Dedication Day, Remembrance Day Activities

On Saturday, November 19, Gettysburg commemorates the 148th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address during Dedication Day. This year, Remembrance Day (the Saturday closest to Dedication Day) is also held on November 19. Here's a list of highlights for Dedication Day commemorations:

148th Anniversary of the Gettysburg Address — Soldiers' National Cemetery, 97 Taneytown Rd., Gettysburg: The Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania, Gettysburg National Military Park and the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College are sponsoring the annual observation with a wreath-laying ceremony, followed by brief memorial services. The wreath laying begins at 9:30 a.m. Stephen Lang offers the keynote address, while Jim Getty (Gettysburg's resident Abraham Lincoln) will recite the Gettysburg Address. A U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services naturalization ceremony is also part of the event.

Graveside Salute to the U.S. Colored Troops — Soldiers' National Cemetery, 97 Taneytown Rd., Gettysburg: A commemoration of the sacrifices of the U.S. Colored Troops during the American Civil War will take place immediately following the Gettysburg Address commemoration ceremony. Millicent Sparks, who portrays the famed escaped slave and abolitionist Harriet Tubman, is the featured speaker.

Remembrance Day Parade and Ceremonies — Downtown Gettysburg: Sponsored by the Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War, this annual event is held in conjunction with the anniversary of the Gettysburg Address. The parade begins at 1 p.m.

Ninth Annual Remembrance Illumination — Soldiers' National Cemetery, 97 Taneytown Rd., Gettysburg: This luminary ceremony commemorates the soldiers who lost their lives in 1863 and to all those who made sacrifices at Gettysburg. The ceremony begins at 5:30 p.m.

On Sunday, November 20, a headstone dedication for Sadie Shriver will take place at the Evergreen Cemetery, 799 Baltimore St., Gettysburg. Sadie Shriver was 7 years old when she witnessed the Battle of Gettysburg. She died in 1874and was buried in Evergreen Cemetery, but her gravesite was never marked with a headstone.

On November 20, 2011, 137 years after her death, a headstone will be placed on Sadie's grave to commemorate the life of Sadie Shriver. Meet at the Shriver House, 309 Baltimore St., at 10 a.m. to join a procession to Evergreen Cemetery. The ceremony begins at 10:30 a.m.