"Old Dorm" Gettysburg Lutheran Seminary / SOLD

"Old Dorm" Gettysburg Lutheran Seminary- Inventory Number: GET 310 / Sold

Original Copper Printing Plate

Most buildings on the campus are postwar structures. But Schmucker Hall, known as the Old Dorm, dates from 1832. The cupola of the Old Dorm, made famous in the movie Gettysburg, was an observation post for both sides during the battle. Its basement was a place of refuge for the Slenz family that rented McPherson’s farm just to the west. Schmucker Hall suffered a great deal of damage, including the loss of most of its window glass, many bullet holes, and a crack that extended nearly two stories.

The Union First Corps established a field hospital in the building on the first day of the battle. For the next two months the building housed almost 700 patients, some 70 of whom died there. Most were transferred to other facilities as soon as their conditions stabilized, but Lieutenant Colonel George F. McFarland of the 151th Pennsylvania Infantry remained until September. He was the longest and last patient at the Old Dorm.

Inventory Number: GET 310/ Sold