Masons at the Battle of Gettysburg
and the Masonic Friend to Friend Monument
The Battle of Gettysburg, which took place from July 1 through July 3, 1863,
is the most famous, most bloody, and in many ways the most significant battle of
the U.S. Civil War from 1861 to 1865. Robert E. Lee took his Confederate
Army of Northern Virginia on a controversial invasion of the Northern States in
an effort to alleviate Virginia from having armies continue to fight there, and
also in an effort to bring the Union Army of the Potomac out of its
fortifications, to a climactic battle that could end the war and result in
independence for the Confederate States of America.
Abraham Lincoln understood the significance of Lee's invasion of
Pennsylvania, and he appointed Union Major General George G. Meade to lead the
United States army, with orders to prevent any attack on Washington, D.C., or
Baltimore, Maryland. General Meade led his army into northern Maryland,
while General Lee split his army into different parts with missions leading to
the hoped-for capture of Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania, with other
missions to follow. However, Lee did not realize that Meade's army was as
close as it was, until June 28. Then, he issued orders for the parts of
his army to regroup at Cashtown or Gettysburg.
In the meantime, some of Lee's army was camped near Gettysburg, and some of
Meade's army was in Gettysburg. They clashed briefly on June 30, and again
in much larger numbers on July 1. Both sides threw in reinforcements,
until the July 1 battle became a very large battle, very hard fought by both
sides. At the end of the day the force of overwhelming numbers resulted in
a Confederate victory for that day. The Union army regrouped on the hills
and ridge south of Gettysburg, in a very strong position, under the leadership
of Major General, and Brother, Winfield Scott Hancock, one of the most widely
admired generals of the Civil War.
On July 2, General Lee attempted to defeat the Union army by attacking both
ends of it, in another extremely hard-fought day with thousands of
casualties. One of the most significant events of that day was the defense
of a hill called Little Round Top by a Maine regiment commanded by Colonel
(later Major General), and Brother, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. When his
men ran out of ammunition, knowing that if he gave up his position the entire
battle might be lost, he ordered a bayonet charge that might have been
suicidal. Instead, he won a highly-praised victory, plus a Medal of Honor,
and fame that resulted in his being later be elected Governor of Maine four
times.
The climax of the battle took place on July 3. After a quiet morning,
in early afternoon General Lee ordered the most massive cannon attack ever on
the North American continent. Then, he ordered about 12,000 men to attack
the center of the Union position, across about a mile of open country.
Both the Southerners and Northerners generally showed great courage in facing
each other, realizing that this might be the event that would decide the war and
the fate of our country. Among the leaders of this event, known as
Pickett's Charge, was Confederate Brigadier General, and Brother, Lewis Addison
Armistead. The leader of the Union force being attacked was the Union
Major General, and Brother, Winfield Scott Hancock.
Armistead and Hancock were both career soldiers, and before the Civil War
they were friends when both were U.S. Army officers in California. Both
were also Freemasons.
When the Confederate attack reached the Union line at Gettysburg, there was
fierce fighting. General Armistead was shot twice, and as he went down he
gave a Masonic sign asking for assistance. A fellow Mason, a Union officer
named Henry H. Bingham, then a Captain, later a higher officer and then a very
influential Congressman, came to Armistead's assistance and offered to
help. Armistead reportedly asked to see and talk with his friend General
Hancock, but he was told that Hancock had been very badly wounded just a few
minutes earlier. Union Brother Bingham then helped Confederate Brother
Armistead off the field and to a hospital, but Armistead died two days
later. General Hancock, to the surprise of many, recovered and resumed his
command later in the Civil War.
This incident, of a Freemason who was a Union officer helping a Freemason who
was a wounded Confederate officer, is one of the greatest examples of the ideals
of Freemasonry in action. In 1993, the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania
completed and dedicated a monument on the Gettysburg National Cemetery, with the
cooperation and support of the United States government, that shows Brother
Bingham, a Union officer, assisting Brother Armistead. This statue is extremely dramatic,
and it is called the "Masonic Friend to Friend Masonic Memorial."
In the words of Sheldon A. Munn, one of the Freemasons who helped bring about
the construction of this monument:
"The 'Friend to Friend Masonic Memorial,' at Gettysburg will help
demonstrate to the world that Freemasonry is, indeed, a unique fraternity; that
its bonds of friendship, compassion and brotherly love withstood the ultimate
test during the most tragic and decisive period of our nation's history; it
stood then as it stands now, as 'A Brotherhood Undivided!'"
