Bob M. recalls hearing stories about neighbors watching the battle of Gettysburg as it was being fought. He says that “My
great uncle Ned used to tell my father the story of actually watching the Battle of Gettysburg! Ned was born in 1857, and used to tell my dad the story of climbing a hill and watching the battle when he was 6 years old. I have since learned that half the town of Emmitsburg, Md., climbed that hill and watched that battle. They even had telescopes set up–Indian Lookout was the name of the hill. Hearing the story from my aunt and dad makes me feel very close to history — only second hand to an eye-witness account.

Alma told me, ” Granddaddy Townsend saddled his horse and rode to Scruggs and voted and died that night….Grandfather Robert… fought in the Civil War. He didn’t get hit but almost died from fever. He said as he rode off to enlist, “We’re going to lose because we’re wrong.”

One of our culture’s bugaboos is the tendency to lump and stereotype.