Gettysburg NMP Deer Management Program Will Run October 2022 through March 2023

Gettysburg National Military Park and Eisenhower National Historic Site will conduct lethal removal of white-tailed deer as part of the White-tailed Deer Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement between October 2022 through March 2023.

This action addresses over-browsing of native vegetation and agricultural crops and is a management strategy that supports long- term protection, preservation, and restoration of critical elements of the cultural landscape and other natural and cultural resources while maintaining a deer population at both park units. The cultural landscapes of both park units are fundamental resources and critical to the interpretation of the events that took place at each park.  

Hunting is not permitted inside the two parks--only qualified federal employees will take part in the effort to manage the deer populations affecting the parks. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Wildlife Services will be doing the work under an inter-agency agreement with the National Park Service (NPS). NPS closely coordinates all activities associated with implementation of the plan with the Borough of Gettysburg, surrounding Townships including Cumberland, Mount Joy and Straban, state law enforcement officials and with the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

In June of 2017 the Pennsylvania Game Commission designated a new Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Management Area which includes a portion of Gettysburg National Military Park and all of Eisenhower National Historic Site. For this culling season all culled deer will be tested for CWD regardless of which area they are taken from.

Once negative CWD tests are confirmed, all venison will be donated to local area food banks and non-profits via United Way of Adams County. 

Jason Martz, Communications Specialist

Gettysburg National Military Park & Eisenhower National Historic Site

"Philadelphia’s Civil War Military Hospitals: Then and Now”

THE GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC (G.A.R.) CIVIL WAR MUSEUM & ARCHIVE

Presents a New Program via ZOOM Sunday, October 2, 2022 at 1:00pm

 “Philadelphia’s Civil War Military Hospitals: Then and Now”

 Presented by Walt Lafty 

By the beginning of the Civil War, Philadelphia had already become the leading center of medical education and practice in the country. It would also become one of the largest and most influential military hospital departments in the Union.

  This program will discuss many of the two dozen military hospitals that treated over 157,000 soldiers from 1861 thru 1865. Some military hospitals were known for their specialties, some known for other reasons. We will look at the locations of where they provided services then and what those locations look like today. We will also look at the organization and transportation system which helped provide support to those military hospitals.

 Walt Lafty BIO

  Walt Lafty has been active in various Civil War groups for many years. Those include the Delaware Valley CWRT where he is a board member as well as a member of the preservation committee. He also is a member of Baker-Fisher Camp 101 Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War in Hatboro and currently serves as the camp secretary. In addition, he is an active member of the Old Baldy CWRT, and at the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) Museum Walt serves as the research administrator and volunteer.

 Please send a request to reserve a virtual seat for this outstanding presentation by replying to this e-mail at garmuslib1866@gmail.com 

You will be sent a link with a password that will enable you to access the program within 24 hours of the start of the presentation. 

We will make every effort to reply, but G-Mail may be slow and our volunteer may be called away during the day before or the morning October 2. 

As a lover of history, you know how critical it is to keep history alive, especially today!  We very much appreciate your continued support for the Museum.

A FREE virtual program online

GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC MUSEUM & ARCHIVE

8110 Frankford Ave. (Holmesburg Neighborhood - N.E. Philadelphia)
 • www.garmuslib.org

Adams County Historical Society’s new home to tell complete Adams County story

https://www.achs-pa.org/

From the Gettysburg Connection
September 17, 2022 by Alex J. Hayes

The story of the three-day battle of Gettysburg, its aftermath, and President Abraham Lincoln’s immortal Gettysburg Address has been told thousands of times in hundreds of ways.

But the people who have lived in Gettysburg and the other 33 Adams County municipalities for hundred of years, and even the dinosaurs who once roamed here, have stories too. And the Adams County Historical Society is excited to tell them at its new 5,000-square-foot museum on Biglerville Road, Cumberland Township.

“There has never been a museum or historic site that truly paid tribute to the story of Gettysburg and Adams County,” said the society’s Executive Director Andrew Dalton. “This is a museum about the people of our community and how they dealt with events of national significance. They were ordinary people caught up in extraordinary events.”

The museum is part of a 29,000-square-foot facility that, when complete, will include a cafe, reading room, library, climate-controlled archive storage, event space, and conference room. It is currently an active construction site and the realization of a dream the society has had almost the entire time 25-year-old Dalton has been alive. Dalton and Education Director Tim Smith live and breathe the museum’s progress and can describe every detail without notes.

