Last Friday's blog brought to your attention that 2 wks ago the United States and millions around the world took time to remember the horrible assassination of President John F Kennedy and to recall the 150th anniversary of President Abe Lincoln's famous Gettysbourg Address in Pennsylvania.
In that blog I brought you some very old pictures of the route Lincoln took to give his few remarks and noted that whilst many think the exact location of the event was at the Gettysburg National Cemetery, it actually took place about 40 yards away at the neighbouring Evergreen Cemetery.
In that blog I brought you some very old pictures of the route Lincoln took to give his few remarks and noted that whilst many think the exact location of the event was at the Gettysburg National Cemetery, it actually took place about 40 yards away at the neighbouring Evergreen Cemetery.
This photo was supposed to have been taken by Alexander Gardner, a well respected photographer in CW days. It has been suggested by some that he is actually in the picture in the bottom right and it was his assistant that took the image. He is looking at the camera whilst most others are looking in the opposite direction. Regardless, as amazing as it sounds, this image may also include that of President Lincoln.
By very close examination here is what has been detected by some....
By very close examination here is what has been detected by some....
This has been extracted from the first picture above, and enlarged. You can see Lincoln identified in the middle.
The president traveled to the town of Gettysburg with quite a number of cabinet members and other dignitaries... including some foreign officials. Here is one of these...
The president traveled to the town of Gettysburg with quite a number of cabinet members and other dignitaries... including some foreign officials. Here is one of these...
William McDougall was in the Cabinet of Upper Canada, in the PROVINCE then called CANADA immediately before the 1867 Confederation. As such he was in DC to visit Lincoln on trade matters as mentioned in a previous blog and was invited to attend the meeting to take place at Gettysburg and accepted. Here he is on the podium just a few feet away from the President when he gave his "few appropriate remarks" so requested by founding cemetery committee. Fellow speaker Eward Everett spoke first. And did so for 2 1/2 hours.
(McDougall would later attend all three conferences and would become one of the Canada's founding Fathers of Confederation.)
When the Gettysburg Address was delivered, the National Gettysburg Cemetery had only been a few months old. It had been created in haste as thousands of bodies lay on the various battlefields from actions between 1 and 3 July and the residents of the small town of 2500 were getting quit concerned about epidemics. Many soldiers were buried right were they were killed and in very shallow graves. Fears were that the elements and wild animals would soon have many of these exposed to the population.
By the time of the Address, upwards of 1000 burials had then been made on the new cemetery grounds over the past few months. Double that amount would join the resting in the next few months.
The committee that created the cemetery asked well known orator Edward Everett to give a speech at the opening and as a backup they asked the President to also attend and give.."a few appropriate remarks."
Everett's speech was 13,607 words long and then the President gave his somewhat shorter speech. It was 272 words. Here is that speech...
(McDougall would later attend all three conferences and would become one of the Canada's founding Fathers of Confederation.)
When the Gettysburg Address was delivered, the National Gettysburg Cemetery had only been a few months old. It had been created in haste as thousands of bodies lay on the various battlefields from actions between 1 and 3 July and the residents of the small town of 2500 were getting quit concerned about epidemics. Many soldiers were buried right were they were killed and in very shallow graves. Fears were that the elements and wild animals would soon have many of these exposed to the population.
By the time of the Address, upwards of 1000 burials had then been made on the new cemetery grounds over the past few months. Double that amount would join the resting in the next few months.
The committee that created the cemetery asked well known orator Edward Everett to give a speech at the opening and as a backup they asked the President to also attend and give.."a few appropriate remarks."
Everett's speech was 13,607 words long and then the President gave his somewhat shorter speech. It was 272 words. Here is that speech...
There were five versions of this speech, and even at that, the one above may well have been tweaked at the Wills house or on the train to Gettysburg before its being presented on Nov. 19th, 1863.
Because it was so short and over so quickly, many newspapers that covered the story were rather flippant about its importance. Here is what one had to say....
Because it was so short and over so quickly, many newspapers that covered the story were rather flippant about its importance. Here is what one had to say....
But the detractors aside, the speech obviously became famous over the years not only for its brevity but the powerful use of words so telling in and of themselves.
This year the very paper that published the detraction 150 years ago now did a retraction. It was somewhat of a spoof in that it also used the same forescore conversations and also kept it brief. It was also 272 words long. And here is a portion of that report for your perusal...
Gee....it only took 150 years to correct.
Progress. Hmmmm!
See you Wednesday.
Bart
Progress. Hmmmm!
See you Wednesday.
Bart
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