Gettysburg Address to celebrate 147th anniversary
Former ABC News reporter Sam Donaldson to highlight annual remembrance
(Gettysburg, Pennsylvania) - 10/13/2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ...
CONTACT:
Carl Whitehill
Media Relations Manager
Gettysburg Convention & Visitors Bureau
(717) 338-1055
[email protected]
The historic town of Gettysburg, Pa., will commemorate the 147th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg Address on Nov. 19th, during a ceremony in Soldiers’ National Cemetery.
Beginning at 10:15 a.m. with a wreath-laying ceremony at the base of the Soldiers’ National Monument in the cemetery, the morning will also include Civil War-era music, a graveside salute, keynote speech by former ABC News reporter Sam Donaldson and the recital of the Gettysburg Address.
“This event is special to Gettysburg,” said Norris Flowers, President of the Gettysburg Convention & Visitors Bureau. “This is where Lincoln secured his legacy and Gettysburg is proud to be part of this historic event.”
The public is invited to celebrate this annual event, known as Dedication Day – to mark the dedication of the national cemetery. Lincoln was invited to share “a few appropriate remarks” at the dedication ceremony on Nov. 19, 1863, nearly five months after the tragic three-day Battle of Gettysburg.
Keynote speaker Sam Donaldson was a reporter with ABC News for 42 years, including as a White House correspondent during the Carter, Reagan and Clinton administrations. Donaldson still occasionally serves as a panelist on ABC’s “This Week,” and co-hosts “Politics Live” on ABC News Now.
At 11:15 a.m., a Graveside Salute to the U.S. Colored Troops will be held in the cemetery and will feature speaker Hari Jones, curator of the African-American American Civil War Museum in Washington, D.C.
The following day, Gettysburg remembers its fallen heroes with Remembrance Day, which includes a parade, special tours and programs and a special illuminary in the evening.
At 1 p.m., the parade kicks off and features thousands of Civil War-era re-enactors, followed by a ceremony in the Gettysburg National Military Park. At 5:30 p.m., a Remembrance Day Illumination will be held in the Soldiers’ National Cemetery and will include 3,500 candle-lit graves.
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