The "Rewriting History In An Oops Moment" Story

Crowd gathers at the Lancaster County Courthouse.

It was an ordinary day.  Sometime after 3:20 PM on April 9th, 2015.  The bells of nearby churches, as well as the same bell of the Lancaster County Courthouse which tolled exactly 150 years ago, have stopped tolling and a crowd has gathered on the steps of the Courthouse in downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  

Lancaster County dignitaries.

A group of five men stood side by side on the steps, near the flagpole that holds an American Flag.  County commissioner Martin began with ….  150 years ago today at the Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia, the Union Army surrendered to ….  I turned to Anne, who was standing next to me and she looked aghast!  "What did he just say?" I asked her.  Before she could answer another of the five men leaned toward the commissioner and whispered something to him.  He quickly corrected himself before history could be changed forever in the eyes of the the 100 or so participants in this celebration of the end of the Civil War.  Finally Mr. Martin introduced the former Mayor of Lancaster, George Sanderson, who was Mayor from 1859 to 1868 and was also a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate.  

Don Pentz plays the part of Mayor Sanderson as he reads
the Lancaster County official proclamation.

Mayor Sanderson was dressed in a black tuxedo with red bow tie, black top hat, red vest that sported a pocket watch chain, an artificial flower in his lapel and shoes that looked as if they had gone through battle during the Civil War.  He read a proclamation from the County Commisioners with many whereas this and whereas that in it.  

General  John F. Reynolds as
portrayed by Michael Riley.

After his reading General John Fulton Reynolds was introduced to the crowd.  Gen. Reynolds was born in Lancaster in 1820, studied in nearby Lititz, PA, attended school in Long Green, MD, and the Lancaster County Academy.  He was nominated to the US Military Academy in 1837 by Senator James Buchanan, a family friend, and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 3rd US Artillery and assigned to Fort McHenry.  He eventually died in 1863 at the Battle of Gettysburg when he was shot in the back of the upper neck or head while riding his horse and commanding his troops. After Gen. Reynolds addressed the crowd today, a solemn version of Taps were played while the crowd fell silent.  

Taps are played for those who died during the Civil War.

In front of me stood President Abraham Lincoln who removed his top hat for the playing of Taps.  Before long the TV crews, newspaper photo- graphers, Civil War re-enactors and most of the crowd had wandered off.  I stood and talked with Anne for a short time and also departed.  Before I made my visit to the courthouse today, I stopped for an earlier ceremony at my historic church, St. James Episcopal, which is a block away from the courthouse.  I will post what happened during my church visit as a future date.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

A Civil War enactor listens to the proclamation at the Lancaster County Courthouse.

Mayor Sanderson compares his flag to a flag that a young boy dressed in Civil War hat is holding.

Abraham Lincoln stands at attention during the playing of Taps.

This is a Civil War reenactor who is wounded veteran.  His uniform colors are reversed from a regular army personnel.  The dark blue of the uniform is now sky blue and the sky blue parts are now dark blue.  If he decides to continue as part of the army he must march at the rear of the ranks.  The colors tell the Confederate Army that he was at one tme wounded.