Duty

Last night we had the opportunity to attend the play Duty by Tim Stevens at the Garner Performing Arts Center. Mr. Stevens has previously written a few historical plays that has been performed in both churches and at the GPAC. This one dealt with the 7 men from Garner who died in Vietnam and told a little about their stories, as well as some of the other Garner natives who fought there and survived. It was heart wrenching, but very good. My heart still hurts as I hear of the treatment our veterans received when they returned home. When our Quilts of Valor group presents a quilt to a Vietnam Vet, it's not uncommon for some of them to say it's the first time a non-family member has ever thanked them for their service. At one of our recent presentations, a vet told me he joined a group that served family members of fallen comrades when he returned home. He said one of them still haunts him to this day. The only people at the funeral and the grave-side service was the immediate family, the preacher, and the group of veterans. No one from the community or the church or the boy's school came out to pay their respects. He said there was not a dry eye on his bus on the way back to base.

One of my neighbors shared after the play that her brother also served in Vietnam. She said her mother went to mass every day, even if meant walking, to pray for his safety. She also baked snickerdoodles once a week to mail to him, as it was his favorite food. I think the family got a little tired of the snickerdoodles. She said they quit being her favorite, and even now she seldom eats them.

I'm thankful for the town of Garner and the commitment of its townspeople to honor its veterans, whether it be through a play at the local theater or through the hard work that went into the Garner Veterans Memorial at our local park. I wish there wasn't a need to recognize those who struggled so much and sacrificed so much, some of them even with their lives, but I'm thankful to live in/near a town that understands the importance of people over policy. It really does matter.

last Gettysburg post

 I've never been one to ooh and aah over dresses. But this one, while pretty, made me laugh. I had to go back after reading the description and check it out. Those "flowers" on her dress are not only wildflowers from America, but INSECTS. Yes, Martha Washington attended the dance with a gown decked out in bugs. How awesome is that?

And I was a bit surprised by this, but I actually enjoyed the wax section of the Presidents better than the fashion segment of the First Ladies. The Presidents are built to scale, and briefly tell a little bit about each man. It was interesting to see how tall most of them were. The ladies were not made to scale, and their gowns are about 1/3 of the original size. But still, you could tell some about the styles of the time and the woman's personality by her dress.


The only thing I wasn't overly impressed with during the trip was the Cyclorama. That's a HUGE painting, the largest in North America, I think, that someone did of the battle of Gettysburg. It took several French artists to help complete it, and the canvas is placed in a circular barn. We bought tickets for it as part of a package deal with the battlefield tour, and I was most disappointed. It's a timed ticket, and after the presentation about it, you only have about 5 minutes to look and they tell you to leave. I'm sorry, but 5 minutes to view a painting that fills the equivalent of three rooms is NOT sufficient. That's an insult not only to the artists, but to the people who helped build the building to show it off. On the flip side, the gift shop for the park is very nice.

With all the controversy over the battle flag going on in the south and the constant vandalism of memorials and grave markers, we were a bit surprised to see how many battle flags and confederate items were on sale in almost every gift shop. Can't find something for sale in the south? Visit Gettysburg. In almost every shop we looked, someone was walking in and saying "Wow! You actually have this for sale? You can get this here?" and a puzzled shop owner would say "Yes. Why?" It was interesting to hear and see that things that are banned and "outlawed" here are considered just a part of history there.

I'm glad we went. It is truly a beautiful place, even if the history behind it is overbearing and heartwrenching to both see and think about.

Gettysburg

If you want a historical or education field trip and find yourself heading to Gettysburg, these places are definitely on my list of places worth visiting:

1. Gettysburg Diorama - If you like miniatures, you will LOVE this. If you need to see the large picture or no little about the Battle of Gettysburg, this exhibit not only explains it very well, but brings the little details to life.

Loved the spreaded cotton balls for the smoke...from a distance it looked very realistic!

