with Prof. Cheryl Boots, CGS and Alex Rankin, HGARC The year 1863 began with a proclamation of freedom, rose to a crescendo at Gettysburg, and after 172,103 casualties, ended with a national day of Thanksgiving. Come to the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center to view and hold first-hand accounts of the battle of Gettysburg, letters from Abraham Lincoln and his cabinet, diaries, photographs and more from the year that changed the nation forever.