Friday, September 13, 2024
6:30pm – “Stories from the Seminary Hospital” (Battlefield Walking Tour by Codie Eash, Director of Education and Interpretation) FREE. Approximately 60 minutes. Meet at Luther Statue.
Between July 1 and September 16, 1863, hundreds of wounded soldiers in and around the Seminary building. Dozens of civilians came to the hospital complex to help care for these men broken in body and spirit. We will focus on how soldiers received initial care after wounding, the systems in place to feed, clean, and care for them following the battle, and human interest stories of the survivors, the fallen, and those who endeavored to treat them.
Saturday, September 14, 2024
9:00am to 5:00pm – Community Free Day
FREE Museum Admission (and Cupola Tours available at discounted rate) for residents of Adams County, PA, with ID. Courtesy of The Robert C. Hoffman Charitable Endowment Trust.
1:30pm – “Mending the Wounded” (Interactive Civil War Medical Program for All Ages) FREE. Approximately 45 minutes. Meet at Luther Statue. Chair recommended.
Learn how doctors treated wounded soldiers and used their experience to learn about disease. Follow a soldier from his arrival in the field hospital, through surgery, and into recovery. Examine the experiences of doctors and caregivers and how the patients coped with their wounds for the remainder of their lives, and witness the demonstration of a Civil War-era amputation.
2:30pm – “Treated at the Seminary: Private John W. Scott” (Presentation by Kaleb Kusmierczyk, Director of Museum Operations) FREE. Approximately 45 minutes. Meet at Luther Statue. Chair recommended.
“Treated at the Seminary” is a series created to take an in-depth look into some of the nearly 500 known patients treated at the Seminary Hospital between July 1 and September 16, 1863. This program aims to shed a new light on lesser-known, but certainly no less important, figures who fought in this historic battle. For some, their stories ended within the walls of Schmucker Hall, and for others, the life-saving medical care rendered here made the next chapter in their lives possible. Join Kaleb as he uncovers these seldom-told stories that reach far beyond the Gettysburg battlefield.
3:30pm – “The Seminary Hospital Database: Exploring the Patients, Surgeons, and Nurses Who Were Here” (Presentation by Codie Eash, Director of Education and Interpretation) FREE. Approximately 45 minutes. Meet at Luther Statue. Chair recommended.
For the past decade-plus, Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center has interpreted the story of the military hospital that operated here for two-and-a-half months in July, August, and September 1863. To date, we have been able to identify 495 patients, 185 surgeons, and 28 doctors, which have recently been digitized and added to our permanent exhibit galleries thanks to generous grant funding from Americana Corner. Rightfully, one of our common inquiries with this and other topics is, How do we know what we know? Join us as we explore this question in-depth for the first time publicly, analyzing military medical records and other sources to piece together our ever-growing registry—and learn how you can help us add to it.
Most events are FREE, but donations to support education and preservation are appreciated.
If weather is inclement, outdoor programs will move to Valentine Hall Auditorium (61 Seminary Ridge).
*Schedule subject to change*
Legacy Weekend on the Ridge annually commemorates the weekend closest to Lt. Col. George McFarland’s departure on September 16, 1863, as the final patient at the Seminary Hospital—one of Gettysburg’s longest-serving military medical sites during and after the battle, which provided care for as many as 700 wounded soldiers.
“Day’s End - July 1st” by Dale Gallon, one of 10 original pieces featured at SRMEC