![]() Wills suggested creating the National Cemetery at Gettysburg. President Lincoln accepted an invitation from David Wills to make closing “remarks”-a short speech-at the dedication ceremony. The site was to be dedicated on November 19, 1863, four and a half months after the battle. As these graves began to deteriorate, Governor Andrew Curtin of Pennsylvania arranged to set apart a portion of the battlefield for a national cemetery to house and commemorate the Union dead. Thousands were buried in shallow graves on the field where they fell. The Battle of Gettysburg in July of 1863, had massive casualties on both sides over 50,000 soldiers were killed or wounded, and about 8,000 of those had died on the battlefield or soon after. ![]() Nor did it impress everyone who heard it at the time. However, on November 16, 1863, the iconic speech did not yet exist as we know it. Today, the Gettysburg Address is legendary-possibly the single most famous statement by a United States president. ![]()
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