It’s been 161 years since the Battle of Gettysburg raged from July 1 to 3, 1863. It was the bloodiest battle of the Civil War, with more than 50,000 casualties. Amidst the fighting in Adams County, PA, one young woman emerged heroic when she refused orders to flee and baked bread for hungry, weary, and wounded soldiers.
Josephine Rodgers Miller Slyder was born on October 9, 1836. She was living in a farmhouse occupied by her relatives, Peter and Susan Rodgers, on the edge of Emmitsburg Road in Gettysburg when the war came to her front door.
Josephine had bread in the oven when the shooting began. Peter and Susan Rodgers fled the farm, but Josephine wanted to wait until her bread came out of the oven. The smell of freshly baked bread attracted hungry soldiers, so Josephine sliced and distributed the fresh bread. With the bread gone and hungry soldiers wanting more, Josephine decided to mix another batch of bread.
As fighting intensified, Josephine kept baking. The soldiers offered to pay Josephine for the bread, but she declined. Union General Joseph B. Carr warned Josephine that she was unsafe and needed to flee. Josephine promised to leave soon, but hearing the cries of hungry and wounded soldiers, she continued to bake and distribute bread that was quickly devoured. She also tended to the wounded from both sides.
During the battle, artillery shook the foundation of the Rodgers farmhouse, Pickett’s men charged past the house, and Josephine continued to bake. The farmhouse was hit by dozens of shells and bullets, and numerous dead were in the yard. When the battle was over, Josephine was uninjured, but seventeen soldiers were found dead in the house, having crawled there before succumbing to their wounds. Josephine spent days nursing the wounded.
Following the war, Josephine married her neighbor, William J. Slyder, and moved to Ohio. In July 1886, veterans of the Battle of Gettysburg reunited in Gettysburg. Surviving members of the 1st Massachusetts gathered to unveil a monument on Emmitsburg Road, just south of the Rodgers house. The house still bore the scars of ferocious fighting, bringing back memories of Josephine’s kindness. The 1st Massachusetts discovered Josephine was alive and living in Ohio, so they paid for her train passage and invited her to Gettysburg as their guest of honor. Josephine was awarded several military decorations and made an honorary member of the 3rd Corps, the only woman to achieve that distinction.
Soldiers returned to the old farmhouse and retrieved Josephine’s stove, placing it in front of the regiment’s monument. Josephine was photographed along with many of the soldiers whom she had helped. Josephine died in 1911, but memories of her heroism and kindness have outlived her. If you would like to learn more about Josephine or the Battle of Gettysburg, search Newspapers.com™ today.
Remarkable story, remarkable, courageous woman. I see her standing next to her stove with a loaf of bread in her hand. I love these stories that go beyond the battlefields and events.
My Great Grandfather was at the battle of Gettysburg. He was a Bugler! He was from Eastport, Maine. He mustered out in Boston. Met his wife and lived in Cambridge. His Name was William Francis Gould. His Son, Walter Burton Gould. He married my Nana Alice Genieve Costello. But only after his 5 sisters were taken care of.
So how’s that relate to “The Baker of Gettysburg?”
She stated her great grandfather was a bugler at the Battle of Gettysburg. She was just giving more information about him and his family.
It appears to be relational. His Great Grandfather could have been one of those hungry soldiers who wandered past the house and actually eaten some of Josephine’s bread. Surely you can see that, cut Cathy some slack.
You just had to ask, didn’t you?
It is so neat that you know that history and you are right to be proud
Are you related to Max and Pat Richards from New Ireland?
I love that you mentioned your Great Grandfather. Any man, boy, woman or girl connected in any way to the Civil War should be made mention of; by an ancestor that has knowledge of their history…any chance they have.
My 101 year old mother remembers sitting on her grandfathers lap while he told stories of the Civil War!
