Pa. farm where Gettysburg battle raged reopens

A central Pennsylvania farm that was the scene of fierce fighting during the three-day Civil War battle of Gettysburg has reopened to visitors during restoration work.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the nonprofit Gettysburg Foundation bought the 80-acre Spangler Farm on the eastern edge of Gettysburg National Military Park in 2008.

Foundation guide Randy Grimsley says the four buildings were in terrible shape and restoration work will take another four years or so.

Wheat and oats were growing when the battle raged between North and South on July 1-3, 1863. About 1,800 soldiers were treated at the barn and about 185 Union soldiers and 20 Confederate soldiers died in fighting at the farm. Officials say it’s one of the few Civil War field hospitals to resemble its wartime state.