Meade's Headquarters: Lydia Leister House Then & Now

Quick Facts

Location:

This photograph was taken near Taneytown Road.

The Lydia Leister house is where Union General George G. Meade made his headquarters during the Battle of Gettysburg. Late in the evening of July 2, Meade held a council of war in this house to decide if the Union army should stay and hold their hard-fought high ground or abandon their position. The council of war decided to stay. Late in the afternoon of July 3, Confederate batteries concentrated their missiles on the center of Cemetery Ridge in an attempt to soften up the Union position. Unbeknownst to the Confederate artillerymen, their rounds overshot their intended targets and began to land around Meade’s headquarters causing substantial damage. Although the commanding general moved to a safer location, evidence of the bombardment is everywhere. The house and surrounding fences are all damaged and dead horses lay in various stages of rigormortis in the center of the Taneytown Road and in the yard of the house.


This photograph is part of a series of Then & Now photos of Buildings & Farms.