George Spangler Farm & Field Hospital

Site

Closed for the Season | Reopens Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. for Fall Family Day at Spangler, a free one-day event of history and exploration.

In July 1863, this thriving family farm was suddenly transformed when the Union 11^th Corps converted the property to a field hospital for more than 1,900 wounded soldiers during and after the Battle of Gettysburg.

Today, the George Spangler Farm & Field Hospital stands as the best preserved field hospital from the Battle of Gettysburg.

Meticulously renovated, the site features restored, original buildings from the 1863 battle to inspire and explore:

• The stone farmhouse where George Spangler, his wife Elizabeth and four children lived. The family chose to remain during the battle and ongoing field hospital activities, with all six family members moved to just one room of their house.
• The Pennsylvania bank barn served as the hospital where both Union and Confederate soldiers received care.
• The summer kitchen used by the family during the warm Pennsylvania summers. Records indicate this is the place where Confederate General Lewis A. Armistead died from wounds he received during Pickett’s Charge.

The historic site, with living history, docents and programming in summer, is open for visitors on Saturdays, June 7 through Aug. 9, 2025. Admission to the site is free for summer 2025 and access is via timed shuttles departing the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center - only minutes away. Timed shuttle/admission tickets are required and now available by phone, 877-874-2478 or 717-334-2436, online or at the Ticket Counter inside the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center.

Special events and programs are offered on select dates throughout the year.

Significance

Why visit the George Spangler Farm & Field Hospital?

Walk the grounds, hear the stories and feel the emotions of life–and death–at this historic site forever changed by battle.

Living historians and docents provide insight and accounts of experiences on the farm in July 1863:

• A family forever altered as their farm suddenly transforms from home to hospital.
• Surgeons and caregivers desperately providing for the wounded amid the chaos of battle.
• Soldiers experiencing the horrors of war and the humanity of everyday citizens.

 

 

Story

A family farm.

A strategic location.

A battlefield hospital.