Dear Brigade, I received several emails (and phone calls) asking me about the conference in Gettysburg, so I thought I would write up a quick note and let all of you know how it went. First, let me preface this with saying (admitting) that before this trip, I was never a faithful Civil War buff (no excuse but I am a former New Yorker) and with all that is going on in the world today, the topic of "Gettysburg" seemed almost irrelevant. How wrong I was! Let me tell you Brigade that the three days attending Pat's conference (Gettysburg: Causes and Consequences of the Civil War) were outstanding. I can sincerely say that it was the most informative, thought provoking, and enjoyable conference I have EVER attended. Here are a few highlights: THURSDAY: My husband and I arrived in Gettysburg in the late afternoon and found the Gettysburg Hotel (built in 1797) to be the perfect location for a conference on the Civil War (aka: The War for Southern Independence / The War Against Northern Aggression / The Second American Revolution). Situated in the center of town, the hotel overlooks the Wills House where it is said that President Lincoln completed his Gettysburg Address. In the evening, we met fellow Brigaders at the Welcoming Reception. It was wonderful seeing old friends again and meeting so many new people. Everyone was excited about the conference and looking forward to seeing Pat. Around 8pm, Pat and Shelley came in (they're both looking great!) and took time to chat with everyone. Then he spoke to us for over an hour and followed with answering questions from the crowd -- as always he was right on target with the topics he covered (WTC-Pentagon bombing; the "New War"; immigration; etc.) FRIDAY: We woke up early for a BIG breakfast, and then split up into two groups for the (almost four-hour) tour of the Gettysburg Battlefield. It was a beautiful sunny day, but very cold and windy on the battlefield and I wondered how I would be able to bear it for so many hours. However, upon stopping at the first site the tour guide had us so engrossed in his descriptions and anecdotes of the battle that the chill was soon forgotten. We viewed and explored many of the major areas where battles took place and spent quite a good while at Little Round Top (the southern end of the Union line where the Alabama Infantry attacked and then was defeated by Chamberlain's Maine Infantry), and the Virginia Monument overlooking Seminary Ridge and Cemetery Ridge (where Pickett's Charge occurred resulting in 10,000 casualties in 50 minutes). I was awed by the expertise of both our tour guide and my fellow attendees. The guide was impressed with us as well because he said he needed to keep ratcheting up the detail of his discourse in response to all the insightful and probing questions. At one point, after talking about the respective Brigades involved at Gettysburg and answering numerous questions he said he was very pleased to have a group that genuinely challenged his knowledge base. I said to him, "Well sir, you are aware that you are speaking to the Buchanan Brigades!" After the battlefield tour, we went back to the hotel for a BIG lunch. During dessert, we had a visit by President Lincoln. He stopped by to give us an overview of his presidency and afterward took questions from the attendees. He also seemed impressed by the quality of the questions. Although some of them were quite challenging such as, "Mr. President, if the North was truly against slavery, why didn't you outlaw slavery before, or even during the war?" And, "Mr. Lincoln, how is it that by today's standards you are a racist, yet you are credited with masterminding the anti-slavery movement?" Jim Getty did an excellent job of portraying President Lincoln and was a good sport with the hard-hitting questions thrown at him. I'm sure he is used to a much calmer audience as he has performed before the Library of Congress, Smithsonian Seminars, National Geographic tours, and in both television and film depictions of the War. After lunch, Jeffry Wert led a lecture and discussion on "The Gettysburg Battle - A Different Outcome." The topic was fascinating and I added his most recent book, "Gettysburg: Day Three," to my reading list. Next up, we were treated to an intriguing panel discussion on the "Causes of the Civil War." with Pat Buchanan, Sam Francis, PhD (Former policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation, author and syndicated columnist. We all love Sam! Check out his site at: http://www.samfrancis.net and for only $20 you can subscribe to his email list. You will receive his twice weekly column and other insightful commentary - well worth the price!), Gabor Borrit (Director of the Civil War Institute; Professor of Civil War Studies at Gettysburg College, his latest book is "The Lincoln