The Civil War by LearnCivilWarHistory.com

Gettysburg 146th Anniversary

July 1, 1863

Today marks the 146th anniversary of The Battle of Gettysburg.

The Battle of Gettysburg

After the battle of Chancellorsville, General Robert E. Lee took the Army of Northern Virginia north into Maryland and Pennsylvania.

On July 1, 1863 the Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of the Potomac began a monumental three-day battle at a small crossroads town in Pennsylvania named Gettysburg.   Gettysburg was one of the most important battles of the Civil War. At Gettysburg, the Confederates suffered more than 30,000 killed, injured, or missing. For the Union, the number came to 23,000.   Gettysburg was a Union victory.

Movie version of Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. DVD

"Fighting the same fight, that we’re still fighting amongst ourselves … today."

"… Listen to their souls, man …"

"You listen, … and take a lesson from the dead …"

-Excerpts from Coach Boone’s speech, in the movie "Remember the Titans."

Today it still matters and it is important, to Learn Civil War History … so we can learn from it.

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Ashokan Farewell

Chances are, you first heard Ashokan Farewell during The Civil War eleven-hour 1990 miniseries on PBS.

The Ashokan Farewell music served as the theme for The Civil War by Ken Burns. It is hauntingly unforgettable. The song is heard 25 times during the miniseries and is the background music for the reading of the Sullivan Ballou letter. Ashokan Farewell was a perfect match for the story and scenes of The Civil War miniseries.

With music, Ashokan Farewell puts the sadness of the Civil War into our hearts, in a way all today can understand and feel.

Contrary to common thought, Ashokan Farewell is not music from the Civil War era. Instead, it is from our modern times and is the only music in The Civil War miniseries not from the 19th century. It’s name comes from a village in the New York Catskill Region, named Ashokan. The Ashokan Reservoir now covers most of this village. Jay Ungar composed Ashokan Farewell in 1982. It features a solo violin at the beginning, and later a guitar accompanies. Ungar wrote Ashokan Farewell in the style of a Scottish lament.

Barnes&Noble: Ashokan Farewell (The Civil War Soundtrack)

In the below video, Jay Ungar explains the creation of Ashokan Farewell. Ungar is joined by his wife Molly Mason, for a performance of Ashokan Farewell. I’ll bet you’ll play this video and listen to the wonderful music more than once, I know I have! Enjoy.

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• Lorena's Reply
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