What speech did Abraham Lincoln deliver at Gettysburg on November 19, 1863?

Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address at Gettysburg on November 19, 1863.

Lincoln spoke during the dedication of Soldiers’ National Cemetery, following the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. The address honored the Union dead while connecting the war to the principles of equality and popular government expressed in the Declaration of Independence.

The speech was brief—commonly understood to contain 272 words in its standard version—but its language became one of the most influential statements in American political history. Lincoln’s opening reference to a nation “conceived in Liberty” linked the Civil War to the founding ideals remembered during America250.

Five manuscript copies are associated with Lincoln, and wording differs slightly among historical versions. The best-known text is the Bliss copy, which Lincoln wrote and signed after the ceremony. The speech is often confused with Lincoln’s inaugural addresses, but it was a cemetery dedication speech rather than an inauguration.