Dedication Day - Anniversary of the Gettysburg Address
Stay at the B&B and head downtown to enjoy this wonderful community event.
November 19, the anniversary of the Gettysburg Address and the Dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery, was formally designated as Dedication Day, by a joint resolution of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, on November 19, 1946. Each year since 1938, the Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania has commemorated Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and rededicated Gettysburg National Cemetery where Lincoln spoke on this date.
Over the years, this annual event has grown and is now co-sponsored by Gettysburg National Military Park, the Gettysburg Foundation, and Gettysburg College. It is presented outdoors on the historic rostrum located in the cemetery. Many influential and noteworthy national figures including: Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Tom Ridge, John Hope Franklin, Shelby Foote, Carl Sandburg, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Stephan Lang, Sandra Day O’Connor, Ken Burns, Stephen Spielberg and others have spoken at the ceremony to help all of us remember Lincoln’s words and to rededicate ourselves to the ideals Lincoln conveyed there in 1863.
2026 Details
The Lincoln Fellowship and the Gettysburg National Military Park present a theatrical recreation of President Abraham Lincoln’s visit to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in November of 1863 for the dedication of the National Soldier’s Cemetery. From President Lincoln’s arrival on November 18 to the delivery of the Gettysburg Address the following day, witness one of the most significant moments in America’s 250 year story recreated in accurate detail on the very site where it happened.
Wednesday, November 18, 2026, see Billy Campbell as President Lincoln arrive in Gettysburg, be escorted to the Wills House and serenaded by a cornet band. Guests can engage with National Park Service Rangers and Lincoln scholars.
Thursday, November 19, 2026, follow the procession from downtown Gettysburg to Soldier’s National Cemetery and witness the full dedication ceremony from opening music and prayer to Edward Everett’s oration to President Lincoln’s Dedicatory Remarks. Replica 1863 programs will outline the agenda and, following the ceremony, guests are once again invited to engage with National Park Service Rangers and Lincoln scholars.
The Lincoln Fellowship and Gettysburg National Military Park, through the America250 PA initiative, invite guests to learn, witness, and live history by walking in the footsteps of Abraham Lincoln, William Seward, Edward Everett, and others, on two significant days in both Gettysburg’s and our nation’s history.
Battlefield Bed and Breakfast Inn is the perfect place to stay during Dedication Day. We offer a location right down the street from must-see historical sites such as Little Round Top, delicious daily gourmet breakfasts, a beautiful 30 acre battlefield property, and daily history presentations. The bed and breakfast is both child and dog friendly, so you can bring the whole family along with you.
BOOK YOUR ROOM TODAY. CALL 1-717-334-8804 TO SPEAK TO THE FRONT DESK ABOUT OUR AVAILABILITY.
EVENT LOCATION
Gettysburg National Cemetery, Taneytown Road, Gettysburg, PA
TIME
10:15am
COST
Free
CONTACT
203-770-3421