Three Cheers for Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address

Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address is easily one the most famous speeches in American history. For collectors of historic newspapers, the speech is one of the most difficult to find printed in an 1863 paper.

According to Wikipedia, “despite the speech’s prominent place in the history and popular culture of the United States, the exact wording of the speech is disputed. The five known manuscripts of the Gettysburg Address differ in a number of details and also differ from contemporary newspaper reprints of the speech.”

Considering the disputed wording, one would consider contemporary newspaper printings of Lincoln’s speech — similar to the manuscript versions — highly desirable. Rag Linen is fortunate to have one such printing in its collection.

Exactly one week after the dedication of the Soldier’s National Cemetery in Gettysburg, and almost five months after the great battle, the November 26, 1863 Boston Weekly Journal printed Lincoln’s famous words. The issue’s back page is almost entirely reserved for complete printings of Edward Everett’s two-hour oration and Lincoln’s two-minute address. Having the Everett speech in a Boston newspaper is special because he had served as president of Harvard University, Governor of Massachusetts, and U.S. Senator and U.S. Representative for Massachusetts.

Below are images from the back page of the Boston Weekly Journal, including the headlines, introduction and the full printing of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. As you can see, the newspaper indicates that the speech was interrupted five times by applause, including one “long continued applause” followed by “three cheers” at its conclusion.