Gettysburg

In writing this post I would not want to give the false impression I spent a lot of time swanning around the world at Castrol’s expense. For almost all my limited company travel I was accompanied by a minder. This was someone who organised, translated and accompanied on visits. There was a feeling that scientific types were loose cannons not to be allowed into customers on their own.

On just one occasion when I had become fairly senior ( well established anyway ) that I was able to plan a trip and conduct it on my own and as I wished. The occasion arose at a conference on chlorofluorocarbon replacements in Washington. There was a great concern about CFC’s damaging the ozone layer and I was elected to present a paper to show that Castrol was part of the international effort to find replacements. The conference was due to last several  days and I decided to arrive early and visit the Air and Space museum. At the end of the conference I hired a car and over a weekend drove north to visit the main Castrol East Coast laboratory in the next week and thence on to Newark to return to the UK.

Actually driving out of Washington was a bit fraught but thereafter it was fairly straightforward. On a sunny day I was relieved to have the conference behind me: presenting the paper to a large conference had been a bit stressful. I had a sense of time out of time as the weekend stretched before me. I passed through Amish country and overtook one of their horse drawn wagons. I also went through Oxford, USA. As I lived then in Oxford , England I stopped and took photo’s. It was very different. I also passed near Gettysburg and I made a small diversion to visit.

Gettysburg is the site of a major battle in the American Civil War. This was between the Southern Confederate slave owning states and the Northern Unionist states who wanted to abolish slavery. Gettysburg represented the high water mark of Confederate advances. It was a large and bloody battle fought over 3 days which resulted in a Unionist victory. General Meade’s forces for the Unionists defeated General Lee’s Confederate army in what is now seen as a turning point in the war. The Confederates were never to advance so far north again.

After viewing the static display I took a bus tour of the battlefield. The area is extensive extending over several miles. On the bus route there are mile after mile of cannon by the roadside. I was very struck by the fact that there was a painstaking attempt to treat both sides equally as the result is still raw over a century later It was hard to imagine looking at the rolling green countryside that such carnage had existed. Although the Unionists won and slavery was abolished sadly racial discrimination still exists. It has to be said this discrimination is helped by President Trump

Some seven months after the battle a cemetery was completed and it was to be formally opened by President Abraham Lincoln. However Lincoln was not the main speaker as a known orator spoke for about an hour followed by Lincoln himself. His few short words ( only 271 in all ) have become famous as the Gettysburg address.

Lincoln started with the iconic words “ four score and seven years ago” referring to the Declaration of Independence 87 years previously. He went on to say “ the nation was conceived in Liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal” and represented the Civil War as testing that idea. He extolled the sacrifices on the battlefield saying” these people should not have died in vain- that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth”. I feel rather sorry for the special orator who was so outclassed. I think his address fully deserves its fame ( Trump could profit by reading it although I gather his reading ability is limited )

I drove on to Philadelphia for the night.  The American congress met there for some years and the Liberty Bell is also there. I was lucky enough to take the city tour the following day as it called at the hotel just as I was leaving. For many years while Washington DC was under construction it was the nations capital. The tour embraced many historic sites including Independence Hall and the home of a lady, Betsy Ross, who sewed the first American flag. When we stopped to visit Betsey Ross’s house I intrigued other members of the tour by not having any idea who she was..

Rather a bitter joke

Work hard and save your money and when you are old you will be able to buy the things only the young can enjoy