Nov. 18-19, 1863 - Lincoln Addresses Citizens in Hanover

Nov. 18, 1863

Lincoln's train stop visits on the way to/from the Gettysburg Address

Hanover, PA

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=173820

  Abraham Lincoln, on November 18, 1863 addressed the citizens of Hanover from the rear platform of a Hanover Branch Railroad Coach when the train bearing him to Gettysburg for the dedication of the National Cemetery came down a switch to the station which stood at the site. At the request of Captain A. W. Eichelberger, President of the Railroad, several hundred persons assembled to greet Mr. Lincoln. When Pastor M.J. Alleman of St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church cried out, "Father Abraham, your children want to hear you." The president removing his hat and bending his six feet four inches of height stepped into view through the low door way. A few grasped his hand. Jackie (or John A.) Melsheimer, held up by his father, reached him an apple which he smilingly accepted. Referring to the battle fought here June 30, he said, "I trust when the enemy was here the citizens of Hanover were loyal to our country and the stars and stripes. If you are not all true patriots in support of the union you should be." Before he could say more the engineer opened the throttle and the train backed out after an eight minute stop. The next day the President’s train again paused here briefly. After the trip Mr. Lincoln gave the conductor, John Eckert, a silver watch. The car that carried the president from Hanover Junction to Hanover and Gettysburg was built in a railroad shop on this public Common.

The station on which the plaque appears 

The other station

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=197246

"If you had been standing here on Wednesday afternoon, November 18, 1863, you might have heard a rumor that President Abraham Lincoln would be passing through town on a train. At 5 P.M., his train chugged down the main line directly in front of you. To allow a freight train to pass, it then slowly rolled onto a siding, or auxiliary line, leading to the Hanover Branch Railroad station. Known as the depot (built in 1852 and demolished in 1915), the building stood about one hundred yards to your right and across Railroad Street behind the current CSX station. After his train stopped there, Lincoln ducked his six feet four inches of height through the coach car's doorway and spoke in his reedy, Kentucky twang: "I trust when the enemy was here the citizens of Hanover were loyal to our country and the Stars and Stripes. If you are not all true patriots in support of the union you should be."

The locomotive then reversed to the main line to transport Lincoln to Gettysburg, where he delivered his immortal Gettysburg Address the next day at the dedication of the Soldiers National Cemetery. Today, a bronze plaque near the site of the old depot 

commemorates this special moment. According to local tradition, the Hanover Commons industrial yard, where the depot stood, manufactured the Hanover Branch Railroad coach car from which Lincoln spoke.

"[Lincoln] was greeted with cheers and delivered one of the brief quaint speeches for which he is celebrated. He said, 'Well, you have seen me, and according to general experience you have seen less than you expected to see,' and a hearty round of merriment attended the remark. The young ladies then came forward bringing bouquets and presented them to the President, while a beautiful flag was planted in the rear of the car. The whistle screamed, the brakes loosened, and the assemblage gave a cheer, and the train rattled up the Gettysburg road.”

—Hanover Spectator, Nov. 27, 1863"

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=197240

"In November of 1863, President Abraham Lincoln's party's journey from Washington, D.C. to Baltimore, New Freedom, Glen Rock, Hanover Junction (Seven Valleys), Hanover and ending in Gettysburg took six hours. Lincoln's layover at Hanover Junction lasted two hours. The Hanover Railroad Company made the car and line that took Lincoln to Gettysburg."

And don't forget this one, which I saw on a return visit in Summer 2025.

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=14880

One-half block east of here, on Nov. 18, 1863, Abraham Lincoln spoke briefly to townspeople from his special train. The President was traveling to Gettysburg for the dedication of the National Cemetery.