Category: Gettysburg
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Alexander Schimmelfennig, the Garlachs, and a Backyard Refuge
The story of General Alexander Schimmelfennig is one of the oddities of the Battle of Gettysburg. On the evening of July 1, 1863, after the first day’s fighting rolled up the Union line north of town, the Union general slipped into the tight maze of alleys and back lots along Baltimore Street—now behind Confederate lines—and…
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The Hotel Gettysburg: Its History and Hauntings
The Hotel Gettysburg stands at 1 Lincoln Square. Gettysburg’s Lincoln Square has been anchored for over two centuries by the inn that has worn many hats – from a humble 18th-century tavern to a Civil War hospital, from a Gilded Age grand hotel to a modern haunt for ghost-story seekers. The Gettysburg Hotel (once known…
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Confederate Burials on the George Rose Farm
John and George Rose estimated that between five hundred and one thousand men were buried on their property. The number may well have been higher—the property saw twenty thousand men engage and create six thousand casualties.
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The Big History of Big Round Top and Little Round Top
Prior to the Civil War, the twin hills south of Gettysburg were not known by the familiar names “Big Round Top” and “Little Round Top.” The taller, southern hill (today “Big Round Top”) was generally called “Round Top” or “Round Top Mountain” by locals, and sometimes simply “Round Hill,” reflecting its prominent rounded shape. The…
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The Cane of John Yarbrough
The following is a piece of fiction inspired by the previous post on the cane of John Yarbrough and the farm of Abraham Plank. (Recall, too, that Abraham Plank is the uncle of John Edward Plank whose farm saw a large number of Confederate burials.) Yarbrough genealogy is very well researched, but details around Private…
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Cemetery Hill: The Birthplace of Evergreen Cemetery
Culp’s Hill and Cemetery Hill are forever joined in history because of the great battle fought on their grounds—but they also share a common family history going back generations. Prior to becoming hallowed ground, Cemetery Hill was known locally as Raffensperger’s Hill, a prominent rise just south of Gettysburg. In the early 19th century it…
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David Forney: The Artist Who Etched History at Elephant Rock
In 1849, a 21-year-old artist named David Forney spent an afternoon in nature south of his hometown (likely around the Rose farm and the Michael Bushman farm). He was apparently sketching and painting, and when he was finished for the day, he carved his first initial, his last name, and the year into the rock…
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The Life and Legacy of Dr. John Edward Herbst
John Edward Herbst was born on February 24, 1828, into one of the long-established Pennsylvania German families of Gettysburg. He was the son of Rev. John Herbst Sr., a German Reformed minister and farmer, and Juliana Kurtz Herbst. Raised in a household that valued faith, education, and public service, John Edward was destined for a…
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Ed McPherson: Gentleman! Orator! Scholar!
Today, most people know the name Ed McPherson from McPherson Ridge, the site of heavy fighting on Day 1 of the Battle of Gettysburg. But Edward McPherson was far more than the name of a farm one of Gettysburg’s most prominent 19th-century figures—a lawyer, journalist, politician, and government reformer whose life intersected with some of…
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Lewis Bushman: From Farming to War Impact
Lewis Bushman was definitely his father’s son. Born in 1833 as the first child to George Andrew Bushman and Mary “Polly” Kepner, Lewis followed in his father’s footsteps in just about every way he could, and like his father, he would own a farm that the battle would make famous. Lewis was just six years…