The Americans Who Risked Everything - Rush H. Limbaugh, Jr.

I wanted to link to this article in our Philadelphia posting, but couldn't figure out how. Rush Limbaugh's father wrote and delivered this speech on multiple occasions. We believe it is a striking account of a portion of history that is too frequently ignored. Enjoy!

The Americans Who Risked Everything - Rush H. Limbaugh, Jr.

Philly!

Our day trip to Philadelphia began with a terrific preview of the skyline as we drove in on IH 95.Parking was the first part of the adventure. A very limited number of street meters are available and most only allow for 2 hour parking. None were available and none could accommodate our 22' long pickup. We circled the Independence Hall visitor center twice before trying the underground garage that announced a limit of 6'-6". As we pulled in, we checked - we must have 6'-9" apparently. What the garage didn't say was the length for making the corkscrew turns down into the bowels. We believe the length limitation to be about 22' - 2". After spending 1/2 hour taking care of parking, we were happy to be out near Independence Square on a beautiful sunny day!

There's George, ready to welcome us in. We stopped in the visitor center and were advised there were a few tickets remaining for Independence Hall tours that would begin after 4:00 pm. We were fine with that timing, as we knew the day would be dedicated to a walking tour of the historic area. Someone had returned several extra tickets for a tour that began within 30 minutes, so we revelled in the unexpected blessing and enjoyed waiting in the peaceful square immediately behind Independence Hall.

Taking photos of the buildings is a little tricky as large tour buses crawl past in a steady stream, but Craig managed to get this photo with only one of the many carriage tours in the background. At least you can still see the building!

We were glad to have made the stop here where the roots of our country's government were established.

The informative ranger led tour was well worth the trouble of obtaining tickets. The tickets are no charge, but you will not gain access to the interior without them. This is the room that prior to its fame as the place of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, served the citizens as a courtroom.

Everything in the building is either a reproduction or an age appropriate substitute furnishing. Many hours of research and labor have restored the hall to an image as historically accurate as possible.

Deliberations regarding the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution transpired in the assembly room across the hall. While only the head chair is a preserved item, original items have been located to embellish each of the delegates' tables; such as Thomas Jefferson's walking stick and ....

The ranger not only explained the items in the room, but also provided insights as to the happenings in the time period. We also learned of the building where Thomas Jefferson stayed for the two weeks when working on the Declaration of Independence. hmm...I was trying to link to an article that came to mind, but I believe it linked as a separate posting. Either way, it's a worthwhile read. Rush Limbaugh's father prepared an excellent speech regarding the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Sadly, their sacrifices are not commonly known. If you are not familiar with this account, take a moment to read it now. You'll have a greater appreciation for the freedom we enjoy as a result of their courage.

The line to the right of this photo shows the folks waiting in line to enter the building displaying the Liberty Bell. Many field trips were touring on this day, but we managed to maneuver between and around most of the hordes of school age children and their weary chaperones.

Made it! The long building has many displays of the history of the bell and the many famous visitors through the years. The bell is at the opposite end from the entrance as the grand finale. No tickets are necessary to enter - just a bit of waiting in line. The display is appropriate with the former residence of the bell in the background.

Here's our close-up view of the engraving. Imagine a National Park Service ranger nearby continually yelling 'Don't TOUCH the bell!' and you'll have a complete sense of visiting the bell.

As we took off for more of our walking tour, we passed this tribute nomered 'the Signer'.

Father of American Surgery and creator of the first carbonated soft drink, Dr. Philip Syng Physick lived in this house. While not on our planned sights, we were amused to find this along our stroll.

Along Market street, we found Franklin Square. Among Benjamin Franklin's many successful ventures, he also owned many of these buildings. His home is no longer standing, but is marked by a framework in the square.

The boys lead the way as we found one of our highlights, Sonny's for an authentic Philly cheese steak sandwich. We skipped the Cheez Whiz and opted for provolone. We were definitely not disappointed!

