Lauren wanted to learn more about the Gettysburg Address. I did some research and found out that The David Wills House is the place where Abraham Lincoln stayed the night before he gave the Gettysburg Address.
The David Wills Story-David Wills was born eleven miles from where the house is in 1831. He attended Pennsylvania (now Gettysburg) College and by 1854 was an attorney and superintendent of Adams County's schools. Two years later he married Catherine Jane "Jennie" Smyser and by the summer of 1863 the Wills had three children. Among many accomplishments, David Wills was appointed president of the Gettysburg Borough Council in 1872, and became Adams County Judge two years later. He also served on numerous boards of directors including that of the Bank of Gettysburg and the Gettysburg Railroad Company. But history would remember Wills for his efforts after the 1863 battle. The Civil War came to the doorstep of the Wills home in 1863. Confederate soldiers first came to Gettysburg in search of supplies on June 26. During the Confederate occupation of the town, Wills saw a "group of rebels with an ax break open the store door" of one of his tenants. Local citizens huddled in his cellar. After the battle, the Wills home filled quickly with wounded and dying soldiers. Local women acting as nurses tended to these men, and the U.S. Sanitary Commission (an early version of the U.S. Red Cross) established a temporary warehouse here. The U.S. Provost Marshall used the home as headquarters, and Gettysburg's leading citizens met here to make plans for proper burial of the dead.
Abraham Lincoln slept in this bed on the night of November 18, 1863. The furniture in this room is typical of the Rococo Revival style popular in the mid-1850s.
View from one of the 2nd story windows
Scott's cousin Gina joined us in Gettysburg for the day.
We left the David Wills House and walked a few blocks to The Garryowen Irish Pub for lunch.
After going through the David Wills house, we decided we really wanted to go to the Soldiers' National Cemetery and see approximately where Lincoln gave his address. We learned that no one knows exactly where he gave it, but they have a rough idea.
The Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address
On the morning of November 19, 1863, nearly 20,000 statesmen, soldiers and citizens converged on this hill to consecrate the new Soldiers' National Cemetery. the speakers' platform was located in Evergreen Cemetery. The Hon. Edward Everett, principal speaker and former Governor of Massachusetts, took the platform at noon. His eloquent, but exhausting, speech lasted two hours.
Following a hymn, President Abraham Lincoln rose to deliver "dedicatory remarks." As the crowd strained to see and hear, Lincoln spoke deliberately and without gestures. According to some observers, the people received his prayer-like words in stunned silence. The "Gettysburg Address" lasted two minutes.
Lincoln left the platform believe his remarks had disappointed the people. As time passed, however, it became clear that his simple utterances had found a place in many American hearts--and would for generations to come. (Source: Plaque located at cemetery)
Unmarked grave (State and Name of person unknown)
Unknown name of soldier, but state known
Soldiers' National Cemetery contains the graves of more than 6,000 United States servicemen, including 3,580 Union soldiers killed in the Civil War. Nearly half the Civil War burials are unknown soldiers.
After visiting Gettysburg on a 90 degree day with humidity, we decided we needed ice cream.
We stopped at Friendly's.
We left Gettysburg and headed towards Pittsburgh
Driving to Pittsburgh
She spent hours learning how to shuffle a deck of cards
Practicing her shuffling and trying to perfect her arch
We arrived in Pittsburgh right before sunset
A Pittsburgh favorite for many, so we had to give it a try
This is what makes them so special. They are served on large slices of fresh Italian bread. They add your meat, then they pile on french fries, cole slaw, tomatoes, and provolone cheese. So good!
Mine without the bread
Pittsburgh at night
We went to the Duquesne Incline
Samuel Diescher, a renowned engineer and builder of inclines, built The Duquesne Incline in 1877 for $47,000. The Incline was built to transport people from the city to homesites on the hilltop that is now Duquesne Heights. The original fare for a passenger was 5 cents; packages under 100 lbs were also carried for 5 cents. (source: A plaque on the wall inside the Incline)
The self-guided tour cost 50 cents each. It gave you a behind the scenes look at all the
machinery and you could watch the pulleys.
A blueprint showing how the Incline works
Inside the car heading down to the bottom
Enjoying the view and breeze
Looking up from the bottom
We left from here and drove a little over two hours to Strongsville, OH and spent the night there.
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