Grand Opening - Seminary Ridge Museum

Gettysburg’s newest museum – the Seminary Ridge Museum – will open on July 1, 2013, 150 years to the day that the Battle of Gettysburg began and was waged on the museum’s grounds.  The museum building itself became the battle’s largest field hospital. Located on the campus of the Gettysburg Lutheran Theological Seminary, the Museum will tell the story of the first day of the Battle, Civil War medicine and the role that faith played in the conflict.

The Grand Opening begins at 8:00am with cannon firing to commemorate the first shot of the Battle of Gettysburg. A fife and drum musical prelude begins at 9:30am, followed by the opening ceremony and ribbon cutting with ceremonial cannon firing. At 11:00am the Wildcat Regimental Band will perform a concert. Throughout the day, a special program on the preservation of Schmucker Hall will be held in the chapel. Living History and encampments will be set up around the museum grounds and trail.

Visitors will encounter history in ways they may have never experienced before. The Virginia Civil War 150 HistoryMobile will be open daily from 10:00am to 6:00pm from June 29 to July 3 as part of the 150th commemorative events. The HistoryMobile presents the stories of real people whose lives were shaped by the historic events of the 1860s, and invites visitors to imagine, “What Would You Do?” Admission to the HistoryMobile is free.