James Buchanan's Birthday, Lancaster, Lancaster County

It's been quite some time since I did a 'special edition' post on this blog, but instead of covering a marker this week, I'd like to tell you all about something you could call marker-adjacent. This past Saturday, April 23rd, was the 231st birthday of James Buchanan - the only President of the United States who was born, died, and is buried in Pennsylvania. Traditionally, there is a ceremony at presidential tombs each year on their birthdays, at which wreaths of red, white, and blue flowers are presented in memory of their years in office. For the last few years, because of the pandemic, these ceremonies have been suspended. This year, Lancaster was able to hold theirs again, and my husband Kevin and I decided to make the trip down there and see what this entailed.

For a little background, James Buchanan, Jr. was born on April 23, 1791 in a log cabin in Franklin County. He was the eldest of nine children; he never married, though he was engaged for a time in his youth, and had no children of his own. He outlived some of his siblings, however, and became the guardian of his niece Harriet Lane and his nephew James Buchanan "Buck" Henry after the deaths of their parents. When they weren't away at school, they lived with Buchanan and his housekeeper, Esther "Miss Hetty" Parker, and he liked to call the three of them his "little family." Their home was a beautiful Federal-style estate on the outskirts of Lancaster known as Wheatland (I wrote about that last year). The portrait of him seen at right hangs over one of the fireplaces in the house.

Buchanan's political career took him around the world. He served as our ambassador to Russia under President Andrew Jackson; he was in both the Senate and the House of Representatives; he was President James Polk's Secretary of State; and under President Franklin Pierce, he was our ambassador to Great Britain, where he and his niece formed lasting friendships with the royal family. Both Harriet and Buck came to the White House with Buchanan when he was elected the 15th President of the United States. Buck was what today would be called the chief of staff, and Harriet was the White House hostess, the first person to officially bear the title of First Lady. After his term ended in 1861, he and Harriet returned to Wheatland, where he lived out his remaining years in quiet.

It was at Wheatland that Buchanan died on June 1, 1868, following several weeks of a cold which he could not shake. He had known for some time that he would not survive the illness, and received farewell visits from friends and neighbors; though historians don't regard his tenure as President with great admiration, Buchanan was very popular within Lancaster itself, and many people came to say goodbye. He had purchased a plot at Woodward Hill Cemetery, still today regarded as one of Lancaster's most beautiful final resting places, and expressed a wish for a "simple but substantial oblong tomb" and that the spot would be "placed in good order." Several of his nearest and dearest were at his side when his moment came, including his beloved niece Harriet, who would inherit Wheatland.

From Wheatland, where the funeral services were performed, the cortege wound its way through the city to Woodward Hill, where Buchanan has been ever since. And it was to Woodward that we made our way this past Saturday, to observe the ceremony. The weather was cloudy, with some intermittent light rain, but not enough to keep us home or dampen the proceedings when we arrived.

We were unfortunately a few minutes late, owing to traffic and a mildly confused GPS, so we missed the opening remarks of welcome from the master of ceremonies, Major Calvert Brown, pictured at left. Kevin and I reached the group in the midst of the presenting of the colors by the 328th BSB Color Guard of the Pennsylvania National Guard, of which Major Brown is an officer, and took our places in time to sing along with the national anthem. This was followed by members of Boy Scout Troop 58, from the community of Willow Street, who led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

The invocation was given by Rev. Timothy Mentzer, current pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church of Lancaster. This was followed by several people offering their remarks on the subject. First we heard from Jean Weglarz, of the Woodward Hill Cemetery board of directors, who welcomed us all and gave us a little information about the historic nature of the cemetery, including a restoration project for the graves of members of the Muhlenberg family. Next was Nathan Gilchrist III, representing Masonic Lodge 43. Buchanan had been a member of that lodge in his lifetime, and his Masonic brothers had served as pallbearers for his funeral, so it has always been part of the tradition to include them in the wreath-laying ceremony. 

The third speaker was Pat Clarke, the current director of the Wheatland Estate. He encouraged everyone to visit the house, and see the rooms where Buchanan and his "little family" spent so many happy years together. The final speaker was Brigadier General Edward S. Little, Jr., of the National Guard, who was representing the United States government on the occasion. He talked about Buchanan's military service, and even shared details that I hadn't known. Buchanan was the last surviving President to have served in the War of 1812, and remains the only President to have ever been in the military without having been made an officer - he was an enlisted man the entire time. Specifically, he was a private in Henry Shippen's company, 1st Brigade, 4th Division, of the Pennsylvania Militia, and aided in the defense of Baltimore when the British invaded Maryland.

With the speeches concluded, Mr. Clarke and the Brigadier General took charge of placing the wreath (seen above right) at the tomb of our 15th President. While they did this, members of the Lancaster Fencibles (left) performed a 21-gun salute; the Fencibles, named for a military regiment in the 79th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry during Lincoln's presidency, have been providing small arms for various ceremonies for over 40 years. This was followed by the Red Rose Veterans Honor Guard performing "Taps," while all in attendance remained standing and those in the military saluted the headstone. The honor guard is comprised of honorably discharged and retired military veterans in the Lancaster area, who perform this duty at the graves of likewise honorably discharged and retired military personnel. In addition to the playing of "Taps," they also donated the American flag used in the ceremony.

While Rev. Mentzer gave the benediction, the color guard retired the colors and made their solemn way out of the cemetery. Major Brown offered his closing remarks, thanking us all for attending the ceremony and urging us to enjoy the day in Buchanan's beloved Lancaster. After exchanging pleasantries with a few of the other attendees, and getting some additional pictures, we made our way back to the cemetery entrance to do just that. Thank you to LancasterHistory for sharing the news of the ceremony with me; I'm glad we were able to be there.

Special thanks to Jean Weglarz of Woodward Hill Cemetery for a factual correction to this article.

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Except where indicated, all writing and photography on this blog is the intellectual property of Laura Klotz. This blog is written with permission of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. I am not employed by the PHMC. All rights reserved.