{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221062513/http://neal.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=352:springfield-celebrates-150th-gettysburg-address-anniversary&catid=6:news-articles&Itemid=23", "Springfield celebrates 150th Gettysburg Address anniversary", "2013-11-18", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "MA", "Richard Neal", "N000015", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "Springfield celebrates 150th Gettysburg Address anniversary\t\t \n\n\t\u00a0SPRINGFIELD - A shortage of heating fuel had caused a \u201ccoal panic,\u201d an 18-year-old city resident named McArthur became the youngest winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor and the president had traveled to Gettysburg to give a \u201clittle speech a perfect gem\u201d 150 years ago. Sunday city officials and residents gathered at the Civil War monument in Court Square to commemorate the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln\u2019s Gettysburg Address. U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, read the two-minute speech while Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and Wayne E. Phaneuf, executive editor of the Springfield Republican and city historian, talked about the city as it was 150 years ago. Roger Putnam Technical High School senior Diabolique Sanchez also read an excerpt of Tillie Pierce\u2019s 19th century memoir \u201cAt Gettysburg or What a Girl Saw and Heard of the Battle: A True Narrative.\u201d Before reading the 270-word Gettysburg Address, Neal spoke about how Lincoln managed to join ideals from the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence in his speech. He also talked about the president\u2019s efforts to end slavery through politics and policy. \u201cLincoln\u2019s principle is the great stain (slavery) on American history was going to be erased one way or another,\u201d Neal said. The Gettysburg Address, now so famous that many children read it at some time in school, was not widely praised. It was not the main speech to dedicate the Gettysburg ceremony, that was a two-hour lecture given by orator Edward Everett. Lincoln\u2019s closing address was two minutes long, Phaneuf said. \u201cMany critics panned it saying was too short,\u201d Phaneuf said. The Springfield Republican printed the speech on Nov. 21, two days after it was given, becoming one of the first newspapers to praise it. The writer called it Lincoln\u2019s \u201clittle speech a perfect gem; deep in feeling, compact in thought and expression, and tasteful and elegant in every word and comma.\u201d Phaneuf, the author of the Civil War series in The Republican, also talked a little about Springfield in November 1863. A \u201ccoal panic\u201d more than doubled the price of the main heating fuel for homes, Thanksgiving was named a national holiday, and Arthur McArthur, who was born in Chicopee and would later become the father of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, earned the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroism at 18. The son changed the spelling of his name. Sarno added to Phaneuf\u2019s introduction saying 2,500 Springfield residents had gone to war, and many of its women followed to take care of the wounded. The city also became a key stop on the underground railroad helping slaves escape. Following Neal\u2019s reading of the speech, the 9th Mass Light Artillery, a Civil War re-enactment group, fired a cannon and played taps. Springfield resident Ronald J. Brace Jr., a member of the Mass 54 Company E Infantry, a Civil War re-enactment group also known as the Stone Sole Soldiers, brought his own history. His great-great Uncle Peter Brace, fought in the Civil War and survived to come home to Springfield. \u201cI thought it was a great opportunity to come out, not just for the Civil War soldiers but all the soldiers,\u201d he said.\n\n\tTo view the original article, please click here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221062513/http://neal.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=352:springfield-celebrates-150th-gettysburg-address-anniversary&catid=6:news-articles&Itemid=23"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9282599203288555, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}