Friend to Friend Masonic Memorial
Encyclopedia
The Friend to Friend Masonic Memorial is a Gettysburg Battlefield
monument depicting the "Armistead-Bingham incident"http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Ew0mAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jv0FAAAAIBAJ&pg=6870,2624189&dq=armistead+bingham&hl=en after Pickett's Charge
in which Union Army
Captain Henry H. Bingham
assisted mortally-wounded Confederate
Brigadier General Lewis Addison Armistead
, both Freemasons. Although Armistead's sword was captured and later returned in 1906, Armistead entrusted other personal effects (e.g., a pocket watch) with Bingham after Armistead was shot twice ("as he went down he gave a Masonic
sign asking for assistance"). En route to the Spangler Farm field hospital
where he died 2 days later, Armistead briefly met Winfield Scott Hancock
, a Freemason brother and close Federal colleague from before the war.http://www.gdg.org/Research/People/Armistead/armist1.html
The initial record
that documented this memorial's depiction had been written by 1870 when James Walker painted the 20 by 7.5 ft (6.1 by 2.3 m) The Repulse of Longstreet's Assault at the Battle of Gettysburghttp://www.schistory.net/SCV/articles/painting.htm with "Armistead, mortally wounded, is seated on the grass, and is in the act of giving his watch and spurs to his friend, Captain Bingham."http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F30613F7345C137B93C2AB1789D85F448784F9 The Lewis A. Armistead marker was placed at the high water mark of the Confederacy
in 1887, and Gettysburg (1993 film) dramatized the meeting (also at the location where Armistead fell): "Tell General Hancock for me that I have done him and you all an injury which I shall regret the longest day I live."http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0174568/bio
Gettysburg Battlefield
The Gettysburg Battlefield is the area of the July 1–3, 1863, military engagements of the Battle of Gettysburg within and around the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Locations of military engagements extend from the 4 acre site of the first shot & at on the west of the borough, to East...
monument depicting the "Armistead-Bingham incident"http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Ew0mAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jv0FAAAAIBAJ&pg=6870,2624189&dq=armistead+bingham&hl=en after Pickett's Charge
Pickett's Charge
Pickett's Charge was an infantry assault ordered by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee against Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's Union positions on Cemetery Ridge on July 3, 1863, the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. Its futility was predicted by the charge's commander,...
in which Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
Captain Henry H. Bingham
Henry H. Bingham
Henry Harrison Bingham was a Union Army officer in the American Civil War, who received the United States Military's highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor, for his actions at the Battle of the Wilderness....
assisted mortally-wounded Confederate
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
Brigadier General Lewis Addison Armistead
Lewis Addison Armistead
Lewis Addison Armistead was a Confederate brigadier general in the American Civil War, who was wounded, captured, and died after Pickett's Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg.-Early life:...
, both Freemasons. Although Armistead's sword was captured and later returned in 1906, Armistead entrusted other personal effects (e.g., a pocket watch) with Bingham after Armistead was shot twice ("as he went down he gave a Masonic
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
sign asking for assistance"). En route to the Spangler Farm field hospital
Field hospital
A field hospital is a large mobile medical unit that temporarily takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent hospital facilities...
where he died 2 days later, Armistead briefly met Winfield Scott Hancock
Winfield Scott Hancock
Winfield Scott Hancock was a career U.S. Army officer and the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 1880. He served with distinction in the Army for four decades, including service in the Mexican-American War and as a Union general in the American Civil War...
, a Freemason brother and close Federal colleague from before the war.http://www.gdg.org/Research/People/Armistead/armist1.html
The initial record
Provenance
Provenance, from the French provenir, "to come from", refers to the chronology of the ownership or location of an historical object. The term was originally mostly used for works of art, but is now used in similar senses in a wide range of fields, including science and computing...
that documented this memorial's depiction had been written by 1870 when James Walker painted the 20 by 7.5 ft (6.1 by 2.3 m) The Repulse of Longstreet's Assault at the Battle of Gettysburghttp://www.schistory.net/SCV/articles/painting.htm with "Armistead, mortally wounded, is seated on the grass, and is in the act of giving his watch and spurs to his friend, Captain Bingham."http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F30613F7345C137B93C2AB1789D85F448784F9 The Lewis A. Armistead marker was placed at the high water mark of the Confederacy
High Water Mark of the Confederacy
The high-water mark of the Confederacy refers to a Gettysburg Battlefield area at The Angle which was the farthest American Civil War line of advance of "The Assaulting Column" of the Confederate "Longstreet's assault" into the Union Army defensive line during July 3 of the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg...
in 1887, and Gettysburg (1993 film) dramatized the meeting (also at the location where Armistead fell): "Tell General Hancock for me that I have done him and you all an injury which I shall regret the longest day I live."http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0174568/bio