"I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day"

Most people who know me at all, know that I take great interest in most things from the Civil War so I guess it should come as no surprise that one of my favorite Christmas songs was written partially in response to the feelings of despair that particular war caused. In 1863, Cambridge, Massachusetts' poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow penned the poem "Christmas Bells" after his son Charles was severely wounded in the Battle of New Hope Church in Virginia during the Mine Run Campaign.

First published in February 1865 in a juvenile magazine entitled Our Young Folks, it wasn't until 1872 that the poem was set to music when the English organist, John Baptiste Calkin, used it in a processional accompanied with a melody he had previously used as early as 1848. The poem was set to several other melodies over the years but it has always remained a song that Ray Bradbury, in his 1962 novel Something Wicked This Way Comes, describes as "immensely moving, overwhelming, no matter what day or what month it was sung."

In light of last week's horrific events at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, the words seem even more moving and overwhelming than they were back in the dark days of the Civil War as people still reel from the shock and grief and despair that was wrought upon a small town with the taking of the lives of 26 innocent people.

"... And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
"For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"  

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men."

If you've got a few free moments, please take the time to watch the embedded video which tells the whole story of Longfellow's epic poem and includes a marvelous performance by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  If you aren't in need of a tissue by the end, I will be utterly amazed.

Who Are the People In Your Neighborhood?

It was a gorgeous day yesterday so rather than spend it in the house, I decided that the Nikon and I were in need of a bit of fresh air and sunshine so we set out to take a walk around part of our neighborhood.  I had wanted to get some pictures of the local magnolia tree while it was still in bloom and before all of its pretty petals were lying all over the sidewalk.  

There we go - a semi-nice shot of the neighbor's tree!  

From there I decided to head my feet in the direction of Yantic Cemetery which is just a short stroll in the opposite direction of the Dogwood and see how things were looking over there.  As many times as I've walked around the cemetery, I still always find gravestones that I'd not noticed before and wonder about the lives of the people who are buried beneath them.  As close as they are to my house, I've come to think of them as my very quiet neighbors.

This elaborately carved stone belongs to Austin Bliss and his wife Elizabeth Beckwith who was almost 4-1/2 years Austin's senior; obviously Austin liked older women!  They both died on January 13th, 1892 though I have no idea how.  Did they die in an accident or a fire or perhaps from some illness?  I guess the one good thing about dying on the same day is that neither had to mourn the loss of the other. 

This stone marks the grave of Caleb B. Rogers and his three wives - Harriet S. who died in 1847, Iduella T. who passed in 1849, and Eleanora H. who actually outlived Caleb by four years and died in 1875.  I wonder how Eleanora felt about sharing the stone with the two wives that had died before her and being at the bottom of the list?  Considering she outlived all of them, I'm thinking she didn't feel too badly about it! 

Looking more like a church steeple than a gravestone, this is the Morgan Family plot.  As cool of a grave markers as it is, it's not the only steeplesque onee though as there's another one right near it. 

The other steeple-like stone belongs to the Williams Family but it doesn't say much more than that.  Apparently they are neighbors who like to keep to themselves! 

The Emmons Family obviously believed in the old adage "Good fences make good neighbors" even though I'm afraid their iron fence is starting to fall apart after all these years! 

Meet the Carter Family - Sarah Elizabeth Davis who was the wife of Joseph Carter and her children, Sarah Elizabeth Carter who passed in 1901, Joseph Witter Carter who died in 1921, Josie Davis Carter who met her demise in 1935, and Hattie Louisa Carter who lived until 1944.  I'm not exactly sure where Joseph Carter himself is buried though it seems odd that he's not with the rest of the family.  One of the things I like about these stones, other than that there is an identical one for each member of the family, is that they all say "At Rest" at the very bottom of the inscription.  I think it's a lovely sentiment.

Father, mother, and daughter share the Sheffield Family stone and what caught my eye here is mom's name - Adeliza Jayne.  I think that's quite the lovely name even if it is a bit old-fashioned! 

