Solomon Powers was a “great, uncouth, elephantine man” who “had a heart ten times larger than his massive frame. . . . [I]t was the glory of his life to pour balm upon sorrow and alleviate suffering, and all of his large family of daughters had inherited the gift of the Good Samaritan soul.”
—J. Howard Wert, Gettysburg Citizen
Solomon Powers was considered the best stonecutter west of the Susquehanna River. The stones for the base of the Evergreen Cemetery gatehouse came from his quarry. But his deeds and good heart may outlive those stones.
Once the battle began, the Powers women pulled together from different corners of Gettysburg to become some of its finest nurses and ministers.
The Tragedy of the Aftermath
The day after Lincoln gave The Gettysburg Address, tragedy struck the Powers home.
See the places significant in the
Powers story.