It was an ordinary day. The fireworks had come and gone, the holiday sales had all ended and the TV and newspaper stories of our National heroes had all gone to press. The 4th of July was a big event in Lancaster this year, since the Battle of Gettysburg was celebrating it's 150th anniversary and Gettysburg is only 40 miles west on the Lincoln Highway from my house. But for me, a much bigger event was the burning of the mile-long Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge on June 28th, 1863 a few days before the final battle in Gettysburg. Story goes like this ......... by late June of 1863 the Confederate Army had arrived in Pennsylvania and advanced as far as York, PA.
Letter addressed to President Lincoln |
Wrightsville-Columbia Bridge from the Columbia side showing the PRR tracks. |
Photo I recently took of the current bridge. |
A recent reenactment had the bridge burning by lighting baskets placed on piers of the original wooden bridge. |
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