I stepped out this morning to head to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania - a town where a decisive battle of the American Civil War was fought, and my first stop was the Shriver House Museum...
The Shriver House was home to George Washington Shriver and his wife Hettie. They were quite a prosperous family for that age - George had inherited a 200 acre farm, barn and distillery from his father.
On January 23, 1855, George and Hettie got married, when they turned 18 and immediately started a family of their own. Four years later George sold off a portion of his farm and in the spring of 1860 used the proceeds to buy this property where the Shriver House stands today.
This was the ideal location to build a new home for his growing family. By then George and Hettie had two kids - Sadie and Mollie.
George had planned to open a new business here - the Shriver's Saloon & Ten-Pin Alley. The saloon would be located in the cellar of their home while the backyard would have a ten-pin bowling alley.
Pictures of George, Hettie, Sadie and Mollie...
In 1861, George sold off his farm for USD3420 to concentrate on his fledgling business. But then in Washington, DC. Abraham Lincoln had just been elected president and war clouds were looming in the horizon. In April, 1861, the American Civil War broke out after a Confederate attack on Union forces at Fort Sumter. President Lincoln responded by calling for 75,000 troops to put down the southern rebellion and keep the Union together.
A staff member of the Shriver House in the traditional American dress of that age...
By August 1861, the Shriver's Saloon & Ten-Pin Alley was completed and ready for business but, George volunteered for military service and joined the Cole's Cavalry, Co. C in Frederick, Maryland. George and Hettie believed that this would be a short war and it would be over by the end of the year, following which the business would be opened.
But, that's not the way things worked out. The war continued for two more years and in June 1863, the Confederate soldiers had crossed into Pennsylvania. And by the end of the month, the Confederates marched through Gettysburg.
The Battle of Gettysburg began early in the morning on July 1, 1863. For the safety of her little girls, Hettie decided it would be best for them to leave and seek safety at her parents' farm about three miles south of town. However, the vicinity of her parents' farm was the scene of the fiercest battles.
A reconstructed dining room of the Shrivers...
The family piano...
On the morning of July 7, 1863, Hettie decided to return to her home. What she and the girls saw along the way would be etched in their minds forever - by then more than 7000 soldiers and 5000 horses and mules were killed during the battle. They walked past a lot of devastation to reach home - buildings which were destroyed, bloody scraps of uniforms and human remains.
Hettie found that her home was being used as a hospital. Confederate soldiers had occupied her home while she was gone. The soldiers helped themselves to all the food found in the Shrivers' kitchen, and also consumed the supplies, clothing, blankets, linens, curtains, tools, and anything they could lay their hands on, such as money, silver or liquor.
George returned home for break in December 1863 but after that he was taken prisoner in January 1864 and died in August 1864, in Georgia.
One of the bedrooms...
A chamber pot on the table...
Hettie's sewing machine...
The kids room...
The study...
The attic...
The kitchen in disarray showing how it would have looked after the Confederates took over the house...
The basement...
The Shrivers' Salon...
Books on the Shrivers...
The house of the Pierces' - neighbours of the Shrivers...
The neighbourhood....
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