Adams County Courthouse - Gettysburg, PA
N 39° 49.773 W 077° 13.873
18S E 309062 N 4411221
During the Battle of Gettysburg, this courthouse, then only four years old was used as a hospital, as were most local buildings, albeit, this one was well documented. The building was also occupied by Confederate troops for a time.
Waymark Code: WMG4JK
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 01/11/2013
Views: 10
The Adams County Courthouse was occupied by the Confederates prior to the Battle of Gettysburg, and was used as a Union hospital following the battle. Every church I have visited as well as government buildings and school houses/colleges were all used to aid and assist wounded troops as they poured into the town.
In 1859 the Adams County Courthouse was constructed to replace a smaller building located a block away. During the Gettysburg Campaign, while Confederate Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell was ordered to take two of his divisions to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, a third division under Maj. Gen. Jubal Early was directed to advance toward York, Pennsylvania, and to break the railroad running between Baltimore and Harrisburg. On June 26, 1863, Early occupied Gettysburg en route to York and took possession of the Adams County Courthouse from which he made requisition for supplies from the citizenry. The courthouse was occupied overnight by Confederate officers. Anxious to capture York, Early departed the following day without most of the supplies he had demanded. During the Battle of Gettysburg, the Adams County Courthouse served as a Union hospital and continued as such until about July 10, 1863. Fannie Buehler, who lived opposite the courthouse, left vivid recollections of the cries of the wounded, and of the cartloads of amputated limbs that were removed from the building. SOURCE
This place is spooky and reputed to be haunted (probably due to the soldiers who died in the hospital). According to police that work there at night when the building is closed, a gray, human-sized blob has been spotted several times floating through the rooms. This tale was told by Mark Nesbitt in Ghosts of Gettysburg IV. SOURCE
A Gettysburg Ghost Tour site reports: During this easy walk, you will visit the Adams County courthouse, a building Confederate troops occupied for five days in 1863. During the Battle of Gettysburg, it was pressed into use as a hospital, and legend has it that the ghosts of certain deceased patients roam the building to this day. Other stops along the way include a church where so many amputations occurred that a blood-drainage hole was cut into the floor. SOURCE