Not too far from the Sheffields are the Benjamins - Sidney Benjamin and I'm going to guess his wife Elizabeth who remarried after Benjamin's death as her name is listed as Elizabeth B. Benjamin Colyer.  Benjamin was a member of the Connecticut Volunteers serving in Company C, Regiment 21 during the Civil War.  Based on his date of death - May 7th, 1863 - I'm going to guess that he died during the war though I've obviously got no idea as to where and how. 

Another family with ties to the Civil War are the McDavid Brothers whose stone is pictured above.  James S. McDavid died on August 23rd, 1864 at the age of 17 years and 9 months while his brother George H. died on March 27th, 1871 when he was only 22 years and 5 months.  As James was the older brother by 2 years, I'm going to guess that the flag at the grave is for him and tha he died as a result of the war at a very young age.

Corporal George W. Swain was a member of the Second Connecticut Infantry, Company B, and it looks like he's another neighbor who fought in the Civil War and never made it home alive again.  Again, I wish there were more information on his stone but it's standard military issue and tells no tales I'm afraid. 

Finally, this last stone belongs to the Jennings Family and upon closer inspection, it seems to tell a pretty sad story.

On one side of the stone is the inscription for William Jennings who was a member of the Connecticut Volunteers, Company K, 12th Regiment. He was taken prisoner at the Battle of Cedar Creek in Virginia on October 19th, 1864 and on November 9th of that same year, he died as a Prisoner of War at Salesbury Prison in North Carolina.  He was 39 years old.

Depending on when William marched off to battle he either left no wife waiting at home and worrying about him or she passed on shortly after he left as his bride, Annie Coleman, died herself on December 16th, 1862 at the age of 33.

And just to make this marker even sadder, on the opposite side of his father's is the inscription for John Arhur Jennings who died on July 15th, 1857 at the age of 2 years and 28 days. They say that there is no greater loss than that of a child but when William Jennings answered the call to duty and fought with the Connecticut Volunteers, he was a man who had already lost his son and his wife both.  I wonder if there was anyone to write him letters from home telling him that they missed him and wished him a safe return or if he was a man alone in the world?  Did he join the war because he was a man with a broken heart or did he learn of Annie's passing in some distant camp far from his beloved?  No doubt as he lay dying at the Confederate Prison in North Carolina, his thoughts were that he would be joining Annie and John Arthur soon and I'm sure that brought him a certain measure of comfort and peace. Or at least that's the story that I'm telling myself as to believe anything else would just really be too sad.

So those are just a few of my quiet neighbors who reside - nay repose - down the road from me.  As you can tell, I have a soft spot in my heart for those who served and fought during America's Civil War and I only wish that I knew more of their stories as even though what simply remains now are inscribed pieces of stone, at one time those whose names are etched upon them were living and breathing people that had families and friends and neighbors of their own.

"The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here." - Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address

For my trip to the Gettysburg National Battlefield Park, please visit The Distracted Wanderer for the original post. Thank you!

"To Ponder and Dream ..."

"In great deeds, something abides. On great fields something stays. Forms change and pass; bodies disappear, but spirits linger, to consecrate the ground for the vision-place of souls. And reverent men and women from afar, and generations that know us not and that we know not of, heart-drawn to see where and by whom great things were suffered and done for them shall come to this deathless field, to ponder and dream; and lo! the shadow of a mighty presence shall wrap them in its bosom, and the power of the vision pass into their souls."
- Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, 1886

Civil War History in My Own "Backyard"

As some of you know, I enjoy history and in particular, the history of the Civil War. I've done a few posts here and there about various Civil War subjects and I've also done posts about the place I live - Norwich, Connecticut. Today, as we draw closer to Veteran's Day next week, I thought I would combine the two and do a post about the Buckingham Memorial also known as Segdwick Post #1 of the G.A.R.

The G.A.R., or Grand Army of the Republic, was a fraternal organization established in 1866 that was comprised of veterans of the Union Army who served in the Civil War. They not only wielded great political clout (no Republican was nominated to the Presidency between 1868 and 1908 without first receiving an endorsement from the G.A.R.) but they were also very active in pension legislation, establishing retirement homes for soldiers, and many other areas which concerned Union veterans including the establishment of Civil War monuments dedicated to those brave men who served honorably in our country's most horrific war in which brother fought against brother.

