Historic typed speech, annotated and signed as president, “Woodrow Wilson,” seven pages, 5.75 x 8, dated by Wilson, “4 July, 1914 [sic, 1913].” This speech was delivered at the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, with several notations and corrections in Wilson’s hand, and reads, in part: “I need not tell you what the battle of Gettysburg meant. These gallant men in blue and gray sit all about us here. Many of them met upon this ground in grim and deadly struggle. Upon these famous fields and hillsides their comrades died about them. In their presence it were an impertinence to discourse upon how the battle went, how it ended, what it signified! But fifty years have gone by since then, and I crave the privilege of speaking to you for a few minutes of what those fifty years have meant. What have they meant? They have meant peace and union and vigour, and the maturity and might of a great nation. How wholesome and healing the peace has been! We have found one another again as brothers and comrades in arms, enemies no longer, generous friends rather, our battles long past, the quarrel forgotten—except that we shall not forget the splendid valour, the manly devotion of the men then arrayed against one another, now grasping hands and smiling into each other's eyes. How complete the union has become and how dear to all of us, how unquestioned, how benign and majestic, as state after state has been added to this our great family of free men! How handsome the vigour, the maturity, the sign of the great nation we love with undivided hearts."
Wilson concludes the speech with a vague reference of the impending war brewing in Europe, “Who stands ready to act again and always in the spirit of this day of reunion and hope and patriotic fervor? The day of our country's life has but broadened into morning. Do not put uniforms by. Put the harness of the present on. Lift your eyes to the great tracts of life yet to be conquered in the interest of righteous peace, of that prosperity which lies in a people's hearts and outlasts all wars and errors of men. Come, let us be comrades and soldiers yet to serve our fellow men in quiet counsel, where the blare of trumpets is neither heard nor heeded and where the things are done which make blessed the nations of the world in peace and righteousness and love." All pages are matted and framed with an engraved portrait of Wilson to an overall size of 31 x 23.25. In fine condition.
From June 29th through July 4th of 1913, over 50,000 American Civil War veterans returned to Gettysburg to celebrate the battle’s 50th anniversary, making the event the largest Civil War reunion in history. After days of ceremonies, parades, dedications, and speeches marking Union-Confederate camaraderie, President Woodrow Wilson made his way through the central tent to address the massive audience. Reflecting on the fifty years of “peace and union and vigour, and the maturity and might of a great nation,” he captured the spirit of the event completely, while subtly hinting at the war brewing abroad. An incredible piece from a memorable event in American history, celebrating not only the Union’s greatest victory, but the fifty years of progress since. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA.
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