For more information, see:
Munn, Sheldon A. Freemasons at Gettysburg. Thomas
Publications, PO Box 3031, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania 17325, 1993, ISBN
0-939631-68-7.
Roberts, Allen E. House Undivided: The Story of Freemasonry and the
Civil War. Macoy Publishing and Masonic Supply Co., Richmond,
Virginia, 1961, ISBN 0-88053-056-1, also available from Anchor Communications,
Highland Springs, Virginia, the publishing company operated by Brother Roberts'
widow and children.
The following is from a handout used on a Masonic tour of the Gettysburg
Battlefield in 1999
Freemasons and the Battle of Gettysburg
A Masonic Tour of the Battle of Gettysburg
April 17, 1999
organized by Benjamin B. French Lodge #15, FAAM, District of
Columbia
(handout by Paul M. Bessel, April 16, 1999)
What the Civil War was about – Why it is important
Slavery - 1776 to 1860
Political fighting & Compromises (Clay’s role, PGM of Kentucky, but
renounced?)
1850's - Kansas-Nebraska Act - Dred Scot decision - John Brown (Mason,
renounced)
Republican Party
1860 election (role of Masons in the election)
Secession
The Civil War defined the U.S. we live in, and the U.S. became a world model
What happened in the Civil War before the Gettysburg
campaign
Lincoln and his generals
Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, George B. McClellan, Joseph Hooker
Bull Run (July 1861), Peninsula & 7 Days (March-July 1862), 2nd
Bull Run (August 1862), Antietam (September 1862), Fredericksburg (December
1862), Chancellorsville (May 1863)
Interesting items
Honor, stand and fight — Loading and firing muskets and cannons
Capture, POW’s, paroles
Brevet ranks
Electing officers — 9 month men leaving to go home
Draft, Bonuses — Discipline, executions — 2nd Maine and
Chamberlain
Income taxes — Paper money
Women in battles
Black soldiers — Confederates kidnapping Blacks on way to Battle of Gettysburg
Soldiers’ actions toward civilians
Imprisoning without trials — Suspension of writ of habeas corpus by both sides
Mines, submarines, trench warfare, aerial warfare, machine guns
Why the Battle of Gettysburg took place – What led up to
it
Lee’s goals - Union responses
"Fighting" Joe Hooker, George G. Meade new commander days before
Gettysburg
What happened at the Battle of Gettysburg, in general
days 1, 2, 3
James ("Pete") Longstreet, Ewell, A.P. Hill (not D.H. Hill), Henry
Heth, John B. Gordon
Sickles, Barksdale
Pickett, Kemper, George J. Stannard (Vermont), Henry Bingham
Masons who played key roles at the Battle of Gettysburg:
(1) Winfield Scott Hancock
Born February 14, 1824 in Montgomery Square near Norristown,
Pennsylvania. West Point class of 1840, graduated 18th out of 25, at
age 20. Served in Mexican and Seminole Wars and Utah (Mormon) Expedition. Chief
Quartermaster in Los Angeles, California. Civil War Brigadier (1 star) and Major
(2 star) General. Wounded severely at the Battle of Gettysburg. Considered one
of the best Union generals. After the Civil War served in the U.S. Army, later
Democratic candidate for President of the U.S. in 1880. Died February 9, 1886,
at Governor’s Island, New York. Buried in Montgomery Cemetery, Norristown,
Pennsylvania.
Member of Charity Lodge #190, Norristown, Pennsylvania, Royal
Arch Mason, #90, and Hutchison Commandery, Knights Templar #22.
(2) Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain
Born September 8, 1828 in Brewer, Maine. College Professor at
Bowdoin College, Maine; spoke 7 languages. Lieutenant Colonel and later Colonel
of the 20th Maine Regiment, later Brigadier (1 star) and Major (2
star) General. Wounded 6 times during the Civil War. Hero of Little Round Top,
for which he received the Medal of Honor. At Appomattox he was the General who
received the formal surrender of the Confederate Army, from Major General John
B. Gordon, a fellow Freemason. After the War, Chamberlain was elected Governor
of Maine 3 times, later President of Bowdoin College, a businessman and author.
Died February 24, 1914. Buried in Pine Grove Cemetery, Brunswick, Maine. There
is a museum about him in Brunswick.
