Existing comment:
"I can see them yet . . . "
This building was the home of the James Pierce family during the Battle of Gettysburg. Tillie Pierce, a 15 year old school girl at the time, provided a vivid account of events from those days.
The alarm that "The Rebels Are Coming!" caused a mass exodus from Gettysburg by free, African-American citizens (8% of the population) who feared capture and enforced slavery. Tillie described their passing by her house: "I can see them yet; men and women with bundles . . . children also . . . . The greatest consternation was depicted on all their countenances as they hurried along; . . . towards the woods on Culp's Hill."
On the morning of July 2nd Confederate sharpshooters established their headquarters along the Breckenridge St. side of the Pierce house. For two days Confederates sheltered themselves outside the building while inside the Pierce's successfully hid and sustained five wounded soldiers.
Following the battle the Pierce family took in and nursed the severely wounded Col. William Colvill, 1st Minnesota Infantry, to a successful recovery |