A marker for the 14th Connecticut Infantry stands on the site of the Bliss house, burned during the battle and never rebuilt.
The sixty acre Bliss farm is just southwest of Gettysburg. The house and barn stood on a small ridge on the west side of the Emmitsburg Road.
William and Adeline Bliss bought the Gettysburg farm in 1857. They moved from Chautauqua County, New York, in search of warmer weather after losing three of their five children. William and Adeline were in their early sixties at the time of the battle. Their two youngest daughters, Frances and Sara, lived with them.
The family fled the house on the first day of the battle. They left “the doors open, the table set, and the beds made.” The farm was between Union and Confederate lines on July 2nd and 3rd. Both sides tried to control the ground in a seesaw battle. It ended when the farm was burned by the 14th Connecticut Infantry to deny cover to the Confederates for their sharpshooters.
After the Battle
The Bliss family came back to total destruction. William filed claims for $2,500 to $3,500 for damages, but never received any compensation. He sold the remnants of the farm to Nicholas Codori in 1865 for $1,000. According to the story he said, “Let it go. I would give twenty farms for such a victory.”
The Blisses returned to New York, having lost almost everything. William died in 1888 and Adeline in 1889. They are buried in Sinclairville, New York.
Today the National Park owns the farm. The buildings were never rebuilt, but you can see the ramp that led to the Bliss Barn.
Another maker for the 14th Connecticut stands in front of the earthen ramp that once led to the Bliss barn.
Bronze bas-relief from the 12th New Jersey monument shows the fighting at the Bliss farm
Location of the Bliss farm at Gettysburg
The Bliss farm location is southwest of Gettysburg about 500 feet southwest of the corner of Long Lane and Sunset Avenue.