Gettysburg 150th!

 

 

Hi Everyone!

I wanted to tell all of my fans and readers about the wonderful week I had in Pennsylvania as well as share pictures and fun facts with you.  (pix below)

Wow! That is all I can say about the recent re-enactment of the Battle of Gettysburg!

This past July 4,5, and 6th, I was lucky enough to be invited to the biggest re-enactment of a Civil War battle ever: Gettysburg’s 150th! The numbers were staggering. 235,000 people visited Gettysburg over the week. Click on this link from Gettysburg to see just how many thousands of people were involved:

http://www.civilwarnews.com/archive/articles/2013/aug/gbrg-081301.htm

Even though I am an American History teacher and an author of civil war historical fiction, nothing could have prepared me for the realistic portrayal of this battle. The smoke, the gunfire and cannon fire, the movement of the soldiers, the cavalry, the campsite, everything was so real that I truly felt I had stepped back in time.

The climax of course was the re-creation of Picket’s charge on day 3. The cannonade literally bounced off the nearby mountains and the thousands of spectators simply sat in awe and wonder as the pounding went on and on and on. The emotions of the day seemed almost like that deadly day of July 3rd 1863. There were no sounds from the crowds, very little sounds from the narrator, we all just watched the most pivotal charge in American History unfold before our eyes. I was humbled.

The event was made that much better with all of the presentations in the various tents, from Civil War spies to discussions of the day’s events from Generals Lee and Meade and many in between. The climax for me was getting to meet so many of my readers. Day after day, young people came to my table and posed for pictures, or asked me questions, or told me what they thought of Thomas or Mary or Lisa. Some of the readers wanted to know what was coming next and although I hinted at a few of the exciting developments, only time will tell.

I felt incredibly privileged and honored to see so many families excited about reading and history. Their joy was contagious and despite the heat, they just coming. I have pasted some of the pictures from the day at the bottom of this email.

Even though the re-enactment is over, I highly recommend you attend one if you never have before. Of course we can’t all get to Gettysburg and the 150th will never come again. However there are still some key battles left to celebrate a 150th like the battle of Petersburg. Nothing will bring history to life for you more than attending one of these amazing events.

Finally I would ask a favor of all my readers. In order to develop a larger fan base and following as well as promote the reading of history, it would be really helpful if you were to submit a review on amazon.com for any of the books that you have read. Just go to my amazon page, click on the book you want to review and scroll down to where you can click on customer review. THANK YOU!!

The link is below:

http://www.amazon.com/Alan-N.-Kay/e/B001K8K7JK/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Please keep me on your email list. I will be sending out more exciting news on occasion including a brand new blog for my readers and students. Remember, pictures are below.

Keep reading and learning,

Alan N. Kay