As the battle raged on Day 1 and casualties mounted, both armies worked to identify suitable locations to treat the wounded and comfort the dying. With the Confederates pushing the men in blue back through the town, buildings that the Union had commandeered for such purposes would change hands. On Chambersburg Street in Gettysburg stands the Christ Lutheran Church which initially appeared well suited to serve as a hospital and shelter the Northern wounded. Reverend Horatio S. Howell, chaplain for the 90th Pennsylvania Infantry, aided with the caring for the casualties of his regiment in this house of peace. As he was exiting the building, a Confederate soldier demanded that he surrender and turn over his sword. He did not, and was shot on the steps of this church. [35] No one knows with any certainty if the soldier who pulled the trigger knew that the officer that he saw belonged to the chaplaincy, but the men of the 90th Pennsylvania were incensed.

Years later, the soldiers that Reverend Howell had served dedicated a small marker at the base of the steps of the same church with an inscription leaving no doubt about their feelings concerning the loss of their beloved chaplain. Generations later, the voices of the men of the 90th Pennsylvania still speak to those who wish to listen. On the marker, the pages of an open bronze book read,

"In Memoriam. Reverend Horatio S. Howell, Chaplain. 90th Penn'a Volunteers, was cruelly shot dead on these church steps on the afternoon of July 1^st 1863. "He delivereth me from mine enemies. Yea Thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me." 18^th Psalms 48^th Verse. "He being dead yet speaketh." Hebrews 11, 4^th.