The Civil War destroyed millions of acres of farmland, forests, and wilderness, which endured untold devastation from four years of the fiercest armed combat in the history of the North American continent. For many veterans of the conflict, that lived experience inspired a newfound appreciation for protection of the country’s biological and ecological landscape, as preservationists of battlefields, designers of parks and green spaces, and professionals in the fields of forestry and conservation—now no longer on the frontlines of warfare, but of a new national effort to create and expand public lands.

Join Codie Eash for this special Arbor Day presentation, as he explores how veterans’ experiences shaped their attention to environmental concerns, forever changing the natural landscape across the postwar United States.

- FREE with Museum Admission -

Lydia Ziegler Clare Education Center
Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center

Through our collaboration with Adams County Library System, come join us at the Schmucker House every other month on the third Tuesday for a discussion on a selected nonfiction book.  This month we will explore the book, The Last Slave Ship by Ben Raines.

Copies of the book are available at the Gettysburg Library's second-floor desk.

Registration Recommended

Many Civil War buffs will recognize the name Rufus Dawes, and dedicated students know that he fought with the famed Iron Brigade at the Battle of Gettysburg.  However, his importance in American history goes much deeper than that.

                Born in 1838 in Marietta, Ohio, Dawes was the great grandson of two pillars of the Revolutionary War.  His great-grandfather on his mother’s side, Manessah Cutler, was the author of the Northwest Ordinances and the first to establish the Ohio Territory.  His great-grandfather on his father’s side, however, was well know in his time as the other rider with Paul Revere, warning the American colonists that the British were coming. 

                This event will take a look at ancestry of one of Gettysburg’s most notable figures and tie it directly to the very foundation of the American Revolution.

- FREE with Museum Admission -

Lydia Ziegler Clare Education Center
Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center

As the nation’s future hung in the balance, the Weather Gods delivered a wrath of fury on Union and Confederate forces throughout the Gettysburg Campaign. First, record-breaking heat and humidity wore down the warring armies during ungodly forced marches. Next, relentless storms plagued the soldiers with resultant muddy slogs on nearly impassable roads. As the armies met in mortal combat, soul-crushing heat turned the bucolic fields of Gettysburg into a sanguinary and barren expanse. Finally, torrential rains haunted the Confederate retreat and narrow escape across a swollen Potomac River. Jeffrey J. Harding and Jon M. Nese, authors of The Weather Gods Curse the Gettysburg Campaign (The History Press, 2025), present firsthand accounts, harrowing narratives and groundbreaking meteorological research that reshapes how we view the Civil War’s Gettysburg Campaign.

Click Here to Register 

Jeffrey J. Harding currently works as a licensed battlefield guide at Gettysburg National Military Park, independent historian and leadership consultant. Previously, he served thirty-three years as an intelligence analyst and professional development specialist with the Office of Naval Intelligence. He is the author of the highly acclaimed Gettysburg’s Lost Love Story: The Ill-Fated Romance of General John Reynolds and Kate Hewitt (The History Press, 2022). 

Jon M. Nese is a teaching professor in the Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science at Penn State, where he also oversees the undergraduate program. Prior to joining Penn State, he was chief meteorologist at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia and on-air storm analyst at the Weather Channel. He is the coauthor of The Philadelphia Area Weather Book (Temple University Press, 2002), which was awarded the 2005 Louis J. Battan Author’s Award from the American Meteorological Society.

This event is FREE and open to the public.

Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center presents GETTYSBURG: ONE WOMAN’S WAR, on Monday, March 30, at 6:30 p.m. in the Valentine Hall Auditorium at 61 Seminary Ridge on the Gettysburg campus of United Lutheran Seminary (ULS). This unique dramatization views America’s Civil War through the eyes of young townswoman, wife, and mother Mary Bowman. Professional actress Michèle LaRue brings Mary vividly to life, spiriting audiences back to July 1, 1863—as the assault on Gettysburg, PA, begins. That murderous battle, fought 163 years ago, altered the course of the war and created our first National Cemetery. This one-woman play was praised as, “priceless. . . . masterfully, professionally, affectively and effectively presented … Truly a treasure,”* when performed for Historic Gettysburg Adams County, in Gettysburg.

LaRue adapted this presentation from novelist Elsie Singmaster’s classic Gettysburg: Stories of the Red Harvest and the Aftermath—published in 1913, the semi-centennial of the War Between the States. A century-plus later, Singmaster’s fictional wife and mother still grabs our imagination and our hearts. With Mary Bowman, we travel the emotional and physical terrain of 50 years: from the cannons’ first roar to the grief and devastation that follow; from the promise of Lincoln’s visit and commemoration, to the healing only time can bring. LaRue’s performance brings the work of Elsie Singmaster back to Seminary Ridge, where the writer resided during her father’s tenure as an early 20th-century campus president at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg (now ULS), a setting that directly inspired her Newberry Award-winning novel Swords of Steel (1933).

LaRue tours nationally with a repertoire of productions that revitalize writing from America’s Gilded Age. A Chicago native, transplanted to New Jersey, she has presented her offerings at nearly 600 venues—most prominently Washington’s Smithsonian Institution and Chicago’s Newberry Library. “Back in 2013, to honor the Civil War Sesquicentennial, I searched for stories featuring women,” LaRue explains. “I’d about given up when a knowledgeable friend ** recommended Gettysburg: Stories of the Red Harvest and the Aftermath. Decades before, I had read a marvelous Singmaster novel called A High Wind Rising. This proved even better; it’s a stunning work.” 

VALENTINE HALL AUDITORUM – 61 SEMINARY RIDGE, GETTYSBURG, PA, 17325 

Elsie Singmaster (1878 – 1958) received little public schooling, yet graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Radcliffe. Of Pennsylvania German heritage and raised in small towns in the state, she lived most her adult life in Gettysburg. Her intimate knowledge of the town’s geography amplifies the vividness and clarity of her Gettysburg stories. Her best-known novels include I Speak for Thaddeus Stevens, A High Wind Rising, and Swords of Steel, a Newbery Honor Book. 

