Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center offers special events and programs throughout the year. Please check this page for updates and registration and ticket information.
Upcoming events.
Here, you will find dates and links to our upcoming and in-person events. Check back regularly as we add new programs to the calendar.
View our past events
Fridays On the Ridge - Alexander Hays and the Protest after Pickett’s Charge
Following United States victory on July 3, 1863, division commander Alexander Hays dragged several captured Confederate battle flags across a dusty, bloody Cemetery Ridge. Despite dozens of eyewitness descriptions explaining this demonstration's symbolic importance, the event has been generally relegated to footnotes and brief remarks in battle histories. Join Codie Eash as he examines precisely what happened that day, how it was remembered by those who observed and participated, and the ways it impacted many veterans' reflections on Gettysburg's status as a site of Rebel defeat.
- FREE with General Museum Admission -
Outdoors Weather Permitting - Chairs Recommended
Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center
Fridays On the Ridge - Postmarked for War: The Postal System During the Civil War
Have you ever wondered what it took to get a letter from the front lines to the home front, or how a newly formed government was able to create a brand-new postal system from scratch in a matter of months?
Join Kaleb Kusmierczyk, Education and Visitor Services Coordinator, as he unpacks the role of the postal service during the Civil War and how the mail was used to support both Northern and Southern war efforts.
- FREE with General Museum Admission -
Outdoors Weather Permitting - Chairs Recommended
Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center
Fridays On the Ridge - Decoration Day, 1868: Gettysburg’s First Memorial Day
Though there are many claims to the tradition now known as Memorial Day, its first official, national commemoration occurred on May 30, 1868, then known as Decoration Day. Across the United States, local communities and Grand Army of the Republic posts memorialized those who died in defense of the Union during the War of the Rebellion. Join Codie Eash as he explores that key moment just five years after Gettysburg’s defining battle, when residents, veterans, educators, ministers, and children decorated U.S. graves in Soldiers’ National Cemetery, shared speeches and poetry, and began the town’s inaugural observance of a yearly ritual that continues to be honored by Americans today.
- FREE with General Museum Admission -
Outdoors Weather Permitting - Chairs Recommended
Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center
History Happy Hour - More Strange Stories and Personalities of Seminary Ridge
More Strange Stories and Personalities of Seminary Ridge
One year ago, we presented a series of peculiar incidents that have taken place at the Lutheran Seminary over the past two centuries, including fires, accidents, automobile crashes, and other anomalies. Now, we’re bringing back this concept and adding to it, with another set of true tales of intrigue involving the campus’s students, faculty, staff, and soldiers since the institution’s establishment in 1826.
Join us on Zoom for our final History Happy Hour of 2023-2024 as Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center’s own Pete Miele, Codie Eash, and Kaleb Kusmierczyk explore several more of the Seminary’s strangest stories and peculiar personalities.
Attendance is limited to 100. Sign up today!
Fridays On the Ridge - Coffee with the Executive Director
- FREE with General Museum Admission -
Lydia Ziegler Clare Education Center
Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center
Fridays On the Ridge - From Sumter to the Seminary
After Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter, news traveled northward, causing national divisions to turn local in south-central Pennsylvania. More than two years later, a handful of United States and Confederate officers who served at Charleston, South Carolina, in 1861 confronted one another again at Gettysburg in July 1863—some of whom directly impacted affairs at the Lutheran Seminary. And, throughout the postwar monumentation era that followed, scores of aging veterans delivered dedication speeches in which they clarified Sumter’s status as the origin of the conflict that brought Gettysburg its fame.
Join Codie Eash as he explores the ties—both literal and symbolic—between the site that sparked the Civil War, and the site of its costliest encounter.
- FREE with General Museum Admission -
Lydia Ziegler Clare Education Center
Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center
Fridays On the Ridge - The President’s Signalman: Wires to Lincoln
At the Battle of Gettysburg, the United States Signal Corps played a significant role in helping secure a victory for the Union. One of those Signal Officers present at Gettysburg was William M. Wires. Wires had many unforgettable experiences while he served during the Civil War. One of his most cherished memories before, during, or after the war occurred while training to become a Signal Officer a few miles outside the nation's capital. One of Wires' tasks was to take messages to the White House. During one of these trips to the executive mansion, Wires met President Lincoln and had a brief conversation with his commander-in-chief, which left a lasting impression on the young Wires.
Join Education and Visitor Services Coordinator, Kaleb Kusmierczyk, on March 29th at 3:00 pm in the Lydia Zeigler Clare Education Center for this installment of Friday's On the Ridge, as he examines William M. Wires and his extraordinary experiences during the war.