Not only did they have canyons in the fields, they also had soldiers
(from both sides) taking down fences.
A true but sad fact.

2. Gettysburg National Park - a tour Yes. You can drive yourself around and look at a book and look at monuments, but here's some of the special things you're learn with a tour guide.

This is one of the US regiments that fought the 26th NC Regiment. (We hired a personal tour guide rather than deal with the lift on the tour bus, and he pointed out some extra things for us.) Almost everyone in this regiment were school teachers.

After the war, vets from both sides returned to the site and showed exactly where their units had camped and fought. As a result, most regiments have foot markers in each corner of the square where they fought. US regiments also have their own monuments, as opposed to the South, who only have State monuments. This is the far left corner of North Carolina's marker.

Bobby's great-grandpa had six older brothers who fought in the war. Three of them never came home. One died in Gettysburg, fighting with the 26th North Carolina Regiment. From the marker showed earlier, his regiment had to climb over three such fences while fighting. (In other words, they crossed through three different farms trying to conquer their assigned area.)  I look at an area that is so pristine and beautiful, and find it heart-breaking that it was one of many scenes of devastation.

This marker shows how far the 26th came (you can't even see the first fence or the NC camp site/monument from here).  As most of the Confederate soldiers were buried in mass graves with no names or markers, our tour guide said this field (between the fence and marker) is most likely where Needham Bryan is buried, (basing it on the fact he died July 3rd, which is the day they crossed the last fence). 

"Ten paces"  - that's how far the men had to go when the cannons opened fire.  I walked to the stone wall, "the high water mark" and it was more than ten steps for me. Although, I imagine if I were running in attack mode and in fear of my life, it might be less than 10 paces.

Bobby looking across the field on our "take our time" trip the 2nd day.

One of the areas where soldiers tore up farm fencing to add to rock fences as ways of making barricades.

Our tour guide gave us the stories behind many of the monuments, but this one was one of my favorite. A PA regiment was standing near a tree during the battle, when a cannon ball hit the tree, causing part of it to fall, along with a nest of baby birds. The men stopped fighting, and put the nest and the baby birds back in the tree before resuming the fight. This monument for that regiment illustrates that story, as well as showing the regiment crest, backpack, rifle, and ammunition box. We did see one or two other tree statues, but this one looked fairly realistic and truly captured the humanity of a group of boys in the middle of a very trying time. New York's regiments also had incredible monuments, especially the ones from the group of engineers or firefighters.

3. Dwight D Eisenhower farm

and for #4 and 5, pics will come tomorrow
4. Christ Church  - Sat night presentation of civil war music and poems
5. Wax museum of Presidents and replicas of First Ladies' gowns to the inaugural ball 

life lessons

Every time I see the insanity happening in Baltimore, I think of two things: one, lessons my parents taught me. Two, I wish I could buy one way tickets to North Korea, China, Russia, Ivory Coast, Singapore, and Vietnam for every single one of those protesters.  Pull a stunt like throwing bricks or trash cans or moltov cocktails at police in China? That won't be a nerf bullet they shoot in your direction. Damage someone's property or loot a store in Ivory Coast? You better pray the police get their fast. Sometimes the police take their sweet time and sit back and watch, only intervening right before the owners beat the vandal or thief to the point of death. The whole scenario in Baltimore both disgusts me and breaks my heart.

But it also makes me appreciate my parents. Had these kids been taught the following simple lessons and seen it modeled out growing up, there's no way they'd be participating in such selfish vandalism and greedy and self-serving acts of anarchy.

• Respect authority.
• Treat others the way you want to be treated.
• Rights are earned, not granted. 
• Your freedoms end where another's nose begins.
• Don't covet.
• Don't steal.
• Help those in need.
• Do what's right, no matter what anyone around you is doing.
• Be honest.