Michèle LaRue, a graduate in Acting from the University of Kansas, is a longtime member of Actors’ Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA, the editor of multiple notable theatre books and periodicals, and a history enthusiast. http://michelelarue.com

GETTYSBURG : ONE WOMAN’S WAR

“July the First”: War comes to Gettysburg—where are the armies?

“The Battleground”: Lincoln comes to Gettysburg—where will it end?

“Mary Bowman”: Sightseers come to Gettysburg—where has it led?

Three stories from Elsie Singmaster’s classic Gettysburg: Stories of the Red Harvest and the Aftermath

Singmaster’s 1913 short story collection vividly explores the physical and emotional terrain of a Civil War icon. With townswoman Mary Bowman, live the battle and its legacy—from the cannons’ first roar to its echoes a half century on.

* “What you have to offer is priceless. There is almost nothing in the whole big 150th celebration that focuses on women. . . . So masterfully, professionally, affectively and effectively presented… Truly a treasure.”

--Paula Olinger, Associate Professor, Gettysburg College; Member, Historic Gettysburg Adams County

** Susan Koppelman, renowned editor of stories by nineteenth-century American women

- FREE with Museum Admission -

Lydia Ziegler Clare Education Center
Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center

When Abraham Lincoln opened the Gettysburg Address with an allusion to “four score and seven years” earlier, he referenced the Declaration of Independence. But two other revolutionary documents saw the light of day over that same span, as well: Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863, issued almost exactly four score and seven years after Thomas Paine’s Common Sense of January 10, 1776.

Join us for our first installment of “Revolution on the Ridge,” as Codie Eash opens our America 250 commemorative programming by exploring the significance of these two January pronouncements, one an official presidential decree and the other a public rallying cry—both amid civil wars, and both in the name of liberty.

- FREE with Museum Admission -

Lydia Ziegler Clare Education Center
Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center

Drawing on three decades of his experience as a registered nurse and a lifelong interest in the American Civil War, join Noel Kline as he explores the injuries and lethality of 19th-century warfare, discusses the religious doctrine of “God's Will” in the period, and utilizes his unique behind-the-scenes photographs of Seminary Ridge Museum exhibits when they were first installed.

- FREE -

Lydia Ziegler Clare Education Center
Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center

Noel has 30 years experience as a Registered Nurse in acute and long-term care as well as home health with 16 years EMS experience. He has taught nursing school for 12 years at HACC and PSU Harrisburg.  

Noel has a AS degree in nursing and BA degree in communications from Penn State. He earned his MS degree in nursing from the University of Phoenix. Noel also has a minor in anthropology from Penn State.  

Noel's interest in the Civil War started when he was a teenager learning about his great-grandfather's service in the Union Army as told by his late mother Patsy Kline. As Noel researched his great-grandfather's life history and military records, he found Civil War history to be a life-long hobby. In recent years, Noel provides photography of battlefields and historic landmarks for the American Battlefield Trust. Currently, Noel is a freelance photojournalist for Local News 1.org of Waynesboro, PA providing history related feature stories.

This program highlights the relationship between General George G. Meade and his wife, Margaretta. The daughter of a prominent Philadelphian politician, Margaretta Sergeant married George Meade on December 31, 1840. Without question, Margaretta was Meade’s most intimate confident and loyalist, a relationship that sustained Meade through the trials of the American Civil War. Dr. Jennifer Murray, author of a forthcoming biography of General Meade, will look at several of their wartime letters and explore their relationship and marriage.

Click Here to Register

Dr. Jennifer M. Murray is an Assistant Professor of History at Shepherd University and the Director of the George Tyler Moore Center for the Study of the Civil War. Her most recent publication is On A Great Battlefield: The Making, Management, and Memory of Gettysburg National Military Park, 1933-2023, published by the University of Tennessee Press in 2014 and printed as a second edition in 2023. Murray is currently working on a full-length biography of General George Meade, tentatively titled Meade at War. She is the co-editor of the forthcoming, “They Are Dead, And Yet They Live”: Civil War Memories in a Polarized America to be published by the University of Nebraska Press in February 2026. Prior to joining the faculty at Shepherd, Murray taught at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. A native of Maryland, Murray worked as a seasonal interpretive park ranger at Gettysburg National Military Park for nine summers.

Rescheduled from original date of Saturday, March 7

With special coverage by C-SPAN!

Join us for an evening of dinner, history, book signings, and more!

Dinner options include:
Espresso-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Apple Chutney
Brown Butter Seared Salmon with Citrus-Dill Beurre Blanc
Vegetarian (Chef’s Selection)

Cost: $100

Click here to secure your seat!
As always, members of the Iron Brigade Society will receive invitations as part of their membership benefits.

Sponsored and hosted by
The Barn Resort
75 Cunningham Road, Gettysburg

Featuring Special Guest Speaker
Dr. Matthew Pinsker

Brian Pohanka Chair of Civil War History
Dickinson College

discussing his recently published

Boss Lincoln: The Partisan Life of Abraham Lincoln

An eye-opening portrait of Lincoln behind the scenes: Here is the career-long party politician whose brilliant coalition-building during the Civil War set the political foundation for emancipation and Union victory.

We know Lincoln as the eloquent, compassionate leader of a nation torn by civil war. But he had another, less visible side, equally central to his character and leadership: Lincoln was a master of party politics. Schooled as a Whig in the rough-and-tumble of Illinois electioneering in the 1830s, Lincoln skillfully navigated treacherous partisan crosscurrents and helped build the Republican party into a viable force. His decades of experience as a party leader proved invaluable to him as president and commander in chief during the Civil War.

Matthew Pinsker’s groundbreaking history draws extensively on Lincoln’s private correspondence to move beyond the marble icon and realize a flesh-and-blood character in Boss Lincoln. Behind closed doors he was shrewd and insistent, capable of deft manipulation, blunt intimidation, or thoughtful argument as needed. As a decision-maker he was attentive to detail but kept his own counsel and trusted his own acumen. His aides noted that in cabinet meetings Lincoln had the final say, and “there is no cavil.” Devoted to elections, he kept careful, handwritten tallies of party turnout, even gifting one to Mary Todd, another partisan, during their courtship. His hymn to democracy at Gettysburg in 1863 carried a partisan message to the political leaders gathered there: The fight for the union would take place at the polls as well as on the battlefield. Boss Lincoln often sacrificed candor for purpose. He used his White House meeting with Frederick Douglass in 1864, ostensibly about emancipation, to send a message to radicals about his need for their support.

