A Temporary Resting Place

The field in front of Spangler’s property served as a hospital graveyard where about 185 Union and 20 Confederate soldiers were buried, with some of Spangler’s wood supplies used to make coffins and even a fence around the graveyard. A member of the 153rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry recalled searching the hospital cemetery for a fallen comrade and finding the grave marked for Henry A. Miller of Company B, 153rd Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers. One grave held George Nixon, a private in Company B, 73rd Ohio Volunteers and the great-grandfather of President Richard Nixon; after being wounded multiple times on July 2, he was rescued by musician Richard Enderlin, taken to the field hospital, and died there on July 10, 1863. Enderlin later received a promotion to sergeant and the Medal of Honor, and George Nixon’s remains now rest in the Soldiers National Cemetery.

Pennsylvania · United States