Existing comment:
"...expecting to find all dead."
In 1863 this building was the home of the John and Martha Scott family, and Martha's sister, Mary McAllister.
On the morning of July 1st, Mary McAllister went across the street to the Christ Lutheran Church to volunteer as a nurse.
During the Union retreat through town that afternoon, Mary braved the combatants and bullets in the street and returned home to find her front step "...covered with blood," and cautiously entered, "...expecting to find [her family] all dead."
Her fears were unfounded. The Scotts were unharmed and busy attending a crowd of wounded and unwounded Union soldiers seeking aid and shelter inside the building. Confederates arrived and captured the soldiers without incident; the severely wounded were permitted to remain in the family's care. The house served as a hospital to these wounded until after the Confederate retreat. |