Descendants of the soldiers

I went for my normal morning walk on the battlefield this morning. I hit a different part of the field each day....just to change my scenery so that I don't get bored. This morning I walked the area around where the Iron Brigade fought on July 1. Now, normally I wouldn't write about this walk, but today was different. I parked my car at the Abner Doubleday statue, put my headphones on, and took off down Meredith Avenue. I like to walk the wrong way on one way roads because you can see things differently than when you drive the same road day after day going only in one direction. While I was walking I noticed that I never saw a car on the road. I like the solitude. As I approached the cow pasture, I stopped to talk to the cows (anyone who knows me knows that I love those cows. I talk to them all the time). They were right up at the fence this morning and I was able to pet them (the younger ones love it). While doing this, I noticed a car parked near the entrance to Stone Avenue. They were pretty far away and I couldn't tell what these people were doing. I stood at the cows for a good 15 minutes and that car was still down the road a ways. So I took off on my walk again and noticed that it was an elderly couple. They were taking all sorts of pictures of the monument to the 150th PA. No big deal....everyone takes pictures of the monuments and I've been known to stand and snap pictures of the minutest details on the monuments. As I got right up to them, they said something...but I still had my earphones in....so I pulled them out and asked them to repeat what they had said. They wanted to know if I would take a picture of them next to the monument. Of course I would! So I asked them if they had any ancestors with the 150th PA. The woman very proudly stated that her great uncle fought with them. She was so proud of him. I snapped the picture and told them to have a great time here in Gettysburg. They had already been here for 3 days and were just ready to leave for home (in Ohio) but really wanted a picture of the two of them in front of the monument. I was glad I was able to help them. Then we both took off. For the remainder of my walk I thought about this couple. How exciting is it for them to drive 8 hours to see a monument dedicated to an ancestor? I don't know how old this couple was, but I'm assuming that they probably won't be making the trip too many more times....here is something that they can leave with their descendants: a picture of them honoring the memory of an ancestor. I started to get goose bumps as I thought about this. So often I drive around and look at the monuments and I guess because I live here and see them every single day, I forget that each monument represents a regiment who fought here.....and in each regiment were men...real men with real families....and those families make a pilgrimage to Gettysburg (or any other battlefield) to honor their ancestors. This has been going on for 146 years and will continue for centuries to come. I'm just glad that for one moment I was able to take a small part in helping a family honor their deceased loved one who fought here so many years ago.