Meade’s headquarters (the Leister Farm)
At the time of the battle of Gettysburg the Leister farm was owned by Lydia Leister. In 1859, Lydia’s husband James passed away leaving Lydia to provide and care for their six children. In 1861 Lydia bought the wooden two room-house. The property had a small hay field and several apple and peach trees. The property was close to that of Lydia’s sister, Catherine, who married John Slyder. Their farm was a short distance away near Big Round Top.
During the Battle
As the battle broke out Lydia left the farm with her two girls seeking safety. The position of the property made it an appealing headquarters for General Meade. Situated on the reverse slope of Cemetery Ridge just inside the fishhook of the Union lines made it ideal. The council of war held by Meade took place on July 2nd in the farmhouse’s main room.
The main room of the Leister home
The bedroom of the Leister home
The house’s use as a headquarters was short lived, however. The location of the Leister farm also made it a target during the artillery bombardment before Pickett’s charge. As the home was struck by overshoots, splinters flew. Meade and his staff moved to the nearby barn a few hundred yards away. When this barn too became a target, they moved to the 12th Corps Headquarters on Powers Hill.
After the battle
Lydia Leister returned home only to find her property in shambles. The farmhouse was riddled with numerous puncture holes. Seventeen horses were dead in her yard. A shell had knocked out the supports for her porch. Her cow and horses were gone. Her best peach tree and numerous apple trees were destroyed. Two tons of hay were missing from her barn and her field of wheat had been trampled. The dead horses spoiled her spring on the property and all her fence rails had been burned.
In 1865 she told a reporter that she received no formal compensation for the damage her home received. She did, however, raise some money by selling the bones of the dead horses at fifty cents per pound. Lydia didn’t wallow in pity. She repaired her home and replanted her fields. In fact, Lydia did so well after the war she managed to expand her farm by an additional nine acres. She even added a two-story addition to her home.
In 1888 Lydia Leister sold her farm to the Gettysburg Memorial Association. Taking the two-story addition with her, she moved close to the Dobbin House Tavern on Emmitsburg Road. She remained here until she died in 1893. The Leister farm was leased out to tenants until 1933 when the National Park Service took the property over.
