When he was growing up, a longtime student of York County history said recently, he never heard about York's embarrassment after the town's fathers surrendered to the Confederates before the Battle of Gettysburg in late-June 1863.
He kind of scoffed at the debate about the pros and cons of the surrender going on now in the community.
I told him he was proving my point, that the unpleasantness some felt about the surrender was simply not discussed. York celebrated other kinder and gentler moments. As in many communities, we have a tendency to sublimate unpopular historical moments. But now it's part of community discourse along with the attendant topic of race.
That's healthy... .
At least, he said, we shouldn't be including ghost walks as part of observations of the Confederate occupation of York. Such occasions dishonor York countians who fought and died in the Civil War.
No disagreement there.
Leave a comment