Memorial Will Honor Women Of Gettysburg
By Kathryn Jorgensen

Fundraising is under way for a new statue in Gettysburg that will be unusual because its subject is a woman - it is a tribute to the women of Gettysburg who served and suffered before, during and after the battle.

The Gettysburg Civil War Women's Memorial is the dream of Brian A. Kennell who is president of the memorial fund and superintendent of Evergreen Cemetery where he lives in the historic gatehouse.

The 7-foot bronze statue created by sculptor Ron Tunison of Cairo, N.Y., depicts Elizabeth Thorn, wife of the Ev-ergreen Cemetery caretaker. At the time of the battle she was six-months pregnant mother and her husband was away serving with the 138th Pennsylvania Infantry. The statue depicts a weary Thorn leaning on a shovel as she rests from her work burying 91 casualties from the battle.

She and her family had fled the gatehouse after the first day of battle. When she returned she was ordered to start burying the dead "in the rockiest region of the cemetery," Kennell noted in a letter to supporters.

"Her possessions were stolen during the three-day battle, and she did not have food left at the house… . The cemetery and town were unbearable for weeks due to the stench from the dead bodies lying in the fields. Men were ordered to help Elizabeth, but they could not handle the working conditions and left soon after they started digging. She en-dured the months following the battle and became one of the country's true heroines."

The memorial will be placed 50 feet southwest of the cemetery gatehouse which is at 799 Baltimore St. Kennell says the funds raised will include rehabilitating the landscape from the gatehouse to the soldiers' cemetery and creating a trust fund. He hopes to raise $180,000 and have the dedication in November 2002.

The 30-acre Evergreen Cemetery is owned by a non-profit cemetery association. It opened in 1853-54 and holds 13,000 burials, some 300 of which are Civil War, and is still an active cemetery. Of the original 91 battle casualties whom Elizabeth Thorn buried, 64 remain.

The German-born Thorn was about 30 at the time she was left alone to care for three sons and her elderly parents. The baby she was expecting in July 1863 was named Rose Meade, but she was never healthy and died at the age of 14. Kennell says Elizabeth believed the psychological and physical stress of the battle and her burial work affected the unborn child.

Elizabeth Thorn ran the cemetery from 1862 to 1865 when her husband returned after witnessing the surrender of Robert E. Lee's troops at Appomattox. They stayed at Evergreen Cemetery until 1874. Among the well-known depictions of the battle are scenes showing the cemetery gatehouse and grounds. The gate-house was built of stone and brick in 1855 and was home to the cemetery superintendents. Kennell lived there as a boy when his father was superintendent and moved back in 1990 when he became the eighth superintendent.

Each side of the gatehouse has a cellar, where the fireplaces were, and two rooms above. The south gatehouse had a first-floor office and second-floor bedroom and in later years was used for storage. Now the first-floor room houses the McConaughy History Room.

Kennell is pleased to honor David McConaughy, "the most influential person in Gettysburg after the Civil War." McConaughy had the first concept of a soldiers' cemetery and he was the first to purchase land for preservation after the battle. He was also the first president of Evergreen Cemetery and of the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association. Land that he purchased is now part of the military park.

The north gatehouse was built with a first-floor living room and upstairs bedroom which is Kennell's and was Elizabeth Thorn's room. From 1868 to 1885 additions were made to the north side. Kennell says that every depiction of the gatehouse has had the color incorrect. For the first time, an accurate depiction is available in a print which is benefiting the women's memorial fund.

Artist Don Rinehart is producing three works in a Gettysburg Heroes Print Series which will depict a person buried at Evergreen Cemetery and the person's home.

The three heroes are Jennie Wade, John Burns and Elizabeth Thorn. Behind Thorn is the brick gatehouse in its burgundy painted splendor with dark chocolate brown cornices.

Kennell says the brick gatehouse was painted for several reasons - local brick was orange, paint was a preservative, and Italianate style structures were commonly painted.

Evergreen Cemetery will host special weekends for two of the heroes. Sept. 16 is the 100th anniversary of the Jennie Wade monument dedication. Kennell calls her monument the cemetery's "most visited gravesite." Resident John Burns, who took up arms against the invading Confederates when he was age 72, will be celebrated over Remembrance Day Weekend.

For information or to make contributions to the Gettysburg Civil War Women's Memorial contact Kennell at Evergreen Cemetery, 799 Baltimore St., Gettysburg, PA 17525, (717) 334-4121.