I have the foggiest idea...

                You hear and read military historians talk about the so-called fog of war. If I understand the concept properly, the term refers to the confusion that develops on the battlefield when many dynamic actions take place at the same time. It is difficult for any individual to really know everything that has happened without talking to comrades.

          I found some war fog during a morning visit to the Gettysburg National Battlefield Park and I have two images here from that visit.



The Foggy Fence.

          The images were both produced from a position a few hundred yards east of the position along Seminary Ridge where the Virginia Memorial stands. I was looking in the direction of Cemetery Ridge. You can walk out to the position along a paved path, something visitors do every day.

          The fog dissipated while I was there, thinning from something like the soupy, thick gray stuff you sometimes see along Southern California’s coastline to nearly normal conditions in about 25 minutes. Of course, the action of the sun burning off the fog cranked the temperature higher and did nothing to lower the humidity. I got my images and got myself back in the air-conditioned car.

          You can see the fence drifting off into the fog in the first image. The fence gives you a bit of a feel for the size of the field it covers. I was happy when the bird landed on the fence because it gives the scene a bit of personality.

        

Foggy thoughts at Gettysburg.

  The canon has a personality of its own and it gives a different feel in the next shot. This shot was earlier in the series, so the fog is thicker than in the fence shot, but I like the idea of distance you get from the big gun.

          Few areas in America’s landscape have the important history of these fields. The Confederates attacked the Federal army across this ground on July 3, 1863. That was the third day of the battle, 150 years ago today.

          You can sit along either Ridge and stare across the span between the points of attack and repulse. Somehow, in the morning fog, I imagined things more clearly. I have looked across that distance many times, in both directions, but on this particular occasion it was easier to picture the attack. Something about fog does that, I guess.

          Thanks for reading.