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Christmas in Gettysburg in 1863: Anxiety and Hope
Christmas in Gettysburg in 1863 was a study in extreme contrasts. The small town was still emerging from the shadow of the cataclysmic battle fought there five months earlier. The Battle of Gettysburg (July 1–3, 1863) had left the community physically and emotionally scarred. By Christmastime, most of the immediate horrors had been addressed –…
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Truth or Legend? Feral Hogs at Gettysburg
On the night of July 2, 1863, the battlefield around Gettysburg fell into an eerie darkness punctuated by the groans of thousands of wounded men. Earlier that day, vicious fighting had swept through farmer George Rose’s wheatfield – a 20-acre expanse that changed hands multiple times in a bloody back-and-forth. More 6,000 soldiers were killed…
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Preserving Black History at The Jack Hopkins House
The Adams County Historical Society and the managers of Lincoln Cemetery announced in October 2025 that they would restore the Jack Hopkins House and turn it into a black history museum. Why did prominent historians in town choose the Jack Hopkins house? As various articles explain, the house itself is possibly the last edifice in…
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Truth and Legend on the John Forney Farm
The Legend of John Forney, his wanderings, his farm, and the role of his property in the Battle of Gettysburg was forged during his own lifetime. Forney’s property today is home to the Eternal Light Peace Memorial, and tales of the disaster of Iverson’s Brigade on his land are told on most tours. Further, ghost…
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The Dobbin House, the Underground Railroad, and a History of Hauntings
I was once having dinner with a work colleague at the Dobbin House. It was a quiet late winter day, and we had been doing work on a phone app. The fine dining was slower than usual, and several tables sat empty around us. A table just across from us had two married couples—clearly tourists,…
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Tillie Pierce: Her Battlefield Account, Family, and Haunted House
Today, the story of Tillie Pierce and her family has been subsumed by the story of the battle, Tillie’s recollections of it, and the landmark house that is now a bed and breakfast. Like the Jennie Wade House, the Hotel Gettysburg, the Farnsworth House Inn, and the Rupp House and Tannery, the site has also…
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The Rupp House and Tannery: A House Divided . . . and Haunted
The Rupp House is close to the Jennie Wade House and the Farnsworth House Inn, and it’s just south of the Hotel Gettysburg. It stands at 451 Baltimore Street in Gettysburg, PA, and today houses the Children of Gettysburg 1863® museum (a Gettysburg Foundation interactive history center). In the 1860s this Gothic-Revival home belonged to…
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From North Carolina Planter to Iverson’s Pits: The Life and Death of Oliver Evans Mercer
The command disaster on Oak Hill that led to the infamous Iverson’s Pits cost the Army of Northern Virginia some of its most seasoned, hard-fighting men. Many of these had fought at Chancellorsville and a half-dozen other engagements, which surely made their destruction even more terrible for Robert E. Lee’s army. Not only were they…
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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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Thirsty Soldiers and the Mysterious Woman in White at Spangler’s Spring
In the years shortly before the war and shortly after, Spangler’s Spring was a gathering spot for the town. Newspaper notices often carried announcements of Fourth of July celebrations or political gatherings at the site. Likewise, it was a center point for visitors at Culp’s Hill. In the first several decades after the war, Culp’s…