After months of planning, we are thrilled to announce Sacrifice on Seminary Ridge, a special exhibition opening October 9 at the Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center in Gettysburg.
The exhibit uses wartime portraits and personal accounts to tell the stories of Union soldier-patients, surgeons, and nurses whose lives intersected within the walls of the Lutheran Theological Seminary during and after the Battle of Gettysburg. Some fought in the desperate struggle around the Seminary on July 1, 1863. Some entered its hospital grievously wounded. Others worked amid overwhelming suffering to care for them.
The exhibition grew out of a collaboration between the Seminary Ridge Museum and Military Images. Paul Russinoff, a Military Images senior editor and member of the museum’s board, originated the idea and played a key role in making it a reality.
Sacrifice on Seminary Ridge will be on view October 9–December 6, 2026. An opening-night reception will mark its debut.
We are grateful to Fleischer’s Auctions, the exhibition’s exclusive sponsor, for helping make this project possible.
The exhibit also demonstrates the power of the Civil War portrait collecting community. Images were generously shared by Scott Hann, Scott Hilts, Charles T. Joyce, Jeff Kowalis, Jason and Mark Krausz, C. Paul Loane, Faye and Ed Max, Robert May, Ronn Palm, Jim Rivest, Paul Russinoff, Brian White, and Ronald S. Coddington, with assistance from Dale R. Niesen. Additional portraits came from the Adams County Historical Society and The Liljenquist Family Collection at the Library of Congress. By bringing together these long-scattered faces, the community has allowed the soldier-patients, surgeons, and nurses of the Seminary hospital to stand together once more.
The Autumn 2026 issue of Military Images will feature two related articles: Within These Walls, a collection of portraits and accounts featured in the exhibit, and In the Line of Fire, an investigation of a memorable Mathew Brady photograph and what it reveals about the building and grounds in the battle’s aftermath.
Military Images Editor and Publisher Ronald S. Coddington will speak about the project at the Center for Civil War Photography’s conference in Gettysburg, October 2–4.
For more information, contact militaryimages@gmail.com.
Register now to attend the opening (free): Friday, October 9, 2026, 6:00-8:30 p.m., Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center in Gettysburg: https://www.seminaryridgemuseum.org/events/sacrificeonseminaryridge