Member of United Lodge #8 in Brunswick, Maine.
(3) Lewis Addison Armistead
Born February 18, 1817, in New Bern, North Carolina. Came
from a military family; his uncle commanded Fort McHenry during the British
bombardment in the War of 1812 which inspired the Star Spangled Banner. Attended
West Point 1833, 1834-1836, but resigned. Served in the Mexican War where he was
twice awarded for bravery. He was serving in California with Winfield Scott
Hancock when the Civil War began, and he resigned to travel cross country to
join the Confederate forces. Colonel and later Brigadier (1 star) General. Died
July 5, 1863, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
Member of Alexandria-Washington Lodge #22 in Virginia.
Charter member of Union Lodge 37 in Fort Riley, Kansas.
Other Freemasons who played significant roles at the Battle
of Gettysburg include:
Captain Henry H. Bingham, Chartiers Lodge #297, Cannonsburg
PA, Life Member of Union Lodge #121 in Philadelphia. Received the Medal of
Honor. Elected to Congress in 1878, where he served 33 years and was one of the
leaders of Congress. Died March 24, 1912, in Philadelphia, aged 70. Buried in
North Laurel Hills Cemetery, Philadelphia.
Major General Henry Heth, Senior Warden of Rocky Mountain
Lodge #205 in Utah Territory. Very close friend of Robert E. Lee. Military
career, severely wounded at Gettysburg but survived. After the War he started an
insurance business in Richmond. Died in 1899, age 73. Buried in Hollywood
Cemetery.
Brigadier General Solomon Meredith. Commander of the
"Iron Brigade," also called the "Black Hat Brigade." Born
May 29, 1810 in Guilford County, Virginia. Had 3 sons in the Union Army, 2 of
whom were killed. After the War he was surveyor general of the Montana
Territory. Member of Cambridge Lodge #105, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Brigadier General Alfred Iverson. Columbian Lodge #108,
Columbus, Georgia. His father was a U.S. Senator from Georgia before the War.
After the War he was a businessman in Georgia and later an orange grower in
Kissimmee, Florida. Died in 1911, age 82.
Major General Carl Schurz. Born March 2, 1828, in Cologne,
Prussia. Very well educated, but left Europe after he supported failed
revolutions. Prominent politician in the U.S., supported Lincoln’s election in
1860, and a leader of the German-American community. Given a Generalship to
command the large number of Germans in the Union Army. Did not have a
distinguished career in the Civil War. After the War we supported equal rights
for Blacks, Ambassador to Spain, U.S. Senator from Missouri, and Secretary of
the Interior. Died in 1906 in New York City, where a park is named for him.
Member of Herman Lodge #125 in Philadelphia.
Brigadier General John B. Gordon. Born February 6, 1832 in
Upson County, Georgia. Attended University of Georgia and trained in law. At the
Battle of Antietam he was wounded so severely in the head that only a bullet
hole in his hat prevented him from drowning in his own blood. Wounded 8 times.
After the War he was elected U.S. Senator from Georgia 3 times, later Governor
of Georgia. Listed in some publications as having been a member of Gate City Lodge #2 in
Atlanta, but members of that lodge say there are no records to support that
claim, so it is not accurate to say that he belonged to this lodge.
Brigadier General George T. "Tige" Anderson. Left
college in Georgia to enter the Mexican War. Severely wounded in Gettysburg.
After the War he was a railroad freight agent and then police chief in Anniston,
Georgia. He was a Freemason, but details are not known.
Brigadier General John H.H. Ward. Born in New York City in
1823. Fought in many Civil War battles, but removed from the Army in 1864 for
misbehavior and intoxication in the face of the enemy. This was disputed for 30
years, and never settled. After the War he served as clerk of courts in New
York. In 1903 while vacationing in Monroe, New York, he was run over by a train
and killed. Became a Mason in Metropolitan Lodge #273, New York City, f1855.
Royal Arch Mason, Commandery, Shriner, Active 33rd degree in the
AASR, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction.
