When I was young, firecrackers, cherry bombs, and other assorted “things that go boom in the night,” were still legal. We always enjoyed exploding a few of them as we celebrated the 4th of July.
Many of you who were raised on a farm, probably experienced the old firecracker or cherry bomb in a cow pie explosion! It didn’t take much to entertain us. For those of you who’ve never tried to outrun an exploding “meadow muffin,” let me instruct you in the finer points of cow pie demolition.
The cow pen provided plenty of objects waiting to be blown apart. Some people liked fresh pies, but we preferred ones that had crusted over in the hot sun but were still soft on the inside. The firecracker was inserted in the middle of the pie with the top portion and fuse exposed. The fuse was then lit. We made sure it was burning and then turned and ran like an irritated skunk was chasing us. Ka-Boom! The pie hit the fan, so to speak, as pieces flew in all directions.
That’s all pretty harmless fun when you consider what happened from July 1–3, 1863. This is the 150th anniversary of that Civil War battle at Gettysburg. The explosions at Gettysburg were deadly, not little firecrackers. I think it’s important that we take a moment to reflect on that momentous battle that changed the course of the war and probably saved the Union. This would in all likelihood be a different country if General Lee’s southern forces had won the battle at Gettysburg.
Between 46,000 and 51,000 soldiers from both sides were casualties in the three-day battle. One third of those who fought were killed or wounded. My mind can’t even imagine what those soldiers went through. All war is insane and mentally challenging, but this must have been like walking into a nightmare, far worse than anything we could ever imagine.
Many veterans of other wars since that time know what it’s like to move into position for a fight, being shot at, and having explosions impact around you. But I can’t begin to imagine the fright those Civil War soldiers must have felt and the bravery it must have taken to line up shoulder to shoulder and begin marching across an open field into the withering fire of thousands of muskets and exploding cannon fire. They were mowed down, like a scythe cutting wheat. We look upon it now as a stupid way to fight, but during the Civil War it was the way you fought. If you were in the front ranks, your chance of survival was slim and none.
I’ve always had a fascination with the Civil War, especially the battle of Little Round Top at Gettysburg. I had a friend who was also a Vietnam veteran. We felt like we had known each other forever. One day while talking, we found out we both had a special feeling for Little Round Top and felt we needed to visit there together. Unfortunately, he died before we could go. Neither of us had ancestors who fought in the Civil War, so we knew it couldn’t be some wandering DNA calling to us. My friend said, I think we were there, fighting together as friends in another life. I think he was joking, but... I have a feeling he wasn’t.
I had a great grandfather who had a chance to be in the Civil War. Hans O. Hanson Sherpe arrived from Norway a few months after the start of the war in 1861. He was 21 and began working as a hired man on a farm near the Country Coon Prairie Church. A man who didn’t want to go to war, offered Hans $1,200 to take his place. Great grandfather turned down the offer. That was a tremendous amount of money back in the 1860’s. He could have bought many farms with that money. Hans was either really smart or really dumb to turn down that much money. I have to thank him for not taking it. If he had been killed in the war, I and so many other Sherpe descendants wouldn’t be here.
I think of all the men who did lose their lives at Gettysburg. They didn’t have a chance to be a father and grandfather. My great grandfather was lucky. Is it just luck that determines who lives and who dies? That doesn’t seem fair. I think of all the souls that never had a chance at life because war took the life of those who would have been their fathers.
I know most people will be thinking only of parades, brats, beer, picnics, exploding meadow muffins, and fireworks this 4th of July. But it’s important to take a moment to remember the many sacrifices that people made to make this a free country. The signers of the Declaration of Independence understood that as soon as they affixed their names to that document, it was like putting a noose around their necks. They had the courage to sign their names anyway. Soldiers at Gettysburg knew that many of them were going to die. They had the courage to keep going anyway.
For me the 4th of July symbolizes freedom, courage, the luck of survival, and even homecoming–it was the day I returned home from Vietnam.
Enjoy the 4th, but also remember why we’re celebrating.
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