Note: When you leave a comment to the blog, it will give you a message about awaiting moderation. Don’t worry. This is normal. I will “moderate” (review) all comments soon after 8 p.m. tonight and then approve them all to appear on the blog. Please read each other’s comments before class.
For Thursday, please read Jim Weeks, Gettysburg, chaps. 1-2, and Nina Silber, “Sick Yankees in Paradise: Northern Tourism in the Reconstructed South” (ECR). Then, when logged in to the blog, click “comments” to add your 100-word blog comment, which is due at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 8, in order to allow all of us sufficient time to read each other’s comments before Thursday’s class. In this and all future reading comment assignments, your blog comments will help shape our in-class discussion agenda.
Prompt for 100-word blog comment on Weeks, ch. 1-2:
For this reading selection, I would like each of you to choose one of the following topics to address in whatever way your understanding of the reading suggests to you. The purpose is to demonstrate your engagement with reading as well as to shape the discussion we will have in class. Please also feel free to comment on others’ comments (always in a respectful manner if you disagree).
1) How did any one of the following advance the formation of Gettysburg as a destination in the 1860s-80s?
a. Landscape
b. Visionaries
c. Organizations
d. Tourist infrastructure & services
e. Points of interest
f. Townspeople
2) Describe the connection/tension between memorialization and leisure at Gettysburg in the 1860s-80s.
3) What do you think so-called genteel tourists sought most at Gettysburg in the 1860-80s? (destruction, relics as souvenirs, restored health, spiritual uplift, entertainment); How did they encounter or experience Gettysburg?
4) How did Gettysburg fit into the larger pursuit of the picturesque and sublime in the 1860-80s?
5) How did Gettysburg fit into the larger pursuit of genteel recreation in the 1860s-80s?
Based on how Weeks forms his narrative of the genteel visitor’s expectations of Gettysburg, what they were most eager to experience between 1860 and 1880 was the the experience of the sublime landscape that also catered to their fascination for the “macabre.” Weeks encapsulates much of chapter two with his assertion that “. . . for the genteel visitor, what distinguished Gettysburg from other summer resorts was the fusion of landscape and epic into a single providential event. Gettysburg offered a new kind of attraction that enabled tourists to see the hand of God not only in nature but in the Union triumph as well.” Genteel were able to satisfy their appetite for the grotesque, the picturesque, and a unique pilgrimage all in one visit. Weeks talks about how Gettysburg visitors were fascinated with how the scenery showed the “hand of God” both in its beauty and in the evidence left behind from battle. Specifics of the battle were not as important as the experience of seeing where it took place. In fact, markers that detailed the battle’s events were not placed along the grounds until 1883. Tour guides were more prone to showing remnants of the battle’s destruction on both natural and man-made structures.
While Gettysburg existed as a tourist destination due to its history as a site of war, entrepreneurs and other enterprising individuals seized the opportunity to use the site as a moneymaking operation as well. “Despite gestures of decorum, “ Weeks writes, “visitors sometimes used Gettysburg for release of playful urges.” This might be downplaying the extent to which people used the site as a place for leisure, especially given that a beer saloon served as a chief point of attraction. The leisurely activities visitors to the site engaged in seemed to be justified under the guise of the memorialization of those Americans who lost their lives on the battlefield as well as the celebration of the Nation’s successes and freedoms. It seems strange that those who may have lost loved ones and friends on the battlefield would be so eager to use their visit to such a significant war location as a chance to relax; however, as an historical observer of the seemingly bizarre mix of war and “playful urges”, it seems only fitting that those visiting and those profiting at Gettysburg wished to engage in the activities that fellow American’s sacrifices allowed them.
5.)
For the elite Americans in the post-Civil War north, a myriad of conditions came together to make Gettysburg a place that one not would boast of visiting. First, it served the purposes of education, faith and patriotism while allowing for a reprieve from an urban lifestyle. Second, railroads were rapidly built in order to ease the burden of traveling. Third, Gettysburg very rapidly was noted by artist for its manicured natural beauty, and was a natural inspiration for landscapes and photography. This created a justification for the pilgrimage, easier access to the location, and something appropriate and captivating to display in the parlor space.
wow. 100 word is quite limiting.
Response to prompt 2
Gettysburg was not built around healing waters and health benefits like Saratoga, instead it grew from battlefields. The residents and entrepreneurs were often criticized for their sometimes-insensitive approach to the marketing Gettysburg. Many people viewed their large hotels, memorabilia and selling of rocks and other debris as profiting on the country’s pain and loss. Nevertheless Gettysburg grew into one of the most popular leisure destinations in America. Even though people complained about the business practices in Gettysburg, people continued to vacation there in order to live history and see how it affected the country, pay respect to the men who fought in the Civil War, and perhaps to feel a connection to lost loved ones.
Question Three: 3) What do you think so-called genteel tourists sought most at Gettysburg in the 1860-80s? (destruction, relics as souvenirs, restored health, spiritual uplift, entertainment); How did they encounter or experience Gettysburg?