No faith is perfect. Growing up in the church and in a pastor's home, I know that way too well. But I also know that people of no faith have no guidelines to govern their lives. All but one of those above life lessons are from my Christian faith. The older I become, the more certain I am that people who have no guidelines other than "It's all about me" will continue to act and react in these ways.  This type of violence and destruction will only get worse as America becomes more of a secular society. When police and other authority figures do dishonest and dishonorable things, everyone suffers. When people have not been taught the difference between right and wrong, innocents suffer. Calling the national guard may be bring temporary stability, but it won't heal the moral decay of our nation. 

last shots of Bentonville 2015

I don't remember there being trenches at the previous reenactments, but they clearly had them here, and even had soldiers digging in them at various points. The Boy Scouts behind us were laughing at the soldiers doing the digging, because they all took their wool coats off. I don't blame them! It was warming up. The boys must have had binoculars, because I had to zoom with my camera several times before I found the soldiers they were talking about.

 The flank move below seemed to excite everyone in the crowd.

 The two "dead" federal soldiers (in the trenches) caused quite a bit of laughter among the Boy Scout troup behind us. Evidently one of them turned his head at some point, and they were making quite a few jokes about what the two dead soldiers were discussing.

 Maybe because of the almost teenage boys behind me, maybe because it was movement, but I started noticing the soldiers who "died". One, it was sad, but at the same time it became a little bit funny. Some of them clearly didn't want to hurt themselves and slowly knelt to the ground. Others put on quite the show by tumbling head over heels and writhing.  The guy below got quite comfortable. And I don't blame him. If I had to be still in one position for a long time, I'd die in a comfortable position too!

 Another scene enacted quite well was soldiers helping/dragging other wounded soldiers off the field.

 At this point the troops started a counter-attack directly in front of us. Like in the movies, row one fires while row two prepares their guns, and if there's a third row, they stand in line to advance or flank as needed. This group was doing that, so I knew they were about to fire and thought I'd have the perfect shot. About the same time they fired, the Feds fired a cannon shot in their direction, and EVERYONE in our section jumped. So instead of getting a good shot, I took a picture similar to one my mother would take...feet in focus and heads cut off. :)  Too bad the photo doesn't capture the noise, the smoke, or everyone around us cheering because they thought the "action" was about to begin.

 This injured chap drug himself under the shade tree in front of the crowd before he died. I know it was supposed to be serious, but it made me laugh a little bit.

 I think we were all amazed at how close the soldiers came to each other. Our guns today are so advanced and powerful that we forget that wasn't the case back then, and a lot of these battles resulted in bayonets (knives placed on the ends of the guns) and hand to hand combat.

I pray our nation will never face such a war again, whether "civil" or foreign. And as much as I hope that never ever comes our way again, should it happen, I pray we're well prepared.

the Bentonville musicians

Federal Band performing for the crowd pre-reenactment. They even took a few requests from the crowd and played a few Rebel songs.

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One of my favorite shots. Most drummers were younger boys, though by this point in the war the South was decimated and most southern soldiers were Grandpas and young boys.

Not totally sure, but I think one of the flutists was a female.

And another female I don't think I posted yesterday.

hat decorations

About half of this Federal unit sported the red caps. We weren't sure if they were supposed to be of French or Italian descent. Either way, they spoke a striking pose and were one of the groups that had a chant or song while marching.

Yeah, I know this guy doesn't have a hat decoration...but check out that quilt!

Saw quite a few feathers, which made me wonder if they got the idea from "yankee doodle"

A lot of this unit sported holly in their hats and had orangy-beards, making me wonder if it's an Irish thing (like shamrocks)

Don't fret. There's only a few more days worth of Bentonville's 150th anniversary pictures, and then I'll move on to other topics and such.

women at Bentonville

If I were in my 20s, I think reenacting is something that would be fun. And while I'd like to reenact the roles of women, such as the ladies who cook in the tents and work as medic assistants in the field with the long dresses and bonnets, I think it's cool that these girls took on the role as soldiers and such. Granted, all the women who fought did so in disguise (and yes, there is documented proof this did happen), I think it's kind of cool that these women do this without cutting off their hair and disguising as men. I know it would disgruntle the purists (yeah, the people who think about reenactments the same why I think of movies made from books), but it would make many young girls like I was more willing to participate.

