Volume_29_Issue_3

14 Volume 29, Issue 3 Preservation & Progress Elizabeth Salome “Sallie” Myers is a name we should recognize— a person that is well-known in history because of the time in which she lived, but perhaps even more so because of the many things she did. She was born in Gettysburg in 1842, descended from maternal grandparents who were original settlers of Gettysburg. She was only one of many local citizens whose life was forever changed in 1863, but her story is reprinted in many articles, books, blogs, old newspapers, and papers at the Adams County Historical Society. Her personal diaries, transcribed and annotated by her great-great-granddaughter Sarah Sites Rodgers, are filled with many examples of courage, compassion, and adaptability. They describe a young woman who loved to read and write, to teach and socialize, and to attend church services daily. She often mentions wanting to attend services at the “colored churches” as well as her own, which is foreshadowing to her career after the war as an educator. The diaries shine a light on Sallie’s neighborhood, family (her cousin was Carrie Sheads who lived on Chambersburg Street), and friends (such as Lizzie Rupp who lived on Baltimore Street), before, during, and after the battle in 1863. Sallie was educated in the Gettysburg schools before becoming a teacher in the public school on East High Street. When she was only 21 and enjoying her summer vacation from teaching, life changed suddenly as the Civil War came to Gettysburg. Her father and brother had already joined the Union army in 1861. Her family lived on West High Street near its intersection with South Washington. She watched and cheered as Union troops of the First Corps rushed through town on the morning of July 1, 1863 to join the battle already started on the west side of town. She and her family went to the cellar of their house when wounded soldiers started to stream back through town and fighting engulfed houses and yards. When the gunfire stopped and people were able to get outside, Sallie was horrified and went across the street to St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church to offer her services in the church-turned hospital. She states in her diary that she could not “stand the sight of blood,” but that did not deter her wanting to help the wounded soldiers. Nursing became a new vocation for her and changed her life in a personal way as well as doing her duty. Sgt. Stewart was the first soldier she saw when she entered the church, and while attending many of the wounded, she learned more details of Stewart’s family in New Brighton, PA, especially his younger brother Henry. Stewart and a few other wounded soldiers were moved to Sallie’s house and cared for in the basement because the churches were becoming so crowded. Sgt. Stewart died on July 6 with Sallie by his side. She wrote letters to his wife and brother. Alexander Stewart was buried in the United Presbyterian Church graveyard in Jamestown, Pennsylvania. Forty years later, she wrote a memoir essay that was first published in “The Sunday Call” newspaper in San Francisco, California, titled “How A Gettysburg Schoolteacher Spent Her Vacation in 1863.” In it she describes how she met and cared for Sgt. Alexander Stewart (Company D) of the 149th Pennsylvania Vols. In addition to nursing so many wounded, she wrote in her memoir, “… I went daily through the hospitals with my writing materials, reading and answering letters. This work enlisted all my sympathies, and I received many kind and appreciative letters from those who could not come. Besides caring for the wounded, we did all we could for the comfort of friends who came to look after their loved ones. Many pleasant and enduring friendships were the result of this part of my work.” A Gettysburg Survivor Sallie Myers: By Barbara J. Finfrock