Mary Thompson House (Lee's HQ) grant Brass Spikes and Horsetail Plumes

Brass Spikes and Horsetail Plumes is a must for any collector of American military headgear

paints an endearing portrait of life on both the home front and battlefront—capturing the humor

and African Americans themselves

a training ground for soldiers past and present

Mary Thompson House (Lee's HQ) grant Brass Spikes and Horsetail PlumesHistoric Mary Thompson House Lee's Headquarters The elderly widow Mary Thompson co owned her small house west of Gettysburg on the Chambersburg Pike with Republican Congressman Thaddeus Stevens, a staunch northern abolitionist, when the Battle of Gettysburg began the morning of July 1, 1863. Top commanding Confederate General Robert E. Lee was quick to make her house his headquarters upon realizing its strategic location overlooking the battlefield.