GETTYSBURG, Pa. — An annual stop on the journey home from Washington, D.C., gave Darke County veterans an unusual opportunity to see a large American flag connected to President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.
The group visited the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center while returning from Darke County Veterans Services’ annual four-day trip to the nation’s capital. Although Gettysburg is a regular stop, this was the first time in eight years that participants had seen the historic flag on display.
Gary Little, a museum employee who lives in nearby Hanover, said the flag normally remains in the museum’s collections rather than on permanent public display.
“The flag is the flag that was flying over the Round Tops during President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address,” Little said.
The large banner features 35 stars arranged in five rows of seven, along with 13 stripes. Its design reflects the nation during the Civil War, when West Virginia’s admission to the Union brought the number of states to 35. The 35-star flag became the official American flag on July 4, 1863, and was the national design in use when Lincoln spoke at Gettysburg that November.
Little said the flag was brought out for upcoming November commemorations of Lincoln’s visit and the nation’s 250th anniversary.
An actor portraying Lincoln will retrace the president’s arrival in Gettysburg and his visit to the David Wills House, where he stayed the night before delivering his address.
“They’ll take him up to the Wills House where he stayed overnight, and then do the activities of the next day,” Little said.
The planned “Lincoln at Gettysburg” event will recreate Lincoln’s arrival at the train station Nov. 18, followed by a welcome and visit to the Wills House. On Nov. 19, participants will recreate the procession to the Soldiers’ National Cemetery and the delivery of the Gettysburg Address. Additional programming is planned for Nov. 16 and 17. The observance marks the address’s 163rd anniversary during America’s 250th anniversary year.
The flag’s connection to Round Top also brings attention to a newspaper account published just days before Lincoln’s appearance.
The Gettysburg Compiler reported on Nov. 16, 1863, that strong winds had blown down a large flag raised on the summit of Round Top. The pole broke into four pieces, but the flag suffered little damage and was raised again before the president’s visit.
That contemporary account documents a large flag flying on Round Top at the time, providing historical context for the connection Little described to the visiting veterans.
Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address on Nov. 19, 1863, during the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery, honoring Union soldiers who died in the battle. He spent the preceding night at the home of Gettysburg attorney David Wills, where he put the finishing touches on his remarks.
For the Darke County group, the temporary exhibit added another historical connection to a trip devoted to visiting places that preserve the nation’s military history and honor those who served.
Little explained that visitors see only part of the museum’s holdings at any given time. Artifacts rotate between storage and public exhibition, giving returning visitors opportunities to encounter different pieces of history.
“A lot of things in the archives come up and get put in the museum for six months,” he said. “Go back down, and something else comes up because there’s as much downstairs as there is in the museum.”
The Museum and Visitor Center is owned and operated by the Gettysburg Foundation in partnership with the National Park Service. Exhibits draw from National Park Service holdings and foundation collections, preserving artifacts that help tell the story of Gettysburg and the Civil War.
Little said the flag will eventually return to storage, making this year’s stop a timely opportunity for the Darke County veterans to see a banner he identified with one of the most significant speeches in American history.