With emancipation and the war’s outcome at stake, facing withering criticism from all sides, Lincoln won reelection by building a new political coalition through the Union party. Here was Boss Lincoln at his height, captured in absorbing detail in this indelible portrait of our greatest president.

About the Author

MATTHEW PINSKER holds the Brian Pohanka Chair of Civil War History at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania and serves as Director of the House Divided Project (http://housedivided.dickinson.edu/sites), an innovative effort to build digital resources on the Civil War era.  Matt has previously held visiting fellowships at New America Foundation, U.S. Army War College and the National Constitution Center.  Matt graduated from Harvard College and received a doctorate from the University of Oxford. He is the author of three books:  Abraham Lincoln –a volume in the American Presidents Reference Series from Congressional Quarterly Press (2002) and Lincoln's Sanctuary: Abraham Lincoln and the Soldiers’ Home (Oxford University Press, 2003).  Matt’s most recent book is Boss Lincoln: The Partisan Life of Abraham Lincoln (W.W. Norton, 2026).  He also currently produces a popular Substack series called:  What Would Lincoln Do?  Matt has published widely in the history of American politics, contributing to the Journal of American History and several other academic journals as well as to newspapers such as the Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Washington Post, and USA Today.  He appears regularly on TV channels such as C-SPAN and A&E’s History. Matt has managed multiple digital projects on the Underground Railroad for the National Park Service Network to Freedom.  He has led numerous K-12 teacher-training workshops for organizations such as the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. He also currently serves the Organization of American Historians (OAH) as a “Distinguished Lecturer.” Finally, Matt sits on the advisory boards of several historic organizations, such as Ford’s Theatre Society, Gettysburg Foundation, National Civil War Museum, President Lincoln’s Cottage at the Soldiers’ Home, and the Thaddeus Stevens & Lydia Hamilton Smith Center for History & Democracy.

Click here to view the Schedule of Events.
A copy will be included with registration packets.

We are excited to once again welcome Gettysburg historians James Hessler, Stuart Dempsey, and Jody Wilson as they join SRMEC's Judy Morley and Codie Eash to examine those debates and mysteries which have contributed to the lasting scrutiny and curiosity of the Battle of Gettysburg.

This year’s Symposium will feature a condensed format without sacrificing content and experience.

More details to follow!

Click here for in-person registration.

Click here for virtual (livestream) registration.

Please note that in-person registration begins at 8:45am ET on the day of the event. All programming will begin at 9:15am ET.

**All proceeds support Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center and The Battle of Gettysburg Podcast.**

Join us for another lighthearted evening of family-friendly general trivia (but not about generals) for prizes!

A taco bar will be provided by Ragged Edge catering. The evening is BYOB, though water, lemonade, and iced tea will be included. 

Registration is individual, but you may register up to 6 total people (a full team) at one time.

Click Here to Register

Snow make-up date: March 27 (if needed)

As soon as slavery ended in 1865, family members began to search for one another, in some cases persisting until as late as the 1920s, as many placed “information wanted” advertisements in newspapers and sent letters to the editor. Judith Giesberg, author of Last Seen, draws on the digital archive that she founded—containing almost five thousand letters and advertisements placed by members of the Freedom Generation—to compile these stories in a narrative form for the first time. With this critical context, she recounts the moving stories of the people who placed the advertisements, the loved ones they tried to find, and the outcome of their quests to reunite.

Click Here to Register

Judith (Judy) Giesberg holds the Robert M. Birmingham Chair in the Humanities in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Villanova University. She earned a PhD in History from Boston College, and is the author of five books on the period. Dr. Giesberg is the recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Pennsylvania Abolition Society, the American Philosophical Society, and the National Archives and Records Administration. She directs a number of digital projects that make sources available to teachers, scholars, museum professionals, and genealogists, including Last Seen: Finding Family After Slavery, a project launched in 2017 that collects and digitizes “Information Wanted” ads taken out by ex-slaves looking for family members lost in the domestic slave trade—the basis for her most recent book. Dr. Giesberg formerly served as Associate Editor and Editor in Chief of the Journal of the Civil War Era, and lectures widely to Civil War roundtables and at Historical Societies; regularly addresses audiences of genealogists, teachers, and museum attendees; and consults and collaborates with public history professionals.

Through our collaboration with Adams County Library System, come join us at the Schmucker House every other month on the third Tuesday for a discussion on a selected nonfiction book.  This month we will explore the book, The Women Jefferson Loved by Virginia Scharff.

Registration Recommended

Daniel Alexander Payne, educated at Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, was a prominent bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, a pioneering educator, and a leading advocate for African American education and civil rights. He played a key role in organizing the AME Church, and became the first African American president of Wilberforce University, one of the nation’s earliest Black colleges.

This lecture is a collaboration between Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center, Destination Gettysburg, and Kindling Faith at United Lutheran Seminary.

Keynote Speaker: Rev. Dr. Mark Kelly Tyler

Click Here to Register

This event will take place in Valentine Hall, followed by a reception, and is FREE to all.

——————————-

Dr. Tyler is active in the world of theological education, currently serving as a Fully Affiliated Faculty Member at the Methodist Theological Seminary in Ohio. He has been a member of the Adjunct Faculty at Payne Theological Seminary, Northeastern Seminary, New Brunswick Theological Seminary, the United Lutheran Seminary, and Missio Seminary. Additionally, Dr. Tyler is the past Director of Church Relations and Alumni Affairs at Payne Seminary and the past Director of Church Vocations at New Brunswick Seminary.