“Sometimes I come in here and stop to think this facility could be here in 100 years,” Dalton said. “It’s exciting to think about how many millions of people will come through here.”

Construction is expected to be complete in November and a soft opening is planned for February, in conjunction with filmmaker Ken Burn’s Film Festival at the Majestic Theater Feb 10-12.

The museum will be an interactive experience featuring videos by filmmaker and Gettysburg native Jake Boritt. Visitors will stand in a recreation of Samuel Gettys’ Tavern on Race Horse Alley, highlighted with audio recreating early 1800s tavern talk.

The Battle of Gettysburg is not ignored, but the focus is on how thousands of soldiers descending on the town affected the people who lived here. A 360-degree immersive experience will give museum goers an understanding of what it was like to stand in a home as bullets and cannon balls flew around it.

“We sunk the floor so we could have audio of a family hiding in the basement. You are basically in there and experiencing the battle with them,” Dalton said.

Adams County life after the battle is highlighted with stories about the apple industry, World Wars I and II, President Dwight David Eisenhower’s Gettysburg home, battlefield preservation, the evolution of tourism, and immigration. One wall is dedicated to people who made a large impact on this town, including former director of South Central Community Action Programs Jean Odom and teacher and battlefield guide Colonel Jacob Sheads.

The second floor will house archives, a library, offices, and the Battlefield Overlook Event Center. The event center will be available to rent for special events such as weddings, reunions and other parties. Giant windows present a beautiful view of Barlow Knoll, where fighting occurred on July 1, 1863.

“You need to make some means of making museum money besides museum admission,” Smith said.

Smith is most excited about expanding educational programming so he can share his love for Adams County history.

Dalton and Smith said the construction process has been going smoothly, mostly thanks to the support of many donors. The entire $10.5 million project is almost completely funded, but donations are still being accepted. The society must raise another $1 million by February 2023 to receive a $1 million “all or nothing” match from local philanthropists David and Pauline LeVan.

Loring and Jean Schultz, owners of the Farnsworth Inn in Gettysburg, excitedly presented a $5,000 check to Dalton on Sept. 15.

“We hope this inspires other people and other local businesses to step forward,” Schultz said. 

More information on the Adams County Historical Society, including how to support the campaign, can be found at https://www.achs-pa.org.

Peter Wentz Farmstead in Montg County Holds Civil War Days Sept 17-18

Saturday, September 17 - Sunday, September 18 from 10:00am to 3:30pm
All for the Union: How Society Wove Itself into the Fabric of the Civil War
The Civil War comes to the Peter Wentz Farmstead September 17th and 18th!
Come and experience how the War affected society from both a military and civilian perspective. Witness artillery demonstrations from Battery F, First Pennsylvania Light Artillery and learn how soldiers camped in the field.
Meet members of the U.S. Sanitary Commission to understand how civilians aided the war effort.
Learn stories of enslaved Freedom Seekers from UGR3Day Underground Railroad Experiences, Inc.
Visit the Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center’s exhibit on Montgomery County’s own General John Hartranft.
Enjoy rousing music from the Fort Delaware Cornet Band.
All ages, free.
No registration required.

Farmstead Calendar

Address: 2030 Shearer Road. Lansdale, PA 19446

J. F. Hartranft and the Schwenkfelder Experience in the Civil War!

The Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center in Pennsburg PA announces the opening of J. F. Hartranft and the Schwenkfelder Experience in the Civil War!

Come learn about Medal of Honor recipient Hartranft’s role in the war, his post-war position as special provost marshal of Washington and warden of the Washington Arsenal holding the Lincoln assassination conspirators, and of course, his time as governor of Pennsylvania.

They kick off on Saturday, September 24, with a public program. Living historian Mark Grim will do first-person portrayal of Hartranft in “Imprisonment, Trial and Execution of the Lincoln Conspirators—an Overview” at 2:00. Descendants of Schwenkfelder immigrant Tobias Hartranft are invited to the Hartranft Homecoming that day.

The public also is welcome Sunday, October 30, at 2:00 pm to hear historian Craig Bird on John F. Hartranft’s Masonic connections.

Other fall activities for the exhibit include offsite opportunities to share more about the exhibit September 17 at the Peter Wentz Farmstead in Worcester and October 29 at the Montgomery Cemetery in Norristown.

