Lincoln to Return to Gettysburg This November

By Ed Epstein

Washington, D.C.

Friday, March 13, 2026

President Abraham Lincoln will again arrive by steam train at Gettysburg, Pa., this time on November 18, 2026, just as he did back in 1863 on the day before he delivered his 272-word Gettysburg Address, a speech that still resonates today.

This November's arrival of Lincoln, portrayed by actor Billy Campbell, will kick off two days of festivities to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence and help the public focus on the meaning of the Gettysburg Address, which, from its opening words of "Four score and seven years ago," called Americans' attention to the Declaration of Independence's unfulfilled promise that "all men are created equal."

Gettysburg Address 250, an umbrella group for several organizations in Gettysburg and Adams County, Pa., this week unveiled its preliminary plans for a big parade through downtown Gettysburg featuring an army of Civil War reenactors and bands. In addition to Lincoln, portrayed by Campbell, who has starred in movies and TV series, other actors will portray Secretary of State William H. Seward and presidential secretary John Hay, among others. Seward and Hay accompanied Lincoln on his 1863 journey.

The entire event, called "Lincoln at Gettysburg: Shall Not Perish," is still being planned. It promises to be the biggest thing to hit Gettysburg in a long while." As America approaches its 250th anniversary, we are bringing the nation back to Gettysburg, a place where Lincoln reminded us of what America was meant to be," Wendy Allen, the noted Gettysburg artist who is also president of the Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania, said at a press conference announcing the plans. She is among the chief organizers of this year's events.

Once Lincoln leaves his train at the station on Carlisle Street, he will be escorted south a few blocks to the Wills House on the town square, where he spent the night of November 18, 1863.

On the following day, a big parade will proceed south to the Gettysburg National Cemetery, where on November 19, 1863, Lincoln made his short speech.

Planners say that Lincoln (Campbell) will emerge from the Wills House at 8:30 p.m. on November 18, just as the president did in 1863, to make brief remarks to the crowd gathered in the square, which today is a traffic roundabout. He'll then go back inside, and Seward will come out at 9 p.m. to make another speech.

On November 19 this year, there will be the presidential procession followed by the traditional reading of the Gettysburg Address at the cemetery, along with special features.

Town planners are working on logistics and say that motor vehicle access to downtown Gettysburg will be restricted during the two-day program. Satellite parking lots will be available, and visitors can use a shuttle system to get downtown.

Campbell, 66, is familiar with playing Lincoln. He portrayed the president in the 2013 made-for-TV film "Killing Lincoln," about the 1865 assassination.