- FREE with General Museum Admission -
Lydia Ziegler Clare Education Center
Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center
Fridays On the Ridge
- FREE with General Museum Admission -
Lydia Ziegler Clare Education Center
Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center
History Happy Hour - ‘If It Takes Three Years More’
‘If It Takes Three Years More’: Lincoln at the Sanitary Fairs of 1864
In the spring of 1864, Abraham Lincoln ventured out of Washington, D.C., to visit two of America’s most historic cities—Baltimore and Philadelphia. On both occasions, he spoke at fairs benefiting the United States Sanitary Commission, where he employed his prowess as wartime president to demand financial support, tangible labor, and revolutionary action in support of the Union cause amid the bloodiest year of the Civil War. In arguably the most underappreciated orations of Lincoln’s presidency, the 16th commander-in-chief brought new meaning to “the unfinished work” he had previously referenced, by delivering what could be considered more militant versions of his Gettysburg Address.
Join Codie Eash for an exploration of these speeches, in which Lincoln pleaded for a new “definition for the word liberty,” promised “retribution” against Confederates who slaughtered Black U.S. soldiers, and vowed to press on even “if it takes three years more.”
Attendance is limited to 100. Sign up today!
President's Third Annual March of the Iron Brigade Dinner
Join us for an evening of dinner, drinks, dessert, and more!
Dinner options include:
Filet Mignon
Baked Chicken
Maryland Crabcakes
Vegetable Pasta
Cost: $100
Click here to secure your seat!
Dobbin House Tavern
89 Steinwehr Avenue, Gettysburg
Featuring Special Guest Speaker
Dr. Carol Reardon
George Winfree Professor Emerita of American History, The Pennsylvania State University
Click here to secure your seat!
Space is limited!
Fridays On the Ridge
Click Here to watch a special preview of this exciting event!
Join us as we welcome Carole Adrienne, author and documentary filmmaker, to discuss her book Healing a Divided Nation: How the American Civil War Revolutionized Western Medicine. Published in 2022, Healing a Divided Nation illustrates how the lessons learned through medical experiences on the battlefield during the Civil War affected the future of health and medicine.
Click here to read the publisher’s press release.
Books will be available for purchase and signing.
Carole Adrienne received her B.F.A. from Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia. She has organized an archive for Old St. Joseph’s National Shrine, twice chaired “Archives Week” in Philadelphia and has served on advisory panels for the Philadelphia Archdiocesan Historic Research Center, The Mutter Museum’s “Civil War Medicine” exhibit and its “Spit Spreads Death: The 1918 Flu Epidemic” exhibit. She is working on a documentary film series on Civil War medicine and lives in Philadelphia, PA.
Fridays On the Ridge
This presentation examines the struggles over slavery that played out in south central Pennsylvania, an area that represented both freedom and danger for free and self-emancipating African Americans before and during the Civil War. Special attention is paid to Underground Railroad activity in the region and African American men who took up arms and fought in battle during the Civil War.
- FREE with General Museum Admission -
Lydia Ziegler Clare Education Center
Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center
Annual Symposium 2024
If you are on the waiting list, we appreciate your patience!
The in-person event remains full, but the virtual option will continue to be available!
Tacos & Trivia
Registration for Tacos and Trivia is now full.
Please contact us to be added to a waitlist!
Join us for a lighthearted evening of family-friendly general trivia (but not about generals) for prizes!
A taco bar will be provided by Ragged Edge catering. The evening is BYOB, though water, lemonade, ice tea will be included.
Registration is individual, but you may register up to 6 total people (a full team) at one time.
History Happy Hour - Archaeology on Seminary Ridge
Over the course of 192 years, the Campus of the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg has seen many changes and historic events. Often times as historians, we look at artifacts associated with events to help us tell the story of what happened. Rarely do we look at artifacts in the context of where they were found and try to decipher how the location of these items can help us tell the story of these important events. We know based on written records from participants what happened, but what if the archeological record doesn’t match? How can we use what was found in the ground to aid us in the interpretation of this place?
Join Education and Visitor Services Coordinator, Kaleb Kusmierczyk, on February 9, for this month’s History Happy Hour as he examines some of the over 2,000 individual pieces that were pulled from the ground during the archeological project on the seminary campus and in the process, hypothesizes about why they were found where they were, and how they can be used in the interpretation of the Seminary Campus.
Attendance is limited to 100. Sign up today!
