Lexington in Fayette County, Kentucky — The American South (East South Central)
Address by President Lincoln
At the Dedication of The Gettysburg National Cemetery
— November 19, 1863 —
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we can not hallow — this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Topics and series. This memorial is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Patriots & Patriotism • War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Former U.S. Presidents: #16 Abraham Lincoln, and the National Cemeteries series lists. A significant historical date for this entry is November 19, 1863.
Location. 38° 3.471′ N, 84° 30.648′ W. Marker is in Lexington, Kentucky, in Fayette County. Memorial can be reached from West Main Street (U.S. 421) 0.1 miles north of Newtown Pike / Oliver Lewis Highway (Kentucky Route 922), on the right when traveling north. Marker is located within the Lexington Cemetery, near the southwest side of the cemetery grounds. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 833 West Main Street, Lexington KY 40508, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. A National Cemetery System (here, next to this marker); Lexington National Cemetery (within shouting distance of this marker); 1787-1987 Bicentennial Tree (approx. 0.2 miles away); Henry Clay
(approx. 0.2 miles away); Confederate Soldiers Monument (approx. 0.2 miles away); Lexington Cemetery (approx. 0.2 miles away); Ladies' Confederate Memorial (approx. ¼ mile away); Lexington Historic Distillery District (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Lexington.
Also see . . . Lexington National Cemetery. Lexington National Cemetery consists of one triangular burial section located within the grounds of the public Lexington Cemetery in Lexington, Kentucky. The first burial in the national cemetery, that of Amos Barr of the 14th Infantry, occurred in 1861, in what was then a soldiers’ lot donated by Lexington Cemetery. Today, the national cemetery is notable for the arrangement of burials in concentric circles around the central flagpoles and original marble boundary posts. (Submitted on September 8, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Credits. This page was last revised on August 2, 2020. It was originally submitted on September 5, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 183 times since then and 30 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on September 8, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.