Dr. Tyler has also served his community in additional ways. He created and led an effort to increase voter turnout in the Black community through Black Faith Votes, which united Black Christian and Muslim congregations in mobilizing their congregations. He served as the Co-Director of the Philadelphia affiliate of Live Free USA, a national social justice movement aimed at reducing gun violence, mass incarceration, and bringing about greater criminal justice reform. His work with Live Free helped to bring about the historic Citizen’s Police Oversight Commission in Philadelphia.

Contrary to popular belief, medical care during the Civil War was relatively effective despite a conspicuous lack of understanding of antisepsis or the causes of dangerous infections, and the minie ball’s devastating effects on bone and soft internal organs of the body.

As a physician, Dr. Stephen A. Goldman will explain how advances in surgical technique and decision-making, transportation, anesthesia, and post-operative treatment, coupled with a landmark system of ascending tier hospitals and the Sanitary Commission’s critical role, led to dramatic improvements in morbidity and mortality among the staggering numbers of wounded Union soldiers and sailors.

Click Here to Register

*Please note this program is accessible via Zoom only.

Stephen A. Goldman, M.D., LFACLP, DLFAPA, the only physician to serve on the Abraham Lincoln Institute Board of Directors, received his B.A. from the Honors Tutorial College at Ohio University (Outstanding Graduate in Psychology), and his M.D. and its Alex Rosen Award for Excellence in Medicine and the Humanities from the New York University School of Medicine. 

Having trained as a general adult psychiatrist at the US Department of Veterans Affairs and other university-affiliated hospitals, he was a fellow/assistant attending in consultation-liaison (C-L) psychiatry at Montefiore Medical Center (Bronx, NY). Dr. Goldman then served as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry & Medicine, and Director of the Division of C-L Psychiatry, at the Indiana University School of Medicine.   

Upon completing a U.S. Food and Drug Administration/Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) Staff Fellowship in Clinical Pharmacology and Regulatory Drug Evaluation Sciences, he became Medical Director of MedWatch, the FDA’s medical product safety program. After federal service, Dr. Goldman has provided risk assessment, auditing, training, and other drug, biologic, and medical device safety assistance to industry and public organizations as an international consultant.  

A Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Life Fellow of the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry, and Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, Dr. Goldman was an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at USUHS for decades. Having treated and worked with those who’ve been under fire, he has studied the Civil War, Reconstruction, race, and the multi-faceted impact of combat on American veterans since Fort Sumter was fired upon.   

His unique expertise is exemplified in the groundbreaking One More War to Fight: Union Veterans’ Battle for Equality through Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the Lost Cause, which examines Northern soldiers’ and sailors’ unprecedented political activism, and powerful warrior identity.

LOCATION CHANGE: Due to maintenance in Schmucker House, this month’s meeting will be at Seminary Ridge Museum (111 Seminary Ridge).

Through our collaboration with Adams County Library System, come join us at the Schmucker House every other month on the third Tuesday for a discussion on a selected nonfiction book.  This month we will explore the book, The Nineties by Chuck Klosterman.

Registration Recommended

In 2018, the National Park Service began administering Camp Nelson National Monument, located south of Lexington, Kentucky. During the Civil War, the site served as a United States military supply depot, forward operating base, hospital, recruiting post, refugee camp, and training center for U.S. Colored Troops.

Join National Park Service Ranger Steve Phan, Chief of Interpretation at Camp Nelson, as he engages in conversation with Codie Eash, Director of Education and Interpretation at Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center, while the pair discuss their experience on staffs during the establishment of nationally significant historic sites.

Click Here to Register

Steve T. Phan is a Park Ranger and serves as the Chief of Interpretation at Camp Nelson National Monument. He has also worked at the Civil War Defenses of Washington, Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument, Rock Creek Park, Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, Stones River National Battlefield, Richmond National Battlefield Park, and Gettysburg National Military Park. A military history scholar of the Civil War era, Phan’s research focuses on military occupation, operational command, African American soldiers and refugees, and fortifications during the Civil War. He was nominated for the National Park Service Tilden Award for Excellence in Interpretation for the National Capital Region in 2019 and 2020, and the Excellence in Interpretation Individual Award for the Southeast Region in 2025. He holds a master’s degree in American History from Middle Tennessee State University.

Join us for our first History Happy Hour of the season!

In 2024, the Missing in America Project identified the cremated remains of more than two dozen unclaimed Civil War veterans and their spouses at a funeral home in Seattle, Washington. Working with the project, local historian Richard Heisler played a leading role in the yearslong effort to identify, memorialize, and reinter these 28 men and 31 women, eulogized by former Pulitzer Prize finalist Brian Matthew Jordan. Join Codie Eash, SRMEC Director of Education and Interpretation, as he holds a conversation with Heisler and Jordan to discuss one of the largest collections of Civil War burials to have occurred in at least 150 years.

Click Here to Register

Richard Heisler is the founder of Civil War Seattle and Seattle History Tours. A resident of the Seattle area for more than three decades and a lifelong student of the Civil War era, Richard's public history work aims to bring light to the extensive and influential historical connections of the Seattle region's communities to the Civil War and other local history. Richard has presented and led tours and programs for many area historical and private organizations in Pennsylvania and Washington, and he is a contributing writer for Emerging Civil War and The Western Theater in the Civil War. Civil War Seattle has been featured widely in local Seattle media, including the Seattle Times, KOMO4 News, KIRO Radio, and Pacific NW Magazine.

Brian Matthew Jordan is Associate Professor of U.S. Civil War History and Chair of the Department of History at Sam Houston State University, where he has taught for a decade. Professor Jordan earned his undergraduate degree in Civil War Era Studies at Gettysburg College, and M.A., M.Phil., and Ph.D. degrees in History at Yale. His first book, Marching Home: Union Veterans and Their Unending Civil War, was a finalist for the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in History. He has authored or edited five other books on Civil War soldiers, veterans, and memory, including The War Went On: Reconsidering the Lives of Civil War Veterans (with Evan Rothera); A Thousand May Fall: An Immigrant Regiment’s Civil War, and Final Resting Places: Reflections on the Meaning of Civil War Graves (with Jonathan W. White). Presently, he is at work on This War of Ours: A New History of the Civil War in the United States, a one-volume history of the conflict for Liveright/W.W. Norton. Brian is the founding co-editor of the series “Veterans” at the University of Massachusetts Press, and, for a decade, has served as Book Review Editor for The Civil War Monitor. He appears regularly on C-SPAN and was featured in the HISTORY Channel’s three-part documentary on the life of U.S. Grant.

