File:36. Opening Speeches at Georgia Dedication at Gettysburg September 21, 1961 Page 11 (305757ca-3188-4764-940c-55e9fffb6bd7).jpg

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Acceptance of the Georgia State Memorial Gettysburg National Military Park September 21, 1961 Speech by Regional Director Ronald F. Lee Mr. Chairman, Governor Vandiver, Congressman Stephens, members of the Georgia Centennial Hall of Fam Committee, ladies and gentlemen: I am very happy to be here today and with Superintendent James Myers represent Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall and Director Conrad Wirth of the National Park Service, and to accept this splendid gift from the State of Georgia to the people of the United States. We are here today to commemorate the participation by sons of Georgia, in one of the truly significant events of our history – the Battle of Gettysburg. By mid-afternoon on the second day of this great battle, General Longstreet had placed the commands of John B. Hood and Lafayette McLaws in position along this low ridge where we now stand. The middle of that line was made up of Georgia regiments: Semmes’s brigade at this very point with those of G.T. Anderson and H.L. Benning to our left and those of W.T. Wofford and A.R. Wright to our right. In all – about 6000 of the 11,000 Georgia soldiers at Gettysburg formed on this ridge. Their mission was to make a broad flanking movement around the end of the Federal line anchored tenuously on Little Round Top, the lower of the two hills directly across the battlefield, beyond the screen or trees, behind me.

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