Abraham Brian ( colloquially Bryan as early as 1891) was a free black man who purchased the farm in 1857 just south of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (his wife died soon and he married a third wife.) The farm included an additional farm dwelling along the
Emmitsburg Road
Emmitsburg is a town in Frederick County, Maryland, United States, south of the Mason-Dixon line separating Maryland from Pennsylvania. Founded in 1785, Emmitsburg is the home of Mount St. Mary's University. The town has two Catholic pilgrima ...
.Prior to the battle, Bryan and several other blacks left the area to avoid capture and enslavement.
Battle of Gettysburg: Federal troops positioned around the Bryan House and barn were assaulted by Confederate troops of Mississippi under the command of
J. Johnston Pettigrew
James Johnston Pettigrew (July 4, 1828 – July 17, 1863) was an American author, lawyer, and soldier. He served in the army of the Confederate States of America, fighting in the 1862 Peninsula Campaign and played a prominent role in ...
.
After the battle the house walls were filled with bullet holes, windows were broken, and the furniture was tossed about. Farm fences were gone, crops were trampled, and his orchard trees were useless. Bryan's $1,028 federal claim for property damage resulted in $15 paid for damage by Union troops (he sold the farm in 1869.) Postbellum additions to the Abraham Brian Farm House included a 2nd floor.
The 1883 Gettysburg Cyclorama (which was made in conjunction with
William H. Tipton
William Henry Tipton (August 5, 1850 – September 20, 1929) was a noted United States, American photographer of the second half of the 19th century, most noted for his extensive early photography of the Gettysburg Battlefield and the boroug ...
photographs) has a painted image of the house.
The last inhabitant was Ernest Strickhouser in 1940, the 2-story farm house was demolished, and a 1-story reproduction of the Civil War structure was built. Battlefield monuments on the tract include the 111th New York Infantry Monument, 11th Mississippi Infantry Marker, and the Camp Colt commemorative pine tree and marker. The Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association acquired a 19th-century right-of-way and built a carriage road between the house and barn--
Grand Central Avenue
Grand may refer to:
People with the name
* Grand (surname)
* Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor
* Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist
* Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper
Places
* Grand, Oklahoma
* Grand, Vosges, village and commu ...
(now Hancock Avenue) was Telfordized (paved) shortly after GBMA lands transferred to the War Department before the turn of the century.
