My daughter goes to school at Gettysburg College so I see a lot of that area. In the town there is a wide range of attitudes towards the Civil War, most aimed at making money from the tourists. But when you go out on to the battlefield all of that drops away and only the honor and respect for the men of both sides is evident.

My own great great grandfather fought there as did, I'm sure, many of the relatives of the United Statesian Mudcatters. I like to go out to the monument and view the area where he stood and where he was wounded. I also like to go up to Little Round Top and see where Joshua Chamberlain's men made their lonely stand. I have seen people in the uniforms of both sides out there and their intent is always the honor and respect for the men who fought there. While on the battlefield the old arguments cease.

Other Civil War areas I have seen are usually treated the same way. The only exception I have seen was in Americas, Georgia, where the Civil War prison Andersonville once stood. There, on July 4, 1984, I saw a re-enactment where the ragged "Yankees" came into town to rape the women and slaughter the children. Then the noble boys in grey came in and shot all the Yanks. While that was difficult enough to stomach (the rape and slaughter) what really got to me was the man who explained to his little son that the re-enactment was "how it really happened."