“In the Eye of the Storm”: The Farnsworth House and the Battle of Gettysburg
By Timothy H. Smith
(October 2008 Civil War News)

Illustrated, notes, 63 pp., 2008. Farnsworth House, 401 Baltimore St., Gettysburg, PA 17325, $9.95 plus shipping.

Reviewer: Blake A. Magner
Blake A. Magner is the Book Review Editor of Civil War News. He makes his liv­ing as an editor, writer, car­tographer and photographer of Civil War history. He is author of At Peace With Honor: The Civil War Burials of Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Review:
One of the most well known homes in Gettysburg today is the Farnsworth House, famous for its restaurant, tavern, Mourning Theatre, ghost tours, bed and breakfast, and what is probably today’s best Gettysburg Civil War bookshop. The reviewer must admit, although it will not affect this review, that he has tipped more than a few pints at the tavern and enjoyed many a good meal in the dining room over the course of nearly 30 years.

The lots that the Farnsworth House sits on were first owned by John F. McFarlane in the early 1800s. Of course the land was originally owned by Samuel Gettys and Alexander Dobbin. A frame and log section of the present building is thought to have existed during McFarlane’s ownership and adding to this he built a two-story brick house that fronted on Baltimore Street.

Upon McFarlane’s death in 1851 the Bank of Gettysburg owned the property until it was sold to Harvey D. Sweeney in 1852. Sweeney owned the property during the Civil War.

On July 1, 1863, the home filled with civilian refugees and the wounded. Among the refugees were John Slentz and his family who were tenant farmers on the McPherson farm. As in the case of many of Gettysburg’s homes, Sweeney’s became a field hospital. It was also behind Confederate lines and was used by the Rebs as a firing place for sharpshooters.

Following the war the property remained in the hands of various Sweeney descendants until 1909 when it was bought by George P. Black. Though Black was a successful Gettysburg businessman his wife took the Sweeney property and turned it into a lodging establishment named “Sleepy Hollow Lodge.” Upon the death of the Blacks the house became the property of their daughter, Sara Black Gideon, who kept the property until it was sold to the present owner, Loring H. Shultz, in 1972.

Under Shultz’s management the property has turned into one of Gettysburg’s most visited tourist attractions. Shultz gave name, The Farnsworth House, in honor of Gen. Elon J. Farnsworth who was killed while leading a foolhardy attack on the southern end of the battlefield following the Pickett-Pettigrew Assault of July 3.

“In the Eye of the Storm” is a fascinating little book. It gives the reader an interesting account of the Farnsworth House’s various owners. It also goes into great detail about the Confederate sharpshooters who used the house and the area for their bloody work during the battle. These are some of the best descriptions of sharpshooter warfare this reviewer has seen.

If the reader has ever tipped a pint in the tavern or sampled the restaurant’s game pie, or spent a night lying awake in one of the inn’s rooms waiting for a ghost, I strongly recommend reading “In the Eye of the Storm” to get the true history of the Farnsworth House.