Gettysburg Address November 19, 1863

   On this day in 1863, Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous Gettysburg Address. The speech was given at a dedication of the National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle was just a few months before, in July of 1863. The monument above is marked as the site of the speech, though it was likely not given at this spot. This marker is just inside the cemetery and was placed in 1912. The photo below is the Soldiers National Monument, another site often thought of as the site of the speech, but it was not. The actual site was more likely inside Evergreen Cemetery, which is just over a fence to the east. The Soldiers monument was dedicated in 1869.

   The National Cemetery was placed atop Cemetery Hill, named so for Evergreen Cemetery, and a focal point during all three days of the battle. There are nearly 3500 Union soldiers buried here. People from the town began burying the numerous dead that were strewn about the battlefield within days. The land for the cemetery was acquired and reinterments began a few months after the battle.