Civil War Trails places marker at Gettysburg's Shriver house, scene of sharpshooters and chaos during battle

A Civil War Trails marker has been placed in front of the Shriver house in Gettysburg, detailing the family that fled during the July 1863 battle and the Confederate sharpshooters who fired from the attic.

“For many visitors the story of the battle is only focused on the soldiers, and not the women and children who endured the days before, during, and after,” said Civil War Trails executive director Drew Gruber in a press release. (He is at left with Nancie and Del Gudmestad, owners of the house)

“The Civil War Trails sign will help to encourage guests to take a tour of the Shriver House to understand the story of the Shriver family -- an ordinary family caught up in extraordinary circumstances.”

The Shriver House Museum at 309 Baltimore St. details the sharpshooters’ nest and provides a history of George and Hettie Shriver and their young daughters Sadie and Mollie. A 19^th-century period garden welcomes visitors.

While George was serving with the Union cavalry, Hettie fled to her parents’ farm as Rebel forces moved in. Union forces said they killed at least two of the sharpshooters operating from the Shriver house. The Confederates fired upon Union troops on Cemetery Hill from two holes made in the brick.

Hettie, her girls and a neighbor returned home a few days after the battle.

“What she and the girls saw along the way would be etched in their minds forever. More than 7.000 soldiers and 5,000 horses and mules were killed during the battle,” the museum website says.

“They walked by, and stepped over, rifles, swords, canteens, belts, broken wagons, shattered caissons, ammunition, cartridge boxes, blankets, shoes and knapsacks. They saw buildings which were destroyed, bloody scraps of uniforms, and body parts as well.”

George, Hettie, Sadie and Mollie (Shriver House Museum

The house, which had also been used as a hospital, had been emptied of food and much of its contents.

Numerous artifacts, including medical supplies and bullets, were found during an extensive restoration of the abandoned home in 1996. A child's shoe is believed to have belonged to one of the Shriver girls.