Existing comment:
The Station During Battle:
The Gettysburg Railroad Station:
The station was one of the first buildings in Gettysburg to be used as a hospital.
During the morning of July 1, 1863. Union army surgeons began arriving in town to set up hospitals. The Gettysburg Railroad station was one of the first buildings selected. For weeks, normal railroad services were suspended to meet the needs of the battle's wounded.
Convalescing soldiers still able to walk began using the station's cupola as an observatory. Private James Sullivan, Co.. K 6th Wisconsin Volunteers, was one of those who made the climb up the spiral staircase to the cupola to observe Pickett's charge. Sullivan recalled, "There were ten to fifteen of s in the observatory, and they went wild with joy... I forgot all about my wound..."
By July 10, train service was restored to the station, but traffic on the railroad was far from normal and would remain so for several months. The station was crowded with wounded departing for hospitals in the Eastern cities while food, medical supplies and volunteers to help the wounded were arriving. |