LANCASTER, PA — LancasterHistory and Woodward Hill Cemetery invites the community to the Annual Wreath Laying Ceremony in commemoration of President James Buchanan’s birthday. This reverent event, scheduled for April 20, will honor the legacy of the United States’ 15th President with the presentation of a ceremonial wreath, a 21-gun salute, and the display of a new American Flag at his gravesite in Woodward Hill Cemetery.
Distinguished guests, including Brig. Gen. Mark A. Goodwill and representatives from the Pennsylvania National Guard, Masonic Lodge No. 43, Boy Scout Troop 58, and the Red Rose Veterans Honor Guard, will participate in the ceremony. The proceedings will encompass a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, remarks, and the solemn sounds of Taps.
Key Details
- Date: April 20, 2024 at 10am
- Location: Woodward Hill Cemetery, Lancaster, PA
- Open to the public, no reservations required.
For more information and directions, please click here.
Brig. Gen. Goodwill, Assistant Adjutant General – Air for the Pennsylvania Air National Guard, will preside over the wreath presentation. With an esteemed career including combat missions in various operations, General Goodwill brings a wealth of experience and dedication to the ceremony.
LancasterHistory welcomes all to join in this annual tradition of honoring one of Lancaster’s most notable historical figures.
About James Buchanan
James Buchanan was born on April 23, 1791 to James Buchanan and Elizabeth Speer. He was the second child born out of ten children, and he would go on to outlive all but one of his siblings. Most popularly remembered as Pennsylvania’s only President (until the election of 46th President Joseph R. Biden) and as a lifelong bachelor, Buchanan committed a lifetime to politics. In 1821, he left his law practice and embarked on his political career after having been voted into the U.S. House of Representatives. He would remain in the House for five consecutive terms before serving as the U.S. Minister to Russia, a Senator in the U.S. Senate, the U.S. Secretary of State, the U.S. Minister to Great Britain, and finally, the 15th President of the United States. He died in his bedchamber at Wheatland at 8:30am on June 1, 1868 and is buried in Woodward Hill Cemetery. Buchanan was 77 years old.
About LancasterHistory
LancasterHistory is a community-based, not-for-profit organization established to educate the public on the history of Lancaster County and its place in the history of Pennsylvania and the United States, to advance the missions of regional historical organizations, and to promote the acquisition, preservation, and interpretation of resources representing the history of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania within the broader context of state and national history, including the homes of 15th US President James Buchanan and Congressman Thaddeus Stevens and Lydia Hamilton Smith. # # # # |
