Women’s History Month
On July 8, 1863, five days after the United States and Confederate guns around Gettysburg fell silent, thirty-year-old Sarah Broadhead sat down to pen an entry in her diary. She had been keeping the journal for three weeks, throughout the Confederate invasion of Pennsylvania which culminated in the fighting in and around her small town. Since the Confederate army withdrew Sarah, like many citizens, had been helping to care for the thousands of wounded men lying in barns, churches, and schools. For two days, Sarah had been laboring at the Lutheran Seminary building, a quarter mile from her home. The work, however, had gotten to her. “I did not return to the hospital to-day, being very much fatigued and worn out, and having done what I never expected to do, or thought I could” she confessed, “I am becoming more used to the sights of misery. We do not know until tried what we are capable of.”
Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center is committed to telling the stories of women, Black and white, young and old, rich and poor, every day through our permanent exhibit, “Voices of Duty and Devotion.” Within the walls of the historic building, visitors encounter the heroic deeds of women before, during, and after the Battle of Gettysburg. These figures include Mag Palm, a Black citizen of Gettysburg, who in 1858 was accosted in a dark alley and almost forced into a carriage to be taken south into slavery; thirteen-year-old Lydia Ziegler who, on July 1, 1863, left her home in the Seminary to watch the battle begin in her backyard. A bullet flew past her head, sending her back to the safety of the brick edifice; and Ellen Orbison Harris of Philadelphia, who traveled the one hundred twenty miles to Gettysburg to nurse wounded soldiers at the Seminary. “Too steeped in [the] sorrow and death” of her hospital work, Harris confessed in a letter that she could not “rejoice over our victory.”
New Virtual Museum Experience
March is Women’s History Month, and there could not be a more appropriate time to launch the first component of Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center’s new Virtual Museum Experience, “The Nurses.” Now, learners across the world can put themselves in the center of the Seminary Hospital to discover the crucial role that women like Sarah Broadhead, Ellen Orbison Harris, and Lydia Ziegler played in comforting the wounded and repairing broken bodies and spirits. We hope, wherever you are, that you come to explore the museum’s exhibits, hear the voices of these women as they tell their experiences, and build an appreciation for those who did what they thought they were not capable of.
Keep watching as we build more resources on the role of women in the 19th century. As always, we look forward to partnering with educators across the country to help build students’ understanding of American history. If you are looking for specific resources or advice, please do not hesitate to reach out.
We hope to see you (virtually) on the Ridge soon!
