Thousands gather for Remembrance Day
By Leon Reed · Originally published January 2023 · pp. 7
Thousands gather for Remembrance Day
by Leon Reed GETTYSBURG, Pa.—Living in Gettysburg can be confusing in November. Some people talk about “Dedication Day;” others talk about “Remembrance Day,” often meaning the same day. Dedication Day is an event sponsored by the Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania, the folks who bring you “100 Nights of Taps” every summer. On November 19, the anniversary of Lincoln’s speech, they sponsor a commemorative ceremony in the National Cemetery, a luminescence, candle lighting, as the light is fading in late afternoon. Other Dedication Day activities, include the 60th annual Robert Fortenbaugh Memorial Lecture, presented this year by historian, professor emerita, and licensed guide Carol Reardon. Remembrance Day is held on the Saturday closest to the Gettysburg Address anniversary date. This event is sponsored by the Sons of Veterans Reserve, one of several groups composed of descendants of Union veterans. Events under the Remembrance
Day umbrella include the parade, a Civil War-era ball, and various commemorative activities around the park, including a ceremony to rededicate the Women’s Monument in Evergreen Cemetery, a mass conducted by Father David Moreno, SDB, chaplain of the 7th New Jersey reenactment unit, at the Father Corby statue, and various visits by reenactors to sites of special significance to their particular groups’ participation, such as the commemorative ceremony by two New York units at the New York monument. Remembrance Day is one of the major tourist events of the year and, now that the large scale reenactment has been canceled, it is also, by far, the biggest Gettysburg event for reenactors. Most years, these events are a little spread out, but since the 19th fell on Saturday this year, it was an extremely busy day in Gettysburg. It was a perfect sunny day and the parade stepped
Union Color Guard in the cemetery. (Bruce Davis)
Luminaries. The site of Lincoln’s immortal Gettysburg Address, the cemetery marks the final resting place for more than 3,500 Union soldiers who died during the battle. (Jim Bargas)
off promptly at 1 p.m. from the local middle school parking lot. Thousands of spectators cheered the marchers, some of whom staked out a prime position an hour or more before the parade and many of whom laid out chairs to mark their spots hours before the event. The Sons of Veterans Reserve held a commemoration at the GAR statue while many Union units gathered at the Meade statue and Confederates gathered at the Armistead monument. Next year’s event will be held the same anniversary weekend.
Guards at the event. (Jim Bargas)
Left: Period and periodstyle musical instruments were played during the parade. (Destination Gettysburg)
Right: Some of the many reenactors who participated. (Destination Gettysburg)
Left: A section on the parade line. (Destination Gettysburg)
Confederate reenactors also participated in the event. (Destination Gettysburg)