Friday, November 14

All visitors wearing period attire will receive an 18.63% discount on all Museum Admissions.

3:30pm - Through the Eyes of Abraham Lincoln: How Authenticating His Eyeglasses Revealed a Hidden Struggle with Strabismus, Ethan Afshani

Over the past 160 years, the collectability of Abraham Lincoln memorabilia has earned prominence within the vast collecting sphere of Americana, coining the phrase "Lincolniana." Authentic artifacts from the 1930s through the 1980s often originated through the unassuming gentleman farmer, Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, a man whose most notable claim to the legacy is the blood he shares as Lincoln’s great-grandson.

In this presentation, the complex provenance of one of Lincoln's most intimate artifacts, his eyeglasses, will be brought to light. This critical authentication research additionally presents us with a major discovery: scientific evidence of Lincoln’s hidden struggle with vertical strabismus (left superior oblique paresis), offering new, medically-grounded insights into the 16th President's health. 

Ethan Afshani is a historical consultant and author specializing in Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War-era. He is the co-editor of AN EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OF THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG BY PARTICIPANT JULY 1863. The Civil War Diary of Lt. Henry J. Waltz, and has written for The Lincoln Forum Bulletin, including The Lincoln Chairs. His research article A New Discovery About Lincoln’s Ocular Health presents new insights into Lincoln’s medical history.

- FREE with Museum Admission -
Lydia Ziegler Clare Education Center
Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center

6:30pm - The Night Before Gettysburg, Chuck Johnson

A 1-man, 3-scene, 1-act play, in which Abraham Lincoln finishes writing the Gettysburg Address in his bedroom the night before the speech. In Scene 1, Lincoln speaks directly to the audience, explaining events that led to the Battle of Gettysburg. Scene 2 takes place in his bedroom as he finishes the speech. He is torn as he grapples with slavery, racism, war carnage, and the deaths of two of his children; here, he recounts the battle as told to him by General Meade. Scene 3 follows with Lincoln’s presentation of the Gettysburg Address.  

35-minute live performances are followed by an opportunity for Q&A.

SRMEC Members $5 / Non-Members $10
Click Here to Register

He’s “torn asunder” as he works on the speech. Racism, slavery, war carnage and the deaths of two of his children tear at his soul. 

“The Night Before Gettysburg” takes you inside Abraham Lincoln, as he asks himself “What is slavery? Why is slavery? Why are men enslaved.” As he answers those questions, you see Lincoln the man, who he was, what he stood for and the burdens he carried.
–Chuck Johnson

Saturday, November 15

All visitors wearing period attire will receive an 18.63% discount on all Museum Admissions.

Sunday, November 16

All visitors wearing period attire will receive an 18.63% discount on all Museum Admissions.

12:30pm – The Night Before Gettysburg, Chuck Johnson

A 1-man, 3-scene, 1-act play, in which Abraham Lincoln finishes writing the Gettysburg Address in his bedroom the night before the speech. In Scene 1, Lincoln speaks directly to the audience, explaining events that led to the Battle of Gettysburg. Scene 2 takes place in his bedroom as he finishes the speech. He is torn as he grapples with slavery, racism, war carnage, and the deaths of two of his children; here, he recounts the battle as told to him by General Meade. Scene 3 follows with Lincoln’s presentation of the Gettysburg Address.  

35-minute live performances are followed by an opportunity for Q&A.

SRMEC Members $5 / Non-Members $10
Click Here to Register

He’s “torn asunder” as he works on the speech. Racism, slavery, war carnage and the deaths of two of his children tear at his soul. 

“The Night Before Gettysburg” takes you inside Abraham Lincoln, as he asks himself “What is slavery? Why is slavery? Why are men enslaved.” As he answers those questions, you see Lincoln the man, who he was, what he stood for and the burdens he carried.
–Chuck Johnson

3:30pm – Marching Still

A collection of poems about the American Civil War set to original music composed, arranged, & performed by composer Ryan Mascilak.

FREE for all ages

Wednesday, November 19

3:30pm – ‘The Ground Around the Seminary’: President Lincoln’s Battlefield Excursion

Outdoor Walking Tour by Codie Eash, SRMEC Director of Education and Interpretation 

Hours before Abraham Lincoln delivered his iconic Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863, at least three eyewitnesses recalled that the president toured the battlefield, and according to one, the party “visited the ground around the Seminary, and Mr. Lincoln joined in.”

Join Codie as we use historical evidence to walk that ground and investigate Lincoln’s apparent visit.

FREE. No registration required. Meet near the Martin Luther Statue.

Codie Eash, SRMEC Director of Education and Interpretation, will present “General Buford’s Signalman: Aaron Brainard Jerome at Gettysburg and Beyond,” at the Shippensburg Area Civil War Roundtable. The meeting begins at 7:00pm at Christ United Methodist Church (47 East King Street, Shippensburg, PA, 17257). For more information on the hippensburg Area Civil War Roundtable, visit https://www.facebook.com/cvcwrt/.

Many Civil War enthusiasts are aware of John Buford’s use of the Seminary Cupola at Gettysburg, an incident since popularized in literature and film, but few are familiar with First Lieutenant Aaron Brainard Jerome. As the person who likely spent the most time in that structure among any of the battle’s participants, Jerome served as an underrecognized member of the United States Signal Corps, an influencer in shaping perceptions of Buford’s legacy, and an officer who Buford praised as having been “ever on the alert.” This presentation will focus on Jerome’s life, writings, and role in shaping the Gettysburg story.

Friday, November 14

All visitors wearing period attire will receive an 18.63% discount on all Museum Admissions.

