Letters To The Editor

Originally published January 2018 · p. 3

TO THE EDITOR: Earlier this year, I sent in a Letter to the Editor offering some constructive criticism of the content of Civil War News. I must say that your November Book issue was outstanding, perhaps the best issue I have ever seen from CWN. The book reviews were varied and interesting. The numerous and diverse articles on books and the publishing field by respected publishers and historians/authors were insightful and fascinating. I usually pass on my latest copy of CWN to a friend after I am finished, but will not be doing so with this issue. I am cutting out and saving so many articles there will nothing left for my friend to read! Well done and keep up the good work. John B. Sinclair Baltimore, Md. TO THE EDITOR: Dear Ladies and Gentleman, Well, this has been one of the most unusual Remembrance Day Parades in recent memory, but we all got through it. No threats or even unfavorable weather conditions prevented us from marching. We won and the person or persons who made the threat lost. The only thing that the above mentioned threat did was to cause economic harm to the good Town of Gettysburg and its merchants and victimize those who decided not to attend over safety concerns While this person or persons thought that they could divide they didn’t, they galvanized us. There are so many people to thank for the success of the parade, and at this time I would like to name some of them, FBI, ATF, Pennsylvania State Police, the Gettysburg Police Department, the various law enforcement agencies throughout Adams County, the staff and rangers from the National Park Service, the citizens and elected officials of the Town of Gettysburg, Steinwher Avenue Business improvement district, Gettysburg Times, Sons of Veterans Reserve, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, ASUVCW, LGAR, DUVCW, WRC, MOLLUS, DOLLUS, Sons of Confederate Veterans, MOSB, UDC, Confederate Order of the Rose, all of the many Union, Confederate, and civilian reenacting groups, and all the spectators who came out to support us. If I have missed anyone please accept my apology.

We invite you to join us next year for the 62nd annual Remembrance Day parade to be held on Sat. Nov. 17, 2018. For any updates please check out our Facebook site Gettysburg Remembrance Day Parade. Thank you again on making this parade a success. Major David Hann Provost Marshall Sons of Veterans Reserve TO THE EDITOR: Since the Cedar Creek reenactment, our Civil War reenacting community has been forced to acknowledge the new dangers facing participants in this hobby. The mid-November Remembrance Day weekend in Gettysburg has been regarded by many as the close of our outdoor season. It represents a time when reenactors, reenactresses, living historians, and first-person impressionists gather together to celebrate, socialize, and enjoy one another’s company until next year’s events commence. This year, shortly after the events at Cedar Creek, the Gettysburg Times received what was characterized by law enforcement as a “credible threat” to the Remembrance Day Parade. Having been a resident of Gettysburg for nearly twenty years, I have never appreciated or been so grateful to be a member of this community. Specifically, I would like to commend Gettysburg Police Chief Joseph Dougherty, Sergeant Weikert, Sergeant Pruy, Detective Bevenour, and the entire Gettysburg Police Department. The chief and his officers reacted to this threat with calm, poise, and determination. Chief Dougherty’s proactive approach and enlisting the aid and coordination of law enforcement resources from Adams County, including the Adams County Department of Emergency Services, Cumberland Township, the Pennsylvania State Police, the FBI, and the ATF provided reassurance and confidence to the community. Gettysburg Mayor Theodore Streeter, the Borough Council and Borough Manager Charles Gable provided invaluable support and contributed the expertise and staff resources from many Borough departments including Emergency Management, Parking, Parks & Recreation, and Public Works as well as working with their elective and staff counterparts in the county, state, and Federal bureaucracies. Thank you all for jobs well done and protecting us from harm’s way. To the spectators who braved the heavy rainfalls and potential danger from the anonymous threat, thank you. Your presence and support reinforced the purpose of this commemorative parade. Also to the Sons of Veteran Reserves and their Deputy Commander, Brigadier General Henry E. Shaw, my heartfelt thanks for coordinating and staging the annual Remembrance Day Parade. Over the past thirty years I have participated in the Civil War reenacting community. It has been an integral part of my life, both from a business perspective as well as personally. I have made many friends and watched their children grow up and bring their children into the hobby. The men and women I have met through reenacting are some of the finest people who grace God’s earth. On Saturday as the rains fell, I watched several thousand reenactors, reenactresses, living historians, and first-person impressionists participate in the 61st Annual Remembrance Day Parade. Their commitment to preserving the history of America during the cataclysmic years of 1861-1865 and educating the public about this period is admirable and honorable. Reenactors personify the sentiments of the philosopher George

Santayana who wrote, “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” This hobby is populated with men and women who have dedicated their time, resources, and intellect to understand the people of the 1860s and to honor their memories and sacrifices. Those men and women of the nineteenth century helped build the United States of America into the most powerful democratic nation in the history of mankind. Here one is free to vote for their leadership, pray to their God, and know they have equal protection under the laws of this country. It is an amazing legacy and one that deserves to be shared with future generations. Thank you to the Civil War community and especially those who braved the horrendous weather and cowardly anonymous threats to participate in the 61st Annual Remembrance Day Parade. You are the backbone of America. Susan Saum-Wicklein Regimental Quartermaster Jeweler’s Daughter Gettysburg Emporium Tillie Pierce House Inn Gettysburg, Penn.