Contact: Rachel Friedman, 727-443-7115 ext 206

Rachel@newsandexperts.com

Battle of Gettysburg
Commemorated July 1-3
Expert Highlights the Slavery Issue
in Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address
Every summer while many Americans get ready for Fourth of July barbecues,
one of the most significant events in U.S. history often gets overlooked -- The
Battle of Gettysburg, which took place July 1–3, 1863. “The commercialization of
Independence Day tends to overshadow this turning point in our history,” said
Frank Meredith, Civil War expert and author of the Civil War novel The
Unfinished Work from Emerald Books (www.theunfinishedwork.com). “Most
people don’t realize that if Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia had
managed to take Harrisburg and threaten Philadelphia, public pressure on
President Abraham Lincoln to end the war would probably have been
overwhelming. The Confederate States of America would have won their ‘Second
War of Independence,’ slavery would have continued, and the odds are good that
it would have only been a matter of time before the two countries were once
again at war.”

On the Fourth of July, 1863, Lee's Army retreated from Northern soil. The Union
victory and the dramatic number of casualties – nearly 51,000 Americans -- set
the stage for Lincoln’s trip to Gettysburg later in November to share a “few brief
remarks” at the dedication of the National Cemetery. Known today as
the Gettysburg Address, his words are widely regarded as the most important
speech in American history.

“That’s the reason I called my book The Unfinished Work,” Meredith said. “It’s a
phrase that Lincoln used to refer to the unfinished work of the Founding Fathers,
who had failed in their attempt to outlaw slavery from the very beginning of our
country. Though the Civil War won the freedom of four million enslaved African-
Americans, it did not win their equality. It took the Civil Rights movement one
hundred years later to finally move that process forward.”

Meredith sees the election of President Barack Obama as a vital step in the
completion of that unfinished work. “We have come a long way with race
relations in the past fifty years, but just because we have an African-American
president now doesn’t mean there isn’t work left to do. Hate and bigotry live on.
There are still people who dislike President Obama solely because of the color of
his skin.”

While Lincoln encouraged his listeners in 1863 “to be dedicated here to the
unfinished work,” Meredith believes this challenge is just as important
today. “Achieving freedom for all, while esteeming each other as equals, is
humankind’s unfinished work. To rid the world of bigotry, we need only to treat
each other with dignity and respect. After all, isn’t that what everyone wants?
Then we will truly live up to Lincoln’s words, that ‘these dead shall not have died
in vain.’”

About Frank Meredith

Frank Meredith grew up in Hanover, Pennsylvania, and he has been a Civil War
buff since witnessing the 100th Anniversary reenactment of the Battle of Hanover
in 1963. His non-fiction writing has appeared in several newspapers and journals,
and he has three more Civil War books due for release in the next year. He holds
degrees in music from The King’s College and Ithaca College and was awarded
a Doctoral Fellowship in conducting at Northwestern University.

To interview Frank Meredith or to request a review copy of “The Unfinished

Work,” please contact Rachel Friedman at (727) 443-7115 ext. 206 or email
Rachel@NewsAndExperts.com Please include your name, publication, and
mailing address with your request.