Extreme Heat Forces Cancellation of Philadelphia’s July 4th Parade as Heat Dome Sweeps Region]

Extreme Heat Forces Cancellation of Philadelphia’s July 4th Parade as Heat Dome Sweeps Region]

It’s official: The heat dome has defeated George Washington. In Philadelphia, where the high on Saturday reached 99 degrees, a planned display of a replica of Washington’s field tent in front of Independence Hall on July 4 has been canceled due to extreme heat.

“Washington has retreated to the air-conditioning,” W. Scott Stephenson, president and CEO of the Museum of the American Revolution, confirmed in an interview.

The dangerous heat has disrupted celebrations throughout Philadelphia, the birthplace of the Declaration of Independence. The city’s major parade was canceled just hours before it was scheduled to begin.

Despite the cancellations, some participants continued activities. A chapter of the Sons of the Revolution from Loudoun County, Va., invited visitors to climb onto their parked float to sign a reproduction of the Declaration and ring a miniature Liberty Bell.

A marching band from Tulsa, Okla., one of 50 bands from across the country scheduled for the parade, practiced their routines on Independence Mall while Minutemen reenactors from Massachusetts marched by, their uniforms darkened by sweat.

Shawn and Joe Hersey-Massana, self-described semiquincentennial enthusiasts, traveled from Manchester, N.H. as part of their mission to attend major reenactments throughout the Northeast leading up to this year’s celebrations.

Shawn, wearing a silver brocade jacket and breeches more reminiscent of “Bridgerton” than Ben Franklin, commented, “I’m actually dressed more like George III. But nobody realizes it.”

Several traditional July 4th rituals are proceeding as scheduled. Bells across the city will ring at noon to mark the symbolic moment when the Continental Congress voted to approve the Declaration. The real Liberty Bell will also be gently tapped by 13 children descended from the original signers.

The bell has not been rung since 1846, when it developed its famous crack. While historical records show the temperature on July 4, 1776 reached a comfortable 76 degrees, sweltering summers have long challenged military campaigns. In June 1778, during the Battle of Monmouth in New Jersey, many of Washington’s troops collapsed from 100-degree heat. That night, the general abandoned setting up his field tent entirely.

“Washington and all the dudes just collapsed and slept under a big oak tree,” Stephenson noted.

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