Enigma") and John Quist (Professor of History and Philosophy at Shippensburg Univ., author of "Restless Visionaries: The Social Roots of Antebellum Reform." Friday evening we got all gussied up for the cocktail reception and dinner. Again, we had a fabulous meal with a lovely selection of delicious hors d'oeuvres, filet mignon, and open bar - the food alone was worth the price of a ticket to this conference! SATURDAY: Up again early for another BIG breakfast. Then we attended a lecture and slide show presentation by Gabor Borrit on "Lincoln: Viewed by His Contemporaries." After that there was another lively debate between Pat Buchanan, Jeffry Wert, Michael Birkner (Chair of the History Dept. at Gettysburg College, former editorial page editor of the Concord Monitor), and Jeffrey Hummel (Fellow at the Hoover Institute, Professor of Economics and History at Golden Gate Univ. in San Francisco, and author of "Emancipating Slaves, Enslaving Free Men" - another book I've added to my reading list. His great-grandfather commanded the 123rd Regiment of the New York State Volunteers during the War). At noon, we had a BIG lunch and then I regret to say we skipped out on the next event, which was a tour of the Eisenhower Farm. I wish we could have gone because everyone said it was very interesting but since our time was limited, my husband and I went back to the battlefield instead. We walked the High Water Mark trail and toured the Copse of Trees, The Angle, and Brian Barn. We also toured the Cyclorama Center, which has a spectacular 360-foot painting of the battle enhanced with lights, music, and narration. We didn't expect dinner since it wasn't listed on the schedule, but when we got back to the hotel another hearty spread was laid out for us. After dinner, we walked over to the old Majestic Theater. There we had popcorn and snacks for our private viewing of the film Gettysburg. It was a great way to end a wonderful weekend. But wait, it wasn't over yet! Back at the hotel, we had a lovely Dessert Reception and had a chance to bid farewell to everyone with promises to stay in touch and see each other again at the next conference. Suddenly, into the room came four Confederate Soldiers in full uniform and a beautiful Southern Lady! They had heard Pat Buchanan was in town and rushed over to meet him so they could make him an honorary member of their Unit. It was a great site to see and all of us cheered as they shook hands with Pat and welcomed him to their Company. Some of you might not know that Pat is a member of the SCV - Sons of Confederate Veterans. One of his great-grandfathers was killed at Vicksburg and the other was a POW in a Yankee prison camp in Illinois. Pat was genuinely thrilled by the surprise visit from the soldiers, he was smiling from ear to ear - and very, very proud of the honor they had bestowed upon him. And THAT was the finest ending of all to the best conference I have EVER attended! I want to send my personal thanks to all at The American Cause who had a hand in setting up this conference. Each detail was perfectly organized and without exception, I enjoyed every moment of it. I hope there are plans for many more events like this in the near future. In the meantime, I'll begin reading books on the War and my husband and I hope to visit Gettysburg again early next year. There is so much still to explore and we definitely plan to take some of the guided horseback tours of the battlefield. Brigade, hearing the details of what happened at Gettysburg (the bloodiest war in American history resulting in 51,000 casualties during the three days of fighting) has deeply moved my soul and I am overcome with the desire to learn everything I can about the War that changed our nation forever. I always had a great respect for these men who fought and died for us. But standing on the battlefield I can actually feel them, I can hear them, and my heart aches because too many of us Americans have forgotten them. For the Cause, Linda PS - For more information: Gettysburg National Military Park Virtual Tour http://www.nps.gov/gett/getttour/main-in.htm Gettysburg Hotel http://www.gettysburg-hotel.com For a good overview and collection of photos on the Town, Battlefield, and Cemetery, also see: http://www.gettysburg-hotel.com/attractions/default.htm ------ end ------- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ T H E I N T E R N E T B R I G A D E Linda Muller - WebMaster 47671 Whirlpool Square, Potomac Falls, Virginia 20165 Email: linda@buchanan.org Web: http://www.buchanan.org ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ T H E B R I G A D E E M A I L L I S T To Subscribe/Unsubscribe send an email with: SUBSCRIBE BRIGADE - or - UNSUBSCRIBE BRIGADE in your message to: MAJORDOMO@BUCHANAN.ORG ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~