Americans have always been fascinated with the gore of war, and I believe the tourists seeking out attractions at Gettysburg were no different. The genteel tourists seemed to be fascinated viewing a sacred and historical piece of the Civil war; this is not a feature very different from modern day culture. From the reading, it would seem that people must have been attracted to the war grounds based on a number of different attractions, from the memorial cemetery to different monuments at different points of attack to hotels providing luxury stays (such as the Battle-field hotel, which “promoted itself as one of the relics of the Battle of Gettysburg”) or the simple souvenirs relating the tourist with the war; all of these would have made the history seeking tourist feel as though they were a part of the deep history of Gettysburg. Gettysburg residents also played a critical role in attracting genteel tourists by providing them with the aforementioned features of the town, using the battle site as a critical aspect of the new industry shaping the economic development of town. In the end, genteel tourists were attracted to Gettysburg, which held both conceptions of the scared as well as historical importance.
Response to prompt one:
After the battle, Gettysburg was transformed into a major tourist destination. With the society’s obsession with the sublime, the battlefield’s landscape provided a perfect place to connect with both the horrors and sacred memory of the war. McConaughy capitalized on the area by adding tourist improvements, advertising, and also set up several hotels around the area. The fact that he specifically called for artists and those of “taste” to come to the area made a huge increase in tourism, both by people who wanted to contribute to Gettysburg and also by those who wanted to take part in connecting to those contributions. This lead to an even greater commercial market, especially at a time when parlors were becoming the personal museums for the genteel.
Cemeteries are an excellent example of how landscape advanced the formation of Gettysburg as a destination. Cemetery Hill, for example, combined natural and almost sublime views that were vogue at the time with the sacredness of a resting place of soldiers. The cemetery landscape enticed tourists based on their interests in awe-inspiring natural vistas, and deep contemplation over the events that took place after physically seeing symbols of death. As a result the areas with dramatic landscapes were emphasized by the tourism industry over areas less picturesque, which is exemplified by David McConaughy through the GBMA’s addition of monuments and memorials in his efforts to make Gettysburg acceptable for the genteel touring market.
Additionally, John Badger Bachelder’s isometrical map was significant in turning Gettysburg into a destination because it brought the battlefield to life in an acceptable way (capturing the immenseness of the battle without gruesome detail) for the genteel.
The landscape of Gettysburg was forever changed due to the war. Gettysburg became highly regarded for not only its natural beauty, but for being the landmark of a historical war. The town set in a beautiful landscape of boundless trees, mountains, and natural springs hosted the scars of war, attracting many visitors. Trees bore wounds of being hailed with bullets, and visitors collected flora from the battlefield as mementos. People could now visit Gettysburg as not only a quiet retreat in nature, but engage in a close view of where a bloody battle took place, marking history. Visitors could stroll the cemetery of the fallen, reap benefit from natural springs, enjoy a glorious sunset, and touch any one of the many war markings left in both the natural and fabricated landscape design.
Gettysburg popularity as a destination for tourist grew in the 1860 to 1880 for many reasons. One of the many reasons for this Tourism is it being one of the most important battles of the civil war The Battle at Gettysburg which turned this memorable city into a historical monument for our united nation. The Area held many interest to people after the war, it was one of the most intense battles of the civil war. This brought a lot of people to this area either out of interest, grief or just the ability to be were it all happened. This increase in tourism made it the ideal place for business and inter prize thus bring in people to the call for more jobs and tourism.
Jim Weeks describes how townspeople who were visionaries used the landscape by creating organizations and tourist services to share points of interest with visitors. David McConaughy and David Wills were local lawyers who shaped the future of Gettysburg. The GBMA, Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association and later the GAR, Grand Army of the Republic did make improvements to the Battlefield. Landscaping and wooden placards were early modifications for tourists. The large memorials for all the soldiers came in later incarnations of the area and healed some deep wounds between the north and the south. Confederates who were initally unwelcome were able to join the rest of the nation in honoring the losses for both sides. It is the visionaries who created an escape for the American Pilgrimage.
One of the reasons that Gettysburg grew as a tourist destination between 1860-1880 was due to the landscape. The battlefield at Gettysburg is one of the richest areas of living history that we have in America today. Gettysburg was host to one of, if not the most important battle in American History. By simply stepping foot onto the battlefield, one can feel the history come alive around them. Between the cemeteries of the fallen soldiers, the remnants of battle and the natural beauty of landscape, these factors all contributed to Gettysburg becoming a national historic landmark for American History.
Silber concludes her peiece that the northern tourists came to visit the South “for reconciliation through a romantic and depoliticized prism”. Their picturesque view of the South ignored the poverty, plight of the blacks, and embraced the feminitity–a romantic reconciliation. In a way, this reinforces and contrasts the actions of David McConaughy at Gettysburg as related by Jim Weeks. He appears to be a soldier of fortune acting as a public servant to memorialize the sacred battleground. On one hand he is to be commended for his efforts to claim and preserve the sacred ground. On the other, his manipulation of the public resources and the public sector as an entrepenuer appear disconcerting, but not uncommon as we know all to well today. Battlefield attractions and the creation of the springs to lure visitors spell profits for himself and many locals who notably exploited even the troops during the battle. It would be interesting to see reports of his personal net worth between 1865 and 1888. Weeks superimposes McConaughy’s efforts over time against the hoard of tourists (presumably from the North) seeking various forms of tourist experiences from the picturesque to the sbublime to the macabre.