At Gettysburg on Decoration Day, 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt rose to speak to a crowd of 10,000 gathered at the Soldiers' National Cemetery. Though rain began to fall, it did not dampen the spirits of those gathered to pay their respects to the veterans of the Civil War. Roosevelt's stirring words warmed the hearts of many who were there, and those who lost loved ones more than two score years earlier. Here's a relevant passage from his speech.

"Life on the Civil War Research Trail" is hosted by Ronald S. Coddington, Editor and Publisher of Military Images magazine. Learn more about our mission to showcase, interpret and preserve Civil War portrait photography at militaryimagesmagazine.com and shopmilitaryimages.com.

This episode is brought to you in part by The Civil War Image Shop. Matthew Fleming opened his shop in 2010, and is known for the high quality of image offerings. Your source for Civil War images. Visit civilwarimageshop.com.

Image: National Portrait Gallery

This channel is a member of the YouTube Partner Program. Your interest, support, and engagement is key, and I'm grateful for it. Thank you!