Abraham Lincoln Biography

Abraham Lincoln - His Life and Times

To many standing in the sunshine that cool November day, there was an eerie feeling about the place. It was quiet now, except for the droning voice of the speaker at the podium, and the fields that stretched for miles around them were all empty and hushed. Still, it seemed as if the sounds of battle still hovered and if one listened closely, one could hear their ghostly echoes - the screams of the wounded, the agonized moans of the dying, the explosion of guns and cannons, the yell of the battle cry, and the sobs of men who were watching their comrades, their leaders, even their own brothers and sons, being killed before them.

It had been four months now since the most frightful battle of the Civil War had been fought outside the town of Gettysburg. The battle had turned the course of the war towards an inevitable Union victory, but at terrible cost to both sides. Over 40,000 soldiers had been buried where they fell, blue and gray together. Then there had been a movement to have them reburied and their graves marked, making Gettysburg a National Cemetery. At the dedication ceremony this November day, a well-known orator named Edward Everett had been asked to give the keynote address. Then the President had been asked to add a few words.

Everett had been speaking for two hours to a large crowd that had grown accustomed to the elaborate speeches of the 1860's. Just the same, when he finished the crowd was beginning to get restless. They paid little attention when their tall, lanky president in his black clothes and high silk hat, took the flag-draped platform. He adjusted his spectacles, briefly scanned his two sheets of paper and began to speak.

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