My great grandfather was at Gettysburg too. I doubt he was able to sample some of that bread as he was fighting for the Confederacy. Now I wonder if he could have smelled it since he was part of Pickett’s Charge. It’s neat to know little details like this.
Yes an amazing story. I baked bread yesterday and was just thinking how much easier it was to bake bread yesterday than it would have been wayyy back when. Josephine is truly a HERO!
I don’t recall this story from the Ken Burns documentary. Wonder how he overlooked it or why he might have skipped it.
Thank you so much for sharing this heartwarming story. Women played a much larger role in history than they are often credited with. It’s wonderful that you are giving their stories a chance to live again.
Agree Helen!
Women have always risen to the occasion and triumphed greatly. Thank all of you fair ladies for your strength and courage!!!
You are a beautiful soul, Kenneth!
Thanks for reminding us all that we’re ALL in this grand adventure of humanity’s TOGETHER, male and female, on purpose and for a reason!!
My great (x2) grandfather, Alvin B. Adams pvt in the 16th Massachusetts infantry was captured near Emmitsburg Rd on July 2, 1863. He remained a POW until his death at Andersonville Prison on October 22,1864, where he died of Scorbutus (scurvy) and is buried in grave 11286 in Andersonville National Cemetery.
Andersonville prison was a horrible place to be as the Confederates didn’t take good care of the occupants! It was a hell hole! One of my relatives died there!
Just remember that Andersonville was not the only “hell hole” in the war. I had a 2x great grandfather die at Point lookout MD as a POW and a 2x great uncle die in Elmira NY after the war had officially ended but before all the prisoners were released.
Thanks for remembering that both armies had prisoner of war camps. I also had a Great , Great grandfather, John Quinn, die in the Point Lookout camp and a great Grandfather, William (Billy Buck) Sandlin who survived the ordeal.
Early in the war prisoners were exchanged on parole, that is, an oath not to fight any longer. That meant that prisoners didn’t languish in POW camps. The exchanges came to an end because the Confederacy refused to exchange Black prisoners. Racism hurt not only Black people but White soldiers, including Confederate soldiers.
oh please..I’ve had it with maligning the south and Andersonville. .the Confederates had little food or care to offer..courtesy of the blockades. And it was in the Union prisons that prisoners were willfully mistreated. Check out Elmira or Camp Douglas.
The South was largely agricultural. The blockade had little to do with food shortage. More likely, the ability of large numbers of slaves to find refuge with Union field armies or in the enclaves established along the Atlantic coast disrupted food production. Loss of farm labor resulted in less production.
There was also the issue of large tracts of land being devoted to tobacco and cotton, For large plantation owners, I doubt that food production was a major concern beyond the needs of the plantation.
Likewise, a very large per centage of the white population was in the military. Food riots in Richmond and other Southern cities is a largely ignored facet of the war, but the neither the South nor the North imported significant shares of their food needs.
So then, Andersonville was like a summer camp or something? Just without food? If they couldn’t provide even minimal care why didn’t they release the prisoners on parole. Why didn’t they provide even minimal provisions and living conditions. A POW camp is a POW camp. They packed 30,000 men into a space meant for 10,000. They provided no barracks and prisoners had to build makeshift shanties out of whatever scraps they could find. Were Union prisons resorts? No. Andersonville prisoners weren’t willfully mistreated? Please. Andersonville was by far the worst and it’s sadistic commandant deserved what he got.
The North was starving the South. You ignore the causes for poor conditions at Andersonville and can’t even address the needless Union cruelty to CSA pows. You have a lot of unfounded hate and are making up history to match your venom.
Well they should have released them. What was the purpose of holding them? If as you say they had nothing to offer, why would they create such torture? Didn’t they know that they too were affected by the conditions. That’s if they were human. Seeing such suffering and not having empathy invokes a psychosis.
