Friend to Friend Masonic Memorial
| Friend to Friend Masonic Memorial | |
| historic district contributing structure | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Pennsylvania |
| County | Adams |
| HD & NPS unit | Gettysburg HD & NMP |
| Borough | Gettysburg, Pennsylvania |
| Park District | Gettysburg National Cemetery |
| Parts | sculpture & base w/ plaque |
| Elevation | 591 ft (180 m) [1] |
| Coordinates | 39°49′15.5″N 77°13′54.5″W / 39.820972°N 77.231806°WCoordinates: 39°49′15.5″N 77°13′54.5″W / 39.820972°N 77.231806°W |
| Sculptor Funding |
Ron Tunison Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania[2] |
| Material | sculpture: polychrome bronze[3] |
| Dedicated Designated |
August 21, 1993 January 23, 2004 (contributing structure) |
| Owner | National Park Service |
| Access | annex sidewalks |
| Wikimedia Commons: Friend to Friend Masonic Memorial | |
| Inscription: Dedicated August 31, 1993 Edward H. Fowler, Jr., Right Worshipful Grand Master | |
The Friend to Friend Masonic Memorial is a Gettysburg Battlefield monument depicting the "Armistead-Bingham incident" after Pickett's Charge[4] in which Union Army Captain Henry H. Bingham assisted mortally-wounded Confederate Brigadier General Lewis Addison Armistead, both Freemasons. (It was said that "as he went down he gave a Masonic sign asking for assistance,"[5] although this is disputed.[6]) Although Armistead's sword was captured and later returned in 1906,[7] Armistead entrusted other personal effects (i.e., spurs, watch chain, seal and pocketbook) with Bingham[8] after Armistead was shot twice. En route to a Union field hospital on the Spangler Farm, where he would die 2 days later,[9][10] Armistead briefly met Capt. Bingham, and after learning that he was on the staff of General Winfield Scott Hancock, a Freemason as well, he asked Bingham to pass along the items with a message to Hancock (see below).[8] Having been wounded at about the same time, General Hancock, who was a "valued friend"[8] of Armistead's from before the war, when they served together in the Federal army, would not see Armistead before he died.
The initial record that documented this memorial's depiction had been written by 1870 when James Walker painted the 20 ft × 7.5 ft (6.1 m × 2.3 m) The Repulse of Longstreet's Assault at the Battle of Gettysburg 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."[11] 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."[8]
Memorial description
The sculpture depicts Bingham at the side of Armistead and has a plaque on the reverse with information regarding the dedication: "This monument is presented by the Right Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania and dedicated as a memorial to the Freemasons of the Union and the Confederacy. Their unique bonds of friendship enabled them to remain a brotherhood undivided, even as they fought in a divided nation, faithfully supporting the respective governments under which they lived."
| Images | |
|---|---|
 DC memorials images | |
| Video | |
 image in YouTube video |
References
- ↑ "X_Value=-77.231806&Y_Value=39.820972". USGS Elevation Web Service Query. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2011-06-24. External link in
|work=(help) - ↑ Friend to Friend Masonic Memorial
- ↑ Commissioned Bronze Monuments by Ron Tunison
- ↑ Junkin, David Xavier (1880). The Life of Winfield Scott Hancock. D. Appleton and Co. p. 117. Retrieved 2011-09-04.
As he was being carried to the rear, he was met by Captain Harry Bingham, of Hancock's staff, who, getting off his horse, asked him if he could do anything for him. Armistead replied to take his watch and spurs to General Hancock, that they might be sent to his relatives. His wishes were complied with, General Hancock sending them to his friends at the first opportunity.
- ↑ "Masons at the Battle of Gettysburg and the Masonic Friend to Friend Monument". Gettysburg. Bessel.org. Retrieved 2011-09-04.
- ↑ Halleran, Michael A. (2010). "Prolog". The Better Angels of Our Nature. University of Alabama Press. ISBN 9780817316952.
- ↑ Frazier, John W (1906). Reunion of the Blue and Gray: Philadelphia Brigade and Pickett's Division (Google Books). Philadelphia: Ware Bros, Company, Printers. Retrieved 2011-02-06.
- 1 2 3 4 Bachelder, John Badger. "Letter from Captain Bingham to General Hancock". The Bachelder Papers, Volume I.
- ↑ Wolf Run Studio - Friend to Friend Memorial Notecards NOTE: "Colonel Martin was shot through the body and fell with Armistead."
- ↑ Images: Past and Present : photos : Gettysburg National Cemetery- powered by SmugMug
- ↑ "THE FINE ARTS.; Walker's Picture of the Battle of Gettysburg--Art Galleries--Mr. Gifford's New Picture". The New York Times. 1870-02-20.