The Gettysburg Quarterly

Leaving a Legacy: Stewardship 150

The nonprofi t Gettysburg Foundation 

has launched an important legacy effort, called Stewardship 150, to assist the 

National Park Service in preserving and 

interpreting Gettysburg National Military Park for this and future generations. 

Projects will help lay the groundwork for 

the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War and 

advance the Foundation’s mission to 

“...enhance preservation and understanding of the heritage and lasting signifi cance of Gettysburg.” 

“These eff orts will transcend 

the special programs and 

events that will take place in 

2013.”

“The legacy projects in Stewardship 150 

will require the best of our partnership 

with Gettysburg National Military Park,” 

said Joanne Hanley, President of the Gettysburg Foundation. “With the continued 

commitment of the Friends of Gettysburg and the investment of Americans 

from all walks of life, we can accomplish 

these projects and ensure that the lessons 

of honor, courage, and sacrifi ce at Gettysburg will remain forever accessible to 

generations yet to come.”

“The Foundation’s Stewardship 150 initiative lays the groundwork to support 

the park’s sesquicentennial programs, 

from scholarly seminars, to special events 

and ceremonies. More importantly, it 

leaves a legacy of improved preservation 

and enhanced education programs for 

the future,” said Bob Kirby, superintendent of Gettysburg National Military 

Park. “These eff orts will transcend the 

special programs and events that will 

take place in 2013 on the battlefi eld, in the 

classrooms and in the museum because 

they will last for generations.”

For Stewardship 150, the Gettysburg 

Foundation will raise funds for: 

The George Spangler Farm: This farm 

and its surrounding 80 acres is perhaps 

the most well preserved site of a Gettysburg fi eld hospital still standing. Over 

one thousand men were treated here 

including Confederate General Lewis 

A. Armistead and George Nixon (greatgrandfather of President Richard Nixon). 

The Spangler Farm off ers a rare opportunity to interpret the role of medicine 

at Gettysburg and in the American Civil 

War, and the impact of the battle upon 

the civilian population. Built in the early 

1800s, the farm consists of a main house, 

a summer kitchen, and a bank barn. 

The Foundation has completed the Historic Structures Report (HSR) which will 

guide the rehabilitation of the historic 

farm and its buildings. Work will begin 

in December 2011 and will move forward 

as quickly as funding will allow.

Continued on page 3

The offi cial newsletter of Gettysburg National Military Park · Winter 2011/2012 · Vol. 17, No. 4

The George Spangler barn in 2008, shortly after the Foundation purchased it. It has since been 

cleaned out and partly stabilized. Under Stewardship 150, historic buildings at the Spangler 

farm will be rehabilitated and the barn will be used for education programs. 

Park News National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior
Gettysburg National Military Park, established 

in 1895, is the site of the great Civil War 

battle that repulsed the second Confederate 

invasion of the North. The mission of the National Park Service at Gettysburg is to preserve 

and protect the resources associated with the 

battle of Gettysburg and the Soldiers’ National Cemetery and provide an understanding 

of the events that occurred there within the 

context of American history. 

Gettysburg National Military Park

1195 Baltimore Pike, Suite 100

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania 17325

Phone

(717) 334-1124 

E-mail

gett_superintendent@nps.gov

The National Park Service cares for the 

special places saved by the American people 

so that all may experience our heritage.

The Gettysburg Gettysburg National 

Military Park monument preservation staff reset the bronze fi gure of an 

artilleryman onto the pedestal of the 

4th New York Battery monument, also 

known as “Smith’s Battery,” on November 28, 2011. The monument had been 

vandalized in February 2006 when the 

bronze fi gure was pulled from the base, 

and the bronze head of the artilleryman 

was stolen along with parts of the rammer. Earlier in 2011 park staff created a 

new bronze head for the artilleryman, 

allowing the park to return the fi gure 

to its pedestal at Devil’s Den after more 

than fi ve years. 

