150th Anniversary of President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address

(11/15) Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and Historian James McPherson will mark the 150th Anniversary of President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address on November 19th

Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Pulitzer Prize-winning historian James McPherson will observe the 150th Anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address as keynote speakers for Dedication Day on November 19, at Soldiers' National Cemetery, Gettysburg National Military Park.

The program includes a naturalization ceremony for 16 new citizens administered by officials from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; remarks by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett; a reading of the Gettysburg Address by Lincoln portrayer James Getty; musical performances by the U.S. Marine Band and others; and a Civil War color guard presented by the 11th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Fife and Drum.

The ceremony begins at 10 a.m. and will last approximately 90 minutes. The event is free; no ticket will be required to enter. Gettysburg National Military Park, the Gettysburg Foundation, the Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania and Gettysburg College sponsor the annual ceremony.

Sally Jewell is the 51st Secretary of the Interior where she oversees more than 70,000 employees and is steward of more than 500 million acres of public lands and waters, including the National Park Service.

James McPherson is the George Henry Davis ’86 Professor Emeritus of United States History at Princeton University. His book, Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1989 and For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War, received the Lincoln Prize for 1998.

Due to limited viewing space for the public in the National Cemetery, additional free viewing areas for the simulcast are available on the lawn north of Meade’s Headquarters in Gettysburg National Military Park and at the Majestic Theater, 25 Carlisle Street, and the Gateway Gettysburg Theater, 20 Presidential Circle. No tickets are required for these locations.

PARKING: Free parking is provided at the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center, 1195 Baltimore Pike and numerous satellite parking areas with free shuttles. When the Museum and Visitor Center lots are full, vehicles will be directed to the Outlet Shoppes at Gettysburg, 1863 Gettysburg Village Drive, and then to other lots as needed. Temporary signs will be in place to direct cars to the overflow lots as needed.

SHUTTLE/TRANSPORTATION: The York Adams Transportation Authority will provide free shuttle buses from satellite parking areas beginning at 6 a.m. and running until 8:30 p.m.

CHARTER BUS PARKING AND DROP-OFF: Charter buses and motor coaches must drop off and park along Hancock Avenue via United States Avenue.

Live coverage of the event via the internet begins shortly before 10 a.m. at http