The Brian barn (or Bryan), built in 1856, is located on the Gettysburg battlefield just south of town and southwest of the of the old Cyclorama just past Ziegler's Grove. It was part of Abraham Brian's (often spelled Bryan) farm, an African-American widower with five children who bought the farm in 1857 when he married his third wife, Elizabeth. The twelve acre farm grew wheat, barley and hay and had a small apple and peach orchard. The farm and structures is reputed to be haunted.
(From Wikipedia - Citation Below): Abraham Bryan, or Brian was a free black man who owned a farm on Cemetery Ridge at the time of the Battle of Gettysburg near the High Water Mark of the Confederacy. During the battle, Bryan and several other blacks left the area to avoid capture and enslavement. Federal troops positioned around the Bryan House and barn were assaulted by Confederate troops under the command of J. Johnston Pettigrew. The small farm was the target of an attack by Mississippi troops. When Bryan returned after the battle he discovered his house was nearly destroyed; its walls filled with bullet holes, windows broken, and furniture tossed about. His fences were gone, crops trampled, and his orchard trees were useless. Bryan assisted in the reburial of Union soldiers and received $1/body, which were reinterred in the Gettysburg National Cemetery. Later, Bryan filed a claim with the Federal government for damages to his property totalling $1,028 and received $15 as compensation for damage by Union troops. Bryan had purchased the farm in 1857 just south of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and his wife died soon after (he had five children). He then married a third wife.
The Abraham Brian Barn is located on the west side of Hancock Avenue just past Ziegler’s Grove (the two share a common boundary), if you are traveling south down North Hancock Road. The barn's construction (960 square feet) is quite simple consisting of a stone foundation, wood walls and a shingle roof, the same exact elements as the farm house. The house and barn have both been reconstructed and belong to the National Park Service.
There is a comprehensive interpretive in front of the farm house across the road which reads:
"His property ... was thus under fire of the enemy and the very midst and thickest of the battle"
-damage claim of Abraham Brian
In 1863, this was the home and farm of Abraham Brian. He and James Warfield, who owned a farm and blacksmith shop near Seminary Ridge, were among a small, unique group of farmers on the battlefield. They were free black men, and they were property owners.
When the Confederate army invaded Pennsylvania during the summer of 1863, Brian and his family left the area. On July 2, Union soldiers occupied Brian's farm and home. They dismantled his fences to build breastworks, and trampled his crops. Heavy fighting raged around the farm, particularly on July 3 during the Pickett-Pettigrew Charge, exposing the home and buildings to musketry and shell fire.
Following the battle, Brian returned to begin repairs on his farm. Like nearly all the area farmers he filed claims (with the federal government) for damages. Out of $1028 requested, he received $15. Many farmers received nothing.
The damage inflicted by the battle did not discourage or ruin Brian. He rebuilt his 12-acre farm and prospered until his death in 1879.
The Abraham Brian Barn is a contributing feature to the Gettysburg
National Military Park Historic District which is nationally significant under NR
Criteria A, B, C & D. Areas of Significance: Military, Politics/Government, Landscape
Architecture, Conservation, Archeology-Historic. Period of Significance: 1863-1938.
The original National Register Nomination was approved by the Keeper March 19, 1975.
An update to this nomination was approved by the Keeper on January 23, 2004. The
monument is identified as structure number 020.
From the Nomination Form:
Barn figured prominently as landmark in Battle. It was incorporated in Union line on Cemetery Ridge during July 2nd & 3rd, 1863, jutting out from the main line on ridge w/ its west gable end facing Emmitsburg Rd and Confederate line.
Short Physical Description:
1-story modified, small frame barn, 40'x24', 23'6" high. Vertical board & batten siding, mostly replacement. Unequal-pitch roof. Double hung wagon doors on N, stable entrance at S. Gable ends are E & W.
Long Physical Description:
None
My Sources
1.
NRHP Narrative
2.
Wikipedia
3.
Stone Sentinels
4.
The Brothers War
5.
Draw the Sword
6.
Historical Marker Database
Yearly Operating Hours:
8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.- November 1 through March 31
8:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M.- April 1 to October 31