The Gettysburg Address

Following the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1st – 3rd, 1863), reburial of Union soldiers from Gettysburg Battlefield graves began on October 17. The committee for the November 19 Consecration of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg invited President Lincoln: “It is the desire that, after the Oration, you, as Chief Executive of the nation, formally set apart these grounds to their sacred use by a few appropriate remarks.” Lincoln’s address followed the oration by Edward Everett.