George Spangler Farm

Gettysburg’s George Spangler Farm

In April 2008 the Gettysburg Foundation, the nonprofit partner of the National Park Service at Gettysburg, purchased the 80-acre George Spangler Farm — a historically significant farm within the boundaries of Gettysburg National Military Park.

The George Spangler Farm served as a field hospital during and immediately after the Battle of Gettysburg, treating both Union and Confederate soldiers. It was here that one of the Confederacy’s most important generals, Lewis Armistead, died on July 5, 1863, as a result of his wounds. The Gettysburg Foundation is currently working to rehabilitate the property and to develop educational programming opportunities at this location.

The Gettysburg Foundation is seeking donations to support our efforts to preserve the Spangler Farm. Make a contribution today.

George Spangler Farm Barn

Today, the George Spangler Farm barn, a Pennsylvania bank barn, stands out on the property. The building is stone and timber frame construction, with vertical wood siing sheathing beneath the framing and upper sections. The barn has a wagon shed, stalls, stables and feeding alleys on the lower level and large open machinery and threshing floors, hay mows and a granary on the upper floor.

Unfortunately, according to preliminary findings of our Historic Structures Report (HSR), the building is in poor condition. Significant material damage and loss, particularly on the frame walls and gable roof, have left the building vulnerable to deterioration.

The Spangler family's property was a functioning farm with six horses, seven milk cows, five other cattle, three sheep and 13 pigs. On this farm, they harvested crops including wheat, corn, oats, buckwheat, potatoes, sweet potatoes, hay and various seeds. However, this picturesque farmland would change radically on July 1, 1863.

During the battle, the farm started as a staging site, but more notably, it became an 11th Corps field hospital. The very barn that the Gettysburg Foundation is working to rehabilitate is the same barn that housed both Union and Confederate soldiers as they fought for their lives as a result of wounds they suffered during the Battle of Gettysburg. The farm was completely transformed as soldiers, writhing in pain, filled the barn, house and surrounding fields.

Dr Daniel G. Brinton, a doctor who served at the Spangler Farm field hospital, wrote in his diary:

"The wounded soon began to pour in, giving us such sufficient occupation from the 1st of July til' the afternoon of the fifth, I was not absent from the hospital more than once and then but for an hour or two. Very hard work it was, too and little sleep fell to our share. Four operating tables were going night and day...the number in the hospital was 1,000. A heavy rain came over in the afternoon [July 4th] and as we laid many in spots without shelter some indeed in the barnyard were foul water oozed up into their undressed wounds, the sight was harassing in the extreme. We worked with little immersion, and with a minimum amount of sleep....shells fell within 20ft. of the room which we were, and we were much in fear that the barn would blaze, which would have been an unspeakably frightful casualty. Among or wounded were three colonels, General Barlow and General Armistead of the rebel army, a fine man, intelligent and refined."

This chilling account from Dr. Brinton's diary best tells of the importance of the preservation of the 80-acre Spangler Farm. We must ensure that the pain, suffering and unmistakable courage of these 1,000 or so men do not disappear from history. These men did not have the modern convenience of an enclosed hospital surrounded by doctors, supplies, family and friends. Instead, they suffered from their wounds surrounded by the stench of a farm, utilized whatever little medical supplies they could find and were lucky enough to seek a small amount of shelter in the very barn the Foundation is working to preserve.

George Spangler Farm: Home and Hospital

Located behind the Union line on Cemetery Hill with its perimeter bound by two local roads, one of which connected to two major highways, the George Spangler Farm was an ideal location for Union troops. On July 1, 1863, the Spangler farm and all of its buildings were seized. The site served a dual purpose for the Union, storage for artillery and ammunition reserves and accommodations for the 11th Corps’ field hospital. After the battle, its primary role was as a surgical hospital for soldiers of both sides.

Built in the early 1800s, the George Spangler Farm consists of a main house, summer kitchen and bank barn. These buildings are structurally sound; the house and barn are in need of rehabilitation, while the kitchen (constructed almost entirely of local stone) is in good condition. After rehabilitation, the buildings and the property will be used to interpret 19th century Pennsylvania farm life, act as a tribute to Gen. Armistead and the valor of the soldiers at Gettysburg and reflect the operation of a field hospital during the Civil War.

View a map of the George Spangler Farm in relationship to the area (PDF).

George Spangler Farm and Confederate Gen. Lewis A. Armistead

Confederate Gen. Lewis A. Armistead led his brigade toward the center of the Union line during Pickett’s Charge, the climactic event of the three-day Battle of Gettysburg. During Pickett’s Charge, Gen. Armistead placed his hat on the tip of his saber and waved it in the air to lead his troops over the stone wall at the Angle, the climax of Pickett’s Charge. In this heroic act, Gen. Armistead was wounded, but his brigade advanced farther than any other, leading to the term “the high tide of the Confederacy.” It was quickly besieged by a Union counterattack.

The Union’s 11th Corps field hospital was located at the George Spangler Farm. Gen. Armistead was taken to the farm’s summer kitchen for treatment by chief surgeon Daniel G. Brinton. His wounds were not considered life threatening, but at around 9 a.m. on July 5, 1863, Armistead died. Secondary complications such as shock, extreme physical and mental exhaustion, and fever are considered to be the primary cause of his death. Defiant to the end, his last few words spoken were, “Men who can subsist on raw corn can never be whipped.” His body was later buried in Baltimore, Md.

Gen. Armistead’s Early Career

Although expelled from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, he was later commissioned as a second lieutenant in the infantry in 1839. He served in the Mexican War and was wounded at Chapultepec, earning two brevets for bravery. In 1863, Armistead resigned as a captain in the U.S. Army and offered his services to the Confederacy.

In the Confederacy, Armistead was first commissioned as a major, but was quickly promoted to brigadier general of the 57th Virginia Infantry regiment. He fought under Gen. Robert E. Lee at Seven Pines, Seven Days battles, Second Bull Run and Antietam. At the Battle of Gettysburg, Gen. Armistead served under Maj. Gen. George Pickett.

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