Read on Twitter
Lewis Armistead was born #OTD in 1817 in New Bern, NC, into a distinguished military family. His father and 4 uncles served during the War of 1812. His uncle George Armistead commanded @FtMcHenryNPS during the battle that led to the writing of The Star Spangled Banner.
Lewis entered @WestPoint_USMA as part of the Class of 1839, but he struggled academically and then resigned from the school after a fight during which he broke a plate over Jubal Early’s head. His father used his connections to secure him a commission in the @USArmy anyway.
Armistead saw combat in the Mexican War, where he was brevetted to Captain after the Battles of Contreras and Churubusco, and again to Major after the Battles of Molino del Rey and Chapultepec, where he was wounded.
He remained in the Army, but suffered several personal tragedies. His first wife, Cecilia, and their daughter, Flora Lee, both died in 1850. He remarried, but his son from this marriage, Lewis B. Armistead, died as an infant, and his second wife, Cornelia, died a year later.
Continuing his service with the 6th Infantry Regiment, Armistead was sent to several western posts, ultimately commanding a garrison in San Diego. He became great friends with Winfield Scott Hancock, who also served with the 6th Infantry.
When the #CivilWar began, Armistead resigned his commission to join the confederacy. He was quickly given command of a regiment and ultimately a brigade, leading them in most of the major engagements fought by the Army of Northern Virginia.
On the final day of the Battle of @GettysburgNMP, Armistead led his brigade as part of Pickett’s Charge to the center of the Union line. With Armistead leading his men with his hat on the tip of his sword, the brigade breached the line, which was defended by Hancock’s men.
They were unable to hold the breach, and Armistead was mortally wounded. As his men retreated, the captured Armistead asked a Union officer to take his personal possessions to Hancock. He died two days later in a Union Army field hospital.
Armistead’s body’s was taken to @BaltimoreMD , and buried next to his famous uncle, George Armistead, in the city’s Old St. Paul’s Cemetery.