No, this lady wasn't a reenactor, but was standing in front of the sitting lines talking to friends before it started, (during the preview time), in essence blocking the view of EVERYONE sitting in my section. And just because I'm a little snarky this way...notice who she pulls for....yeah...the same fans who almost always park in the handicap access lanes or illegally park in HC spots 'cause they'll "just be a minute")

 And now...for the female reenactors:

Check out the beards on the two guys surrounding the girl with glasses...that's authentic!

See the gator in the background? When it drove some older men onto the field for the preview, the Boy Scouts sitting behind me started heckling them..."Hey! That's not very authentic!" It made me laugh a little. The gator driver  also escorted overheated soldiers off the field for medical attention.

Bentonville - 150th anniversary

Every five years, the historical society puts on a re-enactment of the battle of Bentonville. It's awesome. They have lectures, shops in tents (all kinds of historical gift shops - flags, clothes, material, hats, toys...you name it! as well as books  and momentos), and displays of tent life from soliders and the people who followed the armies around. The Harper House, which was claimed by both sides at different points and used as a field hospital (the old wood floors still sport darkened spots which are claimed to be blood stains), and then the fields nearby also became small graveyards.  It's sad, but it's also a good reminder that nothing is free, and sometimes that price is quite high.

There used to be a lot of "purists" (those who think things should be exact replicas), but that is changing more and more with each re-enactment. We saw people in period clothing using their cell phones, both for talking and taking pictures, and more and more reenactors must have their clothes tailor made as very few Americans today can wear the clothing made for people back then. Not only are we taller, but we're also much, much fatter. It's hard to grasp how hungry the troops were at this point, even with the hardtack and dried beans being displayed in the tents and around the fires at the field camps, nor the soldiers making jokes/complaining about their being no more chickens on any of the nearby farms (the joke in Raleigh after Sherman's troops came through was that the only chicken left in the city was the metal one on the Episcopalian's steeple). The soldiers today reflect society today...very obese. We also saw something new  yesterday...a LOT of women soldiers. I know a lot of reenactors are dying out and people of my generation are not stepping up to fill their spots. I know there were many women soldiers during the civil war, but most of them disguised themselves as men. Cut their hair, etc. These women were clearly women, though most of them did bun their hair or at least put in a pony tail. But it's hard to say it's authentic when you know few men during that era would have willingly fought alongside a woman. There were a few men whose wives fought alongside them, but they were also disguised as men, with only their husbands knowing. When it finally became suspected, many were sent home, though a few captains allowed them to stay and fight as long as the other partner was fighting. I think I counted at least 15 women reenactors yesterday, and there may have been more.

We sat on a different section of the field from the previous two times, but the battle was also laid out in a different way from previous years. We saw a lot more of the action from both sides. I didn't take my good camera this year because I figured most of the action would be down the hill and almost out of view, but I was able to get quite a few good shots with my pocket camera.

I can't post everything today, but I would list as it as the best of the three reenactments I've seen there. I'll try to post some of my favorite pictures a little each day this week.

a Christian principle from childhood

There's certain fundamental, childhood Christian truths my Mom and my Sunday school teachers impounded into my brain:

• Be kind (Eph. 4:32)
• Treat Others the Way you WANT to be treated (Luke 6:31)
• Tell the truth to everyone. (Rom.17:11)
• Be thankful. (I Thess.5:18)
• Don't complain (Philippians 2:14)
• Don't retaliate (Prov. 25:21-22, Matt 5:38-40, Rom 12:19)

Sometimes I forget that not everyone had those principles drilled into their heads.
Complaining? Oh, that's just what teenagers/adults do. We call it venting, and it's good for you. Kindness? Every man for himself!  It's all about ME!
The Golden Rule? No way! He/she wouldn't do that for me!
Gratefulness? Say what? I DESERVE that! Why should I say thank you? You OWE me!
Revenge? If I don't stand up for myself, no one else will. Eat or be eaten!

