norshorblufish
By the Big Water
150 years ago on this day July 3 1863 in a little Pennsylvania town of Gettysburg. One of the bloodiest battles on American soil came to an end.
Many young Americans died there. Some fighting for what they believed in.
Some to protect the union of this country.
They were Americans fighting Americans. Some against family members. Many are still buried there in the cemetery dedicated to them. Some are still buried on that field not to be found.
I have visited there several times. It is a quite somber place even with all the tours around.
I came back home to Minnesota from one of my visits and wrote a little poem about one of the parts of that battlefield.
Remember I am no poet so please excuse me.
Ode to Little Round Top
by T.E.U.
I sit alone on this rocky hill
As the evening comes I get a chill
Or is it when I look in the valley below
I think of the men that died here long ago
Far away from their parent, children and wives
They came to this place and gave their lives
As darkness falls little lights begin to flash
Is it the fireflies or muzzle blasts
Is it my imagination getting the better of me
Or is it the battle of days gone by I see
In my mind I can hear them yell and shout
I see their forms all about
All of a sudden it all comes to a stop
I realize I’m sitting on this rocky hill called Little Round Top
Here is a speech that I like by Joshua L. Chamberlain who was Colonel of the 20th Maine Infantry it was given at the 20th Maine monument dedication.
It could apply to any battlefield.
"In great deeds something abides.
On great fields something stays.
Forms change and pass;
bodies disappear; but spirits linger,
to consecrate ground for the
vision-place of souls.
And reverent men and women from afar,
and generations that know us not
and that we know not of,
heart-drawn to see where and by whom
great things were suffered and done for them,
shall come to this deathless field
to ponder and dream;
And lo! the shadow of a mighty presence
shall wrap them in its bosom,
and the power of the vision pass into their souls."
-- Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain
Commenting on his return to Gettysburg
and the great battlefield there.
God bless these men and all other veterans from other wars!
Many young Americans died there. Some fighting for what they believed in.
Some to protect the union of this country.
They were Americans fighting Americans. Some against family members. Many are still buried there in the cemetery dedicated to them. Some are still buried on that field not to be found.
I have visited there several times. It is a quite somber place even with all the tours around.
I came back home to Minnesota from one of my visits and wrote a little poem about one of the parts of that battlefield.
Remember I am no poet so please excuse me.
Ode to Little Round Top
by T.E.U.
I sit alone on this rocky hill
As the evening comes I get a chill
Or is it when I look in the valley below
I think of the men that died here long ago
Far away from their parent, children and wives
They came to this place and gave their lives
As darkness falls little lights begin to flash
Is it the fireflies or muzzle blasts
Is it my imagination getting the better of me
Or is it the battle of days gone by I see
In my mind I can hear them yell and shout
I see their forms all about
All of a sudden it all comes to a stop
I realize I’m sitting on this rocky hill called Little Round Top
Here is a speech that I like by Joshua L. Chamberlain who was Colonel of the 20th Maine Infantry it was given at the 20th Maine monument dedication.
It could apply to any battlefield.
"In great deeds something abides.
On great fields something stays.
Forms change and pass;
bodies disappear; but spirits linger,
to consecrate ground for the
vision-place of souls.
And reverent men and women from afar,
and generations that know us not
and that we know not of,
heart-drawn to see where and by whom
great things were suffered and done for them,
shall come to this deathless field
to ponder and dream;
And lo! the shadow of a mighty presence
shall wrap them in its bosom,
and the power of the vision pass into their souls."
-- Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain
Commenting on his return to Gettysburg
and the great battlefield there.
God bless these men and all other veterans from other wars!
