Westmoreland County celebrates 250th anniversary with Civil War reenactment
GREENSBURG, Pa. (KDKA) - This year marks Westmoreland County's 250th anniversary.
There have been several celebrations of this historic milestone, and more are still planned, but this weekend near Greensburg, folks got to journey back in time to experience what Westmoreland was like during the Civil War.
Sunday at historic Hanna's Town, folks came out to join Mr. Lincoln's Army, or a least experience a little of what life was like in Westmoreland County during the Civil War.
More than 200 reenactors and modern-day folk alike came to the site of Westmoreland's first county seat to live and breathe the 1860s.
This living Civil War encampment is part of the ongoing celebrations this year of Westmoreland County's 250th anniversary.
Lisa Hays, the Executive Director of the Westmoreland Historical Society, says this county has a deep and rich history, and living history events like this help people to connect with their collective past.
"When you come out here and experience it, you see the light bulbs going off in kids' and adults' brains, and you see the enthusiasm growing. It also gives you a sense of where you are from, to learn our history, good, bad, and ugly; but there are things to be proud of, and there are things to learn from and there are things to do better. And all of that starts to connect," Hays added.
Sunday's event had all kinds of cool learning experiences. Everything from a discussion on battlefield medicine, to meet and greets with Generals Grant and McClellan, and of course, the firing of a few 19th-century guns.
One of the other interesting things folks got to learn about was the Invalid Corps and the more than 60,000 soldiers who continued to serve in the Union Army after they were wounded in various battles.
"It was a way of taking less-than-abled body soldiers who were in hospitals. So, if they weren't a 'perfect soldier,' and couldn't return to the ranks in a marching position, they were given a standing or a sitting position. They became writers, bakers, tailors, scribers, anything that the military needed to keep the war efforts going," Bret Schweinfurth, Invalid Corps Historian, said.
In short, history and learning were alive and well here, and it's safe to say this historical event went off with a bang.
If you couldn't make it out for today, don't worry, Westmoreland County and its Historical Society have a lot of things planned to celebrate their 250th anniversary.
For more information about the celebration events planned, click here.