***Abraham Brian moved from Maryland to Gettysburg in 1840 and bought a 12 acre farm on what is now Gettysburg battlefield. Returning after the armies departed to find his animals and crops gone and his farm damaged, Brian and his family slowly rebuilt. James Warfield was a farmer and blacksmith, living at the time of the battle at the farm on Millerstown Rd. near the so-called Longstreet Tower.

***In an era when Jim Crow practices were nearly as prevalent in the north as the south, Jack Hopkins earned respect and affection of the faculty and students of Gettysburg College, serving for many years as a janitor there.

***Gettysburg native Thaddeus Stevens was one of the most powerful Radical Republican politicians at the time of the Civil War and is considered the father of the 13th amendment.

These and other stories now are encompassed in Gettysburg’s new Black History Trail, which was unveiled in a brief ceremony at the Lincoln Cemetery. Representatives of eight organizations in the history or tourism businesses unveiled the Trail, an 11-stop self-guided tour, which encompasses some of the leading black history sits as well as prominent interpretive sites.

Amy Welsh, partnerships manager at Destination Gettysburg, hosted the ceremony and praised the efforts of the partner organizations that brought the plan to fruition. Jean Green, chair of the Lincoln Cemetery Project Association, praised the efforts of previous community leaders, including Betty Myers and Jean Odom. “This idea has been around for a while. It took the efforts of many people to bring it together.” She spoke briefly of the Lincoln Cemetery, “which until recently was the only concrete evidence that there was a black community here [at the time of the battle]. “I invite everyone to hear the history of this cemetery and the people who lie here. Such incredible stories they are.”

Mayor Rita Frealing and former Gettysburg Foundation chair Wayne Motts also made brief remarks. Frealing obsrvd that, “For too long, the contributions of black Americans to our history have been overlooked.”Following the brief ceremony, visitors were invited to tour the cemetery with Jean Green and to download the app for the entire tour.

The partner organizations are the Adams county Historical Society, Destination Gettysburg, Gettysburg Black History Museum, Gettysburg Foundation, Gettysburg National Military Park, Lincoln Cemetery Project Association, Seminary Ridge Historic Preservation Foundation, and the Thaddeus Stevens Society.

The locations are a mix of modern museums and historic sites. The historic sites are:Abraham Brian Farm, Hancock Ave., Gettysburg National Military ParkGettysburg National Cemetery, Taneytown Rd.Jack and Julia Hopkins House, 219 South Washington St.Lincoln Cemetery, Lincoln and Long LanesThad’s Place (Thaddeus Stevens Home), 46 Chambersburg St.St. Paul AME Zion Church, 269 South Washington St.James Warfield House, 60-114 Millerstown Rd.Museums on the tour include:Gettysburg Beyond the Battle MuseumGettysburg Lincoln Train StationGettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor CenterSeminary Ridge MuseumAn app is available for download that guides the visitor through the tour.

Featured Image Caption: Left to right:
Trini Nye, Gettysburg Foundation;
Ross Hetrick, Thaddeus Stevens Society;
Moellyn Ramos Yetsko, Destination Gettysburg;
Jean Green, Lincoln Cemetery Project Association;
Marie Williams, Gettysburg Black History Museum;
Wayne Motts, Gettysburg Foundation;
Chris Gwinn, Gettysburg National Military Park;
Karl Pietrzak, Destination Gettysburg;
Pete Miele, Seminary Ridge Historic Preservation Association;
Andrew Dalton, Adams County Historical Society.

Leon Reed

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Leon Reed, freelance reporter, is a former US Senate staff member, defense consultant, and history teacher. He is a 10 year resident of Gettysburg, where he writes military history and explores the park and the Adams County countryside. He is the publisher at Little Falls Books, chaired the Adams County 2020 Census Complete Count Committee and is on the board of SCCAP. He and his wife, Lois, have 3 children, 3 cats, and 5 grandchildren.