Brigadier General Rufus Ingalls - Williamette Lodge #2 Oregon
Brigadier General Joseph B. Kershaw - Kershaw Lodge #29 South Carolina
Brigadier General Alfred T.A. Torbert - Temple Chapter #2 Delaware
Brigadier General William Barksdale - Columbus Lodge #5, Columbus, Mississippi
Major General David B. Birney - Franklin Lodge #134 Pennsylvania
Brigadier General Harry T. Hays - Louisiana Lodge #102 Louisiana
Major General Daniel Butterfield - Metropolitan Lodge #273 New York
Brigadier General John W. Geary - Philanthropy Lodge #255 Pennsylvania
Major General Alfred Pleasonton - Franklin Lodge #134 Pennsylvania
Brigadier General George J. Stannard - Franklin Lodge #4 Vermont
Brigadier General James L. Kemper - Linn Banks Lodge #126 (PM) Virginia
Major General George E. Pickett - Dove Lodge #51 Virginia
Brigadier General John D. Imboden - Staunton Lodge #13 Virginia
Interesting quotes
By Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain:
"... war is for the participants a test of character; it makes bad men
worse and good men better." [cited in: In The Hands of Providence: Joshua
L. Chamberlain & The American Civil War, by Alice Rains Trulock, 1992, page
349]
Also by Chamberlain, in a Memorial Day address in Springfield, Massachusetts,
in 1897:
"...everyone has in him, slumbering somewhere, the potencies of noble
action, and on due occasion these are likely to make themselves manifest and
effective." The secret to unlocking those potencies could be found in the
two souls residing in each person, for by striving for one’s better soul, the
soul of love and community, one could thus find the path toward greater glory,
the road toward true heroism. "Every man has in him the elements of a
hero," a conscious effort to put others before himself and to achieve a
"largeness of action." In all of this, there is something lofty and
spiritual, the fulfillment of divine destiny. [cited in: The Gettysburg Nobody
Knows, edited by Gabor S. Boritt, 1997]
About Winfield Scott Hancock:
"General Hancock appears the very beau ideal of the soldier. His figure
is tall and finely shaped. His eye is clear, blue, inquiring, benignant in
repose, but inspiring in danger and in earnestness. In manners, no man ever
surpassed him.
He is the embodiment of knightly courtesy, yet his dignity is of the simple
republican type that reminds one of the ideal Cincinnatus. No young officer,
with apprehensions, for the first time, ever reported to him and went away with
any other feeling than that Hancock was the man he wanted to serve under for
life.
To his subordinates he was always kindliness itself. He put one at ease at
once; gave confidence; made a man think better of himself; made him think he
amounted to a good deal more than he ever before suspected. This was one of the
great secrets of Hancock's success on the field. The men and officers all felt
that they had come in personal contact with their commander; that they had made
him think they were brave, good, reliable men; and when the crisis came, they
would rather die than destroy that opinion.
Hancock's reproof, on the other hand, was not a thing to be wished for twice.
He was severe in his requirements, and sometimes made his colonels and generals
wish that they were anywhere but under the plain severity of his talk. Yet after
the lesson was taught, the wound was at once healed by some attention, so kindly
and so gracious, that the object of it felt at last that he had really gained by
the transaction. Thus he was to his subordinates.
What he was to his superiors is a matter of history. No more loyal executor
of orders ever bestrode a horse. There are brilliant reputations whose dead and
living owners owe them to that loyal performance of duty. He went forward
cheerfully, without murmuring or questioning, in the accomplishment of what was
assigned to him, from first to last, willing to do anything and be anything in
the service of his country."
— written by a soldier who served under him
[cited in a webpage about Winfield Scott Hancock on the Internet]
By Abraham Lincoln, at the Gettysburg Cemetery, November 19, 1863:
"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this
continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition
that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing
whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated
can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come
to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting-place for those who here
gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and
proper that we should do this. But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we
cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead
who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or
detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it
can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living rather to be
dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far
so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task
remaining before us--that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to
that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion--that we here
highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation
under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of
the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth."
[emphasis added]
Books about the Battle of Gettysburg, the Civil War, and
Freemasonry
Biographies, and Books about, Masons at the Battle of Gettysburg and the
Civil War
Hancock
Hancock the Superb, by Glenn Tucker, published 1960 in Indianapolis and
New York
Winfield Scott Hancock: A Soldier’s Life, by David M. Jordan, published
1988 by Indiana University Press, Bloomington and Indianapolis, ISBN
0-253-36580-5
Chamberlain
In the Hands of Providence: Joshua L. Chamberlain & the American Civil
War, by Alice Rains Trulock, published 1992 by The University of North
Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, ISBN 0-8078-2020-2
Through Blood & Fire at Gettysburg: General Joshua Chamberlain and the 20th
Maine, by General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, published 1994 by Stan Clark
Military Books, Gettysburg, ISBN 1-879664-17-8, (from a 1913 article in Hearst’s
Magazine)
Stand Firm Ye Boys From Maine: The 20tth Maine and the Gettysburg Campaign,
by Thomas A. Desjardin, published 1995 by Thomas Publications, Gettysburg.
