Abraham Bryan, or Brian was a free black man who owned a farm on Cemetery Ridge

Cemetery Ridge

Cemetery Ridge is a geographic feature in Gettysburg National Military Park south of the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, that figured prominently in the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1 to July 3, 1863. It formed a primary defensive position for the Union Army during the battle, roughly the center of...

 at the time of the Battle of Gettysburg

Battle of Gettysburg

The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...

 near the High Water Mark of the Confederacy

High Water Mark of the Confederacy

The high-water mark of the Confederacy refers to a Gettysburg Battlefield area at The Angle which was the farthest American Civil War line of advance of "The Assaulting Column" of the Confederate "Longstreet's assault" into the Union Army defensive line during July 3 of the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg...

. During the battle, Bryan and several other blacks left the area to avoid capture and enslavement. Federal troops positioned around the Bryan House and barn were assaulted by Confederate troops

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

 under the command of J. Johnston Pettigrew

J. Johnston Pettigrew

James Johnston Pettigrew was an author, lawyer, linguist, diplomat, and a Confederate general in the American Civil War...

. The small farm was the target of an attack by Mississippi troops. When Bryan returned after the battle he discovered his house was nearly destroyed; its walls filled with bullet holes, windows broken, and furniture tossed about. His fences were gone, crops trampled, and his orchard trees were useless. Bryan assisted in the reburial of Union

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 soldiers and received $1/body, which were reinterred in the Gettysburg National Cemetery

Gettysburg National Cemetery

The Gettysburg National Cemetery is located on Cemetery Hill in the Gettysburg Battlefield near the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and adjacent to Evergreen Cemetery to the south...

. Later, Bryan filed a claim with the Federal government for damages to his property totalling $1,028 and received $15 as compensation for damage by Union troops.

Bryan had purchased the farm in 1857 just south of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Gettysburg is a borough that is the county seat, part of the Gettysburg Battlefield, and the eponym for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg College, and...

, and his wife died soon after (he had five children). He then married a third wife.