The History of The Gettysburg Address

Architecture Part 1: The Battle of Gettysburg Part 2: The Hype Surrounding the Memorial Part 3: The Address Part 4: The Immortality of the Address

Part 1: The Battle of Gettysburg July 1 – 3, 1863

The Southern Offensive  In an effort to end the Civil War, Gen. Robert E. Lee led an attack across the Potomac River from Virginia in order to invade Washington, DC.  The Union Army of the Potomac led by Gen. George Meade went to intercept Lee’s army.  The two armies met at Gettysburg, PA – population  Lee’s army alone had 25,000 men. 100, 000 rebel soldiers were en route.  The Union, caught off guard, had less than 20,000 troops.

Day 1: Run to the Hills!  After Day 1, Rebel forced Union forces into the hills of Little and Big Roundtop.  Lee encourages Gen. Ewell to attack before Union reinforcements arrived.  Ewell hesitates and the moment is lost.  With the lull in the battle, Union reinforcements arrive.

Day 2: Stalemate  Lee orders Gen. Longstreet to attack the Union army at 10 am.  Longstreet doesn’t attack until 4pm because he feels the Union in impenetrable, though they have a fraction of the Rebel army in Gettysburg.  The battle ends up being a stalemate.

Day 3: Lee’s Hubris  Lee convinced the Rebels could win the war if they won the battle.  With this convinction, 2/3 of the Rebel army gathered at Gettysburg.  Longstreet pleaded with Lee to not attack, because the Union could destroy the Confederate army by firing canons from the hills.  Gen. Meade ordered the Union army to stop firing, luring the Rebels out into the open.  Lee fell for the bait, the Confederate army was decimated, Lee retreated and barely escaped with his life across to Potomac.

Outcomes of Battle of Gettysburg  Union: -75, 000 dead -24, 000 injured  Confederacy: -88, 000 dead -38,000 injured  Consequences: -Confederate army decimated and morale crushed -Lee lost ethos as a general -A fatigued Meade lost command of Union army for not pursuing Lee -Gettysburg became a symbol to Union of both sacrifice and resilience.

The Hype Surrounding the Memorial

Gettysburg After the Battle  Three months after battle thousands of unburied soldiers.  Farmers used pigs to eat bodies in order salvage their land.  Plan for President Lincoln and most Union Governors attend dedication of Gettysburg National Cemetery in November, but town only had one hotel.  Lincoln spent the night at the mayor’s home.  The main speaker, Edward Everett, had to share a bed with the mayor.

The Design of the National Cemetery  Designed by architect William Saunders, was supposed to create a peaceful resting place for the dead with nature.  The burials were supposed to take place in concentric circles, with soldiers buried with their division. No Confederate soldiers were supposed to buried within the cemetery’s grounds.  Because of the large number of dead, it is believed many Union and Confederate soldiers were buried together.

The Speakers  The main speaker was Edward Everett, president of Harvard University, and a famous orator of the day.  Lincoln was invited at a late date and was asked to deliver short dedicatory remarks, something commons in the 19 th century.  Everett spoke for almost four hours.  Lincoln spoke for less than three minutes.

The Gettysburg Address

Power in Brevity  In a speech only 272 words long, Lincoln achieved the following: 1.Memorialized the dead. 2.Changed the meaning of “The Declaration of Independence.” 3. Lincoln succeeds, as, historian Garry Wills puts it, Lincoln “in what most Americans wanted to the Civil War to mean. Words had to complete the work of the guns.”

What is Absent?  The following words are absent from “The Gettysburg Address:” 1.North 2.South 3.Enemy 4.Hero 5.Slavery 6.Gettysburg 7.No names 8.No places 9.No numbers of dead 10.No numbers of wounded

Immortality of Speech

What the Speech Did  Like the popularity of the telegraph of the time, Lincoln moved oratory to brief, succinct words, instead of long-winded speeches.  The address made “The Declaration of Independence” applicable to all Americans.  Words themselves could make history by pleading to national values like freedom, liberty, and justice.  Looked forward – led America beyond the bloodshed.

Lincoln Busts Rhetorical Moves  As we read the speech together, look at how Lincoln busts the following rhetorical moves: 1.Allusion 2.Anaphora 3.Antithesis