AN ADDRESS TO REMEMBER
AT first sight, it looks like grown men playing at soldiers. But the re-enactment of the Battle of Gettysburg is more than a dressing-up game. Lest we forget, more than 600,000 died in the four-year-long American Civil War.
It was fought to keep the country as one, and it ended the barbaric practice of slavery, although as recent events have shown, racial discrimination remains.
Even so, the annual celebration of President Abraham Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg Address is of major significance.
It remains a focus of attention for the nation, particularly for Unionist re-enactors who flock to this small Pennsylvanian town for this highly symbolic speech.
‘Honest Abe’ delivered what is now called his famous ‘of, by and for’ speech to the crowd on that commemoration day in 1863, shortly after the Northern states’ crucial victory over the Confederate Army just outside the Pennsylvanian town of Gettysburg.
The speech only took two and a half minutes, ending with that famous pledge that government “of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth”.
The three-day battle in Gettysburg ended with victory little over 150 years ago on the day before American Independence Day, back in 1863.
Significantly, the Battle of Vicksburg in the Southern citadel on the Mississippi was won by the Unionists on Independence Day itself. From then on, the Southern cause was lost.
It’s a powerful experience being there on the spot in Gettysburg, listening to a lookalike and soundalike delivering Lincoln’s words once more. Quite a number of fellow Brits were there to digest the brilliance of those 272 words.
The speaker who introduced the lookalike Lincoln, gave us food for thought when she reminded us:
“There are parallels between what happened here at Gettysburg and the D-Day landings on the beaches of Normandy – the future of democracy depended on both.” All the re-enactors pay tremendous attention to detail in their ‘uniforms’ and to studying the speech, the battle and its place in history.
Some of the men obviously relished playing high-ranking officers, while their wives managed to shake off the discomfort of being tightly corseted. Colorado couple Walter and Susie Weart, both 76, said: “For us, the hands-across-the-wall ceremony is the highlight.
“We reach over the divide on the battlefield and shake the hands of our Southern counterparts.
“We are all one band of brothers on July 4, and for the actual address ceremony in November.”
As a visitor, you do feel a deep sense of privilege to see the whole spectacle, and to discuss the issues over dinner at places like the Dobbin House, a period restaurant that has been in the centre of little Gettysburg since the 18th century.
Or at the officer’s dining table in the modern Whatmore Hotel, 10 minutes up the road in the modern entertainment district.
For history lovers, Gettysburg is right up there. The ‘25 Hours in Gettysburg’ walking tour – with likeable Lincoln expert John McTague – is a must.
As well as talking you through Lincoln’s schedule, he gives real insight into the “forgiving spirit and inherent kindness of the man”.
You visit the David Willis House where the President distilled his message the night before his speech.
At the National Soldiers’ Cemetery, where the Address was made, two lookalike Lincolns turned up.
As the organiser observed: “We were lucky and blessed to have one Lincoln, and here we are with two!”
The nearby National Park Visitor Centre puts everything into perspective, starting with a well-constructed film narrated by veteran actor Morgan Freeman. There is no glorification of war, and a reminder that ‘freedom, like power, will always be contested’.
Stark reminders are there for all: the wagon train of wounded Confederate soldiers stretched for 17 miles.
In all, 10,000 died but, as Lincoln said, “not in vain”.
An American Airlines multi-city ticket allows you to fly into Washington DC’s Dulles Airport, just an hour or so from Gettysburg in a hire car, travelling on to the vibrant UNESCO city of Philadelphia.
The airport’s Dulles Hilton is perfect for an overnight stay, before heading for Gettysburg. ‘Philly,’ offers great attractions of its own – the Museum of the American Revolution, the Liberty Bell, and Independence Hall.
As Gettysburg tourist chief and expert Carl Whitehill says: “If
AS US INDEPENDENCE DAY LOOMS THIS WEEKEND, LINDSAY SUTTON FOLLOWS IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF LINCOLN AT GETTYSBERG
So many died at Gettysburg that the remains of combatants were still being found in the 90s