From the opening shots to the long shadows of post-war memory, Gettysburg was a profound ethical and spiritual crisis. This immersive course examines the tragedy of the Civil War’s bloodiest clash and its sweeping aftermath through a dedicated study of the region’s religious and spiritual landscape. You will step inside sanctuaries violently transformed into makeshift trauma bays to examine the impossible ethical, pastoral and moral dilemmas faced by local pastors, priests and devoted volunteers. Moving beyond traditional troop movements and battlefield tactics, the course explores how these spiritual shepherds navigated mass triage, ministered to the dying in the sprawling tent city of Camp Letterman and aided in sanctifying the solemn ground of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery. The curriculum confronts the heavy human cost of total war ranging from the grueling physical labor of re-interring the dead to the theological wrestling of Adams County’s autumn pulpits—before investigating how sentimental reconciliation and the “Lost Cause” narrative ultimately reshaped the nation’s historical memory.