4th New York Battery Monument Reset at Devil’s Den 

2 The Gettysburg Quarterly

National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

From the left, Joe Catchings, Brian Griffi n, Lucas Flickinger, and Michael Wright with the newly restored 

4th New York Battery monument. Photo courtesy of Michael Waricher.

Upcoming Gettysburg Events

Winter Lecture Series – 1862: War in Earnest 

& Perspectives on the Gettysburg Campaign 

and Battle

On weekends from January 7 through March 11, 

this FREE park lecture series will examine the great 

battles and campaigns of 1862, such as Shiloh, 

Antietam, the Monitor and Merrimac and others, 

as well as people and events that shaped the war. 

Speakers include special guest Dr. Allen Guelzo, 

the Henry R. Luce Professor of the Civil War Era at 

Gettysburg College, who will speak on the Emancipation Proclamation, and National Park Rangers. 

Programs begin at 1:30 p.m. and take place in 

the park Museum and Visitor Center, in one of 

the fi lm theaters through February 26 and in the 

Ford Motor Company Fund Education Center on 

March 4, 10, and 11. 

 

“Gettysburg in History and Memory” Seminar to be Held April 13 - 15

Gettysburg National Military Park and the Gettysburg Foundation are presenting “Gettysburg in 

History and Memory,” a seminar on April 13 – 15. 

Throughout the weekend, historians, National 

Park Service Rangers and Licensed Battlefi eld 

Guides will present lectures and guided fi eld 

walks and bus tours. 

Lecture topics include: the changing history of 

Gettysburg; the memory of James Longstreet; 

Daniel Sickles and the New York Monument Commission; Hollywood and the Civil War; poetry as 

remembrance and history; and treasures of the 

museum collection. Tours include: the Harman 

Farm; memory and symbolism along Cemetery 

Ridge; the changing history at Gettysburg; the 

Civilian Conservation Corps and the African American experience; the experience of the wounded 

from the battlefi eld to the fi eld hospital; the attack 

of Early’s Division; and how Meade prevailed in 

stopping Longstreet on July 2.

Registration is required. There is a fee.

For more information about the lecture series and 

the seminar go to: www.nps.gov/gett or call 717/ 

334-1124 x 8023.

A Holiday Tribute to 

the Fallen - 

Superintendent Bob 

Kirby lays a wreath at the 

grave of a World War II 

veteran during the Sgt. 

Mac Foundation’s 

annual donation of 

wreaths, which 

volunteers place at 

more than 500 graves 

in the Soldiers’ National 

Cemetery at Gettysburg 

National Military Park. 
Stewardship 150, continued

The Gettysburg Quarterly 3

Treasures of the Civil War: This exhibit 

will be installed in the museum’s Gilder 

Lehrman Special Exhibits Gallery in 2013, 

showcasing objects related to famous 

personalities of the war -- President 

Abraham Lincoln, General Ulysses S. 

Grant, General George G. Meade, General John Reynolds, Colonel Joshua L. 

Chamberlain, and others -- as well as the 

belongings of ordinary soldiers and civilians. One example is the silver pocket 

watch of Captain John O. Foering, which 

was struck by a bullet and saved his life. 

Artifacts and displays will draw attention 

to the war experience of both great leaders and common people, and what they 

tell us about the war.

Soldiers’ National Cemetery: Stewardship 150 funds four projects in the national cemetery: rehabilitation of the New 

York State Monument (recently completed); rehabilitation of the Soldiers’ 

National Monument; rehabilitation of 

the Speaker’s Rostrum; and preparation 

of a Historic Structures Report for the 

Cemetery Lodge. The lodge is located 

just inside the Baltimore Street gate of the 

Cemetery and would eventually be developed into a visitor information center. 

The Foundation has already raised funds 

needed for the Speaker’s Rostrum project, which will begin in 2012.

