"When the Martians Visited Gettysburg" Topic

"It was very soon after the Battle of Gettysburg when the recounting of battle events and experiences evolved to become battlefield legends, which flourished as the tourism industry in Adams County grew. Most were quite sentimental- blue and gray calling an informal truce to share the water of Spangler's Spring, the forgotten body of the Confederate sharpshooter at Devil's Den, the message to Jennie Wade that was never delivered, and the like. These were good stories, published in battlefield guidebooks and souvenir pamphlets, or told again and again by battlefield guides, historians and other interested parties. Of course the more recent phenomena pertains to the numerous ghosts and spirits purported to be haunting both town and battlefield, shamelessly promoted through countless books, magazines, television programs and the numerous "ghost tour" companies who themselves seem to be haunting the streets of downtown Gettysburg. Yet somewhere between the period of battlefield legends and the current ghost tour craze were the fairly complacent years after World War II when the only real threat to America was the great "Red Menace" and invaders from outer space.

Outer space, you ask? We may look back on the 1940's and 1950's Science Fiction craze with a smile and a wink, but for many it was deadly serious! Even the small community of Gettysburg was not immune from invaders from outer space.

On July 8, 1947, a group of visitors were picnicking at the Pennsylvania Monument when they witnessed half a dozen silver objects fly over the battlefield and disappear in the east, not once but twice. Aghast at the site of these unknown objects slicing across the sky, the couples reported their experience that would be logged up as one of numerous suspicious sightings of "flying saucers" throughout the country that year, described as everything from saw blades to round, silver disks that made little or no noise as they whirled across the sky. Little did this group know at the time how this odd observation was only one incident of the tantalizing craze that would not only grip Adams County, but the nation as a whole- earth was being invaded. Was Gettysburg on the intergalactic list of places to visit?…"
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Amicalement
Armand

Oh come on, this stuff is really getting ridiculous. And BTW, the "forgotten body of the sharpshooter" wasn't. He wasn't forgotten and he wasn't a sharpshooter and Alexander Gardner and company had moved the body there to make a better picture, they even provided the rifle.

Maybe you have to take this with some humor?? (smile)

Amicalement
Armand

Easy for you to say, you haven't seen how the Ghost Tour People have taken over the field. And now all we need is for the UFO people to jump in too.

(smile)

Amicalement
Armand