Playing with Time and Contradictons: Warfield and Barksdale at Gettysburg

There is a small white farmhouse that sits a mile or so outside Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. During the time of the battle of Gettysburg, a blacksmith known as James Warfield owned it. Warfield, a 42 year old widower, had just moved to Gettysburg the year prior, 1862, from Maryland with his four daughters. Once in Gettysburg, he opened up a blacksmith shop adjoining his farm. In a county full of carriage makers, you could be assured that there was plenty of work for blacksmiths, and Warfield’s shop was touted as one of the best. [excerpt

Remembrance Day: History, Memory and the 20th Maine

Every November, on the Saturday closest to the 19th, the town of Gettysburg celebrates Remembrance Day. This day is held in memory of those who fought and died at the Battle of Gettysburg and during the Civil War as a whole. On November 19th, crowds gather to celebrate Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and his dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery. These events pose a few very important questions: why do we still remember the Civil War in this manner? Why do we find it so important to have an entire day dedicated just to Civil War soldiers? Why does Civil War memory matter? [excerpt

The Eisenhowers at Twilight: A Visit to the Eisenhower Farm, 1967

Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower relished life in Gettysburg. As he often remarked to friends, in retirement Ike sought to secure a piece of property that he could leave in better shape than he found it. The purchase in November 1950 of the 189-acre Redding Farm on the Millertown Road, only a short distance from Confederate A venue, was the outcome. Of course the Eisenhowers could have purchased a sizable farm in any number of locations. A Gettysburg address was predicated on their warm memories of a six-month sojourn in the borough in 1918 and recognition that Gettysburg was a convenient location for access to major cities. Lobbying by the Eisenhowers\u27 friends George and Mary Allen, who owned an 88-acre farm four miles south of the square in Gettysburg, along the Emmitsburg Road, also influenced the Eisenhowers\u27 pursuit of a Gettysburg property. [excerpt

25 Years of Gettysburg

Amongst the Civil War community here at Gettysburg College, the movie Gettysburg is very much a part of our daily lives. Quotes are thrown back and forth in witty banter, the music is played for dramatic effect, and history professors are badgered to show clips in class. Since the movie fits so seamlessly into our experience here in Gettysburg, we often take it for granted. However, Gettysburg recently celebrated its 25th anniversary with a special showing at the Majestic Theater, with remarks from the director preceding the viewing. Although none of the Fellows attended, it got a lot of us thinking about our own experiences with the movie. Each one of us has been touched by Gettysburg in significant ways. [excerpt

The Cupola Infographic (2017)

This infographic displays key facts and figures about Gettysburg College\u27s institutional repository, The Cupola: Scholarship at Gettysburg College, as of July, 2017

The Cupola Infographic (2018)

This infographic displays key facts and figures about Gettysburg College\u27s institutional repository, The Cupola: Scholarship at Gettysburg College, as of August, 2018

Improving the Present by Studying the Past: Killed at Gettysburg Remembers O’Rorke and Phelps

This semester, I have had the honor of working on the Civil War Institute’s Killed at Gettysburg project, hosted at killedatgettysburg.org. The project seeks to document the lives and legacies of soldiers who died during the three days of fighting in July 1863. I am happy to be contributing to Killed at Gettysburg again, as I strongly connected with the project when I worked on it for Dr. Carmichael’s Gettysburg class last semester. [excerpt

John Charles Wills: Reminiscences of the Three Days Battle of Gettysburg at the Globe Hotel

John Charles Wills left the fullest account of what happened at and around the Globe Inn in the borough of Gettysburg during the Battle. In July of 1910, the Gettysburg Compiler interviewed Wills and printed a short story of his observations and experience during the Gettysburg Campaign entitled, Battle Days at Globe Inn. In September of 1915, Wills once again shared his memories of the Battle of Gettysburg, this time in greater length. Fifty two years had passed since the battle occurred and Wills was approximately 77 years old. The 1910 and 191 5 reminiscences are remarkably similar indicating perhaps a good memory or years of re-telling the same stories. Wills does not offer an introduction to his account nor comment on any limitation of his memory. He drifted outside of the timeline of his story on occasion; some of his stories can be refuted, while others cannot be substantiated with any evidence. Wills refers to certain homes and businesses in his account using them as landmarks. It would be easy to assume that his references are to the Gettysburg of 1863; however, several of these places mentioned did not yet exist in 1863 but were contemporary landmarks in the Gettysburg of the early twentieth-century. [excerpt

“Be Carefully Taught”: African Americans in Adams County in the 20th Century

Every year over a million visitors flood Adams County, Pennsylvania to tour the famous, or rather infamous, site of the Battle of Gettysburg. While most visitors primarily come to Gettysburg to learn about the battle, many leave with understandings of the unending impact of the Civil War on race relations. However, for a town that sparks such a progressive mentality in some, Adams County, and specifically Gettysburg, is often criticized for being ‘frozen in time,’ unwilling to keep up with progressive race relations after the battle ended. A panel entitled “Black Experiences in Adams County in the 19th & 20th Centuries” sponsored by the Adams County Historical Society and the Gettysburg College History and Africana Studies departments, addressed the importance of remembering this African American story. The panel included Gettysburg College Professor Scott Hancock, author Peter Levy, and Adams County residents Darryl Jones and Jane Nutter. [excerpt

Special Collections Roadshow — Episode Ten: Union Uniform

Special Collections Roadshow was created by the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College in the Spring of 2014. It normally showcases various artifacts from Special Collections at Gettysburg College. For our tenth episode, we went on the road to the Gettysburg National Military Park. Thank you so much to the park staff, specifically Andrew Newman for letting us film an episode on an enlisted man’s uniform in their facility! [excerpt