There are other wars and events where people were held beyond the end. This happened in Vietnam and WWII at least- based on stories I have read. What was the purpose of holding them? is your question. Most of us don’t have a purpose for doing a job, especially in the military. People do what they are ordered to do. On the other hand, perhaps Josephine just couldn’t stop what she was doing either. Not that this doesn’t make her a heroine but humans are still an interesting and unknown species.
Andersonville, Point Lookout, they’re the same and treated their POWs terribly. Two gr grandfathers, 3 great uncles, and cousins galore fought on both sides, and ended up in both of these prisons. FWIW, the ones that went to Point Lookout died, while the 2 that ended up in Andersonville both lived. It was war, total war, and everyone suffered. Thing is, Point Lookout could easily have treated their prisoners better, while Andersonville was contending with blockades and a lack of food in general in the South at that time. I don’t personally blame anyone on any side, it was just hard to live, the Vivil War was a war like our generations have never seen.
We have been to Andersonville. What a sad chapter in the history of war! I’m so sorry about your great( 2x) grandfather
Thank you, Josephine story made my day!
My relatives were there too…that’s why my name is Lee, Thomas, Bragg, Pickens, Parnell…
I’m sorry.
Great names! I hate to see our country trying to hide, change and make those names disapear. You had some good parents to think of those names.
My 2nd great grandmother, Elsetta Orris Oiler (1846 – 1942), told my father that her mother was baking bread when soldiers rode through her yard. They asked for food and water which she gave them. They thanked her and rode on. This was in Cumberland County
My Great Grand father Thomas Burns, of Ireland, naturalized in Buffalo NY in 1850… died somewhere in the civil war. I have also read, that after the war was over you had bone pickers digging up the battlefields looking for bones …. human, or animal… it really didn’t matter….bones were bones
That was most prevalent during Napoleon’s escapades. Not only were bones on both the British and French side used for fertilizer but their teeth were used in dentures for wealthy people who had lost teeth. They called them “Waterloo Teeth” because many teeth were taken from the dead and dying on the Waterloo battlefield. Soldier’s teeth were better because they were poor and the rich had access to sugar so they had terrible teeth (Elizabeth 1st had almost no teeth when she died and what she did have were black). In the US civil war soldiers had to have at least 2 opposing teeth so that they could open the gunpowder cartridge!
Yikes! That’s one very graphic image “… soldiers had to have at least two opposing teeth so they could open the gunpowder cartridge!” At least two! That sure says something. With modern tooth care today, one doesn’t even think about how awful (and common) rotten teeth were back in the “good old days.” Many folks drank alcohol regularly or took other drugs (that were legal, then) just to handle the pain of rotting teeth. The only “cure” was to pull the teeth out. I guess being able to afford to eat lots of sweets was actually a curse! Thanks for sharing this additional information. It’s good for us to remember just how easy we have it, now.
Now that’s some fascinating ( and a little gruesome) history! Thank you.
Not all hero’s wore a uniform.
I visited Gettysburg several years ago and it still gives the feel of sadness of those men and boys who died. The guide told us that you could not step without a wounded or dead soldier under foot. Truly heartbreaking.
My Great Great Grandfather Ladd was at Gettysburg. He was injured but survived.
Jenny Wade was killed while baking bread, so the danger was real. Now that I think of it, however, there must have been a great deal of baking going on at night, when the residents came out of their basements. The residents certainly did not starve for three days. My own great great grandfather, Professor Michael Jacobs, and his family spent most of the battle in their basement, but he was a former weather observer for a project run by the Smithsonian and still made regular records of his instruments during the battle.
My great, great grandfather, Toby Hart and great, great, grandmother, Lucy (Adams) Hart, were also in the Civil War. from Massachusetts. Oxford, MA. I discovered an article on Lucy, which states that when Toby was going to be sent off to war, Lucy went to Pres. Lincoln and was granted permission to follow along with him. Stationed at Beverly Ford, VA, Toby was in the battles of Brandy Station and Rappahanock Station. Lucy became a member of the Army of the Potomac. Her daughter, Ida, was my Great Aunt and lived in my house in Oxford, MA, up to her death in 1961 at age 95.
