Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Served as U.S. Capital for One Day During American Revolution
During the American Revolution, the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, briefly served as the United States capital for a single day on September 27, 1777. This occurred when leaders of the nascent nation fled Philadelphia due to the advancing British forces. The Second Continental Congress, after receiving a dire warning from Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Hamilton about the imminent threat to Philadelphia, made an early morning exodus from the city. Over the course of a week, more than two dozen delegates traveled west to Lancaster, bringing with them important government records. They convened in Lancaster's courthouse for a few hours to discuss routine matters related to the ongoing war with Great Britain. The delegates quickly decided to relocate further west to York, across the Susquehanna River, realizing that Lancaster was still too accessible to the British. This brief period marks Lancaster as one of only nine American cities to have held the title of U.S. capital, albeit for a very short duration.
