The Friend to Friend Masonic Memorial is a monument located in the annex of the Gettysburg National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Built by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, it commemorates wounded Confederate Brigadier General Lewis Addison Armistead entrusting Union Captain Henry H. Bingham, on the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg during Pickett's Charge, with his personal effects.

 Pickett's Charge was an assault upon the Union Army center on the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg. The charge, the high tide of the Confederate States of America, was repulsed. Confederate General Armistead, under George Pickett's command, personally led his men up the hill to the Union position. Armistead was shot twice. Severely wounded, and fearing that his personal effects would be stolen by Union soldiers, he "gave a Masonic sign asking for assistance". Union Captain Bingham, an aide to Major General Winfield Scott Hancock, a personal friend of Armistead, then came to his aid as he lay wounded: Armistead, Bingham, and Hancock were all Freemasons. After ensuring Armistead that his possessions would be sent to his family, most notably a pocket watch, spurs, watch chain, seal and pocketbook, Bingham took Armistead to a field hospital on the George Spangler farm, where Armistead died two days later. Armistead's sword had previously been captured, however it was later returned in 1906.

 The monument's sculptor was Ron Tunison of Cairo, New York, who was himself a Freemason. The sculpture is made of polychrome bronze. The statue was dedicated by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania on August 21, 1993.

A plaque on the reverse is engraved "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."

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Last Updated March 10, 2015

 

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