News Briefs

GBPA’s Daniel Lady Farm will Host the 2020 Battle of Gettysburg as Planned

Originally published March 2020 · p. 23

The Gettysburg Battlefield Preservation Association (GBPA. org) reaffirms that they will be hosting and managing the 2020 Battle of Gettysburg reenactment. It will be staged on the hallowed ground of the GBPA’s 146-acre Daniel Lady Farm located on Hanover Road with a large reenactment field bordering Gettysburg National Military Park at Benner Hill. The farm was the site of artillery emplacements and infantry preparations for the Confederate attack on Culp’s Hill. The house and barn became a field hospital. Shell fragments and soldiers’ carved initials remain in the barn and there are blood stained floors in the house. The 2020 reenactment is being planned as a two-day event over the July 4 and 5 weekend. Celebrate the 157th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg with battle reenactments, artillery and cavalry demonstrations, living history programs, tours of the restored house & barn, and more!

This reenactment of the Battle of Gettysburg under new sponsorship continues Gettysburg’s tradition of annually commemorating the sacrifices of the soldiers and the townspeople in 1863. The president of the GBPA, Mike Cassidy, said, “Gettysburg’s long history of commemorative events honoring those who fought here, and the civilians that dealt with the aftermath, will continue.” Quoting Lincoln’s Gettysburg’s Address, “we can never forget what they did here.” Civil War reenactment units have begun to sign up for the event and the Union command has been confirmed with Confederate command to be announced shortly. Kirk Davis, the GBPA’s Vice President of Operations, will manage the event. He has decades of experience as an event organizer for major reenactments. Many staff who have worked with him at major reenactments over the past 26 years will be helping with the event along with GBPA staff and volunteers. More details will be released as planning progresses. The GBPA is a 501c3 nonprofit corporation founded in 1959. Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower was an early member and booster. For 60 years the GBPA has fought to preserve the Gettysburg Battlefield through land purchase, education, and advocacy. Current GBPA programs include owning and operating the historic Daniel Lady Farm, Gettysburg Battlefield Monuments Project, Scout Camping Program on the farm, living history events, site tours, and preservation advocacy. The 2020 Battle of Gettysburg will benefit the GBPA and its preservation and education mission as well as up-keep of the historic Daniel Lady Farm.

Detailed information will soon be available on the website at GBPA.org and inquiries may be addressed to [email protected]. Contacts: Kirk Davis, GBPA Vice President for Operations at 717-357-7609 or Mike Cassidy, GBPA President at 717-368-1235.