‘Civil War Lodge takes Fort Monroe’

    

The Lincoln Gun, located on the grounds of Fort Monroe. Cast in 1860 and named for the president in ’62, this beast fired 300-pound projectiles more than four miles against Confederate batteries on Sewells Point.

Let me begin with the news just announced: Civil War Lodge of Research 1865 will not meet in December for elections and installation of officers as usual, but instead will meet Saturday, January 16 at 10 a.m. in the lodge room at MAHOVA.

Light turn-out for our October 10 meeting
at Monitor Lodge 197 in Hampton, Virginia.

But this edition of The Magpie Mason concerns our meeting last Saturday in Virginia, which was another great time split between the lodge communication and the extracurricular activities. We gathered at Monitor Lodge 197 in Hampton for a shorter-than-typical meeting. Some of the officers were unable to attend, so I had the privilege of serving as tyler.

(It is worth studying and appreciating the differences among grand lodges’ rituals regarding our tylers/tilers. For example, New Jersey’s Opening includes a fairly elaborate portion when the master summons the tyler, who enters, approaches the East, discusses his ritual duties with the master, receives the implement of his office and retires, and then the lodge is tyled and the Opening proceeds. Here in New York, nothing like that happens. The tiler remains outside the door and only receives news from the junior deacon. It is the JD who discusses the tiler’s duties with the master. In Virginia, there is yet a third way, one that is closer to New York’s ritual, albeit with something for the tyler to say to the junior deacon.)

Likeness of the USS Monitor displayed
in the lodge.

You probably guessed Monitor Lodge 197 was named for the U.S. Navy’s first ironclad ship, launched January 30, 1862, which famously fought the ironclad CSS Virginia in the Battle of Hampton Roads in March. The USS Monitor was lost at sea in a storm on December 31 of that same year.

Painting of the USS Monitor in the lodge.
A gift from Bro. John D. Bell.

This was a quick meeting, maybe because, unfortunately, only eleven of us were present. We balloted on two candidates, one for restoration, and one for affiliation—both clear, making our membership 332 Masons strong. (That’s a lot for a research lodge.) One petition for membership, from Ontario, was received.

212 East Mellen Street, built in 1963,
is a short walk from Ft. Monroe.

Our annual meeting in December still was in planning, and, as noted above, this will take place in January. Looking at the rest of 2027, our meetings will be:

✔ April 10 at St. John’s Lodge 3 in New Bern, North Carolina;

✔ July 10 at either somewhere in the District of Columbia or in the GWMNM in Alexandria; and

✔ October 9, hopefully in Maryland, maybe at either Philanthropic 168 or Columbia 58 (the two are only about twelve miles apart).

And December 2027? I think that will have to be figured out by the then incoming Worshipful Master.

I assume this is one of the reasons the rebels never got around to capturing this U.S. fort despite its location in Virginia.

During WM Hare’s preview of our post-meeting visit to Fort Monroe, we learned:

⭑ Ft. Monroe remained a U.S. installation throughout the Civil War. Built in the early 19th century, it is named for James Monroe.

⭑ Edgar Allan Poe had served there as a sergeant major of artillery in 1828. Hard to envision, but there you go.

⭑ Second Lieutenant Robert E. Lee, an engineer, was stationed there, 1831-34.

⭑ Harriet Tubman factors repeatedly in the fort’s Civil War story, serving as a nurse and in other capacities, 1861-65.

⭑ Jefferson Davis, having been captured in May 1865, quickly was sent to Fort Monroe for incarceration, and was released two years later. After touring the fort and its grounds, I can say there would have been zero chance of escape or forcible liberation from the site.

Outside Davis’ jail cell…

…and inside. Jefferson Davis was charged with treason, conspiring to assassinate President Lincoln, and committing atrocities against Union POWs. The murder charge didn’t stick; the other charges were dropped; he was a free man by the end of 1868. I don’t know who prosecuted, but if Jeff Davis walks on treason, you’re hopeless.

⭑ Fort Monroe became known as Freedom’s Fortress on account of its commanding officer providing sanctuary for escaped slaves.

Click to enlarge.
Didactic panels in the fort’s museum.

⭑ The Haunted Fort: Because of its four centuries of history, Fort Monroe is said to be home to spirits ranging from Davis and Poe to Abraham Lincoln and a number of lesser known local personalities.

