Edward Everett Letter to Abraham Lincoln
Letterbook copy, 20 November 1863
Volume 120, 23 October 1863-28 March 1884, page 27
Renowned orator Edward Everett delivered the address at the consecration of the Soldiers' National Cemetery at Gettysburg on 19 November 1863, four months after the epic Civil War battle that took place there. The next day he composed this letter to Pres. Abraham Lincoln, who gave the opening remarks. Everett wrote, "I should be glad, if I could flatter myself, that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion in two hours, as you did in two minutes." The same day Lincoln replied, "I am pleased to know that, in your judgment, the little I did say was not entirely a failure." Ironically, Abraham Lincoln's eloquent short remarks, which became known as the Gettysburg Address, have completely eclipsed the crowning occasion of Everett's career.
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