Fridays On the Ridge
During the nineteenth century, cities and towns across the nation struggled to preserve public health. Gettysburg was no different; however, the borough took the concept seriously and saw positive results. Join Pete Miele for an exploration of health in Gettysburg before the battle, and what this meant for citizens.
- FREE with General Museum Admission -
Lydia Ziegler Clare Education Center
Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center
Fridays On the Ridge
One of the highest-ranking officers who received treatment at the Lutheran Theological Seminary during the Battle of Gettysburg was Confederate Brigadier General James L. Kemper. Kemper, a Virginia lawyer before the war, was severely wounded during Pickett’s Charge. While leading his Brigade during the attack, Kemper was severely wounded in the groin and eventually brought to the Seminary for treatment. On Friday, January 26, at 3:00 pm, join Education and Visitor Services Coordinator, Kaleb Kusmierczyk, as he examines James Kemper’s story and his time at the Seminary Hospital.
- FREE with General Museum Admission -
Lydia Ziegler Clare Education Center
Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center
History Happy Hour - When Johnny Came Marching Home
Past and present are often connected in ways we can't begin to imagine. This presentation will share how the Civil War's first amputation and subsequent advances in medical practices and technology changed veteran's lives. Then we will investigate how today's veterans, who underwent battlefield trauma, responded to their injuries. We will conclude with the story of how one group of today's amputees continue to serve beyond the uniform.
Dave Wege is a retired educator and has been honored by American Battlefield Trust as its Teacher of the Year and 2017 Abroe-Carter Award Recipient.
Attendance is limited to 100. Sign up today!
Fridays On the Ridge
On January 25, 1869, Frederick Douglass visited Gettysburg, where the formerly enslaved, self-emancipated activist, author, and lecturer delivered a speech in which he reflected upon the words spoken and deeds done on battlefields across the country during the “Abolition War” and the Reconstruction that followed. Through written word and commanding oratory, he brought meaning to the bloodletting of fallen United States soldiers and the martyred Abraham Lincoln, and placed the racial and political results of the war—constructive as well as destructive—within the context of world history.
Join Codie Eash as he explores the motivations for Douglass’s address, how it was received by those who heard it, and what it means in our collective memory today.
- FREE with General Museum Admission -
Lydia Ziegler Clare Education Center
Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center
History Happy Hour - “The Leading Men of the Place”
Join Richard Heisler, founder of Civil War Seattle, as he follows the story of a family of western Pennsylvania soldiers before and through the Civil War and their lives after they made the consequential decision to leave Pennsylvania and became a part of the great post-war westward migration. From the Shenandoah Valley, to Gettysburg, Andersonville, and the heart of Mosby's Confederacy, their wartime experiences were captivating and unique. As they moved west, pioneering new communities in Iowa, Illinois, and Washington State, they played an important role in the new and evolving post-war America.
Richard Heisler is the founder of Civil war Seattle and Seattle History Tours. A resident of the Seattle area for more than three decades and a lifelong student of the Civil War era, Richard's public history work aims to bring light to the extensive and influential historical connections of the Seattle region's communities to the Civil War and other local history. Richard has presented and led tours and programs for many area historical and private organizations in Pennsylvania and Washington, and he is a contributing writer for Emerging Civil War and The Western Theater in the Civil War. Civil War Seattle has been featured widely in local Seattle media, including the Seattle Times, KOMO4 News, KIRO Radio, Pacific NW Magazine, and more.
Attendance is limited to 100. Sign up today!
Fall Fridays On the Ridge
“A Scene of So Much Sorrow and Anguish”: An Analysis of the Patriot Daughters of Lancaster and Hospital Scenes After the Battle of Gettysburg
After the Battle of Gettysburg, countless women came to the crossroads town to minister to soldiers broken in body and spirit. One such group was the Patriot Daughters of Lancaster, whose members spent six weeks nursing soldiers in the Summer of 1863. Within a year, the group published a pamphlet recounting their deeds. Join Pete Miele, SRMEC Executive Director, as he provides a history of the Patriot Daughters and the booklet they produced.
- FREE with General Museum Admission -
Lydia Ziegler Clare Education Center
Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center
"A Gettysburg Christmas" Film Screenings
Due to overwhelming demand during initial ticket sales, Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center and United Lutheran Seminary have worked with Bo Brinkman and Kris Webb to add additional screenings of A Gettysburg Christmas. These showings will take place on December 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, in Valentine Hall on the Gettysburg Campus of United Lutheran Seminary, simultaneous with already-scheduled showings.
Tickets for all showings are now sold out.
