Lee’s Headquarters at Gettysburg
Lee’s Headquarters, owned by Mary Thompson at the time of the battle, is located on Seminary Ridge west of Gettysburg. The home was built in 1833 by Michael Clarkson. Joshua and Mary Thompson lived there with their eight children. Unfortunately, Joshua had a history of drinking problems and left Gettysburg and eventually passed away in the 1840s, leaving Mary to raise their children alone. Clarkson continued allowing Mary and the children to live there as tenants but ran into financial problems in 1846. He reached out to his good friend Thaddeus Stevens for help. Thaddeus purchased the property at a Sheriff’s auction in trust for Mary Thompson. They would remain co-owners until Thaddeus died in 1868.
The Battle of Gettysburg and the Thompson House
By the time the Civil War reached Gettysburg, Mary Thompson was 70 years old. Her children had all grown and moved out of the home by her son, James Henry Thompson, who lived across the road. His house still stands across Route 30 from hers today.
The area surrounding Mary’s home was perhaps the bloodiest place on the first day of the battle, July 1, 1863. Half of Battery B, 4th United States Artillery, set up on the west side of the Thompson property, pouring canister into the North Carolina Brigade. Every field officer in the Brigade was either killed or wounded that day, and the 13th North Carolina Infantry Regiment saw its numbers reduced from 180 to 30 men. As Union defenses collapsed, dozens of men from the 143rd Pennsylvania were captured while trying to flee to Cemetery Hill in the nearby railroad cut.
Despite the apparent danger, Mary Thompson never fled her home. When the remaining Union soldiers retreating and fighting moved into the town of Gettysburg, her home became a hospital for men of both sides. Mary and her neighbors took on the task of caring for the wounded.
The Thompson Home as Lee’s Headquarters
The location of Mary’s home made it an excellent candidate to serve as a headquarters. It was very visible, located next to a main road heading into Gettysburg and conveniently nearby where Lee’s army arrived on July 1. The house stands on the top of a ridge allowing for an excellent view in all directions. Also, based on troop positions, the home sat in the center of the Confederate lines. We know that Confederate General Robert E. Lee spent significant time on the battlefield on his trusted horse, Traveler, during battle. However, he is known to have taken a meal at the Thompson home and slept there on July 1. Though Lee wasn’t present on the property every minute of the battle, it served as a communication center for the Confederacy throughout the battle.
After the battle
As the troops left Gettysburg, Mary was left with little more than an empty stone house. Her linens were confiscated for use as bandages, her carpets removed and buried with the dead, and her fences torn down for use as firewood. Mary left Gettysburg after the battle but eventually returned to live her final years out in her home until she died in 1873.
The house became the General Lee’s Headquarters Museum in 1921. As the years passed, a motel and restaurant were erected on the property. Finally, in 2015 the Civil War Trust acquired the property, removed the motel and restaurant, and returned the Thompson property to its 1863 appearance.