3:30pm - Through the Eyes of Abraham Lincoln: How Authenticating His Eyeglasses Revealed a Hidden Struggle with Strabismus, Ethan Afshani

Over the past 160 years, the collectability of Abraham Lincoln memorabilia has earned prominence within the vast collecting sphere of Americana, coining the phrase "Lincolniana." Authentic artifacts from the 1930s through the 1980s often originated through the unassuming gentleman farmer, Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, a man whose most notable claim to the legacy is the blood he shares as Lincoln’s great-grandson.

In this presentation, the complex provenance of one of Lincoln's most intimate artifacts, his eyeglasses, will be brought to light. This critical authentication research additionally presents us with a major discovery: scientific evidence of Lincoln’s hidden struggle with vertical strabismus (left superior oblique paresis), offering new, medically-grounded insights into the 16th President's health. 

Ethan Afshani is a historical consultant and author specializing in Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War-era. He is the co-editor of AN EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OF THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG BY PARTICIPANT JULY 1863. The Civil War Diary of Lt. Henry J. Waltz, and has written for The Lincoln Forum Bulletin, including The Lincoln Chairs. His research article A New Discovery About Lincoln’s Ocular Health presents new insights into Lincoln’s medical history.

- FREE with Museum Admission -
Lydia Ziegler Clare Education Center
Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center

6:30pm - The Night Before Gettysburg, Chuck Johnson

A 1-man, 3-scene, 1-act play, in which Abraham Lincoln finishes writing the Gettysburg Address in his bedroom the night before the speech. In Scene 1, Lincoln speaks directly to the audience, explaining events that led to the Battle of Gettysburg. Scene 2 takes place in his bedroom as he finishes the speech. He is torn as he grapples with slavery, racism, war carnage, and the deaths of two of his children; here, he recounts the battle as told to him by General Meade. Scene 3 follows with Lincoln’s presentation of the Gettysburg Address.  

35-minute live performances are followed by an opportunity for Q&A.

SRMEC Members $5 / Non-Members $10
Click Here to Register

He’s “torn asunder” as he works on the speech. Racism, slavery, war carnage and the deaths of two of his children tear at his soul. 

“The Night Before Gettysburg” takes you inside Abraham Lincoln, as he asks himself “What is slavery? Why is slavery? Why are men enslaved.” As he answers those questions, you see Lincoln the man, who he was, what he stood for and the burdens he carried.
–Chuck Johnson

Saturday, November 15

All visitors wearing period attire will receive an 18.63% discount on all Museum Admissions.

Sunday, November 16

All visitors wearing period attire will receive an 18.63% discount on all Museum Admissions.

12:30pm – The Night Before Gettysburg, Chuck Johnson

A 1-man, 3-scene, 1-act play, in which Abraham Lincoln finishes writing the Gettysburg Address in his bedroom the night before the speech. In Scene 1, Lincoln speaks directly to the audience, explaining events that led to the Battle of Gettysburg. Scene 2 takes place in his bedroom as he finishes the speech. He is torn as he grapples with slavery, racism, war carnage, and the deaths of two of his children; here, he recounts the battle as told to him by General Meade. Scene 3 follows with Lincoln’s presentation of the Gettysburg Address.  

35-minute live performances are followed by an opportunity for Q&A.

SRMEC Members $5 / Non-Members $10
Click Here to Register

He’s “torn asunder” as he works on the speech. Racism, slavery, war carnage and the deaths of two of his children tear at his soul. 

“The Night Before Gettysburg” takes you inside Abraham Lincoln, as he asks himself “What is slavery? Why is slavery? Why are men enslaved.” As he answers those questions, you see Lincoln the man, who he was, what he stood for and the burdens he carried.
–Chuck Johnson

3:30pm – Marching Still

A collection of poems about the American Civil War set to original music composed, arranged, & performed by composer Ryan Mascilak.

FREE for all ages

Wednesday, November 19

3:30pm – ‘The Ground Around the Seminary’: President Lincoln’s Battlefield Excursion

Outdoor Walking Tour by Codie Eash, SRMEC Director of Education and Interpretation 

Hours before Abraham Lincoln delivered his iconic Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863, at least three eyewitnesses recalled that the president toured the battlefield, and according to one, the party “visited the ground around the Seminary, and Mr. Lincoln joined in.”

Join Codie as we use historical evidence to walk that ground and investigate Lincoln’s apparent visit.

FREE. No registration required. Meet near the Martin Luther Statue.

Friday, November 14

All visitors wearing period attire will receive an 18.63% discount on all Museum Admissions.

3:30pm - Through the Eyes of Abraham Lincoln: How Authenticating His Eyeglasses Revealed a Hidden Struggle with Strabismus, Ethan Afshani

Over the past 160 years, the collectability of Abraham Lincoln memorabilia has earned prominence within the vast collecting sphere of Americana, coining the phrase "Lincolniana." Authentic artifacts from the 1930s through the 1980s often originated through the unassuming gentleman farmer, Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, a man whose most notable claim to the legacy is the blood he shares as Lincoln’s great-grandson.

In this presentation, the complex provenance of one of Lincoln's most intimate artifacts, his eyeglasses, will be brought to light. This critical authentication research additionally presents us with a major discovery: scientific evidence of Lincoln’s hidden struggle with vertical strabismus (left superior oblique paresis), offering new, medically-grounded insights into the 16th President's health. 

Ethan Afshani is a historical consultant and author specializing in Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War-era. He is the co-editor of AN EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OF THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG BY PARTICIPANT JULY 1863. The Civil War Diary of Lt. Henry J. Waltz, and has written for The Lincoln Forum Bulletin, including The Lincoln Chairs. His research article A New Discovery About Lincoln’s Ocular Health presents new insights into Lincoln’s medical history.

- FREE with Museum Admission -
Lydia Ziegler Clare Education Center
Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center

6:30pm - The Night Before Gettysburg, Chuck Johnson

A 1-man, 3-scene, 1-act play, in which Abraham Lincoln finishes writing the Gettysburg Address in his bedroom the night before the speech. In Scene 1, Lincoln speaks directly to the audience, explaining events that led to the Battle of Gettysburg. Scene 2 takes place in his bedroom as he finishes the speech. He is torn as he grapples with slavery, racism, war carnage, and the deaths of two of his children; here, he recounts the battle as told to him by General Meade. Scene 3 follows with Lincoln’s presentation of the Gettysburg Address.  

