Gettysburg (The Outer Limits)

Two friends, Andy and Vince, take part in an American Civil War re-enactment at the site of the Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. A time traveler disguised as a photographer takes their picture and transports them back to the eve of the real battle.

[edit] Plot

The time traveller, Nicholas Prentice, has done this because Andy will one day assassinate the President of the United States. In 2013 at a ceremony marking the 150th anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg, Andy will shoot the president to honor the flag of the Confederate States of America. Prentice wants to show Vince that "there is no glory in this or any other war."

The two are confused about why they were sent back there and demand to be sent home. Prentice tells them that he cannot return them until he has completed his mission, which he keeps a secret from them.

Prentice's camera/time machine is confiscated by the Confederates. Their commander, Col. Angus Devine (played by Meat Loaf) is transported to the year 2013 after Vince accidentally turns on the time travelling device while the colonel is in front of it.

Vince drops his book, a novel about historic battles of the Civil War; it is found by one of the civilians, but it has little impact on the episode. The woman returns the book towards the end of the episode.

Andy does not learn his lesson and tries to stop Pickett's Charge in order to achieve a Confederate victory, even after Prentice explains why he has been sent back there. Andy is deemed a coward and shot by a Confederate major.

Meanwhile, Colonel Devine, after finding himself in 2013, shoots a man dressed as Abraham Lincoln, thinking he really is Lincoln (it was part of a historical monument to honor the battle). As he is being taken down by the Secret Service, he fires 2 more shots from his revolver, hitting the president in the chest, and ultimately killing him.

The episode ends with Prentice shaking his head in despair, as he witnesses the scene.

[edit] Trivia

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The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

The character Nicholas Prentice also appears in the episodes "Tribunal" and "Time to Time".
The woods in the battle scenes show barren trees but the battle of Gettysburg took place July 1 through July 3, 1863.