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THBGettysburg Dedication, The Evening Post, New York, November 20, 1863
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About Auction
LiveSep 8, 2017 - Sep 9, 2017
Cowan's Auctions dawnie@cowans.com
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- Lot Description
The Evening Post. New York: William C. Bryant & Co., November 20, 1863. Vol. 62. 4pp, 26 x 31 in.
First printing of Edward Everett's Gettysburg speech.
The Battle of Gettysburg was the largest battle (plus surrounding skirmishes - Hanover, Sporting Hill, Carlisle, Hunterstown, Fairfield) fought in Union territory and the bloodiest battle of the Civil War, with nearly 8,000 dead and another 43,000 wounded in the three-day affair. After the initial push to bury as many of the dead as possible, by the end of the month plans were being made to preserve at least some battlefield land in which to reinter the soldiers who fought there. Begun by David McConaughy, it would be David Wills, a Gettysburg attorney, who would convince the Governor of Pennsylvania to create a state-sponsored memorial at the site. Up to this point, families of the dead were being asked to pay for their interment in local cemeteries. Governor Andrew Curtin named Wills as his agent to purchase the land and to contract men to reinter the dead. Wills had also contacted William Saunders about designing the cemetery. Wills secured the land on the south slope of East Cemetery Hill and began soliciting funds from other states. At the ceremony, besides Curtin, were the governors of Maryland, Indiana, New York, New Jersey and Ohio.
At the end of September Wills invited Edward Everett, one of the most famous orators of the day, to give an oration at the dedication of the cemetery on October 23. Everett said he needed more time to talk to the survivors of the battle so he could include the details in his talk, so Wills rescheduled the ceremony for November 19. On Nov. 2, Wills invited Lincoln to "formally set apart these grounds to their sacred use by a few appropriate remarks." One often sees criticism that the President could only utter about 270 words, but Everett gave a two-hour 13,607-word oration. Secretary of State William Seward gave a prepared speech for the assembled crowd the evening before (Nov. 18). Copies of Everett and Seward's speeches were available to the press ahead of time. Lincoln's was not.
The following day, November 20, 1863, many papers carried the content of the dedication ceremony. The Boston papers (Daily Advertiser and Evening Transcript) are sometimes credited as publishing the first transcriptions (with a few errors) of Lincoln's remarks. The New York Times included the entirety of Everett and Lincoln's speeches. Lincoln's was not included in all reports, possibly because advance copies were not available. The papers reportedly pressed Hay for an advance copy for days before the ceremony, but it was not available.
This New York City paper, the Evening Post, published by William C. Bryant, is dated the day after the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery at Gettysburg. It describes the Everett oration in the center of the front page, and gives some of Everett's comments, but it does not even mention Lincoln's remarks. Responses to Lincoln's comments have been reported in different ways. Some indicate significant applause, while others say the crowd was silent, waiting for the President to continue, expecting something more like Everett's speech. There is certainly no controversy as to which is remembered a century and a half later.
Reporters from Associated Press and New York Herald (Joseph Gilbert), Boston Daily Advertiser (Charles Hale), and Chicago Tribune and Philadelphia Enquirer, as well as possibly Lincoln's secretary, John Hay have all been recorded as taking notes during the address. There are several competing versions of Lincoln's remarks, but it is noted that the AP version was the most widely distributed, and some have noted that when Lincoln later wrote out formal copies of the speech, he referenced the AP version.
Condition
Disbound issue. Folds in newspaper, some creasing. Some chips, small areas of loss along fold. Separation along central fold, with one tear repaired with Scotch tape.
Good condition.
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