There are definite advantages in being "the right person in the right place at the right time" Such was the case with Sgt. Hugh Paxton Bigham.

   Sgt. Bigham was a farm boy, reared within a few miles of Gettysburg. On June 16, 1863, he enlisted in an independent Cavalry Unit, Co. B., which was eventually merged into the 21^st Pennsylvania Cavalry and Bigham became 1^st Sgt. or Orderly Sgt. of Capt. Robert Bell's Co. B. It was the duty of his unit to scout the area around Gettysburg before the Battle to watch for approaching Confederate troops from the south. His unit was not involved in the Battle as they were at that time stationed at Columbia, Pa., in the lower Susquehanna.

   After the Battle, Sgt. Bigham's unit was stationed near Chambersburg, Pa., and prior to Nov. 19, 1863, Sgt. Bigham and a small contingent of Cavalry was assigned to assist with the dedication of the Soldier's  National Cemetery in Gettysburg, the venue for Abraham Lincoln's famous Gettysburg Address.

   Bigham was at the Gettysburg Train Station on Nov. 18, when Lincoln arrived by train from Washington by way of Hanover Junction, and escorted the 16^th President to the Wills House on the "diamond", or town center, where he was to stay the night at the home of Attorney David Wills. Sgt Bigham stood guard outside the second floor bedroom where the President was putting the "finishing touches" on his famous speech.

   During the evening, a telegram from Washington was delivered to the Wills House. According to his own words, Sgt, Bigham gently tapped on the President's bedroom door, and when the President came to the door, Sgt, Bigham handed him the telegram. The President hastily read through the dispatch and then resumed his seat at the desk where he was working on his speech, leaving the bedroom door ajar. After reading the wire more carefully, he returned to the partly open door and said to Sgt. Bigham as though speaking to a close friend or confidant," Guard, this message brings me good news. I was not sure I could come to Gettysburg because my son, Tad, was seriously ill in the White House. He  improved the day before I left Washington and this dispatch tells me he is very much better. Thank God for this news. I can rest better tonight".

   Later in the evening, around 11:00, the president was satisfied with the revisions to his speech, but wanted to check several details with his Secretary of State, Seward, who was staying next door at the Robert Harper House. During the time they were at the Harper House, The National Union Musical Association, more popularly known as The Baltimore Glee Club, under the direction of Wilson G. Horner, asked permission to serenade the President, which they did. By this time, a large crowd had gathered. Upon leaving the Harper House, the President said to his Guard," I want to go back to my room  now. You clear the way and I will hold onto your coattails". By this method, they made their way back to the Wills House.

   The next day, Nov. 19, Sgt. Bigham was the head of a special detail guarding the President during the parade to the Cemetery Dedication and was with him until the President's train departed from the Gettysburg Station at about 7:00 that evening.

   At the end of his six-month enlistment, Sgt. Bigham opted out of the service as he had developed a fever. He did, however, pay another man $300 to take his place, a common practice during the Civil War.

   He was truly, the "right person in the right place at the right time".