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Arts & Culture

Lincoln@Gettysburg

Reenactment of Lincoln writing the Gettysburg address at David Wills house in "Lincoln@Gettysburg."
Courtesy of Tristan Walker
Reenactment of Lincoln writing the Gettysburg address at David Wills house in "Lincoln@Gettysburg."

Airs Tuesday, April 15, 2014 at 10:30 p.m. on KPBS TV

Lincoln reading a telegraph at the window of the telegraph office.
Courtesy of Matthew Flassig
Lincoln reading a telegraph at the window of the telegraph office.
Reenactment of soldier using telegraph in the field in "Lincoln@Gettysburg."
Courtesy of Tristan Walker
Reenactment of soldier using telegraph in the field in "Lincoln@Gettysburg."

In 1863, Abraham Lincoln proved himself a master of a new frontier — not on the battlefields of the Civil War, but in his high-tech command center: the War Department Telegraph Office.

The internet of the 19th century, the telegraph gave Lincoln new powers to reshape leadership and wield personal control across distant battlefields. It also connected him to the country in new ways, as information poured in, and allowed him to feel the pulse of the country faster than before.

The results of Lincoln’s pioneering experiment in communication led to the rebirth of America on the fields of Gettysburg … both in the battle that turned the tide of the Civil War and in the few words that recast the American ideal as a national creed: the Gettysburg Address.

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Narrated by David Stratharin, the film reveals how Lincoln’s interest in new technologies gave him control never before exercised by any commander-in-chief.

"Lincoln@Gettysburg" was produced by Partisan Pictures.

Preview

"In 1863