Just A School

This house on the southeast corner of Washington and High Street, was built as the Gettysburg Academy in 1814.  It went onto to be the home of several other schools, before the Civil War came to its door steps.

The Gettysburg Academy opened in 1814, under headmaster Samuel Ramsay.  There were 3 dorms, a library and a gymnasium [at this time gymnasium referred to a preparatory school].  Samuel Schmucker turned the building and the school into the Lutheran Theological Seminary in 1826.  When the first Seminary building was completed, the school then became the Pennsylvania College [now Gettysburg College].

William Eyster

In 1856 the Reverend David and Mrs Rebecca Reynolds Eyster bought the building.  They opened the Gettysburg Female Institute.  When the Reverend died in 1861, his wife continued to run the school with one of their sons William Reynolds Eyster; a new graduate of the Pennsylvania College, teaching math and latin.

The Eyster school served young ladies from "the best" local families.  One of the pupils was Tillie Pierce, who wrote about the first day the Confederate's arrived in Gettysburg.  On 26 June 1863 the class was dismissed by Mrs Eyster as Confederate Major General Jubal Early's troops marched into town by simply saying, “Children, run home as quickly as you can."  The building was used for a hospital after the battle, as most buildings in Gettysburg were.  Rebecca Eyster closed the school in 1871.

View from back along Washington St

It has been a private residence since.  During WWI it was used as Officer Quarters.  You can see an artillery shell in the side of the building today.  It is a Reed shell from a 10 pound Parrott gun.

The Men From Minnesota

About 200 surviving members of the 1st Minnesota with family and friends converged on Gettysburg in 1897, for the dedication of their monuments on Hancock Ave.  The 1st Minnesota Monument is located near where the Regiment began their charge on 2 July 1863.

The 1st Minnesota was organized in April 1861 at Fort Snelling, MN.  Minnesota's Governor Alexander Ramsey having been in Washington, DC when Fort Sumter was fired upon, went to President Lincoln and is supposed to have been the first Governor to promise troops.  The first action these men from the west experienced was at First Manassas.

On 2 July the 1st Minnesota was posted as support of Thomas' Battery C, 4th US artillery, when Major General Winfield Hancock came looking for troops to plug a hole in the line, toward which the Confederates were advancing.  Hancock ordered them forward and the Minnesota men ran into the fight without firing a shot until they reached Plum Run.  The fight there only lasted about 15 minutes, but it bought the time needed to hold the Union line.  The unit had about 82% casualties in this fight, including their Colonel, William Colvill.

The fight wasn't over for the men from Minnesota.  What was left of the regiment was posted along the wall on 3 July, near their second monument.  Here they helped in the repulse of Pickett's Charge.  There were 17 more casualties here, including Captain Nathan Messick, who had taken over command of the Regiment after Colville's wounding.  The end of the fighting left 232 casualties within this small 330 man regiment, 50 of whom were killed

In 1887 the Minnesota State government voted to give $20,000 for a monument to place on the field at Gettysburg.  A commission was set up to locate a place on the field, and approve a design for the monument.  Three veterans of the Regiment, William Lochren, Christopher Heffelfinger, and Matthew Marvin picked a spot for their monument, and contracted Minneapolis sculpture Jacob Fjeld.  The final monument was placed on ground in 1893, it included a charging 9 ½ foot tall bronze soldier on top of a Barre, VT granite base.

In 1897 the State of Minnesota chartered a train to take the Veterans and their family and friends to Gettysburg for a dedication of the monument.  About 200 men took the trip.  Most of the dignitaries stayed the night of 1 Jul 1897 in the Eagle Hotel on Washington Street.  The dedication was held the next day.  As a special guest, Tillie Pierce was introduced.  Her family had taken care of William Colvill after his wounding on 2 July 1863.