It was through legislation proposed by the G.A.R. that a day of memorial was designated for Union veterans which was originally called "Decoration Day." This day, May 30th, later evolved into our current Memorial Day, a day on which veterans from all wars are remembered and honored. It was also the influence of the Grand Army of the Republic that led to the creation of the Old Soldiers Homes of the late 19th century which later evolved into the current United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Prior to that soldiers of wars were pretty much left to their own devices.

The Grand Army of the Republic reached its largest enrollment in 1890 with 490,000 members and was formally dissolved in 1956 upon the death of its last member, Albert Henry Woolson who died at the age of 109 and was the last surviving Civil War veteran on either side.

The Southern equivalent of the G.A.R., the United Confederate Veterans Association, was formed in New Orleans in 1889 and was active well into the 1940s before its final reunion was held in Norfolk, Virginia in 1951. It was very common for both organizations to work together and between 1881 and 1887, Federal and Confederate veterans held 24 major reunions together. The fiftieth anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg in 1913 attracted 8,000 Confederate and 44,000 Union veterans and I can only imagine how they all felt meeting on that greatest of battlefields.

The first post in the Connecticut Department of the G.A.R., of which there was eventually a total of 87, was activated on February 15, 1867 here in Norwich and named for Major General John Sedgwick who was born in the town of Cornwall, Connecticut.

"Uncle John", as he was affectionately referred to by his soldiers, was killed in the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House on May 9th, 1864 as his men, the VI Corps of the Army of the Potomac, were probing skirmish lines ahead of the left flank of the Confederate defenses and he was directing artillery placements. There were Confederate sharpshooters in the area and Sedgwick's men were a bit edgy as they kept ducking for cover.

In an effort to rally his men, Major General Sedgwick strode around in the open and was quoted as saying, "What? Men dodging this way for single bullets? What will you do when they open fire along the whole line? I am ashamed of you. They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance." Although his men were ashamed, they continued to flinch away and he repeated, "I'm ashamed of you, dodging that way. They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance." Just seconds later he fell forward with a bullet hole below his left eye. Obviously this went down in the annals of history as irony - very sad irony.

Major General Sedgwick was the highest ranking Union casualty of the Civil War and upon hearing of his death, Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant repeatedly asked, "Is he really dead?" as he told his staff that the loss for him was worse than that of an entire division. A solid, dependable, but relatively non-aggressive general, Sedgwick's death was met with universal sorrow as even Confederate General Robert E. Lee expressed sadness over the death of an old friend while Union General George G. Meade wept at the news.

The G.A.R. post in downtown Norwich, which was named in honor of Major General Sedgwick, is the former home of Connecticut's "War Governor" William A. Buckingham who served as the mayor of Norwich from 1849 to 1850 and again from 1856 to 1857. Following his time as Mayor, he was elected governor of Connecticut in 1858 where Buckingham served for seven terms and was invaluable to President Lincoln in raising troops for the war effort.

In 1869 former Governor Buckingham was elected to the Senate where he served as the chairman for several committees including the Committee on Indian Affairs until his death in 1875. The former mayor, governor, and senator is buried in Yantic Cemetery here in Norwich but unfortunately his gravestone was part of an act of senseless and deplorable vandalism this past May. The vandalism to Governor Buckingham's stone, as well as over 100 others, resulted in almost $100,000 worth of damages in just the Yantic Cemetery alone.

I can't think of too many more heinous acts of vandalism than those done to cemeteries and it makes my blood boil to think that people can be so callous and uncaring as to desecrate the final resting places of other human beings. After the vandalism to the cemeteries, the city installed floodlights so that people can help the police in deterring crimes before they happen and calling in any sort of suspicious activity. Personally I think it's a great idea though it's a little strange seeing a cemetery lit up like a parking lot at night.

