Shriver House Museum

You may know what happened on battlefield . . . but what happened to the civilians? During the Battle of Gettysburg, George Shriver was serving in the Union army. When Confederate soldiers filled the streets of town, Hettie Shriver worried about the safety of their daughters, Mollie (5) and Sadie (7), as well as their home. She sought safety at her family's farm by Big Round Top, where some of the fiercest fighting took place. Her empty house was seized by Confederates who set up a sharpshooters nest in the attic where at least two soldiers were killed. Tour guides in period attire recount the Shrivers harrowing story as you walk from the bloodstained sharpshooters' nest in the attic, through the finely appointed home, to Shriver's Saloon in the cellar. The house was abandoned for nearly thirty years before being painstakingly restored to its original appearance in 1996. The Shrivers' story is a most intriguing stories when it comes to the civilian aspect of the battle.