Volume_29_Issue_3

The Spangler Farm, site of the Union 11th Corps Field Hospital, opened for the season on June 8 to visitors every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday through August 12. Access to the Farm comes via shuttle from the visitor center with buses making the round trip every 20 minutes. A new admission policy was implemented this year. Friends were admitted free and visitors purchasing full price tickets to the movie, cyclorama and museum received a free ticket if requested. Non-member visitors wanting to just visit the Farm were able to purchase a ticket. The Farm is staffed by Foundation volunteers/docents and in addition to greeting the visitors, present specific educational programs. Our two programs are “The Spangler Farm in 1863” which tells the inspirational story of the Spangler Family before, during, and after the Battle of Gettysburg. The second program is “An Army Field Hospital: The George Spangler Farm” which discusses American Civil War medicine and its evolution from 1861 to 1865. There is a heavy reliance on first person accounts of people who were actually at the Farm during the period it served as a field hospital. Both programs have been very well received by our visitors. Throughout the season we have a variety of American Civil War living history groups at the Farm. With their equipment, period attire, and extensive knowledge of the period, they add a vivid and dynamic telling of this critical period in American History. We are fortunate to have these groups sharing this important story from both sides of the conflict, Union and Confederate. As we near the end of our season, the commitment and enthusiasm of our volunteers/docents have not waivered as we continue to tell the Spangler Farm Story. A Successful Season at the Spangler Farm By Paul Semanek 18 Volume 29, Issue 3 Preservation & Progress Doc Willen and Nurse Jackie. Patriot Daughters of Lancaster. Drummer boy from Reynold’s Battery. The Frederick Ladies Relief Society.