See the complete schedule below and at www.schwenkfelder.org

Help Protect 52 Threatened Acres in Virginia, Georgia and Mississippi

NOTE OF LOCAL INTEREST:
The Chancellorsville parcel is right next to where the 153rd PA fought.

———————————

The Opportunity

We need your help in saving pieces of three battlefields at three separate sites: Chancellorsville in Virginia, Gilgal Church in Georgia, and Corinth in Mississippi.

These three tracts total 52 acres in size and have a combined transaction value of more than $1.6 million— a sizeable amount because they are highly sought-after sites for new development.

Thanks to landowner donations plus expected government grants, we need to raise less than 10% of that amount — $160,680 — which means that for every dollar you donate today, it will be multiplied by $10.30!

American Battlefield Trust

The History

Three Acres in Chancellorsville

The first is a three-acres piece of battlefield land that factored into the Battle of Chancellorsville. The tract has been squarely in the bullseye of residential developers eager to cash in on the explosive growth taking place outside the city of Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Bolstered by your generosity, we intend to stitch the property together with other previously preserved tracts to complete the preservation of the Flank Attack portion of the Chancellorsville Battlefield and add to the interpretation of General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s renowned and daring maneuver.

18 Acres at Gilgal Church 

The second property is an 18-acre parcel from the Battle of Gilgal Church, which saw fighting June 15-17, 1864 and is located just southwest of the town of Kennesaw, Georgia. This will be the Trust’s very first preservation action at the battlefield if we can secure it.

The 18 acres has been under threat of residential development for several years and holds some of the last remnants of Civil War entrenchments to be found anywhere along the route of Sherman’s Atlanta campaign. 

After raising the money needed to purchase the land, we will place a conservation easement on the property for use as a historic park. Because it’s located just outside of downtown Atlanta, you can imagine how highly attractive this property is to developers. And thanks to the landowner’s willingness to sell to us — and hopefully your willingness to help us raise the needed funds — we’ll be able to protect this land forever!

32 Acres in Corinth 

The third and largest tract is a 32-acre parcel that includes the once-extensive, seven-mile line of earthworks commonly known as the Beauregard Line. It was built in 1862 by Confederate forces using slave labor to defend the strategic transportation hub of Corinth, Mississippi.

This tract later became part of the Corinth Contraband Camp, established for thousands of ex-slaves. A security company comprised of those slaves eventually formed the nucleus for the 1st Alabama Infantry of Colored Descent — later the 55th U.S. Colored Infantry.

The tract’s owner seriously considered developing the land, long sought after by residential builders, before signing a purchase contract with the Trust. This is why we can’t hesitate a second. 

Take Action 

These three tracts totaling 52 acres are key pieces in advancing the Trust’s preservation efforts at three different and historic Civil War battlefields.

Please join in saving this hallowed ground and taking advantage of an amazing $10.30-to-$1 match. Make a gift now before more hallowed ground is lost forever.

Donate Now

Virginia Memorial Preservation and Patination Project

Virginia Memorial in the early 1900s. NPS Photo.

 GETTYSBURG, PA. – Preservation work on the Virginia Memorial at Gettysburg National Military Park (NMP) will begin by Tuesday, September 6 and will conclude by September 30. The current ferric patination, applied in the early 1980’s, has failed in many areas and has left the bronze with a very flat, dull finish that provides little to no depth when viewed. National Park Service preservation professionals from the Historic Preservation Training Center (HPTC) in Frederick, Maryland will conduct this vital preservation work. This project will ensure a lasting professional patination closely approximating the original patination, in recipe, color, depth, and longevity.  

The existing brown patina is not original to the work. The current patina also shows areas of wear from decades of exposure to the elements. Preservation professionals from HPTC will correct these issues by removing the current sealer, patina, and corrosion. When reduced to a bare metal surface, a patina of sulphurated potash will be applied, and this surface will be sealed with clear microcrystalline paste wax. The use of a sulphurated potash patina has been historically documented on work at Gettysburg NMP and is very stable for outdoor exposure. The new patina will result in a darker finish that is historically correct and is the primary sealer in use for bronze elements throughout the park’s monument collection. 

The immediate grass circle around the memorial will be closed during this project. The circle drive around the memorial is expected to remain open with intermittent closures to facilitate the work and visitor safety. West Confederate Avenue will remain open at all times. The Virginia Memorial was dedicated in 1917. 

www.nps.gov 

__________________

Jason Martz

Communications Specialist

Gettysburg National Military Park & Eisenhower National Historic Site

Office - 717.338.4423

Gettysburg Day One Battlefield Threatened

Few places are as uniquely American as the Gettysburg Battlefield, where Lincoln’s iconic address proclaimed the nation’s new birth of freedom. But for such treasured landscapes to endure, concerned citizens such as yourself must advocate for their protection.

