Gone but Never Forgotten

Artwork by Dick Bloom {All rights reserved}copyrighted image

Fort Sumter, the site of the opening shots of the Civil War on April 12, 1861 has to be the most historic of all battlefields.

Fort Sumter compliments of the Library of Congress

Union forces surrendered the fort after 34 hours of Rebel bombardment. Union forces regained the fort in 1865 after two years of continual attacks.

Camp Sumter, Georgia known as Andersonville Prison was the horror of war personified by the vile conditions that some 45,000 POW’s endured at the 26.5 acre site.

Andersonville National Cemetery, an active National Cemetery and The National P.O.W. Museum, which is dedicated to the prisoners of all wars, are located at the site.

Antietam Battlefield located near Sharpsburg, Maryland is dedicated to the memory of the 23,000 men who were killed, maimed or missing in action during the deadliest one-day fray ever known in war.

The battle took place on September 17,1862.

Cyclorama painting image by Dick Bloom{all rights reserved}

Cyclorama painting image by Dick Bloom{all rights reserved}



A stirring tribute will take place Saturday evening December 3, 2011 when 23,000 luminaries are lit commemorating the souls lost on that fated battleground.

The Battle of Gettysburg is undoubtedly the most famous of all Civil War Battles.

The reasons for that are varied. It was the High Water Mark of the Confederates push into Northern territory.

It was three-days of horror where some 55,000 soldiers died, nearly as many as died in the entire sixteen year Vietnam War.

The sleepy town of Gettysburg was thrust into the center of that horrific battle and for that honor it is now surrounded by The Gettysburg National Military Park and National Cemetery.

On September 26, 2008 the newly built Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center with a newly restored Cyclorama painting of the famous Battle and new museum to house some 300,000 artifacts and 700,000 various documents, opened its doors!

I personally have mixed emotions about the updated and so called renewed strategy of the folks who are in charge of the field. As far as the new visitor enter wrapped around the historic Cyclorama painting, I give it a three on a scale of
ten being the highest! Much wasted space!! Hard to believe that the gift shop is loaded with imported "junke"!