News Release

“A New Birth of Freedom”: Living Historian Whit McMahan to read the Gettysburg Address at Park

Date: November 6, 2023
Contact: Stacy Humphreys, [phone]

HODGENVILLE – Join park staff from the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace on Saturday, November 18, 2023 from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. (EST) for a "New Birth of Freedom", a Memorial Building lighting event recognizing the anniversary of the Gettysburg Address. Living historian Whit McMahan will be depicting Abraham Lincoln and will read the address and provide inspiration and background on the speech at 8:20 p.m. (EST), the Kentucky Home Guard Band will be providing accompanying music, and Chief of Interpretation Stacy Humphreys will provide opening and closing remarks.

Abraham Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863, as a short dedication speech to the new national cemetery there. He crystalized in just a few sentences the meaning of the war, and why so many lost their lives. Edward Everett, the main speaker, later said to Lincoln that “I should be glad, if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes.”

During the evening event, the park’s Memorial Building will be illuminated in white light and Whit McMahan, as Abraham Lincoln, will be available for questions and photo opportunities with visitors. This illumination is part of a multi-event series that takes place throughout the year, which commemorates various aspects of Abraham Lincoln’s life that touched our country. The event is free and open to the public. Visitors are encouraged to bring flashlights and sturdy walking shoes.

For more information on the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park, visit the park’s website at: www.nps.gov/abli or the park’s Facebook page at https:www.facebook.com/LincolnBirthplaceNPS
 

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