LANCASTER, PA — LancasterHistory and Woodward Hill Cemetery invite the community to the Annual Wreath-Laying Ceremony in commemoration of President James Buchanan’s birthday. This respectful event, scheduled for Saturday, April 19 at 10am, 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. Francis R. Montgomery and representatives from the Lancaster Fencibles, 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. Brig. Gen. Montgomery will also deliver remarks about President Buchanan's life of public service.

Key Details

• Date: Saturday, April 19 at 10am
• Location: Woodward Hill Cemetery, Lancaster, PA
• Free and open to the public, no reservations required.

For more information and directions to the cemetery, please click here.

Brig. Gen. Montgomery, Assistant Adjutant General of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, will preside over the wreath presentation. Throughout his 28 years of service, Brig. Gen. Montgomery has held numerous, diverse positions and received multiple awards and decorations. General Montgomery will bring a wealth of experience and dedication to the ceremony.

LancasterHistory and Woodward Hill Cemetery welcome 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 eleven 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.

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