We circled back toward the parking garage and paused at the sight of Benjamin Franklin's burial. We remembered where his family is buried in Boston and understand his desire to be buried in his beloved Philadelphia. The city remains a special place!

Not bad progress for a day trip! We snaked our way back out of the underground parking garage with another milestone of our trip accomplished.

Gettysburg Battlefield

Just as we have done for a couple of battlefields before, we began with a trip to the visitor center to purchase an audio tour. Loading the CD into the player and shifting the truck in gear, we listen as the narrator guides us through the countryside and describes the battle unfolding outside the window glass of the truck.

Along the roadways and peppered across the fields are monuments and markers identifying the place where lines were formed and firefights occurred or where leaders fell.

Gazing out on the peaceful beauty, it stands in stark contrast to the ugly fury of the battle described by the narrator. The three days of battle between two large and desperate armies raged within view of this small city with thousands of soldiers killed on both sides and surprisingly, resulted in only one civilian casualty by a stray bullet that killed a woman as she was baking bread in her sister's kitchen.

One of a very few eternal flame memorials, the Eternal Light Peace Memorial burns a flame of remembrance that we should never forget the terrible brother versus brother warfare that occurred here.

The battle began in the rolling hills north of town as advance forces from both sides ran into each other on Wednesday, July 1, 1863. For a more detailed analysis of the battle, you may want to check out Cory's blog at http://coragontheclown.blogspot.com/ . He really does a great job of describing battles!

As we drove around, there were many fetchers, like this low rock wall that were either preserved or restored to the way they were at the time of the battle.

Linda was more interested in the flowering trees and other signs of spring that were evident around town than in the historic details of the battlefield.

This is not a reenactor, but as we viewed this lone horse, we had some perspective to imagine the hundreds of Calvary, artillery and supply horses at work in this tremendous battle.

Driving along the audio tour, we encountered several tour buses full of people taking in the sights and story of the battle. We were glad to be able to tour in more of an 'off' season!

There were hundreds of antique cannon set up in locations where they were actually deployed in the battle.

The more modern guns were generally on the Union side.

Cory was good about describing the type and size of the artillery as we came upon them.

This very interesting artwork is the North Carolina Memorial. Dedicated in 1929, it is one of the earliest southern state memorials.

This memorial was crafted by Gutzon Borglum, the artist who created the massive monument at Mount Rushmore. It so happens that Linda is currently reading a book about the building of Mount Rushmore and it details the artist work on this very memorial as well. The artist was working in San Antonio at the time he created this memorial.

Here is Virginia's monuments that depicts Robert E. Lee upon "Traveler" as he surveys the battle.

This was around the center area of the battle where the tragic "Pickett's Charge" occurred.

This monument, "The Soldiers and Sailors of the Confederacy", was dedicated in 1965 to honor all the men who fought in the Confederate armies and navies.

This a view to the north from "Little Round Top" that was one of most critical areas of the battle.

The Clark boys are taking in the great amounts of information from the story boards that give details of the battle in this area. The monuments extend as far as the eye can see in the valley behind them.

This impressive monument was dedicated to the union defenders of "little round top" that held this position on the end of the fish hook line. The experts who study this battle believe that if the confederate attacks on this hilltop would have been successful, the South would have likely won the whole battle.

Looking down the gradual slope on one side, you can visualize the battle weary southern forces trudging uphill into union rifle fire raining down from above.

This view overlooks a rock formation called "Devil's Den" where the fighting was steady for two days as both sides exchanged the position several times and the whole area was covered by snipers from each side.

Cory caught a picture of Will on the monument on Llittle Round Top".

Even with the historic monuments and markers surrounding us, boys just can't pass a big pile of rocks without climbing...

....or a hole in the rocks without exploring.

As we ended our tour of the battlefield, Linda wanted to capture another glimpse of spring budding out on the trees. Perhaps as a symbol of life going on, by God's grace, long after the last cannon fires.