35-minute live performances are followed by an opportunity for Q&A.

SRMEC Members $5 / Non-Members $10
Click Here to Register

He’s “torn asunder” as he works on the speech. Racism, slavery, war carnage and the deaths of two of his children tear at his soul. 

“The Night Before Gettysburg” takes you inside Abraham Lincoln, as he asks himself “What is slavery? Why is slavery? Why are men enslaved.” As he answers those questions, you see Lincoln the man, who he was, what he stood for and the burdens he carried.
–Chuck Johnson

Saturday, November 15

All visitors wearing period attire will receive an 18.63% discount on all Museum Admissions.

Sunday, November 16

All visitors wearing period attire will receive an 18.63% discount on all Museum Admissions.

12:30pm – The Night Before Gettysburg, Chuck Johnson

A 1-man, 3-scene, 1-act play, in which Abraham Lincoln finishes writing the Gettysburg Address in his bedroom the night before the speech. In Scene 1, Lincoln speaks directly to the audience, explaining events that led to the Battle of Gettysburg. Scene 2 takes place in his bedroom as he finishes the speech. He is torn as he grapples with slavery, racism, war carnage, and the deaths of two of his children; here, he recounts the battle as told to him by General Meade. Scene 3 follows with Lincoln’s presentation of the Gettysburg Address.  

35-minute live performances are followed by an opportunity for Q&A.

SRMEC Members $5 / Non-Members $10
Click Here to Register

He’s “torn asunder” as he works on the speech. Racism, slavery, war carnage and the deaths of two of his children tear at his soul. 

“The Night Before Gettysburg” takes you inside Abraham Lincoln, as he asks himself “What is slavery? Why is slavery? Why are men enslaved.” As he answers those questions, you see Lincoln the man, who he was, what he stood for and the burdens he carried.
–Chuck Johnson

3:30pm – Marching Still

A collection of poems about the American Civil War set to original music composed, arranged, & performed by composer Ryan Mascilak.

FREE for all ages

Wednesday, November 19

3:30pm – ‘The Ground Around the Seminary’: President Lincoln’s Battlefield Excursion

Outdoor Walking Tour by Codie Eash, SRMEC Director of Education and Interpretation 

Hours before Abraham Lincoln delivered his iconic Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863, at least three eyewitnesses recalled that the president toured the battlefield, and according to one, the party “visited the ground around the Seminary, and Mr. Lincoln joined in.”

Join Codie as we use historical evidence to walk that ground and investigate Lincoln’s apparent visit.

FREE. No registration required. Meet near the Martin Luther Statue.

Friday, November 14

All visitors wearing period attire will receive an 18.63% discount on all Museum Admissions.

3:30pm - Through the Eyes of Abraham Lincoln: How Authenticating His Eyeglasses Revealed a Hidden Struggle with Strabismus, Ethan Afshani

Over the past 160 years, the collectability of Abraham Lincoln memorabilia has earned prominence within the vast collecting sphere of Americana, coining the phrase "Lincolniana." Authentic artifacts from the 1930s through the 1980s often originated through the unassuming gentleman farmer, Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, a man whose most notable claim to the legacy is the blood he shares as Lincoln’s great-grandson.

In this presentation, the complex provenance of one of Lincoln's most intimate artifacts, his eyeglasses, will be brought to light. This critical authentication research additionally presents us with a major discovery: scientific evidence of Lincoln’s hidden struggle with vertical strabismus (left superior oblique paresis), offering new, medically-grounded insights into the 16th President's health. 

Ethan Afshani is a historical consultant and author specializing in Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War-era. He is the co-editor of AN EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OF THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG BY PARTICIPANT JULY 1863. The Civil War Diary of Lt. Henry J. Waltz, and has written for The Lincoln Forum Bulletin, including The Lincoln Chairs. His research article A New Discovery About Lincoln’s Ocular Health presents new insights into Lincoln’s medical history.

- FREE with Museum Admission -
Lydia Ziegler Clare Education Center
Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center

6:30pm - The Night Before Gettysburg, Chuck Johnson

A 1-man, 3-scene, 1-act play, in which Abraham Lincoln finishes writing the Gettysburg Address in his bedroom the night before the speech. In Scene 1, Lincoln speaks directly to the audience, explaining events that led to the Battle of Gettysburg. Scene 2 takes place in his bedroom as he finishes the speech. He is torn as he grapples with slavery, racism, war carnage, and the deaths of two of his children; here, he recounts the battle as told to him by General Meade. Scene 3 follows with Lincoln’s presentation of the Gettysburg Address.  

35-minute live performances are followed by an opportunity for Q&A.

SRMEC Members $5 / Non-Members $10
Click Here to Register

He’s “torn asunder” as he works on the speech. Racism, slavery, war carnage and the deaths of two of his children tear at his soul. 

“The Night Before Gettysburg” takes you inside Abraham Lincoln, as he asks himself “What is slavery? Why is slavery? Why are men enslaved.” As he answers those questions, you see Lincoln the man, who he was, what he stood for and the burdens he carried.
–Chuck Johnson

Saturday, November 15

All visitors wearing period attire will receive an 18.63% discount on all Museum Admissions.

Sunday, November 16

All visitors wearing period attire will receive an 18.63% discount on all Museum Admissions.

12:30pm – The Night Before Gettysburg, Chuck Johnson

A 1-man, 3-scene, 1-act play, in which Abraham Lincoln finishes writing the Gettysburg Address in his bedroom the night before the speech. In Scene 1, Lincoln speaks directly to the audience, explaining events that led to the Battle of Gettysburg. Scene 2 takes place in his bedroom as he finishes the speech. He is torn as he grapples with slavery, racism, war carnage, and the deaths of two of his children; here, he recounts the battle as told to him by General Meade. Scene 3 follows with Lincoln’s presentation of the Gettysburg Address.  

35-minute live performances are followed by an opportunity for Q&A.

SRMEC Members $5 / Non-Members $10
Click Here to Register

He’s “torn asunder” as he works on the speech. Racism, slavery, war carnage and the deaths of two of his children tear at his soul. 

