. September 27 is therefore the Sesqui Centennial of the day when Lancaster was the National Capital, an honor which but three other cities in the United States are privileged to have. Threatened by the British Army, which had thrown Washington's Army into retreat at Chadds Ford on the Brandywine on September

, September 27th, in the court house, which stood in the center of Penn square. For this reason Lancaster claims the distinction of having been the capital of the United States, even though it was but for a day. As Howe was in possession of Philadelphia, then the largest city in America, only 62 miles distant