On Friday NPR aired a story by John McDonough about the last great reunion of veterans of the American Civil War, which took place in Gettysburg in 1938. The ceremonies were broadcast live on network radio, and McDonough’s story contained excerpts from surviving airchecks of those broadcasts. You can listen to the story here.
It occurred to me after listening to the NPR story that someone might have posted newsreel footage of the 1938 reunion on YouTube. Sure enough, a fair amount of the footage is available for viewing. Here are two clips. The first is a silent montage of newsreel excerpts:
The second is a seventeen-second-long sound clip that shows Union and Confederate veterans shaking hands over the stone wall at Bloody Angle:
Lest we forget!
UPDATE: More newsreel footage and radio broadcasts from the 1938 reunion at Gettysburg can be found on this DVD.
To see still photographs from the 1938 reunion, go here.
Terry Teachout on the arts in New York City