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In partnership with United Lutheran Seminary, Main Street Gettysburg, Director Bo Brinkman, and Co-Producer Kris Webb, we are excited to share this special movie with our community during the annual Gettysburg Christmas Festival!
FREE screenings will be held in Valentine Hall at Seminary Ridge during the festival.
Registration is required to attend.
Gettysburg Address 160th Anniversary on the Ridge - Indoor Presentation
Codie Eash, SRMEC Director of Education and Museum Operations, will lead an indoor presentation as part of our 160th Gettysburg Address Anniversary on the Ridge in "‘That Marvelous, Undying Utterance’: Abolitionists' Reflections on the Gettysburg Address."
Though the Gettysburg Address is not always thought about as an abolitionist document, many antislavery activists saw the speech as evidence of Abraham Lincoln’s insistence that emancipation was the primary cause for which U.S. soldiers fought and died. Join Codie to explore its impact on one of 19th-century America's most outspoken and effective social groups.
Meet at the Valentine Hall Auditorium, located in the building next to the Museum.
Gettysburg Address 160th Anniversary on the Ridge - Outdoor Walking Tour
Codie Eash, SRMEC Director of Education and Museum Operations, will lead visitors on a guided walking tour as part of our 160th Gettysburg Address Anniversary on the Ridge in "‘The Ground Around the Seminary’: President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Battlefield Excursion."
Hours before Abraham Lincoln delivered his iconic Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863, at least three eyewitnesses recalled that the president toured the battlefield, and according to one, the party “visited the ground around the Seminary, and Mr. Lincoln joined in.” Join Codie as we use historical evidence to walk that ground and investigate Lincoln’s apparent visit.
Meet on the west side of the Museum.
Gettysburg Address 160th Anniversary on the Ridge - Zoom History Happy Hour
Join us for our second Zoom History Happy Hour of fall 2023, as we kick off our Gettysburg Address 160th Anniversary on the Ridge programming.
Codie Eash, SRMEC Director of Education and Museum Operations, will present "‘This Great Commonwealth’: Lincoln’s Journeys Through Pennsylvania Before and After Gettysburg."
While Abraham Lincoln’s visit to Gettysburg in November 1863 was undoubtedly his most famous trek to Pennsylvania, it was by no means his only substantial time in the Keystone State. Codie will take viewers on a virtual journey into Lincoln’s trips through the Commonwealth, from his railway voyage as president-elect to the funeral train after his assassination.
Fall Fridays On the Ridge
Treated at the Seminary: PVT. John F. Chase
Private Chase served in the 5th Maine Battery and was severely wounded at Gettysburg on July 2. Initially left for dead, Chase was eventually moved to the Seminary Hospital where his right arm was amputated. Even though John survived his horrific wounding, he was plagued with medical problems for the rest of his life. Join Kaleb as he explores PVT Chase’s story and examines his claims of being the most wounded soldier to survive the war.
- FREE with General Museum Admission -
Lydia Ziegler Clare Education Center
Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center
Candlelight Luminaria
For the 160th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg this year, Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center is honored to host a candlelit Luminaria as part of our annual 24 Hours on the Ridge event. For two hours on the evening of November 3, more than 400 luminaries will line the historic tan bark path leading to Schmucker Hall, memorializing the soldiers, broken in battle, who sought refuge and care in the Seminary building in the summer of 1863. For just $25, you may sponsor the name of a patient treated at the Seminary Hospital or choose to sponsor in memory of a soldier important to you.
Click Here for a list of Seminary Hospital patients
Bags will be lit safely with battery-operated LED tea lights and will feature both your name*, unless you choose to sponsor anonymously, and the name of your sponsored soldier. Following the event, bags will be available to take home.
24 Hours on the Ridge
On November 3 and 4, join us as we remain open to the public for a full 24 hours, filled with engaging activities and entertainment!
Our goal through this year’s Adams County Community Foundation Giving Spree is to raise $15,000 in Today gifts and $10,000 in Forever gifts to support Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center through the winter months.
During the winter, even though visitation to Gettysburg generally wanes, the Museum still bears significant costs to ensure that our 190-year old building and artifacts within stay safe. Our staff also spends this time engaged in tasks to bring our educational message to learners across the globe and plan innovative on-site programing for the upcoming year. Your donation will support this critical work.
Friday, November 3
5:00pm - Welcome by Pete Miele, Executive Director - 2nd Floor
Evening - Rusty Dicks, Civil War Surgeon - 3rd Floor
5:15pm - Jake Wynn, “Major Jonathan Letterman: Revolutionizing Battlefield Medicine” - 2nd Floor
5:45pm - Sunset Cupola Tour - Click Here to Register!
