Elizabeth Thorn: Six Months Pregnant, Burying the Dead at Gettysburg

  • She stepped in to serve as the cemetery caretaker while her husband was off fighting for the Union
  • Known as the”Angel of Gettysburg”

Elizabeth Masser and Peter Thorn emigrated to the United States from Germany and were married in Gettysburg in September of 1855. That year that the cornerstone for the local cemetery was laid, and a few months later, Peter was hired to be caretaker of what was to be called Evergreen Cemetery in Gettysburg. Little did the couple know how all this would affect their future.

This is a 19th century grainy photograph of Peter and Elizabeth Thorn, sitting side-by-side. They are in
Peter and Elizabeth Thorn

The gateway into the cemetery was framed by an arch. Within both sides of the arch, there was living space. Peter and his family lived in one side of the building. Elizabeth’s parents lived on the other side of the arched building. (Today there is a separate house for the caretaker that is built behind the arch on the right side.)

By 1861, the Thorns had three sons. When the war began, Peter Thorn thought it would be brief, and he felt obligated to remain in his job.  But by 1862, it was clear that the war was going to continue. Peter he enlisted with the 138th Pennsylvania Infantry, leaving the cemetery caretaking duties to Elizabeth and her father. (Her father did not speak English, so Elizabeth was vital when people stopped to make arrangements.) At the time, the cemetery was averaging about five burials per month.

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Fighting Nears Gettysburg

On June 26, 1863, Confederate soldiers began moving into Gettysburg. It was the first time the Confederacy had ventured north, but General Lee wnted to unsettle Union troops. The Confederates were also feeding themselves based on what they could find in farmlands they tramped through. The Virginia farms were largely picked over, so Pennsylvania promised the possibility of better produce.

As the Confederates arrived, the Gettysburg community had little choice but to answer their demands and feed them.

This is a contemporary black-and-white photo that shows the Evergreen gatehouse, mae of brick. Two buildings are on either side of the arch to give lining space for those who care for the cemetery.
Evergreen cemetery gatehouse. The cemetery lies behind the arched building.

The Union Army Not Far Behind

The Union Army of the Potomac was not far behind the Confederate movement.  General Howard and his men came in on the road that took them past the cemetery, so they stopped at the Evergreen gatehouse. They were looking for a man who could familiarize them with Gettysburg. Her father spoke no English, and the other young men in the area were frightened of leaving the cemetery.

Elizabeth Thorn (1832-1907) was now six months pregnant, but she stepped out to volunteer. She accompanied one of General Howard’s men into the field, pointing out the main roadways and the lesser known local paths that the soldiers could use.

The Union Returns for Food

That night a Union soldier returned to the gatehouse, ordering Elizabeth to prepare dinner for the Union Generals–Howard, Sickles, and Slocum. All of them had arrived in Gettysburg.  The Thorns had very little food left, because the Confederate soldiers stopped by first. However, Elizabeth gave what she could.

General Howard was concerned for the safety of the family, so he ordered some of his men to move the family’s belongings to the cellar for safekeeping.  Elizabeth asked whether the family should leave the area. General Howard was a little uncertain since Elizabeth was pregnant had had three young ones in tow, but he finally allowed that they should stay. However, he noted that the family should go to the cellar when fighting began. 

He added: “When I give you orders to leave the house, don’t study about it, but go right away.”  It was understood that if the family needed to move on, they were to take nothing with them.

The next day the fighting began near Cemetery Hill, and the Thorns, along with some neighbors, took refuge in the cellar. At the conclusion of that day’s fighting, a solider arrived and told them that General Howard told them to leave. They should follow the main road so the soldiers would know it was them and not open fire.

Fleeing Gettysburg on Foot

Before nightfall, the family made it to a farmhouse. They and others traveling with them stopped in, hoping for food.  The house was filled with an assortment of soldiers and community members as well as the farmer and his family. All the food had already been eaten, but Elizabeth was told she and her family could spend the night. One of the soldiers called Elizabeth over to him to show her a photograph of his children—three little boys.  He asked if Elizabeth’s three sons, 7, 5, and 2, could sleep near him for the night.  They did.

This is a current color photo of the statue of Elizabeth. She is obviously pregnant and wear an apron. Her right hand touches her enlarged belly protectively. Her left hand is wiping her brow in the July heat.
The statue of Elizabth Thorn that currently graces Evergreen Cemetery.

Elizabeth was among the Gettysburg citizens who set down eyewitness accounts after the siege, so we have in her words what happened to her during the next few days. She wrote that the next day she and her father traveled back to the gatehouse to see if they could retrieve any possessions. On their arrival they found that their hogs had been killed, the windows of the house were broken, and the trunks that had been taken to the cellar for safekeeping had been emptied.

