The 150th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address will occur on Nov. 19, 2013. With some of the most famous words ever spoken, Lincoln dedicated the new national cemetery on the Gettysburg battlefield.
To commemorate that moment in American history, and to celebrate the legacies of Murfreesboro’s own Stones River National Cemetery, The Heritage Center of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County has partnered with the Associated Press Corporate Archives to present the traveling exhibit, Long Remembered: The Associated Press With Lincoln at the First Inaugural and Gettysburg.
Long Remembered consists of 14 panels that discuss press coverage of Abraham Lincoln at two important events in his presidency—the first inauguration and the Gettysburg Address. Included in the exhibit are photographs of some of the reporters of the events described as well as a rare image of Lincoln at Gettysburg. This display also explores how people reacted to the Gettysburg Address, and the different ways the speech was covered in the newspapers. The first 150 guests can receive a free interpretative booklet produced by the Associated Press that accompanies the exhibit.
In support of the exhibit, there is a display case of historic postcards of Stones River National Cemetery, from the Heritage Center’s Ridley Wills II Postcard Collection.
Also, on Nov. 19, 2013, the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address, the Heritage Center is hosting a mid-day special event with “Mr. Lincoln,” portrayed by Dennis Boggs, who will read the Gettysburg Address and entertain a question and answer period. “Mr. Lincoln on the Square” takes place on Tuesday, Nov. 19, at 11:30 a.m. at the Heritage Center.
The exhibit is on view at the Heritage Center until Thursday, Dec. 12.
The Heritage Center of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and is located at 225 W. College St. in Murfreesboro. For more information call (615) 217-8013, e-mail heritage@mtsu.edu, or visit hcmrc.org.
The Heritage Center of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County is a joint venture between the MTSU Center for Historic Preservation’s Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area, Main Street: Murfreesboro/Rutherford County, the City of Murfreesboro, Rutherford County government and State Farm Insurance.
