Gettysburg in Adams County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
“The National Homestead at Gettysburg”
Photographed by Bill Coughlin, November 6, 2010
1. “The National Homestead at Gettysburg” Marker
Inscription.
“The National Homestead at Gettysburg”. . This building was constructed in 1869 as a dormitory for “The National Homestead at Gettysburg,” a school for soldiers’ orphans established in 1866 in the brick building to your right. Among its first students were Alice, Frank and Frederick Humiston, the children of Sergeant Amos Humiston of the 154th New York Volunteers, killed at Gettysburg on July 1, 1863. The Sergeant’s identity was unknown when his body was discovered with a photograph of his children clutched in his hands. The wide distribution of this photograph led to Humiston’s identification by his widow Philinda, and to a national outpouring of sympathy and donations for the “Children of the Battlefield.” Mrs. Humiston became the first matron, and some 200 students attended before the school closed in 1877., On July 1, 1993 a memorial to the Humistons was dedicated on the grounds of the Gettysburg Fire Department on North Stratton Street.
This building was constructed in 1869 as a dormitory for “The National Homestead at Gettysburg,” a school for soldiers’ orphans established in 1866 in the brick building to your right. Among its first students were Alice, Frank and Frederick Humiston, the children of Sergeant Amos Humiston of the 154th New York Volunteers, killed at Gettysburg on July 1, 1863. The Sergeant’s identity was unknown when his body was discovered with a photograph of his children clutched in his hands. The wide distribution of this photograph led to Humiston’s identification by his widow Philinda, and to a national outpouring of sympathy and donations for the “Children of the Battlefield.” Mrs. Humiston became the first matron, and some 200 students attended before the school closed in 1877.
On July 1, 1993 a memorial to the Humistons was dedicated on the grounds of the Gettysburg Fire Department on North Stratton Street.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. A significant historical month for this entry is July 1816.
Location. 39° 49.337′ N, 77° 13.829′ W. Marker is in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in Adams County. It is on Baltimore Street (Pennsylvania Route 97), on the left when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Gettysburg PA 17325, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in South-Central Pennsylvania. It is also in the American Northeast, in the Mid-Atlantic, in Appalachia, and specifically in Northern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
More about this marker. The right side of the marker contains a photograph depicting “The Homestead building (now 777 and 785 Baltimore Street) in July 1874. The inset photos are of Sgt. Humiston and his three children.”
Photographed by Bill Coughlin, November 6, 2010
2. Marker in Gettysburg
"The Homestead" today provides lodging for visitors to Gettysburg.
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on November 6, 2010, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. This page has been viewed 2,448 times since then and 30 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on November 6, 2010, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey.