The Gettysburg Lincoln Experience: 

The Foundation is exploring technology 

opportunities (smart phones, apps, etc.) 

to allow visitors to better understand the 

sites that were important to Abraham 

Lincoln’s visit to Gettysburg -- from the 

Train Station to the David Wills House, 

south on Baltimore Street, past civilian 

homes such as the Rupp House toward 

the Soldiers’ National Cemetery and 

back. Through technology, new interpretive opportunities would bring Lincoln’s 

brief but momentous visit to Gettysburg 

alive for visitors of all ages. At this time, 

the Foundation has raised the funds for 

the planning for this project. 

Education 150: The educational value of 

Gettysburg is paramount. The Gettysburg Foundation has launched a program 

to improve educational opportunities 

for middle school students – our future 

leaders. In partnership with the park, the 

Student Conservation Association, Gettysburg College, and others, the Foundation is completing plans for a program 

designed for teachers to participate in 

a four-day immersion and experiential 

workshop at Gettysburg. The project 

targets Title 1 schools in Pennsylvania, 

Maryland and West Virginia. Workshops 

will emphasize the development and use 

of creative curricula for teaching all students about the Civil War – with a particular emphasis on assisting underserved 

and under-resourced schools. 

When teachers return to their classrooms to use their new teaching tools, 

they will identify students whose overall 

educational growth would benefi t from 

a direct experience on the battlefi eld. 

Selected students will then be introduced 

to leadership lessons on the Gettysburg 

battlefi eld and an up-close experience on 

a college campus. 

This overall cycle of teacher/student 

leadership education will be refi ned and 

expanded as the program develops. This 

program will also include a component 

which facilitates a greater number of fi eld 

trips from schools currently unable to 

fund visits to Gettysburg National Military Park.

America’s Volunteer Program: Friends 

Rebuild History: As an outgrowth of the 

Foundation’s existing, and monumentally successful, annual volunteer workday, 

Stewardship 150 will create opportunities 

for volunteer vacations, add volunteer 

work components to Friends’ spring 

and fall muster events; and add various 

workday opportunities for visitors to 

Gettysburg throughout the year. Projects 

would include building fences, painting buildings, cleaning headstones, and 

more. Implementation will begin in 2012.

To learn more about and support Stewardship 150, visit www.gettysburgfoundation.org or call 717-338-1243. 

Thanks to Jerry Moore and Cindy Small, of the Gettysburg Foundation, for their help with this article.

The New York State Memorial’s Excelsior fi gure high atop the Soldiers’ National Cemetery, before, during, and after its recent restoration. Through Stewardship 150, the Foundation provided funds to rent a crane and for materials. In the center photo, Brian Griffi n attaches the Liberty Cap to the top of the 

staff. The cap had fallen in the 1950s and was reset on the monument after 60 years in storage! 
4 The Gettysburg Quarterly

Freedom Transit is now Free

National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

Gettysburg National Military Park

1195 Baltimore Pike, Ste. 100

Gettysburg, PA 17325

Veterans Day marked the launch of FREE Freedom Transit 

transportation on all three routes, including the popular 

Lincoln Line which links the park Museum and Visitor 

Center with the David Wills House and other attractions 

in the town of Gettysburg. Thanks to funding from the 

Gettysburg Foundation all rides on Freedom Transit will 

remain free to all through 2013. 

“We recognize that this is part of an economic engine 

that supports the local economy, to connect people to the 

attractions and the charm that the town of Gettysburg has 

to offer,” said Gettysburg Foundation President Joanne 

Hanley. “This is history on the move.” 

Freedom Transit provides public transportation on three 

routes serving the Gettysburg area: the Blue line, the Gray 

line and the Lincoln line. All lines connect residents and 

visitors to major destinations throughout the community. 

Schedules are available at the website: ridethetrolley.

com or by calling 1-800-632-9063. The service is a collaborative effort of the Borough of Gettysburg, Gettysburg 

College, Gettysburg Convention and Visitors Bureau, 

Gettysburg Foundation, Gettysburg National Military 

Park, Main Street Gettysburg, Penn DOT and York Adams 

Transportation Authority.

Park visitors and members of the community can now ride trolleys and buses on all three Freedom Transit lines are now free, thanks to funding from the Gettysburg Foundation.

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