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As the warring armies left Gettysburg, PA, they left
large numbers of dead and dying. The townspeople, in keeping with the custom of the time,
quickly buried the dead where they fell. With the huge job, came the realization that something better needed to be done. A local lawyer was appointed to see to the burial of the dead. He realized that a place of honor needed to be established for these men. He persuaded the governor of Pennsylvania, and later the governors of all the states of the Union to purchase a portion of the battlefield beside an existing cemetery to make a military cemetery for these men. |
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As the military cemetery at Gettysburg was created,
those evolved felt they needed to dedicate and sanctify the ground on which these
heroes
would be laid to rest. A large celebration of dedication was planned for November 19, 1863. Edward Everett, a leading orator of the time was asked to give the main address. Later, almost as an afterthought, President Lincoln was asked to give a few appropriate remarks. In the North, there had recently been draft riots and then the news of the Emancipation Proclamation had caused some doubts. For the President, this was a chance to refocus the nation's thoughts on the men in battle and to the cause that they were fighting for. |
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Mr. Everett spoke for over two hours to the
spellbound crowd. When he had finished President Lincoln stood up and applauded before he
ventured to the podium. The President's address was only a small fraction of the length of Everett's, but quickly its deep conviction caused it to be widely acclaimed. As the dedication ended, Mr. Everett came to the President and is reported to have said "I would flatter myself to think that I had come as close to the meaning of this event in my two hours as you have." |
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The task of burying the dead within the
cemetery was
not complete at the time of the dedication and would not be complete for several more
month, but a start had been made. Since that beginning, the cemetery has grown to become a National Military Cemetery that is the resting place for soldiers from all the wars from the Civil War onward. |
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