Deborah, it looks as though you and I are both descended from Bryan (or Brian) Pendleton, born in England in 1599. I took Lucy’s last name and kept going back through the generations until I found our Brian Pendleton. I am from West Boylston, MA, and my mother’s maiden name was Pendleton. I gave that to my oldest son as his middle name. Nice writing to you!
Josephine contributed to one of the very highest callings anyone can aspire to:
She helped save a number of lives. Everyone loves a great story – and this is one.
There is a picture of her in the Beyond the Battle Museum in Gettysburg, PA. The Adams County Historical Society opened the award winning museum in 2023.
Great story! Enjoyed it very much.
My great great grandfather was also mortally wounded on the Gettysburg battlefield, and succumbed to his injuries three days later. He was an immigrant from Quebec, making his home in Rochester, NY. He is buried in Gettysburg National Cemetery, just feet from where President Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address.
How old was your great great grandfather when he died from wounds? Most were younger I thought. You might be lucky to be here.
These stories are vital to preserving our history. I hope to keep reading them as more and more are added. We can feel pride in the women who also had a part in the war, whether baking bread, cooking, or tending to soldiers’ wounds. Women were vital to all war efforts!
It’s amazing to think that there were 58,000+ fatal casualties in the entire Vietnam war. Just this one Gettysburg battle had almost as many casualties (50,000) as all of ‘Nam.
My late wife’s 2G Grandfather fought at the battle of Fredericksburg. Wave after wave of valiant men and boys were mowed down like grass..men pinned notes on the uniforms to inform their relatives back home..that they knew they would surely perish, as the Union Army rushed forward, on and on…her grandfather was shot through the shoulder, and lived. He was a young man, a stone mason, and was incapacitated obviously, and he became a Preacher. So many stories..thank you for this one you took the time to formulate so effectively.
Thank you for this story, too.What sadness for those soldiers charging into death. I hope this soldier / preacher has a written history. My heart is with the South and the Confederate lads. How they endured deprivation and still fought so well is amazing to this day. My 2nd great Uncles Addison and Theodore Burney joined the 11th Miss Inf, Co G, Lamar Rifles.Both severely wounded at 7 Pines. Theo fought at Gettysburg, (no doubt missed out on Miss Slyder’s kindness) but was killed at Falling Waters..his body left on the field. Addison died at Spotsylvania. Thank you again for sharing that history
Great story, however, your email should state U.S. or American Civil War. Being English I assumed your email was about a story from the newspapers during the English Civil War between the Roundheads of Parliament and the Cavaliers of King Charles 1st.
Except that he referred to the Battle of Gettysburg in his email.
Wonderful story, very heartwarming! Thank God for all the “Josephines” of the world. I assume, she was a Southerner – Confederate, I guess, some of you would say – but I bet she didn’t ask a single one of those soldiers what side they were rooting for before giving them fresh bread – probably slathered with fresh butter. As I continue research on my family, I hope to learn about their experiences during this time. Josephine was a true hero and I’m proud to say I am a Southerner, too!
Miss Josephine A Confederate? Who lived with her relatives in Pennsylvania, then moved to Ohio? How did you draw that conclusion?
During the pandemic, 2020-2023, I researched on Ancestry. Found that my father’s 2nd great grandfather, Lyman Griggs Powers, fought in the Civil War. And my father’s 4th and 5th great grandfathers (Joshiah & Ezekial Powers) fought in the Revolutionary War. ALSO, my father’s mother’s maiden name is Adams. Being from New England stock, I researched her lineage too. I found that my 9th great grandfather is Henry Adams I, Sr, who came over on the “Mary and John” ship to the colonies with family in 1638. Henry Adams is also the late President John Adams’ 2nd great grandfather. One never knows until you research. I belong to DAR and enjoy every minute of it.