2024 News

Gettysburg Foundation will host a special program Friday, June 28, 2024, at 6 p.m. at the George Spangler Farm & Field Hospital. Join living historian and reenactor Janice Lauer in the historic barn for a program on dressmaking and fashions of the Civil War era. Lauer will feature the most popular period fashions and showcase fashions in both the north and south during the “Civil War Era Dressmaking & Popular Fashions” program. Ticket holders will discover the difficulties people in the south faced as they tried to maintain their fashion sense during this turbulent time in our nation’s history. Guests can learn how the use of sewing machines made the occupation more productive. See original hand-crank sewing machines dating 1858 -1878 and original ladies fashion magazines of the time. Lauer will tell the fascinating story of Elizabeth Keckly, the most famous dressmaker during the Civil War, and discuss her rise from slavery to the White House.

A Civil War reenactor for 26 years, Janice Lauer portrays a dressmaker in her endeavor to educate the public on several facets of life during the Civil War that are not typically found in school textbooks. A member of the 150th PA Bucktails, Jan attends reenactments and living histories traveling throughout Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio, and has lectured in towns throughout Pennsylvania, including Indiana, State College, Titusville and Gettysburg.

The special program lasts approximately 90 minutes and is limited to 40 attendees. Tickets are required and available to purchase in advance by calling the Gettysburg Foundation Guest Relations team at 877-874-2478 or 717-334-2436 or by visiting GettysburgFoundation.org. Proceeds from ticket purchases help to provide a lasting connection to our nation’s next generation while supporting the Gettysburg Foundation’s mission of preservation and education in partnership with the National Parks at Gettysburg.

Ticket holders for this program may drive directly to the property, located at 488 Blacksmith Shop Road, Gettysburg, and park on-site. The gate will open at 5:30 p.m., for ticket holders to explore the 80-acre historic site with original buildings from the Battle of Gettysburg, before the program begins at 6 p.m.