No community is frozen in time and modern society requires 21st century infrastructure for towns and cities to grow and thrive. The American Battlefield Trust has never been anti-development – but we do encourage thoughtful development that balances respect for the past with plans for the future. Unfortunately, a proposal currently under consideration near Gettysburg would undermine decades of preservation and restoration work.

This September, Cumberland Township officials will rule on a plan to build a 112-unit, multi-story apartment rental complex off Country Club Lane, adjacent to land that the American Battlefield Trust helped protect in 2011. This property saw combat as soldiers fought over control of Willoughby Run and McPherson’s Ridge. Further, the project’s impact in the form of increased traffic, sound and light pollution would spill across many other areas of the July 1 battlefield – the Railroad Cut, McPherson’s Woods, Seminary Ridge and Lee’s Headquarters.

We ask that you consider weighing in on this proposal – regardless of whether you are a local resident, a frequent visitor to Gettysburg, or just care deeply about our history. As we saw just last month, when overwhelming opposition defeated a plan that would have altered height restrictions around the battlefield, your voice matters.

Please take a moment to SPEAK OUT by signing the appropriate letter on our website, urging Township officials to reject this proposal. Together, we can make a difference and prevent hallowed ground from being irreparably lost.

Sincerely,

Jim Campi

Chief Policy and Communications Officer

American Battlefield Trust

THIS WEEK - CWRT CONGRESS

THIS WEEK - CWRT CONGRESS - click here for more info on special events

Carnival of Grief - SCOTT MINGUS

On Wednesday, August 24th at 7pm EASTERN author / historian Scott L. Mingus, Sr. will discuss the Lincoln Funeral train. This presentation debunks several myths about the train, the route, the railroads and other widely held beliefs. Scott is always entertaining and engaging. Be sure to sign up!!

RESERVATION

FRIDAYS WITH GRANT - Dr Curt Fields

On Friday, August 26th at 7pm EASTERN, Dr. Curt Fields returns as President Ulysses S. Grant to discuss how he and his administration was vexed when some politicians sought to acquire Cuba which provoked the possibility of a war with Spain. This is the last of two sessions on this topic and one you will not want to miss.

RESERVATION

Sneak Peek of New Adams County Museum!

Beyond the Battle Museum: Gallery Spotlight

Real dinosaur footprints waiting to be installed in Beyond the Battle's opening gallery. Pictured here is Henry Isherwood, a 4th grade student at James Gettys Elementary School.

We can't wait for your visit to our new museum, Gettysburg Beyond the Battle, which will open in Spring, 2023! Over the next few months, ACHS will be sharing exclusive "previews" of each exhibit...

This month, let's kick things off with the first gallery: Natural History! Dinosaurs, meteorites, and otherworldly rock formations…the opening gallery of Beyond the Battle Museum explores the landscape of the Gettysburg area. Artifacts include 200-million-year-old dinosaur footprints and a fragment of the locally discovered Mount Joy Meteorite, one of the largest space rocks of its time.

Real dinosaur footprints waiting to be installed in Beyond the Battle's opening gallery. Pictured here is Henry Isherwood, a 4th grade student at James Gettys Elementary School.

Our opening gallery will also take a special look at the rock formations in and around the Gettysburg area, with a short film projected onto a recreated rock wall from Devil's Den.

Best of all - visitors will have the chance to touch real dinosaur footprints discovered right here in Adams County!

Stay tuned for our September newsletter for a preview of the next gallery.

Million-Dollar Match Update

Last month we announced an exciting opportunity - if ACHS can raise $1 million by February 2023, the LeVan Family of Gettysburg will match it with their own gift of $1 million. This is an "all-or-nothing" challenge grant, and we are working hard to make it a reality.

Thanks to over 100 generous supporters, we now have less than $300,000 to raise!

Will you consider chipping in today? Gifts of any level are deeply appreciated! By joining this effort, you are forever adding your name to the history of Gettysburg through the establishment of a world-class museum and history center that will outlive all of us.

YES, I'M IN!

P.S. - Donate $250 or more and you'll receive a special invitation to preview our new museum, Gettysburg Beyond the Battle, before it opens to the public!