Should a Battlefield Visit be a More Solemn Occasion?

Tourists in cars, tourists in buses, tourists on Segways, tourists with selfie sticks, tourists yelling, arguing, dropping garbage. This is the typical scene at the most visited section of the Gettysburg battlefield: The Bloody Angle. Much of Gettysburg takes on a carnival atmosphere. The town itself is tuned almost entirely to the tourist industry - and the associated tourist revelry spills out to the surrounding fields of battle in ways that are - shall we say...less than dignified.

As a historian who studies memory, commemoration, and historical interpretation, I find battlefield tourism fascinating. Especially these days as the commemorative landscape is in a clear state of flux. But I can't help but wonder if tourists more often than not miss the point.

You know that spot where where you are yelling at your kids? Yes, that one...thousands of people were killed there. And the ground was dedicated to honor the fallen. Perhaps death on that scale is too abstract for most to really fathom. Perhaps we are too far removed from the event.

Perhaps.

But I think it would be a good idea for everyone to take a minute away from shouting and selfies to reflect on what actually happened there. Let's stop and think for a moment about those who fought, killed, and struggled for their lives...and maybe then we can understand why they did it.

With compliments,

Keith