2024 News

Visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center can explore the George Spangler Farm & Field Hospital throughout the 2024 summer season. The meticulously restored and rehabilitated historic site is open for visitors Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m. until 3:20 p.m. through Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024.

Visitors to the George Spangler Farm & Field Hospital can see Civil War era encampments, interact with living historians to learn about Civil War medicine and the role of surgeons and caregivers, hear stories of soldiers’ experiences, the humanity of citizens and the Spangler family, and discover the civilian role during and after the Battle of Gettysburg. Docents are available on-site to greet visitors and answer questions. Living historians from across the U.S. provide guests a glimpse of what happened here in 1863 and encamp on-site on weekends.

July 2024: Friday, Saturday & Sunday Programming

• 11:15 - 11:45 a.m.      The Spangler Farm in 1863
• 2 - 2:45 p.m.               An Army Field Hospital: The George Spangler Farm

Sunday Special Programming

Historic Gettysburg-Adams County (HGAC) will be on-site each Sunday. HGAC interprets the design, construction and use of the stunning expression of an iconic, vernacular architectural form—the Pennsylvania Bank Barn. HGAC will discuss the restoration of the George Spangler Farm in the past decade—from a dilapidated structure in danger of collapse to a visage of its original glory, which revived this important, tangible component of American history.

July 2024 Living History Schedule

July 5-7:

• We the People Living History Association: Living historians depict civilian life in support of the war effort during the Civil War with an emphasis on the United States Sanitary Commission.
• 11th Corps Field Hospital: Living historians portraying the very Union 11^th Corps that converted the George Spangler Farm to a field hospital in July 1863 exhibit and demonstrate Civil War medicine, including pill making, nursing, nutrition, medicines, medical instruments, a pocket and capital amputation kit. Sick call demonstrations reflect the types of illnesses seen daily.

July 12-14:

• Gettysburg Foundation: Learn the history of the George Spangler Farm, converted to a field hospital during the Battle of Gettysburg for more than 1,900 wounded men – both Union and Confederate soldiers – and all that took place at this strategic location during the 1863 battle. The historic site has been meticulously restored and renovated, featuring original buildings from the battle. George and Elizabeth Spangler’s family was forever altered as their thriving family farm became a Civil War field hospital. Hear stories of the Spangler family and their experiences as they chose to remain on their property during the 1863 battle, witnessing the ongoing field hospital work that took place here.

July 19-21:

• Dr. Willen & Company: A Union surgeon, civilian nurse and hospital steward present Civil War medicine and accurately portray Civil War medical personnel with expert explanations on Civil War medical care.
• 4th Texas Company B Infantry: Civil War reenactors based in Southeastern Pennsylvania and a member unit of the First Battalion of the First Division of the Army of Northern Virginia, an organization for Confederate reenacting units in the eastern U.S. Company B Infantry’s mission is to uphold the memory of Texas soldiers in the Civil War and their families by portraying southern soldiers and civilians, educating the public about the common Civil War soldier’s life and ideals, and promoting preservation of battlefields and historic sites.
• The Healing: Conversations Between Nurses North & South: A unique and moving portrayal of women who pioneered professional nursing and served during the American Civil War. True accounts based on diaries and first-person references reflect the profound impact these Civil War nurses had on the soldiers they treated that went beyond the battles and the war.
• W.S. Hancock Society (20&21): The Historical Interpretive Branch is a non-profit, historical preservation and educational organization based in the Norristown, Pennsylvania, region. The organization takes its name from Major General Winfield Scott Hancock, who commanded the Union Army's Second Corps at the Battle of Gettysburg. Members are historical interpreters, rather than reenactors, dedicated to providing educational programming on various aspects of the American Civil War and the history and life of Major General Winfield Scott Hancock. Historical interpreters will present a program on the significant role that artillery played on the battlefield through a "non-firing" interpretive living history program. They will discuss the workings of the "field artillery," its devastating firepower, how it was used in support of the infantry and how it served as a deterrent to an attacker in the defense of a strategic position that made it "The Masters of the Battlefield."

July 26-28:

• Citizens of Gettysburg: Civilians, attired in authentic Victorian period clothing, recreate the experience of Civil War era civilians of Gettysburg and provide ‘first-person impressions.’
• Dr. Willen & Company: A Union surgeon, civilian nurse and hospital steward present Civil War medicine and portray Civil War medical personnel with expert explanations on all phases of Civil War medical care.
• Madam Lauer Fashionable Dressmaker: A Civil War reenactor for 26 years portrays a dressmaker in her endeavor to educate the public on several facets of life during the Civil War that are not typically found in school textbooks. A member of the 150th PA Bucktails, Lauer attends re-enactments and living histories traveling throughout Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio, and has lectured in towns throughout Pennsylvania, including Indiana, State College, Titusville and Gettysburg.
• Reynolds Battery: Blacksmiths demonstrate techniques of drawing, upsetting, bending, twisting, punching and double striking as used during the Civil War to repair Artillery and Cavalry equipment, using a replica (1849) traveling blacksmith forge. A large group of living historians display a 3" ordinance rifle (cannon) and portray camp life with a cook, leather worker/harness maker, medical staff with equipment, wounded soldiers, drummer with music, a Confederate grave digger and a carpenter.

The living history schedules for August will be released in July. Shuttles and admission to the historic site is included with the purchase of a Film, Cyclorama & Museum Experience  ticket at the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center. Single shuttle and admission tickets are also available to visit the historic site. Friends of Gettysburg members receive complimentary shuttle/admission tickets during summer weekends.

Shuttles depart the Museum & Visitor Center Friday through Sunday every 20 minutes starting at 10 a.m., with the last shuttle departing the Museum & Visitor Center at 1:40 p.m. The last returning shuttle departs the historic site at 3:20 p.m. For shuttle and admission tickets, call the Gettysburg Foundation, 877-874-2478 or 717-334-2436, or visit GettysburgFoundation.org.