"Sooprise, sooprise!",

[Mike Powell]

to quote Gomer Pyle, USMC.

The greatest misconception I had about this subject was the absolute validity of the tombstones. With my family on my third visit to the battlefield, I informed my children with an air of gravity that those paired tombstones toward the river below the monument were indeed where men had chosen to die rather than abandon their bunkie. Later, after visiting this board, and sitting at the feet of men like Gordon Harper I learned otherwise.

I also, while standing at the monument, once heard a young woman exclaim to her friend how interesting it was that so many men had died, "right along that sidewalk down there." She may believe the faces on Rushmore are a natural curiosity.

Anyone else come to this affair with notable misconceptions?

[jodak]

It was a long time ago, so I'm not sure, but imagine that I came to the study of the BLBH with the misconception that it was one all encompassing battle in which all of the soldiers were killed. I think that is probably true of most people, who do not realize that it was effectively three separate battles spanning two days and that the majority of the soldiers survived.

I've got a story that beats yours about the young woman's comment about so many soldiers dying near the sidewalk. When visiting Monticello I saw a young asking about a sundial in the garden. When its function was explained to her she said "What will they think of next?"