The house was filled with wounded men calling for water. Outside, townspeople were beginning to deposit the dead who had been killed around town.

Elizabeth and her father realized there was nothing left to take, and it was too early to bring the family back. They walked back to gather the boys and her mother and they continued on to a larger farmhouse in order to find something to eat.  There were meager supplies at the new location, but there was enough that Elizabeth was able to help make bread to feed the many hungry people who came through the area.

When the Fighting at Gettysburg Ended

By late on July 4, General Lee saw clearly that he lost. He began to move some of his men back to Virginia.

Townspeople returned slowly, and the Thorn family made their way back to the gatehouse.  As they arrived, they saw vast numbers of bodies had been delivered to the cemetery for burial. There were also were fifteen dead horses near the house, and nineteen others horses had died on the property nearby.  The stench of animal and human decay was overpowering.

The house itself was in shambles.  Three local women came to help Elizabeth wash what was salvageable. The cemetery president David McConaughy came by to see Elizabeth and directed  that burials needed to move forward quickly.   He went into town to enlist volunteers, but those who came soon became overwhelmed and left—some of them too ill to continue.Others simply were repulsed by the work.  Though theThorns ever compensated for the damages incurred, Elizabeth stretched to pay some workers. But even these men did not last long.

For the most part, the work was done by Elizabeth and her father, working in the heat of mid-July for as long as daylight lasted.  Ultimately, they buried 105 war casualties (91 soldiers and 14 civilians).

This photograph shows the face of Elizabeth Thorn as depicted on the statue in the cemetery. Her hair is in a braid, and she looks very tired.

Despite the hard work of digging graves, Elizabeth managed to carry the baby to term, giving birth to the Thorns’ first daughter, Rose Meade (named for General Meade who commanded the Union Army of the Potomac), on November  1.

Peter Thorn returned home after Appomattox in 1865, and the family remained at Evergreen as caretakers until 1874.

Memorial

In 2002 a Civil War Women’s Memorial was dedicated. The memorial is within Evergreen, near the gatehouse. The sculpture depicts Elizabeth attending to burial duties.  Her face is full of anguish, an apron covers her pregnant abdomen, and she holds a spade representing all she did.

Some refer to her as the “Angel of Gettysburg.”

If you visit Gettysburg, stop in Evergreen Cemetery and see the sculpture, and walk across the street where you can walk from monument to monument where each battlefield unit has set in marble the story of what they experienced on Cemetery Hill.  A trip into town, and a town tour, reveals that bullet holes can still be seen in local buildings, and provides a sense of the terror the townspeople had to have felt.

At Gettysburg, you also might stop at the memorial to Pennsylvania’s 11th Volunteer Infantry. There, you’ll find a sculpture of Sallie, the dog who fought alongside the men.

Also visit the American Battlefield Trust for more information on Gettysburg.

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15 thoughts on “Elizabeth Thorn: Six Months Pregnant, Burying the Dead at Gettysburg”

  1. It’s wonderful that new monuments continue to tell the story of Gettysburg, its people and the soldiers in new ways. The statue of Elizabeth Thorn at Evergreen Cemetery is a must see, a figure of strength, courage and compassion.

  2. You are so right…and to think of her courage during that time reminds us of what people went through…

  3. I believe Peter and Elizabeth were my g.g.great grandparents. Trying to learn more about that side. Great legacy to pass down to my kids.

  4. Hi Beth,
    Thank you for posting. That is a wonderful legacy to be able to tell your kids about. The Gettysburg people had some information about Elizabeth. If you have not contacted them, you might try doing so. And I’m sure Gettysburg also has an active historical society that might be able to tell you more.
    Kate

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  7. She was an incredible woman, wasn’t she? I would think your daughter would be glad to hear the story. Thanks for posting!
    Kate

  8. I absolutely loved visiting this little town on 4/9/21-4/14/21 so much history there although is very sad, is worth visiting to learn what the folks went through there and some how give them our respects… can’t wait to go back next year to explore some more….

  9. I agree! Gettysburg offers a town tour that explains what happened to the citizens there at the time of the battle. I learned so much about the stories you don’t always hear. Thank you for bringing up this point.
    Kate

  10. I had the great opportunity to visit Gettysburg this past March (2022). It was a profound experience to say the least. I was working on a book of short stories and wound up including several from Gettysburg (Battlefield Sallie and Jennie Wade). While there, it was suggested I do a story on Elizabeth Thorn. I am now working on my second short story book and will include Elizabeth’s story. From what little I’ve read so far, it’s a story people need to read and know about the strength it took to survive the Civil War as a civilian. Thank you for this information. It will be very helpful.

  11. I’m delighted you are doing that. Yes, Elizabeth Thorn’s strength and fortitude at such a difficult time is truly amazing. The more places the story can be told the better! Thank you for posting. Kate

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