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Alexander Bliss (29 December 1827 – 30 April 1896) was assistant quartermaster general of the Union forces and a colonel in the United States Army during the American Civil War. His father, also named Alexander, died before he was born; and his mother, Elizabeth Davis Bliss, later married George Bancroft, the eminent American historian.
- Naming
- Significance
- Background
- Goals
- Introduction
- Versions
- Quotes
- Analysis
- Themes
- Etymology
- Purpose
The Civil War has gone by a variety of different names throughout the years. One popular name in the postwar South was The War Between the States. Other names employed by Southerners include The War for Southern Independence and The War of Separation; in the North popular names included The War for the Union and The War of the Rebellion. The most c...
This short, declarative sentence contains evocative visual imagery that powerfully conveys the magnitude of the Battle of Gettysburg. Lincolns use of a passive verb construction here also emphasizes the power of the placeLincoln conveys that something brought them all to Gettysburg. Years later, Lincoln would use this notion of a divine plan, or fa...
The first hostilities in the American Civil War took place in April, 1861, with the Confederate armys attack on the US Army base of Fort Sumter in South Carolina. When Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address two years later, the tide of the war was turning in favor of the Union. The Confederate army under General Robert E. Lee had recently lost th...
One of Lincolns primary goals as president was to stop the spread of slavery. After the start of the Civil War, this approach quickly shifted towards the emancipation of the slaves, and Lincoln began taking steps to accomplish that goal by issuing the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. Lincoln uses this line, taken from the Declaration of Independe...
Lincoln begins his speech by alluding to the founding of the United States and the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776four score and seven, or eighty-seven, years ago. Lincoln draws on the nations history to use the ideas of the founders as a key element of his own speech. In doing so, Lincoln aligns the Northern cause with the ideal...
Five-known copies of the Gettysburg Address exist: the Nicolay draft, the Hay draft, the Everett copy, the Bancroft copy, and the Bliss copy. Each is named after the person to whom Lincoln sent the version. The Bliss copy (sent to Colonel Alexander Bliss) is the best known and is widely accepted as the standard because Lincoln signed and dated this...
To do something in vain is to do it uselessly, without effect or purpose. The word derives from the Latin vanus, which means empty or void. Lincolns aim is to ensure that the Union dead did not die without meaning, and therefore to call on the living to fulfill the purpose of the dead.
In this passage, Lincoln conveys the idea that actions speak louder than words. As he puts it, the words used to consecrate the battlefield will fade in time, but the efforts of the soldiers will not. In a twist of irony, Lincolns words in this speechwhat we say herehave been canonized for their eloquence, and thus will be long remembered, despite ...
One of Lincolns primary themes in the Gettysburg Address is the weakness of words compared to actions. Lincoln claims that the battlefield cannot be consecrated by an exchange of words; rather, it has already been consecrated by the deeds of the soldiers who fought at the Battle of Gettysburg. One of the great ironies, both of this address and of L...
To hallow means to sanctify or purify a person, place, or object. The word derives from the Old Saxon hêlagôn, from which we also derive holy. Lincoln uses a series of related wordsdedicate, consecrate, and hallowin order to emphasize his point that the ground at Gettysburg has already been rendered sacred by the sacrifices of the fallen soldiers.
The verb consecrate means to designate a person, place, or thing as sacred, to dedicate it to a religious purpose. In many cases, the act of consecration grants a placeoften a church or cemeterya special legal status. The process of assigning events a religious purpose was familiar to Abraham Lincoln, who spoke eloquently of the divine purposes ani...
The version reproduced in most history textbooks and on the walls of the Lincoln Memorial was given to Colonel Alexander Bliss, who requested it to use in a fundraising effort for Union...
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Mar 3, 2024 · Alexander Bliss of Massachusetts. Appointd from New York, Captain and Assitant Quatermaster General of Volunteers, 3 February 1862. Captain, Assistant Quartermaster General, United States Army, 13 March 1863. Lieutenant Colonel, Quatermaster General, Unassigned, 20 April 1863 to 1 August 1865. Colonel, Quatermaster General, Unassigned, 7 May ...
This "Bliss" draft of the Gettysburg Address is one of five slightly different versions of the speech. It is named after Colonel Alexander Bliss, stepson of historian George Bancroft, who requested a copy from President Lincoln for a soldier benefit fundraiser in 1864.
Alexander Bliss (29 December 1827 – 30 April 1896) was assistant quartermaster general of the Union forces and a Colonel in the United States Army during the American Civil War. His father, also named Alexander, died before he was born; and his mother, Elizabeth Davis Bliss, later married George...
