Thursday, October 3, 2013
The "Glory Day: Lancaster, PA" Story
It was an ordinary day. Finding that I have to brag a bit about my hometown of Lancaster, PA today. Hey, how many people can say that their hometown was the capital of the United States, if only for one day. Well, that's the case with Lancaster. It was on October 13, 2011 that Lancaster's City Council officially recognized September 27 as Capital Day. A few days ago we celebrated in the downtown area, a block away from where our founding fathers met on September 27, 1777. It's been 236 years since that time, but we still celebrate with a memorial service that includes the pledge to the flag, national anthem, speakers and at times special readings or speeches from people dressed as they would have been in 1777. Exciting? Not the July 4th kind of exciting, but certainly memorable as well as historical! It was on September 26, 1776 that British troops, under General William Howe, after working their way north from the Chesapeake Bay, finally occupied Philadelphia after defeating George Washington's American forces at the Battle of Brandywine Creek near Chadd's Ford 16 days earlier. Losing this battle ended the chances of successfully defending Philadelphia. Shortly after that battle in which the British killed, wounded or captured over 1,000 patriots, the Continental Congress fled Philadelphia by crossing the Delaware river to New Jersey, then taking a circuitous route to Lancaster. It was during this roundabout trip that they hid the Liberty Bell in Allentown, PA and then covered their tracks as they continued to Lancaster. The members of the Continental Congress where the leaders who defied King George by signing the Declaration of Independence and voting to take up arms against the British. It was Benjamin Franklin who reminded all those members that ...... "We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately."
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