I took the above picture recently using strictly the light from the floodlights so as you can see, it's now very well lit and hopefully any further vandals will think twice before they go out and commit senseless, meaningless crimes such as tipping over gravestones.

So - there you have it - a bit of history from Norwich, the city I've called home for the past 8-1/2 years. Sometimes it's easy to forget that there's so much of interest oftentimes right there in our own backyards. I hope that you don't mind that I've shared some of mine with some of you.

“For love of country they accepted death...” - President James Garfield

“Let … no ravages of time testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.”
– General John A. Logan

Today is Memorial Day here in the United States, a date that was originally set aside as a day of remembrance for those who died on active duty in our nation’s service. Originally known as Decoration Day, Memorial Day had many separate beginnings in towns all across the United States as people gathered for spontaneous or planned ceremonies to honor those who had died during our country’s Civil War.

The growing movement culminated in General John Alexander Logan, National Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic (a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army who had served in the American Civil War), officially proclaiming the first observance of a national Decoration Day to be held on May 30th, 1868. In his General Order No. 11 that was issued on May 5th of that year in Washington D.C., General Logan proclaimed in part that:

"The 30th day of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet church-yard in the land. In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit.

Let us, then, at the time appointed gather around their sacred remains and garland the passionless mounds above them with the choicest flowers of spring-time; let us raise above them the dear old flag they saved from hishonor; let us in this solemn presence renew our pledges to aid and assist those whom they have left among us a sacred charge upon a nation's gratitude, the soldier's and sailor's widow and orphan."

On that first official observation in 1868, flowers were placed on the graves of both Union and Confederate soldiers buried at Arlington National Cemetery by members of The Grand Army of the Republic. Five years later, in 1873, New York became the first state to officially recognize the holiday and by 1890 the day of honor was recognized by all of the northern states. The Southern states, however, refused to acknowledge the day and chose instead to honor their dead on separate days until the end of World War I. At that time the holiday changed from honoring just those who had died during the Civil War and expanded to encompass those brave Americans who died fighting in any war or conflict. The name of the day was officially changed to Memorial Day in 1967 even though it had been called as such since 1882.

Unfortunately, in 1971, Congress changed the date of observation for Memorial Day from May 30th to the last Monday in May as part of the National Holiday Act to ensure a 3-day weekend. Shortly after that the reason for the holiday began to slip away as many Americans seemed to forget the meaning and traditions of Memorial Day – a day that was set aside to honor those who fell in service to our country and not just any and all dead or, worse yet, just an extra day to kick back and enjoy cook-outs, camp-outs, and hanging-out from work or school without any thought as to why such a day existed.

Here in Norwich the city still holds a Memorial Day parade each year with participants marching from the Cathedral of St. Patrick on Broadway to The Point at Chelsea Parade where official ceremonies will take place. It is here that one can find monuments “in solemn remembrance of those who paid the supreme sacrifice in all wars, actions, and conflicts.”

Across from the monuments at the Point, on the north end of the Great Plain - as Chelsea Parade used to be known - one can find The Soldier’s Monument which was dedicated to the 140 men from Norwich who gave their lives during the Civil War. The monument was dedicated on April 23rd, 1875 and stands as a tangible symbol of honor and respect paid by the Norwich community to its sons who died in the war. Topping the impressive 27-1/2 foot monument is a 12-foot tall soldier made of granite from nearby Westerly, Rhode Island who looks slightly down and to his left as he stands perpetual guard duty over Chelsea Parade and the nearby Norwich Free Academy grounds.



In another part of Norwich, at the eastern end of my favorite cemetery, stands another monument to Norwich’s Civil War dead - this time for the native sons of Norwich who perished at the notorious Andersonville Prison Camp in Georgia. At the Anderson Memorial Gun in the Yantic Cemetery one can find concentric circles of soldiers’ graves with a 30-pounder Parrot rifle mounted on an iron carriage at the center next to an American flag that flies day and night.

