Battle of Gettysburg Commemorated July 1-3

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by: Tony Panaccio
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Word Count: 460
Date: Sun, 18 Apr 2010 Time: 5:14 AM
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Every summer while many Americans get ready for Fourth of July barbecues, one of the most significant events in U.S. history often gets overlooked -- The Battle of Gettysburg, which took place July 1-3, 1863. "The commercialization of Independence Day tends to overshadow this turning point in our history," said Frank Meredith, Civil War expert and author of the Civil War novel The Unfinished Work from Emerald Books (www.theunfinishedwork.com). "Most people don't realize that if Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia had managed to take Harrisburg and threaten Philadelphia, public pressure on President Abraham Lincoln to end the war would probably have been overwhelming. The Confederate States of America would have won their ‘Second War of Independence,' slavery would have continued, and the odds are good that it would have only been a matter of time before the two countries were once again at war."

On the Fourth of July, 1863, Lee's Army retreated from Northern soil. The Union victory and the dramatic number of casualties - nearly 51,000 Americans -- set the stage for Lincoln's trip to Gettysburg later in November to share a "few brief remarks" at the dedication of the National Cemetery. Known today as the Gettysburg Address, his words are widely regarded as the most important speech in American history.

"That's the reason I called my book The Unfinished Work," Meredith said. "It's a phrase that Lincoln used to refer to the unfinished work of the Founding Fathers, who had failed in their attempt to outlaw slavery from the very beginning of our country. Though the Civil War won the freedom of four million enslaved African-Americans, it did not win their equality. It took the Civil Rights movement one hundred years later to finally move that process forward."

Meredith sees the election of President Barack Obama as a vital step in the completion of that unfinished work. "We have come a long way with race relations in the past fifty years, but just because we have an African-American president now doesn't mean there isn't work left to do. Hate and bigotry live on. There are still people who dislike President Obama solely because of the color of his skin."

While Lincoln encouraged his listeners in 1863 "to be dedicated here to the unfinished work," Meredith believes this challenge is just as important today. "Achieving freedom for all, while esteeming each other as equals, is humankind's unfinished work. To rid the world of bigotry, we need only to treat each other with dignity and respect. After all, isn't that what everyone wants? Then we will truly live up to Lincoln's words, that ‘these dead shall not have died in vain.'"

About the Author

Tony Panaccio is a staff writer at News & Experts.