HARRISBURG – State Senator Doug Mastriano (R-33) continued a long-standing Senate tradition Wednesday when he gave the chamber’s annual “Lincoln Day” speech.
The remarks coincided with the 211th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln’s birth – Feb 12th, 1809 – as well as the upcoming Presidents Day observance.
Mastriano referenced the Gettysburg Address at Soldiers National Cemetery, which is located in the 33rd Senate District, and the Battle of Gettysburg.
“We are reminded of this pivotal moment in American history every day in the Senate chamber,” said Mastriano. “On the wall is a moving painting of President Lincoln in Gettysburg on November 19th 1863, delivering the most well-known speech in American history. The painting captures the burden that Lincoln felt as the cost of the Civil War weighed heavily upon him.”
Mastriano noted that 23,410 Pennsylvanians fought at Gettysburg, and recounted the valor of Sgt. George Porter, of the 57th Pennsylvania, and John Burns, who participated in the battle against the wishes of his wife. He also cited Jenny Wade, who was the lone civilian casualty.
“We are Pennsylvania, where the light of liberty was lit in Philadelphia in 1776 – a light that shines around this world to this very day, and where a new birth of freedom was secured at a great cost in Gettysburg in 1863,” said Mastriano. “We stand on the shoulders of giants, whose legacy and example should draw us together in these days that try our souls.”
Previous Lincoln Day speakers included Senators Camera Bartolotta, Scott Hutchinson and Judy Ward, among others.
CONTACT: Scot Pitzer, 717-787-4651 spitzer@pasen.gov.