Of the 30 men from Norwich who were captured and interred at Andersonville, 15 died from starvation, exposure, disease, or execution. In early 1866 Norwich became the first Northern city to retrieve the bodies of its soldiers who had perished there when they brought back the remains of 9 of the 15 soldiers who could be identified. A public service for their re-interment was held on February 1st, 1866 which was preceded by the closing of local businesses and a parade then followed by an 8-course dinner at the Chelsea Hotel.


Over the years, in addition to the original nine Civil War veterans from Andersonville whose gravestones carry the name of the prison where they died, 62 other soldiers have been buried at the veterans plot with the last burial occurring as late as 1925. Of those 62, seven gravestones mark the final resting places of veterans of the Spanish-American War. It is a very solemn place and whenever I visit this monument, I say a thank you to all those who repose beneath the gravestones for their service to our country and the freedoms that we oftentimes take for granted.

At 3:00 p.m. today, I ask you to join myself, and hopefully many others across the country, as we observe a National Moment of Remembrance, a movement that began in 2001 when a resolution was passed for all Americans “to voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to ‘Taps’”.

At the observance of the very first Memorial Day on the sacred ground of Arlington National Cemetery on May 30th, 1868, President James A. Garfield said:

“We do not know one promise these men made, one pledge they gave, one word they spoke; but we do know they summed up and perfected, by one supreme act, the highest virtues of men and citizens. For love of country they accepted death and thus resolved all doubts, and made immortal their patriotism and virtue."

Though he spoke of our fallen Civil War dead, those words ring true for all of the men and women who have died in service to our country. The least we can do in return is give our fallen heroes a moment of silence while we enjoy the holiday they fought and died for us to have.

"We are met on a great battlefield of that war." ~ President Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address

********************

July 1st, 1863 saw the beginning of the bloodiest battle of the Civil War in a small town in southern Pennsylvania known as Gettysburg. What began as a skirmish turned into three days of fierce fighting between 160,000 Americans that in the end claimed 28,000 Confederate causalities in dead, wounded and missing as well as Union casualties totaling another 23,000.

For me to try to explain in entirety the three days of fighting that occurred in this small Pennsylvania town in the blistering heat of early July would require a virtual novel that would probably take me hours to write and you to read. It was a battle that never should have happened where it happened or when it happened but it did and it is cited as the turning point in the War Between the States.

Shortly after his success over the Army of the Potomac at Chancellorsville, Virginia General Robert E. Lee led his Army of Northern Virginia into Northern territory in the hopes of finding supplies for his troops. He also hoped to pressure Northern politicians to give up on the war in support of the growing peace movement in the North while he threatened Washington, Baltimore, and Philadelphia with his 73,000 troops.

Meanwhile, President Abraham Lincoln had replaced yet another of his incompetent commanders, Major General Joseph Hooker who resigned shortly after his defeat at Chancellorsville, with Major General George Meade who took over command of the Army of the Potomac on June 28th, 1863. Meade was ordered by Lincoln to pursue Lee and run him back out of Pennsylvania.

The battle began almost by accident as the result of a chance meeting engagement between Confederate infantry under the command of Major General Henry Heth and Union cavalry led by General John Buford just south of Gettysburg. Buford knew the importance of maintaining the high ground in battle and fought valiantly to defend the land around the Lutheran Theological Seminary. It was during the fighting on the first day that popular Union commander Major General John Reynolds died while directing troop and artillery placement when he was struck by a single bullet behind his right ear.

Though the Union was fighting a losing battle at this point, General Lee had no idea how many troops might be in reserve as his Calvary Commander, Major General J.E.B. Stuart was not to be found. Even though he did not have the "eyes" of his calvary, Lee knew that if the Union Army held the high ground they would have an advantage over the Confederate Army so he sent orders to Lt. General Richard S. Ewell, his Second Corps Commander, to take Cemetery Hill "if practicable". Not knowing what lie on the other side of the ridge, Ewell chose not to attempt the assault, a decision that resulted in a missed great opportunity for the Confederacy as had he pursued they would have not only won the day but the battle as well.

With the arrival of the remainder of the Army of the Potomac throughout the night and the early morning of July 2nd, the second day of battle saw fierce fighting between two armies at their maximum strength at Little Round Top, Cemetery Hill, and Culp's Hill. The Union lines formed what is known as a "fishhook" formation while Confederate lines stretched for nearly five miles in length.

