grown than was the Confederacy.
If the Rebels were traitors, then more than one Union General should have been tried for treason for carrying on their friendships with former school- and unit-mates on the other side during the war.
We were in Gettysburg last week for our second visit. We joined some of the walking tours with guides - I highly recommend them. Guide spots are very competitive, and the folks who get them really tell a wonderful tale. They are preparing for their 150th celebration which starts on June 30 with speakers and will include a (3-day?) reenactment of the battle.
I have been teaching my students the Gettysburg Address, looking at the battlefield maps, immersing them in this. It was too important to forget.
Shelby foote made a comment during his interviews for Burn’s civil war documentation about the response from the Union soldiers when the Confederate soldiers came out of the woods during the Pickets charge re-enactment. Shelby said there was a large gasp that came from the union troops
Recordings of a rebel yell -
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/video/What-Did-the-Rebel-Yell-Sound-Like.html
Ping
Raising a glass in their honor.
Well done...
And they respected one another
Unlike the race bait assclown brigade here