Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address: 155 Years
It’s November 19, 2018 – one hundred fifty-five years since the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg. Just over a century and a half since Abraham Lincoln delivered his short and unforgettable address that has become such a cornerstone in American history and memory.
To commemorate the day, event, and speech, we encourage you to take six minutes to watch this clip from Ken Burn’s Civil War documentary and then share what Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address means to you.
Certainly the Civil War redefined “Union.” This speech encapsulates that meaning for me.
One of Richard Baumgartner’s books has a compelling account left us by a Union soldier. He was wounded and left on the battlefield (as I recall overnight) following the 3rd days battle. He was eventually found and taken to a hospital where he spent nearly 5 months recuperating from his wounds. Made aware that President Lincoln was coming to Gettysburg he gathered the strength for the very first time since he was wounded to go outside on his own to attend the event. To his astonishment the President was standing on the very spot where he had lain incapacitated for those long painful hours.
So proud to be from the “Land of Lincoln”……what a magnificent speech………
what a magnificent president.
As a Civil War Living History Medical reenactor,Gettysburg will always seem like home to me. I have been asked many times if I have seen any ghosts on the battlefields. No, but I believe that there are spirits that have not been able to crossover after death of their human bodies were killed. No, I will probably never see any of them because they know I have the utmost respect for them and the terrible ordeal they went through. President Lincoln said it all in those few chosen words he spoke that day. We will not forget what happened there. Thank you Mr. Lincoln for those few words and the meaning behind them.