Site
Summer season of living history and programs returns Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays, June 9 through Aug. 13, 2023. Learn more and view the living history schedule for June 2023.
Plan Your Visit | Admission/Shuttle Tickets Now Available
In July 1863, a thriving family farm was suddenly transformed as the Union 11th Corps converted the property to a field hospital for more than 1,900 wounded soldiers.
Today, the George Spangler Farm & Field Hospital stands as the best surviving example of a corps-level field hospital used during the Battle of Gettysburg.
Meticulously renovated, the site features restored, original buildings from the 1863 battle to inspire and explore:
- The stone farmhouse where George Spangler, his wife Elizabeth and four children lived. The family chose to remain during the battle and ongoing field hospital activities, with all six family members moved to just one room of their house.
- The Pennsylvania bank barn served as the hospital where both Union and Confederate soldiers received care.
- The summer kitchen used by the family during the warm Pennsylvania summers. Records indicate this is the place where Confederate General Lewis A. Armistead died from wounds he received during Pickett’s Charge.
The historic site, with living history programming in summer, is open to visitors Friday through Sunday, June 9 through August 13. Access and admission to the site is via timed shuttles departing the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center - only minutes away. Timed shuttle tickets are included with the purchase of a ticket to the Museum & Visitor Center experiences or a Friends of Gettysburg membership.
Timed shuttle tickets are required for general admission and Friends complimentary admission to the site during the summer season. Timed shuttle tickets are available by phone, 877-874-2478, online or at the Ticket Counter inside the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center during the summer season.
Free Family Day events and special ticketed programs are offered on select dates throughout the spring, summer and autumn seasons.
Significance
Why visit the George Spangler Farm & Field Hospital?
Walk the grounds, hear the stories and feel the emotions of life–and death–at this historic site forever changed by battle.
Living historians and docents provide insight and accounts of experiences on the farm in July 1863:
- A family forever altered as their farm suddenly transforms from home to hospital.
- Surgeons and caregivers desperately providing for the wounded amid the chaos of battle.
- Soldiers experiencing the horrors of war and the humanity of everyday citizens.
Story
A family farm.
A strategic location.
A battlefield hospital.