Friend to Friend

This is another of the countless monuments at Gettysburg that never cease to fascinate me.  It shows wounded Confederate General Armistead being helped by a Union Captain.  General Armistead was in charge of one of the brigades in General Pickett’s Division during the Battle of Gettysburg.  On the third day, he personally led his brigade on foot in Pickett’s charge.  His brigade breached the farthest, and where the “High Water Mark” stands marks where they were stopped.  During the charge, Armistead crossed the wall but was shot soon after.  Mortally wounded, he was helped by a Union officer.  It turned out that they were both members of the Masons.  Armistead gave the officer a personal package to be given to General Winfield Hancock, a Union general who was good friends with Armistead before the war.  Hancock was also wounded during the battle.  Armistead died a few days later in a field hospital.  Hancock however survived the battle and found that the personal package contained Armistead’s personal bible.  This monument sits below the National Cemetery.  It was placed by the Masons and symbolizes the brotherhood that was shared between men on both sides of the fighting.  It is similar to many other monuments around the country, which also show how enemies worked together.