On July 4, 1865, the first Independence Day after the conclusion of the Civil War, Maj. Gen. Oliver Otis Howard returned to Gettysburg, where, two years earlier, he commanded the United States Eleventh Corps. Now chairman of the Freedmen’s Bureau, the abolitionist Howard viewed the conflict’s immediate legacy through an emancipationist lens, recognizing that U.S. veterans played a primary role in the end of American slavery. Join Codie Eash, SRMEC Director of Education and Interpretation, as he examines Howard’s complex military career, explores the Soldiers’ National Monument cornerstone dedication ceremony that brought Howard back to Cemetery Hill, and presents the entirety of Howard’s Fourth of July speech delivered amid the Battle of Gettysburg’s second anniversary.

- FREE with Museum Admission -

Lydia Ziegler Clare Education Center

Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center