Historians Allen Guelzo , Jon Meacham, Harold Holzer to appear at Dedication Day Events in Gettysburg Saturday, Nov 19. (Gettysburg, PA)
Three distinguished scholars of American history, Allen Guelzo, Jon Meacham and Harold Holzer, will appear at the 159th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address on Saturday, November 19, 2022. The Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania announced that this year’s Dedication Day keynote speaker will be Dr. Allen Guelzo, author of award-winning books on Civil War history.
Guelzo commented, “Abraham Lincoln was not a president who strayed much from his office in Washington, but he made his longest exception to that rule when he journeyed to Gettysburg in November, 1863 to deliver "a few appropriate remarks" at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery. That's how important Gettysburg was to him. That's why I am so pleased to be able to speak there, one hundred and fifty-nine years later: because Gettysburg, and what Lincoln said there, are the vital nerve of American identity”. Dr. Guelzo is a former Director of Civil War Era Studies at Gettysburg College. Now at Princeton University, Guelzo is the Senior Research Scholar in the Humanities and Director of the Initiative on Politics and Statesmanship. He is the author of Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President, Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America, Lincoln and Douglas: The Debates That Defined America, and Gettysburg: The Last Invasion. His most recent books are Reconstruction: A Concise History (2019) and Robert E. Lee: A Life (2021).
Historian Jon Meacham will be joining us on the rostrum to present the Gettysburg Address with comments, and will also be featured at the Lincoln Fellowship Annual Meeting and Luncheon at the Wyndham Hotel after the ceremony. Jon Meacham won the Pulitzer Prize for his biography American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House. He is the Rogers Chair in the American Presidency at Vanderbilt University and is the author of several bestsellers. His new biography And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle will be released in October 2022, and he will sign books at the luncheon.
Harold Holzer, pre-eminant Lincoln scholar, will introduce Meacham at the podium during the ceremony, and will interview him during the luncheon. Harold Holzer is a National Humanities medalist and author of multiple books about Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. His latest book is"The Presidents vs. the Press: The Endless Battle Between the White House and the Media -- From the Founding Fathers to Fake News," Holzer has been the keynote speaker at two previous Dedication Days and is a co-founder and chairman of The Lincoln Forum held annually in Gettysburg.
The Reverend Stephen Herr, president of the Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania, expressed the Fellowship’s enthusiasm for the participation of Guelzo, Meacham and Holzer. Herr shared that “The Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania is delighted to welcome three historians of their caliber to the dedication anniversary of Gettysburg National Cemetery. Their commitment to quality scholarship and passion for sharing America’s history have been hallmarks of their careers. Their participation in this anniversary event continues the long and distinguished line of historians who have contributed to the Dedication Day ceremony.”
The Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania has hosted ceremonies on Dedication Day since 1938. Over the years, many influential and noteworthy national figures, including Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Marian Anderson, Tom Ridge, John Hope Franklin, Shelby Foote, Carl Sandburg, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Stephan Lang, Sandra Day O’Connor, LeVar Burton, Ken Burns, Stephen Spielberg, and others have appeared at the ceremony to help new generations of Americans remember Lincoln’s words and to rededicate ourselves to the ideals at the core of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.
This year, the Fellowship will partner once again with Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg College, and the Gettysburg Foundation to offer this free event to the public. The program also features a U.S. Naturalization and Citizenship ceremony, which will allow us the special opportunity to celebrate together, as Americans, while we welcome a new group of citizens.
The 2022 Dedication Day events will begin at 10:15 a.m., with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Soldiers’ National Monument, inside Gettysburg National Cemetery, followed by the Dedication Day Program at 10:30 a.m. at the cemetery Rostrum. This event is free and open to all. A limited number of seats will be available to the general public, so feel free to bring lawn chairs. Parking for the event is provided at the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center in Lot #3, with free shuttle service on the Gold Line Shuttle to the Cemetery. The Gold Line will operate from 8:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. In the event of severe inclement weather, the program will relocate to Gettysburg College’s Majestic Theater, 25 Carlisle Street, Gettysburg, PA. For more information, visit www.lincolnfellowship.org.
P.O. Box 3372, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania 17325