22 THOMAS FLAGEL - WAR, MEMORY & THE 1913 GETTYSBURG REUNION

This book and video sheds light on the difference between bottom up movements for reconciliation and reunion and the efforts of national organizers to coopt the reason for gathering.
The current focus on wiping away historical artifacts by toppling statues, renaming military bases, and trying to impose current mores on citizens from centuries ago is hopelessy misguided. We can learn more from the actual past that whitewashing over parts of the national heritage.
Dr. Flagel describes the impetus for the 50th anniversary reunion, the planning and involvement of so many individuals and groups. He explains the several different reasons for attending, their waning interest in the Great Tent events and some of the problems that organizers didn't foresee. This is a frank discussion of why national reconciliation was more a fabrication than the reason veterans attended.