Council of War at the Battle fo Gettysburg

As the last shots of the day faded that night, a contingent of weary officers rode into the yard of Lydia Leister's home. Situated on the Taneytown Road behind Cemetery Ridge, this humble two-room house served as headquarters for the Army of the Potomac. A modest, wood frame building with a single fireplace, the widow Leister made her living by working a small farm that included a small log barn, orchard, and vegetable garden. By the evening of July 2, the widow's fences had been partially knocked over and the garden trampled by the passage of courier's horses. Leister's food stores had been raided by hungry staff officers and headquarters guards, and some of her furniture dragged into the yard for use as writing desks. Now her home was host to one of the most important meetings that would take place during the battle.