6:30pm - Addressing Gettysburg Live!—Matt Callery, Pete Miele, Codie Eash - United Lutheran Seminary Refectory
8:00pm - Candlelight Luminaria - Seminary Ridge Historic Walking Trail
10:15pm - Living Museum - 3rd Floor
11:30pm - Midnight Cupola Tour - Click Here to Register!
Saturday, November 4
12:00am - Movie Marathon: Glory, 12 Years a Slave, and Harriet - 2nd Floor
7:15am - Sunrise Cupola Tour - Click Here to Register!
8:00am - Light Breakfast/Open House - Schmucker House
9:00am - “The Seminary Cellar Experience”—Basement Tours of Schmucker Hall - Click Here to Register!
Daytime - Rusty Dicks, Civil War Surgeon - 3rd Floor
10:00am - Garry Adelman, “Speculation Run Amok: Fun with Gettysburg’s ‘What-ifs’” - United Lutheran Seminary Refectory
11:00am - Deb Novotny, “’Boys Keep the Colors Up’: Flag Stories at the Battle of Gettysburg - United Lutheran Seminary Refectory
12:00pm - Dominish Miller and Codie Eash, “The Gettysburg Seminary and York County” - United Lutheran Seminary Refectory
1:00pm - Rich Condon, “’The Rebels Are Coming!’ - The Department of the Monongahela During the Gettysburg Campaign” - United Lutheran Seminary Refectory
2:00pm - “The Final Attack: July 1, 1863” - Outdoor Walking Tour
3:00pm - Ashley Luskey, “Gettysburg’s Permanently Disabled Veterans” - United Lutheran Seminary Refectory
4:00pm - “The Seminary in the Battle” - Outdoor Walking Tour
*Schedule subject to change.
During this ambitious event, museum admission will be FREE, with donations toward the Giving Spree encouraged and appreciated.
History Happy Hour - Astronomy and the Civil War
From the beginning of recorded history, humanity has looked to the sky to find meaning, purpose, guidance, and hope. Join us for our first History Happy Hour of the season as SRMEC’s Rob Williams explores some of the astronomical phenomena that individuals of the Civil War era experienced and how these events might have affected their personal resolve, decision-making, and mortality.
Please note that this is an online-only event as part of our Fall Fridays on the Ridge series. A Zoom link will be emailed with registration confirmation.
Attendance is limited to 100. Sign up today!
Fall Fridays On the Ridge
It's All in the Underwear: How women obtained the silhouette in fashion at the time of the Civil War
presented by Annette Jorgensen, SRMEC Membership and Development Coordinator
- FREE with General Museum Admission -
Location Update: Meet near Museum entrance
Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center
Fall Fridays On the Ridge - ‘It is All My Fault’: Robert E. Lee’s Gettysburg Legacy
Although he was only at Gettysburg for the better part of four days in July 1863, Robert E. Lee's presence has lingered in history and memory for 160 years. Join Codie Eash for an analysis of the facets that have influenced our collective thinking on Lee's many influential roles at America's most famous battlefield and the site of perhaps his greatest defeat.
Friday, October 6 at 3:00pm
- FREE with General Museum Admission -
Lydia Ziegler Clare Education Center
Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center
Fall Fridays On the Ridge - “Treated at the Seminary: PVT John W. Scott”
Private Scott served in the 2nd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry and was wounded in the leg on July 1. Treated at the Seminary Hospital, PVT Scott was later buried in the National Cemetery after succumbing to his wounds on August 5. Join Kaleb as he explores PVT Scott’s story through newspaper accounts and personal correspondence.
Friday, September 29 at 3:00pm
- FREE with General Museum Admission -
Lydia Ziegler Clare Education Center
Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center
Fall Fridays On the Ridge - “A Monument to Memory: Gettysburg’s Eternal Light Peace Memorial”
Since 1938, the Eternal Light Peace Memorial has crowned Oak Hill, on the north end of the Gettysburg battlefield. Dedicated by President Franklin Roosevelt, this monument praises the “Reunionist” memory of the Civil War, and planners utilized the celebration to unite the country in the face of an impending war in Europe. This talk explores the struggles undertaken to erect this monument, as well as the way it has been invoked in conflicts and arguments over the last 85 years.
Friday, September 22 at 3:00pm
- FREE with General Museum Admission -
Lydia Ziegler Clare Education Center
Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center