I attended a Civil War workshop at the Historical Society of Cheshire County, and talking to all the teachers and reenactors there inspired me to dig up this anecdote from Shelby Foote’s The Civil War: A Narrative. The Battle of Gettysburg took place on July 1-3, 1863, so I always think of it around the fourth of July holiday.
Coming just before the last fireworks of the holiday weekend, Joey’s little tribute gives the whole family a chance to stop and think about the significance of the date, and maybe even about what’s going on in the world today. That’s my favorite thing about history — it gives us a context for understanding our current lives and traditions.
