Today my classmates at the 2023 Knowledge For Freedom Seminar and I traveled to Gettysburg. We started the day off by touring several battlefield sites, then made our way to the Gettysburg National Cemetery.
Pvt. Frederick Gilhousen
Visiting the cemetery was particularly interesting for me, because my four times great-grandfather died at the Battle of Gettysburg and was buried there. His name was Frederick Gilhousen and he was a Private in the Union Army.
This seminar has included a lot of full circle moments for me, but visiting my ancestor’s grave was by far the most impactful. I’ve wanted to visit the Gettysburg Cemetery since I was assigned a genealogy project in first grade that led to me discover both my great- grandfather and my love for politics and history. A love that would eventually lead me to apply to the Knowledge for Freedom Seminar at Dickinson.
My great-grandpa’s grave at Gettysburg
The woman who assigned me that genealogy project all those years ago is the mother of a Dickinson Alumni and the person who first introduced me to the college when I was in 9th grade.
Kismet.
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