Who delivered the Gettysburg Address at the dedication of a Pennsylvania cemetery in 1863?

Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Lincoln gave the speech on November 19, 1863, four and a half months after the Battle of Gettysburg. The ceremony honored Union soldiers who had died during the pivotal Civil War battle, fought from July 1 to July 3.

The main oration was delivered by Edward Everett, a prominent speaker and former U.S. secretary of state. Lincoln’s remarks were much shorter, but his words became the most remembered part of the ceremony. The address connected the war to the principles of equality and representative government.

The speech is often described as containing 272 words, although the exact count depends on which of the five known manuscript versions is used. Its best-known manuscripts differ in wording and punctuation, so printed versions are not perfectly identical.