A Loudoun historical society is pushing for President-elect Barack Obama to start his inaugural procession in Gettysburg, a historical tour that would link him to Presidents Bill Clinton and Thomas Jefferson.
The Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership is trying to get Obama to commence his procession at Gettysburg, Pa., travel down Route 15 to Leesburg, and then along the Dulles Toll Road to the Lincoln Memorial.
Clinton kicked off his inaugural at Monticello — the southernmost site on the 175-mile corridor supported by the partnership — and traveled north to the nation’s capital. Jefferson took the same route in 1801 for his swearing-in, and was the first president to walk to and from his ceremony, rather than ride in a carriage.
“We’re ready to roll” with the plan, said Cate Wyatt, president of the organization, a nonprofit group dedicated to raising national awareness of historical sites along the corridor from Gettysburg to Monticello.
Wyatt said Obama’s invocation of the Founding Fathers in his acceptance speech on Election Day piqued her interest in pursuing an Obama inaugural visit to some of the sites.
“That obviously for myself was particularly inspiring, because I work so hard to raise awareness of the Founding Fathers,” she said.
The fact that the inaugural theme is based around the Gettysburg Address and many hotels already have been booked led to the idea of Obama making the trip from Gettysburg, Wyatt said. That way, the huge crowds expected for the inauguration could line the procession route and participate in the ceremony, she said.
Wyatt said she sent a letter to Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine’s office on the matter because she thought Kaine, as the national co-chairman of Obama’s campaign, might be able to forward the plan to the Presidential Inaugural Committee. She has not contacted the committee.
Gordon Hickey, a spokesman for Kaine, said the procession idea was “news to me.” Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley’s office said it had not heard of the plan, either.
The Loudoun Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted 5-4 to allocate $156,000 to the foundation to match grant funding from Preserve America, a White House initiative that supports the preservation of the country’s cultural and natural heritage.
