Gettysburg

In true nerd fashion, I can't let this day pass without posting about what happened on this day 150 years ago.

150 years ago today, the Battle of Gettysburg came to an end.  After three bloody days, over 50,000 Americans lay dead, wounded, or were missing.  That's pretty close to the same amount of Americans who were killed or missing in the entire American Revolution - in 3 days!  It almost seems unfathomable!

But, my friends, it happened.  Why?!  It seems so senseless.

It happened because so many men and women had deep convictions about what freedom meant to them, so deep that they were willing to kill and die for those convictions.  And many did just that for four bloody years.  But the men lying on the battlefield weren't the only casualties.  Many women and children, mothers and fathers sat at home, sometimes starving and destitute, waiting for their husbands, fathers, sons, friends to come home.  And many of them never did.

So this 4th of July my friends, I want to remember those men who met on the fields of Gettysburg 150 years ago.  I want to remember their families.  But most of all, I want to remember what they fought for.  And never ever forget it!