May 2, 1887: George Gilbert Thankful for Narrow Escape

By Margaret Leidy Harner from her book One Day at a Time: A Social History of Boyertown, PA.

May 2, 1887: George Gilbert, the town character, thought he was about to shuffle off this mortal soil. He was crossing the railroad trestle at Morysville when a train came thundering along. His last moments were at hand and he began to make peace with the world. Alas, the engineer sighted him in time and was able to stop the train within a few feet of the old soldier.

George, who had served through the entire Civil War with the Union calvary at the Battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, the Wilderness, Spotsylvania and Gettysburg, said of his experience that he would rather fight every battle over again than face another approaching train on a bridge.

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