|
 |
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
GETTYSBURG, JULY 3,
1863 |
On Cemetery Ridge, during Pickett's
Charge, Confederate Brigadier General
Lewis A. Armistead and Union Major General Winfield S. Hancock were on
the opposite sides of a fierce battle. Both were Masonic Brothers, who
in calmer times had shared Fraternal ties. As the battle raged, each lay
wounded within a few hundred yards of each other. Armistead's cries for
help were heard by several Brothers in the Union ranks who came to the
aid of their Brother, though a confederate officer.
Captain Henry Bingham, a Union Aid to Hancock came upon the mortally
wounded Armistead, who asked Bingham to relay a message of regret and
convey his personal effects, including a Masonic watch, to his old
friend Hancock. Armistead died two days later without seeing Hancock.
But, his message was received and the spirit of
Brotherhood
survived.
|
|
|
|