@americancivilwar_ig

Catherine Mary White Foster lived in this house on the corner of Washington and High Streets in Gettysburg at the time of the battle. She lived there with her elderly parents and their cousin Belle was staying with them at the time to attend the ladies seminary nearby. Catherine would write about her experiences during the battle, which included feeding some Confederates and attending to the wounded. They even managed to hide a Union corporal in their potato bin. - By June 30th, the family had already been dealing with Rebs coming and going. The family considered whether or not to leave town, but Catherine’s mother refused. They were worried when there seemed to be no sign of Federal troops anywhere. That all changed on the 30th. - “…at 9:30, the rebel's advance force came within one-halfmile of Gettysburg, but retreated a short distance at 11:30. Our hearts and spirits were revived by the entrance of Buford's cavalry, 6,000 coming from the direction of Emmetsburg. They passed through Washington Street, on which we lived, to a grove north of Pennsylvania College. With these 6,000 Union cavalry between us and the enemy, we felt the battle begun and victory won!” - The battle wasn’t the only tragedy she would witness firsthand. Catherine later found herself in the city of Johnstown, PA on May 31, 1889 when the South Fork Dam burst, flooding the town. Catherine barely escaped. She died at the age of 91 in 1917 and is buried with her parents in Gettysburg’s Evergreen Cemetery. - #americancivilwar_ig #americancivilwar #americancivilwarhistory #thecivilwar #civilwar #gettysburg #firsthand #diary #history #ushistory #americanhistory #civilwarhistory #onthisdayinhistory #keephistoryalive