It’s not a stretch to say Cindy Beaston’s favorite movie is Gettysburg. Or that her favorite place to visit is Gettysburg. “We’re over there all the time,” she says, referring to the day trips she and her four-legged bestie, Sallie Anne, take to the hallowed battlefield. 

“I know that place like the back of my hand. I could probably tell you what took place on every inch of that battlefield,” says the self-educated Civil War historian who became infatuated with history as a student at Columbia High School and immersed herself in the Civil War as a result of watching Gettysburg. She also credits a teacher at Hempfield High School, Benjamin Mitchell, who she met through working in the Aquatics Department at the Hempfield recCenter, for encouraging her to explore the subject. Most of all, she is indebted to her late mother, Debbie Torbert Beaston, for encouraging her passion for history. 

After graduating, Cindy enrolled at HACC, majoring in World War II Military Studies. “My goal was to work in a museum in Louisiana,” she says. Then, she watched Gettysburg, a movie made in 1993 that starred Martin Sheen as Gen. Robert E. Lee and Tom Berenger as Lt. Gen. James Longstreet, who led the Army of Northern Virginia, and was opposed to Lee’s plan to engage the Union Army in the North during the summer of 1863, hoping to tap into the agricultural and munitions riches of Pennsylvania and other states. Lee’s plan prevailed and the two sides clashed in Gettysburg, July 1-3. Because Longstreet’s troops  arrived late on July 2 to their stepping off point for the attacks, coupled with the failure of July 3,  Longstreet was blamed for the South’s loss at Gettysburg.    

Cindy became engrossed in Longstreet’s story and devoted 13 years to researching him. “I went down the rabbit hole,” she says. Her research convinced her that “his honor needs to be restored.” 

For her 30th birthday, Cindy received a special gift. “I attended the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention in Hunt Valley, Maryland, in order to meet Tom Berenger,” she says. “He was kind of taken by surprise when I told him he’s the reason why I’m a Civil War historian.”

Cindy, who is an animal lover, is also fascinated by another Civil War combatant, Sallie Ann Jarrett. The brindle pit bull was presented to the 11th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry in May 1861 by a resident of West Chester. She became more than a mascot, as she followed the unit into battle. “She was a warrior,” says Cindy, who notes Sallie Ann became separated from her men during Gettysburg and was found a few days later guarding the bodies of her fallen comrades. Sallie Ann met her own demise during fighting at Hatcher’s Run In Virginia (February 6, 1865). Amid the fighting, several members of the infantry laid down their arms in order to provide Sallie Ann with a fitting burial. She is memorialized at the infantry’s monument in Gettysburg. 

“You know, I once gave a talk about Sallie Ann at the Columbia library and the place was packed,” Cindy recalls. “It was standing room only and the crowd spilled out into the hall.” 

Cindy has her own Sallie Ann, who she named Sallie Anne. “She looks identical to Sallie Ann the Civil War dog,” she reports. “I found her at the Lancaster SPCA. All the shop people in Gettysburg know her. She loves going to Gettysburg.” 

Cindy is also enamored of Elizabeth Van Lew, who resided in Richmond, Virginia, and became a valued spy for the Union. A dedicated abolitionist, Van Lew used her inheritance to free the enslaved people who served her family and finance a ring of spies she formed. One of the spies, a formerly enslaved woman named Mary Bowser, became a “plant” in Jefferson Davis’ home. “This woman deserves a posthumous Presidential Citizens Medal,” says Cindy of Van Lew, who was left destitute and was reviled by residents of Richmond following the war. 

A proud Columbian, Cindy took part in the festivities that surrounded Columbia’s 300th anniversary by conducting a history seminar and taking part in the reenactment of the burning of the covered bridge that spanned the Susquehanna. Of that event, which was carried out on June 28, 1863, Cindy explains, “The bridge burners met in a bar and, with the plans already in place, went over what they were to do and then set the plan into motion,” thus keeping Confederate forces from entering Lancaster County.

She also conducts a Civil War Roundtable at the library once a month and regularly takes part in Haunted Lantern Tours, an event held at Mt. Bethel Cemetery in October that is produced by Rivertown Theater Productions and entails a cast of 50 volunteers. The walking tours – this year’s theme is Wright’s Ferry’s Legendaries – explore elements of Columbia’s history. “I’ve played gravediggers and Union soldiers,” Cindy says of her assignments. That’s about as close as she’s come to taking part in reenactments. “I’ve been asked to participate, but they always want to put me in a hooped skirt; I want to carry a musket!” she reports.

As the “spooky season” is fast approaching, Cindy says she has had her share of “close encounters.” “Once, I was in Mt. Bethel and saw what looked like a Union soldier standing at attention by a grave,” she shares. “And, I’ve had so many encounters in Gettysburg, I can’t keep count. I’ve even been ‘shot’ at!” 

For information about the Haunted Lantern Tours, visit Columbiahlt.com.