She was born on Oct. 9, 1836, in Adams County, Pa.
At the time the battle began she was living with Peter and Susan Rogers in a one-story log farmhouse on their property on Emmitsburg Road. The Rogers were her grandparents. At this time she was 23 years old and unmarried so her name was Josephine Miller.
The farm was located south of the town of Gettysburg and was about midway between Gen. George Meade’s Union troops and Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Confederates.
When the shooting began, Susan left the farm and hid. Peter stayed for a while and then left. Miller (Slyder) stayed to bake bread and take water to the soldiers. At the end of the day she tended to the wounded of both sides.
On the second day of battle (July 2, 1863) a Union office told her to leave the house, but she had bread in the oven and wanted to stay till it was done. The First Massachusetts troops, which were near the farm, were commanded by Lt. Col. Clark B. Baldwin. Thisunit brought 384 men to the battle. At the end of the conflict they had 16 killed, 83 wounded and 21 missing. Miller (Slyder) took the bread to these troops, and they ate it so quickly that she decided to stay in the house and made more.
The following day artillery shook the ground, and Pickett’s men charged past the house. Later it was determined the farm house had been hit by so many shells and bullets it was considered a miracle that Miller (Slyder) was not hurt.
Confederate Gen. John B. Hood had taken over neighbor John Slyder’s farm buildings as a hospital, looted the house and trampled the crops and orchards.
Two months after the battle Slyder sold the farm, his son, William, married Miller (Slyder) in October 1863, and they all moved to Miami County, Ohio.
As Josephine aged she developed rheumatism and could not walk.
In July of 1886 a monument to honor the First Massachusetts Regiment was dedicated at Gettysburg. It was placed near the former Rogers’ farmhouse. The Rodgers had died by this time, but veterans requested Miller (Slyder) attend. They paid for her round-trip ticket. When she arrived they gave her three cheers and presented her with a gold corps badge.
The stove she had used to bake bread during the battle was still in the house. The men carried it out and placed it near the monument. A picture was taken of her beside the stove and monument.
Miller (Slyder) died on Jan. 9, 1911 at Troy, Ohio. She was survived by her husband and two children, Ida and Melvin.
She was buried in Riverside Cemetery in Troy, Ohio.
About the Author