Annual Remembrance Day
Beginning on November 18, Gettysburg will hold its annual Remembrance Day celebration. A ball at the Gettysburg Hotel will kick off the occasion, followed by several other events leading up to the 148th anniversary of President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, which took place on November 19, 1863. These events also revolve around Veteran’s Day on Friday.
Music will be provided by the Libby Prison Minstrels (I love that name) and the Dodworth Saxhorn Band. The cost includes a three-course dinner. Next weekend (Nov. 19), reenactors will march through town. Following the parade, a presentation will take place at the Cyclorama in Gettysburg National Military Park. After the ceremony, men in blue and gray will congregate at the wall near Cemetery Ridge, where soldiers clashed during Pickett’s Charge. A ceremonial handshake between sides will take place, symbolizing unity, and then the reenactors will break away to lay wreaths, flags, and flowers on the graves of the men they portrayed. Reenactors include soldiers, women, and children dressed in period costumes, musicians, including drummers and flutists, and flag-bearers. “President Lincoln” will lead the parade in a white carriage.
A word to the wise: if you plan on attending, bring along your long johns! It gets very cold in Pennsylvania in mid-November.
For further information, contact johngetysg@aol.com
Or visit: www.remembrancedayball.com.