"General and Brother Joshua L. Chamberlain: A Mason Who Had the Soul of
a Lion and the Heart of a Woman," by Charles W. Plummer, in The Maine
Mason, volume 19, number 1, Spring 1991, pages 8-11.
Joshua Chamberlain and the 20th Maine (videotape), 1994, bc
productions, Brunswick, Maine
Armistead
"Trust in God and Fear Nothing": Gen. Lewis A. Armistead, CSA,
by Wayne E. Motts, Published 1994 by Farnsworth House Military Impressions, 401
Baltimore Street, Gettysburg PA 17325, ISBN 0-9643632-08
Freemasons and Gettysburg
Freemasons at Gettysburg, by Sheldon A. Munn, published 1993 by Thomas
Publications, PO Box 3031, Gettysburg PA 17325, ISBN 0-939631-68-3
House Undivided: The Story of Freemasonry and the Civil War, by Allen E.
Roberts, published 1961 (reprinted 1964 and 1976) by Macoy Publishing and
Masonic Supply Co., Richmond, Virginia, ISBN-0-88053-056-1
Befriend and Relieve Every Brother: Freemasonry During Wartime, by
Richard Eugene Shields, Jr., published 1994 by The Carolina Trader, Monroe,
North Carolina
Witness to the Young Republic: A Yankee’s Journal, 1828-1870, by
Benjamin Brown French, editors: Donald B. Cole and John J. McDonough, published
1989 by University Press of New England, Hanover and London
"My Enemy, My Brother: An Incident at Gettysburg", by William D.
Robertson, published in The Philalethes, June 1993, page 61
General Books (and other items) about the Battle of Gettysburg and the
Civil War
Gettysburg
Gettysburg: A Meditation on War & Values, by Kent Gramm, published
1994 by Indiana University Press, Bloomington and Indianapolis, Indiana, ISBN
0-253-32621-4
The Gettysburg Campaign: A Study in Command, by Edwin B. Coddington,
published 1968 by Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, ISBN 0-684-18152-5
The Gettysburg Nobody Knows, edited by Gabor S. Boritt, published 1997 by
Oxford University Press, New York, ISBN 0-19-510223-1
Gettysburg: The Second Day, by Harry W. Pfanz, published 1987 by The
University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, ISBN 0-8078-1749-X
To Hold This Ground: A Desperate Battle at Gettysburg, by Susan Provost
Beller, published 1995 by Margaret K. McElderry Books, ISBN 0-689-50621-X
The Third Day at Gettysburg & Beyond, edited by Gary W. Gallagher,
published 1994 by The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, ISBN
0-8078-2155-1
Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg, by John Michael Priest, published 1998
by White Mane Books, Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, ISBN 1-57249-138-8
Pickett’s Charge: A Microhistory of the Final Attack at Gettysburg, July 3,
1863, by George R. Stewart, published 1950 by Houghton Mifflin Company,
Boston, ISBN 0-395-59772-2
Gettysburg (videotape), by Turner Pictures, 1993, (based on the novel, The
Killer Angels, by Michael Shaara)
Civil War
Glory Road: The Bloody Route from Fredericksburg to Gettysburg (volume 2
of The Army of the Potomac trilogy), by Bruce Catton, published 1952 by
Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, New York
Never Call Retreat, by Bruce Catton (volume 3 of The Centennial History
of the Civil War), published 1965 by Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City,
New York
The Civil War: A Narrative - Fredericksburg to Meridian (volume 2 of a 3
volume series), by Shelby Foote, published 1963 by Random House, New York.
The War for the Union: The Organized War 1863-1864 (part of the series
The Ordeal of the Union), by Allan Nevins, published 1971 by Charles Scribner’s
Sons, New York, ISBN 684-10428-8
Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era, by James M. McPherson,
published 1988 by Oxford University Press, Inc., ISBN 0-345-35942-9
