Lee's Headquarters Open House with the Winfield S. Hancock Society

Name: Lee's Headquarters Open House with the Winfield S. Hancock Society
Start: 2025-09-06T10:00:00-04:00
End: 2025-09-06T15:00:00-04:00
Location: 401 Buford Ave, Gettysburg, PA 17325-1140, United States

Schedule

Sat Sep 06 2025 at 10:00 am to 03:00 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

401 Buford Ave, Gettysburg, PA 17325-1140, United States | Gettysburg, PA

Join the Winfield S. Hancock Society at Lee's Headquarters for this special Open House event!
Artillery played a significant role on the battlefield during the Civil War. With its devastating firepower, artillery units supported the actions of the infantry and served as a deterrent to an attacker in defense of a strategic position. But how was it used and what did it take to load and fire these masters of the battlefield?
Join members of the W.S. Hancock Society’s Branch of Historical Interpretation as they represent members of a Confederate artillery crew in a “non-firing” interactive interpretive program that will discuss the workings of the field artillery during the Civil War and role that it played during the Battle of Gettysburg.
Explore Gen. Lee's Headquarters at Gettysburg
During the Battle of Gettysburg, this small stone house — home of 69-year-old widow Mary Thompson — served as the headquarters of Gen. Robert E. Lee. The property surrounding the house played a pivotal role in the severe fighting on July 1, 1863, and was a key position in the Confederate line for the rest of the engagement.
Today, the landscape and building have been preserved and restored to its wartime appearance by the American Battlefield Trust.
Take the opportunity to step back in time inside the historic home, during this open house, hosted by the Seminary Ridge Museum & Education Center, in conjunction with the American Battlefield Trust. Interpreters will be onsite and available to answer questions and tell the stories of this crucial site. A self-guided interpretive trail, with five signs explaining the dramatic events at the headquarters from July 1-3, 1863, is open daily from dawn to dusk. Additional augmented reality interpretations of the site are also available in the FREE Gettysburg AR Experience app.