In addition to the 15,000 spectators, attendees included six state governors: Andrew Gregg Curtin of Pennsylvania, Augustus Bradford of Maryland, Oliver P. Morton of Indiana, Horatio Seymour of New York, Joel Parker of New Jersey, and David Tod of Ohio.

The Pennsylvania governor designated Wills the commonwealth's agent, who was authorized to purchase 17 acres (6.9 ha) for a cemetery, paying $2,475.87 for the land ($61,270 as of 2025).

[14] On November 18 at 6:00 p.m., Abraham Lincoln and party (including his guest, Canadian politician William McDougall[15]) arrived at the Gettysburg Railroad Station.

It was actually on the crown of this hill, a short distance on the other side of the iron fence and inside the Evergreen Cemetery, where President Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address to a crowd of some 15,000 people.

[30]As recently as January 23, 2004, a multiple property submission by the GNMP extended the long history of misidentification by stating, the Soldiers' National Monument "Sits on site of speaker's platform where Gettysburg Address was orated.

"[31] Photographic analyses by Garry Wills[32] and William A. Frassanito,[33] completed in 1992 and 1995 respectively, conclusively place the location on the Evergreen Cemetery side of the dividing fence.