And those things seem small, and minor, and not all that important. But the older I get, the more I realize how dysfunctional our society is as we remove ourselves from the core priniciples that God intended for us to follow in our interactions with others.

Yesterday I read this article about America's use of torture for POWs from the War on Terror (and I use that term because so many of the detainees at Guatanamo Bay were from so many different countries that you can't say it's just from the Afghanistan or Iraqi wars). And I was absolutely sickened. Some of it I already knew. But some of it made me sick at heart and soul.

I've had so many friends and family serve in the military or government positions over the years later make comments like "If Americans knew what our country really does...." or "I almost dropped out of ABCXYZ  training because I found out some truths about country and its history and didn't know if I could hold my head up in this profession..." and deep down I question and remind myself that no country is perfect, and without the standards I listed above, even a democratic country can and does go awry.

The reality is, our young soldiers who serve as guards in military prisons, who are the same age as college students across America, are not a whole lot different from the college students who rape, assault, beat up, harrass, haze, or torment their classmates. Actually, in same ways it's even worse because there's no hatred against an enemy, just drugs, alcohol, or sheer hedonism is at play. On the other hand, it's worse because these young adults are representatives of our country to the rest of the world.

I'm reminded of the two people I know who've served as POWs: one in Germany, and the other in Canada (as a German soldier). Both had very different experiences, though one would tell you that the German guards didn't have a whole lot more to eat than the prisoners did. People here make a very big deal about how starved our American POWs were when they came home, but in my adult years as I've met people from Germany, they talk about how starved the average population in Germany was during that time period. Why would you feed a POW three meals a day when your own children only get two on good days? 

When we lose our guidepost that everyone is created in the image of God and is worth something, we lose our bearings on how to treat our enemies, and sometimes even our neighbors. I'm sad for our country. I fear we've strayed, even the church people, much further than anyone has realised.

Cold Harbor, VA

Tonight as the wind blows, I'm reminded of the bitter cold wind and the snow flurries the days we were in Richmond, VA.  The last day of our history part of the trip, we drove to Cold Harbor. Bobby's great-grandfather had six older brothers who fought in the Civil War. Three of them never came home, and one of them died at the Battle of the Cold Harbor. Below he's braving the elements to read one of the signs. You can tell by the grimace on his face that he is VERY cold.

By this point in the war, soldiers have learned a little more about fighting, and have ceased some of their face to face combat and have started digging trenches with wood supports. In the pictures above and below, you can see the remains of the CSA trenches. Whether the farmers were unable to remove them or decided it wasn't worth the time and effort is unknown, but this area was not farmed again. Nearby farms that did not have trenches on them found that if they ever dug too deep, they'd encounter skeletons.

The trenches were built into T shapes.  I was amazed at how intact some of them still were, at least 36" high. Excerpts from letters and diaries were included on signage throughout the driving trail. Some soldiers recounted how the creek ran red as they had no other cover than the creek's brushes as they unexpectedly encountered an entrenched unit.  One of the three houses, still standing in the nearby vicinity told how the family was traumatized as they hid in the cellar, hoping to be undiscovered and the troops would leave, only to realize their home was being turned into a field hospital, and they had to sit in the corner and watch the blood drop through the floor boards from above. I cannot imagine. I think this site more than any other helped portray the horrors of war, and its cost to the people who lived through it. And that was one thing that I was impressed with the Confederate Museum...all the quotes from soldiers on both side telling how sick they were of "soldiering" and how they had witnessed more death and evil than any person should ever have to see in a lifetime in just one month. 

I have to admit, while I would highly recommend doing this trip in much warmer weather, I did enjoy it. And hopefully tomorrow I can post our last day, my day, when we headed home via Hampton, VA and the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Conference.