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The Gettysburg Address: Nov. 21, 2008 through January 4, 2009

Autograph Leaves of our Country's Authors

Lincoln created his final version of the Gettysburg Address for Autograph Leaves of Our Country's Authors. Alexander Bliss and John Pendleton Kennedy assembled and published the book in 1864 to raise money for the Baltimore Sanitary Fair.

Baltimore Sanitary Fair

The Maryland State Fair for U.S. Soldier Relief, more commonly known as the Baltimore Sanitary Fair, took place from April 18 to May 2, 1864.

Autograph Leaves helped raise money at the fair for the U.S. Sanitary and U.S. Christian commissions, the two major Northern relief organizations that coordinated women’s volunteer work during the Civil War. The commissions, both founded in 1861, promoted clean and healthy conditions in Union army camps, provided services to soldiers, set up hospitals, and raised funds for supplies.

First page of the Gettysburg Address

Print from Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, May 14, 1864. Courtesy of Maryland Historical Society.

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