Copy of Gettysburg Address to be on display in Springfield

One of the five surviving copies of the Gettysburg Address written by Abraham Lincoln will be on display this month in Springfield. (Photo by Chris Hsia/Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0)

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — One of the five surviving copies of the Gettysburg Address written by Abraham Lincoln will be on display this month in Springfield.

Officials with the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum say the facility will have the copy available for the public to view from Nov. 13-26 to mark the anniversary of the speech. Lincoln delivered it Nov. 19, 1863 at the dedication of a cemetery for soldiers killed in the Battle of Gettysburg.

Museum executive director Alan Lowe says the handwritten copy of the speech “is a physical link to that key moment in history.” The museum plans other events to mark the anniversary. The 33rd Illinois Volunteer Regiment Band will perform Nov. 18.

On Nov. 18 and 19 historic interpreters will portray Civil War soldiers for museum visitors.