“The Night Before Gettysburg” takes you inside Abraham Lincoln, as he asks himself “What is slavery? Why is slavery? Why are men enslaved.” As he answers those questions, you see Lincoln the man, who he was, what he stood for and the burdens he carried.
–Chuck Johnson

3:30pm – Marching Still

A collection of poems about the American Civil War set to original music composed, arranged, & performed by composer Ryan Mascilak.

FREE for all ages

Wednesday, November 19

3:30pm – ‘The Ground Around the Seminary’: President Lincoln’s Battlefield Excursion

Outdoor Walking Tour by Codie Eash, SRMEC Director of Education and Interpretation 

Hours before Abraham Lincoln delivered his iconic Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863, at least three eyewitnesses recalled that the president toured the battlefield, and according to one, the party “visited the ground around the Seminary, and Mr. Lincoln joined in.”

Join Codie as we use historical evidence to walk that ground and investigate Lincoln’s apparent visit.

FREE. No registration required. Meet near the Martin Luther Statue.

On July 4, 1865, the first Independence Day after the conclusion of the Civil War, Maj. Gen. Oliver Otis Howard returned to Gettysburg, where, two years earlier, he commanded the United States Eleventh Corps. Now chairman of the Freedmen’s Bureau, the abolitionist Howard viewed the conflict’s immediate legacy through an emancipationist lens, recognizing that U.S. veterans played a primary role in the end of American slavery. Join Codie Eash, SRMEC Director of Education and Interpretation, as he examines Howard’s complex military career, explores the Soldiers’ National Monument cornerstone dedication ceremony that brought Howard back to Cemetery Hill, and presents the entirety of Howard’s Fourth of July speech delivered amid the Battle of Gettysburg’s second anniversary.

- FREE with Museum Admission -

Lydia Ziegler Clare Education Center

Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center

Though it is most famous for its many battle-related roles in the summer of 1863, Seminary Ridge has housed a historic Lutheran theological campus for nearly 200 years. Throughout the past two centuries, students, faculty, staff, military personnel, and visitors have accounted for their fair share of peculiar incidents, including fires, accidents, automobile crashes, and other anomalies. 

Join Kaleb Kusmierczyk, Director of Museum Operations, as he explores several of the Seminary’s strangest stories.

- FREE with Museum Admission -

Lydia Ziegler Clare Education Center

Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center

Join us as we welcome back Tom March who will show and narrate a highly detailed animation of the fighting on East Cavalry field on the afternoon of Day 3. Using the acclaimed Gettysburg Animated Battle Map APP you will see Jeb Stuart’s Confederate cavalry face off against David Gregg’s Union troopers. See how Stuart positions the brigades of Chambliss, then Fitzhugh Lee and finally Hampton, during the late morning thru early afternoon, just northwest of the Rummel Farm. Watching his every move are the Union brigades of Custer and McIntosh to the southeast, setting the stage for the famous fight a few hours later. 

- FREE with Museum Admission-

Lydia Ziegler Clare Education Center
Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center

This Web-APP is sold for take-home, and free for SRM museum visitors to try out. It offers users the capability to examine animations of the entire 56-square mile battlefield, over the course of the battle from early morning on July 1st thru early evening July 3rd. Users of the APP can go anywhere on the battlefield, at any time during the three days, and view and examine anything. It’s your opportunity to view animations of the high-profile battle vignettes; Pickett’s Charge, The Wheatfield, Barlow’s Knoll, Herbst Woods; as well as lesser-known engagements such as Humphrey’s trek to Black Horse Tavern, Brinkerhoff Ridge, Neill Ave., and Longstreet’s Counter March.

Tom Marchesani (March) is an independent scholar of the battle of Gettysburg. A student of the Battle all of his life, he began this project in 2017. Now, after working over 7-years on the project, investing over 14,000 manhours, the last animation segments were completed in May 2023. There are over 400,000 moving parts and over 8,000 footnotes behind the scenes. Every military unit is shown. Infantry and cavalry regiments, and batteries are shown from the time they arrive on the battlefield’s outer boundaries until the end of Day 3’s fighting. Key infantry companies, skirmish lines; cavalry squadrons, as well as individual artillery guns and sections are depicted. We guarantee you’ve never seen a Battle animation like this one.

Through our collaboration with Adams County Library System, come join us at the Schmucker House every other month on the third Tuesday for a discussion on a selected nonfiction book.  This month we will explore the book, 1968 by Mark Kurlansky.

Registration Recommended

Of the innumerable events and proceedings that led to the American Civil War, radical abolitionist John Brown’s raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, October 16-18, 1859, stood among the most consequential, controversial, and complex. Throughout the war from 1861 to 1865, soldiers sang, spoke, and wrote his name, mentioning such occurrences repeatedly in letters, diaries, and other correspondence. Join Codie Eash, SRMEC Director of Education and Interpretation, as he examines the postwar literature of another phenomenon—that after the war concluded, veterans invoked Brown’s legacy as a central inspiring figure of their service, even in hindsight, when they crafted regimental histories, monument dedication speeches, and memoirs.

- FREE with Museum Admission -

Lydia Ziegler Clare Education Center

Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center

Codie Eash, SRMEC Director of Education and Interpretation, will present “‘The Grandest Ride Men Ever Took’: General Alexander Hays and the Protest after Pickett’s Charge” at the Cumberland Valley Civil War Round Table. The meeting begins at 7:00pm at the Franklin Fire Company (158 West King Street, Chambersburg, PA, 17201). For more information on the CVCWRT, visit https://www.facebook.com/cvcwrt/.

Following United States victory on July 3, 1863, division commander Alexander Hays dragged several captured Confederate battle flags across a dusty, bloody Cemetery Ridge. Despite dozens of eyewitness descriptions explaining this demonstration's symbolic importance, the event has been generally relegated to footnotes and brief remarks in battle histories. Join Codie as he examines precisely what happened that day, how it was remembered by those who observed and participated, and the ways it impacted many veterans' reflections on Gettysburg's status as a site of Rebel defeat.