Reflections on the enduring relevance of Abraham Lincoln were at the heart of today’s Dedication Day ceremonies in the Gettysburg National Cemetery, marking the 162nd anniversary of the Gettysburg Address.
The event was co-sponsored by the Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania, Gettysburg National Military Park (GNMP), Gettysburg College, and the Gettysburg Foundation.
Kristina Heiser, GNMP superintendent, noted that the nation again faces internal conflict reminiscent of Lincoln’s era. She highlighted the enduring significance of Lincoln’s December 1862 message to Congress, quoting:
“Fellow-citizens, we cannot escape history. We of this Congress and this administration, will be remembered in spite of ourselves. … The fiery trial through which we pass, will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation. …In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free — honorable alike in what we give, and what we preserve. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth.”
Heiser concluded by saying that “Gettysburg National Cemetery is a place where our differences have no meaning.”
Gettysburg College President Robert Iuliano spoke about the long-standing bond between the college and Lincoln. He recounted how, on the day of Lincoln’s address, students and faculty walked into town to greet the president and then accompanied him to the cemetery—an act commemorated today through the annual college tradition known as “The walk.”
The keynote address was delivered by Dr. Jonathan White, Professor of American Studies at Christopher Newport University. Reflecting on contemporary divisions, he observed, “It is almost unfathomable to us to consider the number of dead the Civil War wrought. Such staggering number almost defy comprehension.”
White emphasized that Lincoln never abandoned his dedication to “representative government, government of the people, by the people.” He described how, even in victory, Lincoln chose humility in his Second Inaugural Address. Rather than boasting or assigning blame, Lincoln offered a profound meditation on the war’s meaning, concluding with the timeless passage:
“With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”
White noted the global reach of Lincoln’s ideals, pointing to Nelson Mandela’s admiration for Lincoln and the parallels in Mandela’s own inaugural message. He warned that “We live in a culture that has lost track of the wisdom of Lincoln and Mandela. We live in a culture that is unforgiving. We give those we disagree with little room for repentance or personal growth.” Mandela, he said, had every reason to withhold forgiveness, yet chose another path. White urged the audience to “listen to the angels of our better nature.”
After his speech, White reflected, “I’ve been coming to Gettysburg since I was a kid in the late 1980s or early 1990s, so it was a real honor to be invited to speak at the ceremony commemorating Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. I hope that, in a small way at least, I could show how Lincoln’s words and ideas are still relevant for our times — that he wanted Americans to act with charity toward one another, something that, sadly, is lacking in much of our discourse today.”
A highlight of the ceremony, as in past years, was the naturalization of 16 new U.S. citizens, who received a warm ovation from the crowd. They were welcomed with a recorded message from President Trump before taking their oath as families, dignitaries, and attendees looked on.
