The Gettysburg Address was delivered on November 19, 1863, by President Lincoln
at the dedication of the national cemetery in Gettysburg PA.  This event
occurred more than 4 months after the famous battle where the armies of the
north and south collided for three days that, in the opinion of some
historians, changed the course of the war.
    
The war, of course, is the United States Civil War.  In this war, the Southern
States attempted to leave the Union and form the Confederate States of America.
The immediate cause was the election of Lincoln.  Deeper causes included states
rights, the power of the federal government, and the issue of slavery.
      
Lincoln was neither the featured speaker at the dedication, nor was he the first
speaker invited.  David Wills, appointed by the governor of PA to oversee the
construction of the national cemetery, invited the President on Nov. 2, well
after the September date when he invited the featured speaker Edward Everett.

Evidence exists that Lincoln was still refining his speech on the train ride
from Washington to PA..  This is completely believable as the speech lasted
only about two minuets, as apposed to the speech Everett gave that day, which
lasted for well over two hours.  Despite it?s brevity, this speech, given in a
remote area of  PA to a very small crowd has proven to be one of the cherished
and memorable speeches of all times.

There are only five known manuscript copies of the Gettysburg Address in
existence.  Of these five copies, the Library of congress has two.