It rained on July 4th.

And while the rain was a welcome relief to the retreating soldiers, as well as the victorious ones, it was not welcomed by the local residents of the little Pennsylvania town.  It came down in sheets, soaking the unburied bodies still on the field – some with hands folded, and others with clenched fists; it inhibited the Army of Northern Virginia’s retreat across the Potomac; it unearthed men buried in shallow graves and horses buried in a hasty retreat; and it spread blood and disease throughout the country side.

Gettysburg was uninhabitable; the smell unimaginable.

This small Pennsylvania town had been turned into a very bad dream – a town turned upside down by two opposing armies, yet left to fend for itself once the great battle was over; except, of course, for the wounded on both sides whom, if they were fortunate enough, were already an inhabitant of a local “hospital” – which could be anything from a private residence to a shady spot underneath a few trees.

The town and surrounding areas were littered with the aftermath of a battle.  Sgt. Thomas Marbaker of the 11th New Jersey described it this way.

”Upon the open fields, like sheaves bound by the reaper, in crevices of the rocks, behind fences, trees and buildings; in thickets, where they had crept for safety only to die in agony; by stream or wall or hedge, wherever the battle had raged or their weakened steps could carry them, lay the dead. Some, with faces bloated and blackened beyond recognition, lay with glassy eyes staring up at the blazing summer sun; others, with faces downward and clenched hands filled with grass or earth, which told of the agony of the last moments.”

Gettysburg was in shambles, and it would be that way for months.

Visiting Gettysburg now, est. population 7490, it is obvious that the town has come a long way since those terrible days after the battle.  Trying to imagine what the town was like in those first few days afterward is hard to imagine for today’s visitor; the town is incredible, and the connection to history is still quite visible, especially with many homes in the city dating to the battle.  But with the only visible evidence of the battle being bullet holes and damage from artillery fire, it is still hard to grasp exactly what the town would have been like after such massive carnage in such a short amount of time.

I’m not sure any of us can grasp what the town went through – but standing there amongst the monuments and structures helps us to try.

And try we must.

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