As fighting raged in The Wheatfield and Devil's Den, the 20th Maine, under the command of Colonel Joshua L. Chamberlain, held their precarious hold of Little Round Top, an important hill at the extreme left of the Union line, with a bayonet charge that became one of the most fabled stories of the Civil War. For his gallantry, Colonel Chamberlain, a college professor from Maine who became one of the Union's most respected and well-liked officers, was awarded the Medal of Honor and given the honor of commanding the Union troops at the surrender ceremony ending the war at Appomattox Court House on April 9th, 1865.

The third day of battle saw seven hours of fierce fighting by Lee's forces in attempt to take Culp's Hill from the Union troops which ended in defeat at approximately 11:00 a.m. At that point Lee was forced to change plans and decided to launch an attack on the Federal II Corps position at the right center of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge. At approximately 3:00 p.m., 12,500 Southern soldiers in nine infantry brigades stepped from the ridgeline and advanced three-quarters of a mile across the open Pennsylvania fields towards a copse of trees that marked the Union line in an attack that became known as "Pickett's Charge". Although some Confederates were able to breach the stone wall that shielded many of the Union defenders, they could not maintain their hold and were repulsed with over 50% casualties.

Lt. General James Longstreet argued with General Lee against the attack predicting its futility, a move that made him very unpopular with the South after the war ended, but Lee insisted that it was the right move. It wasn't. "Pickett's Charge" was a bloodbath with horrendous command losses as Pickett's three brigade commanders and all thirteen of his regimental commanders were casualties of the attack; in all his division suffered 2,655 casualties . The results were an avoidable mistake from which the Southern war effort never fully recovered.

On July 4th, as weary troops faced each other across the bloody fields, Major General George Meade decided not to pursue another attack. This was an action for which he was later severely criticized and the opportunity to end the war passed as the bulk of Lee's Northern Virginia Army left Gettysburg in a driving rain on July 5th. Meade's army followed but the effort was half-hearted and Lee's troops managed to escape over the Potomac River and back into Southern territory before the Union Army was able to catch up and subdue them.

The defeat of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia electrified the North and any hopes of peace were dashed for both sides as the war continued on for almost another two years of bloody fighting with enormous losses on both sides.

Today the U.S. National Park Service maintains both Gettysburg National Cemetery, dedicated by President Abraham Lincoln's famous Gettysburg Address on November 19th, 1863, and Gettysburg National Military Park as two of the nation's most revered historical landmarks visited by thousands upon thousands each year.

There is no way to describe what it feels like to visit this hallowed ground. I have been to Gettysburg four times - the first two when I was stationed at McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey in the late 70's; another time in July of 1999 with my cousin Amy and son Michael; and a fourth time with Amy in May of 2001 as the final leg of our "Battlefield Vacation". I hope to go again several times over.

I have taken the 19.5 mile auto tour route with a pre-recorded tape for a guide; I have taken the two-hour Battle of Gettysburg tour on an open air Double-Decker bus; and I have toured the battlefield on horseback which allowed me the opportunity to see the view across Seminary Ridge towards Cemetery Hill just as Lee, Longstreet, and Pickett might have seen it on the morning of July 3rd - minus, of course, the incoming artillery fire. Each and every time I have been blown away by the magnitude of what happened on those fields and in those woods and I leave with a greater sense of respect and awe for those men who died fighting to keep our country as one Nation under God.

By the same token, I also understand how desperately the Confederacy believed in what they were fighting for and just how noble their cause was, too. It boggles my mind to know that brother fought brother - neighbor fought neighbor - and each believed firmly that God was on their side. Go to Gettysburg - walk amongst the thousands of monuments left to those men who died on the fields there - close your eyes and picture the ground running red with their blood - and then come back and tell me you felt nothing. I will be happy to call you a liar.

In conclusion, I would like to leave you with the words of President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address to reflect upon as we approach our Fourth of July holiday:

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."