The War Between the States

The Gettysburg Address is President Lincoln's most famous speech.

General Robert E. Lee, the commander of the Confederate forces, had been spreading his units through the North during 1863. On July 1, 1863, Union forces under General George Meade discovered that the Confederate Army was marching towards Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

The Battle of Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle of the war. Both Union and Confederate bodies were buried where they fell. The citizens of Gettysburg wanted to find a more fitting way to bury the dead. David Wills thought it would be easier to make the battlefield a cemetery rather than to transport the bodies to different cemeteries.

Mr. Wills started by asking Governor Curtin of Pennsylvania for money to build the cemetery. Governor Curtin thought it was a great idea and soon money started comoing in from other states. Soon all the states who had lost men in the battle had sent in money and seventeen acres of land near Cemetery Ridge was purchased.

The cemetery was designed in a half circle with graves dug in rows. Each state had its own section. A headstone would be made for every man and would have his name, his regiment and company. If the man could not be identified, the headstone would just say "Unknown." Trees and flowers were planted all over the cemetery.

Finally, Mr. Wills decided it was time to dedicate the cemetery. Of course, Mr. Wills included President Lincoln. Even though President Lincoln really didn't have the time to be away from Washington, he knew how important the battle was to the war and he decided to attend the dedication.

President Lincoln started writing his speech the night before he left. He knew Mr. Edward Everett of Massachusetts, the most famous orator at that time, would be there and his speech would be the main one. He also knew Mr. Everett would talk for a long time and that other important people would be making speeches. President Lincoln decided to keep his speech short and to the point. The President finally ended up with a two page speech consisting of only 268 words.

The ceremony started about 11:00 A.M. on November 19, 1863. There were many people at the dedication. There were governors, congressmen and military representatives from both the North and the South. Almost all the residents of the town of Gettysburg came. During one of America's bloodiest and longest wars, for one day there was peace.

The speeches began. Finally, Mr. Everett spoke. He gave a very powerful speech that lasted for two hours. And then it was time for President Lincoln to speak. He read from his handwritten notes. After the ceremonies, President Lincoln returned to Washington. There he read the newspaper accounts of his speech. Most of them praised him and some really didn't say much about it. Then President Lincoln received a letter from Mr. Everett.

The copies of the Gettysburg Address are kept in many libraries all over the country for people to see. You can find page one and page two of President Lincoln's draft at the Library of Congress webpage.

In second grade, I did a report on the Battle of Gettysburg and the Gettysburg Address. In that report I translated President Lincoln's Address into second grade vocabulary.