Volume_29_Issue_3

4 Volume 29, Issue 3 Preservation & Progress fewer Americans, as a proportion of the population, are finding reason to visit our battlefield each year. Of course, in a world of mass and social media, it’s not entirely fair to equate visitation with relevance. And we haven’t had an energizing national event—the publication of The Killer Angels (1974), Ken Burns’ The Civil War (1990), or Ron Maxwell’s movie Gettysburg (1993)—in a generation. But our visitation over the last decade is flat at best. And the need to continually reassess and teach the meaning of Gettysburg, and to actively engage a national audience that may never visit the battlefield, is more pressing than ever. The Gettysburg Foundation and the Gettysburg National Military Park form a public-private partnership uniquely qualified to undertake this essential outreach and education. In April 2018, we held a Gettysburg Revisited Foundation event in Topsfield, Massachusetts (Essex County) that involved two riveting lectures. In the first, Gettysburg Foundation President Dr. Matt Moen offered lessons of civility and democracy we can learn from Gettysburg and Lincoln. It was “War and Peace” without any of our audience having to read 1,200 pages. And it was relevant through and through, highlighting courage, valor, family, and loyalty on the battlefield, and the ways we can nurture and grow our great American experiment in democracy. One guest told me afterward that he could have listened to Chris all evening. And an email I received said, “It is simply brilliant to pull out forgiveness, conciliation, and civility from the lessons to be learned from Gettysburg. What a receptive audience Dr. Moen had before him.” In the second, Gettysburg National Military Park’s Chief of Education and Interpretation, Chris Gwinn, spoke about the contributions of Essex County soldiers to the Gettysburg battle. I came away from the event understanding that there are two pieces to the Gettysburg story—three days of incredible violence followed by 155 years of peace and reconciliation—and that each provides different but powerful lessons for modern Americans. The Foundation’s role, along with running a world class visitor center and museum, is to support the Gettysburg National Military Park in its telling of the battle. More than ever, though, as our world spins faster, it is also to engage in public outreach throughout the nation to ensure that the lessons of Lincoln, Eisenhower, and reconciliation following the Gettysburg battle remain alive and relevant. We are already finding new and exciting ways to do this, from our first Great Conversations at Gettysburg program held in June, to our inclusion in the Big History Project , to Gettysburg Revisited , and new programs and events for our Friends. There is still a battle to be fought, a history to be preserved, and a republic to protect. There is still a great task before us. I am thankful to be building on the efforts of Bob Kinsley, Barbara Finfrock, and the other founding members of the Foundation, and I am delighted to be working with Matt Moen and our current team, our exceptional board, and our loyal Friends to offer the many lessons of Gettysburg to a new generation of Americans. GETT Chief of Interpretation, Chris Gwinn. Gettysburg Foundation President, Dr. Matthew C. Moen.