The Ohio State University marching band has amazed audiences before with its technically impressive and artistically beautiful halftime shows — but they’ve done nothing quite as moving as Saturday’s Gettysburg tribute.
During the final home football game of the season, the band pulled out all the stops to honor the Civil War battle between the North and South and President Abraham Lincoln’s famous address.
Playing popular Civil War tunes such as “Home Sweet Home” and “When Johnny Comes Marching Home,” the band members formed soldiers marching along the field and a horse rearing while going into battle.
As the announcer recited the entire text of the Gettysburg address, the band created a formation to look like the Lincoln Memorial with a banner depicting the famous statue of the 16th President.
The halftime show culminated in the band forming a Union soldier and a Confederate soldier shaking hands at midfield as the U.S. flag was unfurled above their heads and fireworks were set off.
God bless America.
Watch the full halftime show below:
