The students of Rebecca Eyster's Young Ladies Seminary were studying in this "old Academy Building" on June 26, 1863. One of those students, Tillie Pierce, described the arrival of the Confederate troops from Seminary Ridge in her book, At Gettysburg: What A Girl Saw and Heard of the Battle. Mrs. Eyster immediately called her students to the front porch to see this 'event,' and told them, "Children, run home as quickly as you can." It did not require repeating.
During the Battle, the building was used as a hospital. Tillie further recalled seeing, "Within those same walls...the wounded and dying heroes...." Neighbors reported that Mrs. Eyster witnessed the skirmishing in the street and was probably frightened when a Confederate shell struck the second story of her school.
Since the 1880's, the Academy building has remained a private residence.
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