But the proof is in the touring. We didn’t have a formal group tour so we visited independently, occasionally bumping into each other.

 

 

The 3-Inch Ordinance Rifle Model 1861 was manufactured by Phoenix Iron Co. in Pennsylvania. Weight: more than 800 pounds. Fired a nine-pound shell 2.25 miles.

Tobacciana is scarce in the fort’s Casemate Museum,
but I found this.

One of the gates to ingress and egress.
Obey the traffic light!

Quarters No. 1, where Lincoln stayed, May 1862,
while planning the attack on Norfolk, Virginia.

 

Eight, nine, and ten-inch Rodman Gun cannon balls,
recovered from the moat.

Known as the Algernourne Oak, it is named for Fort Algernourne, a 1609 English stockade where Ft. Monroe would be constructed. It is approximately 500 years old, so it is credited with seeing the first slaves brought from Africa to the New World. Its trunk’s girth spans about 288 inches, and it stands 58 feet, with a crown measuring 88 feet.

 

This tree was planted June 6, 1984 to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of D-Day in France, and is planted in soil from Omaha Beach in Normandy.

The Parade Grounds.

While driving around the fort, I espied a sign pointing to a brewery. Despite my terrible sense of direction, I found Oozlefinch Beers…

…and had a Moat Monster (the fort is ringed by a moat) Stout Ale. It’s a dark beer, of 5% ABV, not a stout. It was okay.

Has Ft. Monroe a connection to New York City? Yes. Prior to the War of 1812, the government constructed a first, then a second, system of coastal fortifications to guard major harbors and ports. These included Monroe at Chesapeake Bay; McHenry at Baltimore; Mifflin at Philadelphia; and both Fort Columbus and Castle Clinton at Manhattan.

Origins of Monitor Lodge 113/197

A few days ago, I excerpted from Edward T. Schultz’s multi-volume History of Freemasonry in Maryland, and in Vol. 3 we find:

At the Semi-annual Communication [of Grand Lodge], May 1863, Grand Master McJilton reported that he had granted a dispensation to Bro. C.W. Thomas, Past Master, and others, for the opening of a Regimental Lodge, temporarily at Fortress Monroe. He stated, that “although the Fortress is in the State of Virginia, it is the property of the United States, and as it was impossible for the Brethren residing there to obtain a dispensation from Virginia, they accordingly made application to Maryland. The Brethren desiring the Lodge privileges were not residents of Virginia, but of Maryland and other States.”

Upon the recommendation of the Committee to whom the subject was referred, a Charter was ordered to be issued for Monitor Lodge, No. 113, at same Communication.

At the Semi-annual Communication, May 1865, upon the motion of Past Grand Master Ohr, preambles and resolutions were adopted to the effect that whereas regular communications can again be held with the Grand Lodge of Virginia, the Grand Master be requested to take such steps as in his judgment shall be proper for the withdrawal of the Charter of Monitor Lodge, and its transfer to the Grand Lodge of Virginia. In accordance with which the Charter was surrendered at the conclusion of the Communication, and turned over to the Grand Lodge of Virginia, which body at its Annual Communication, December 1865, adopted the following:

WHEREAS, A charter was granted in May 1863 by the Grand Lodge of Maryland to certain Masons at Fortress Monroe, empowering them to open a Lodge under the name of Monitor Lodge;

And whereas, the Charter was surrendered to the said Grand Lodge in November 1865;

Now therefore, in consideration of the fact that these Brethren at Fortress Monroe were cut off from communication with the Grand Lodge of Virginia, and therefore could not apply to her for authority to organize, and that the Grand Lodge of Maryland has acted so honorably and fraternally, in withdrawing their authority as soon as they could communicate with this Grand Lodge; that these Brethren yielded so readily, and have shown so commendable a spirit: now therefore,

Be it resolved, That their application for a Charter be granted under the name and style of Monitor Lodge, No. 197, with such officers as may hereafter be designated to the Grand Secretary; provided, the officers and members of said Monitor Lodge, No. —, who have received the degrees in said Lodge, shall first be duly healed.

The records of Monitor Lodge, No. 113, while working under dispensation and charter from the Grand Lodge of Maryland, and under charter of Virginia, as No. 197, to the year 1879, have kindly been placed by the Master in the hands of the writer, and from them the following items are quoted:

The first meeting under the dispensation recorded is March 31st, 1863, although reference is made to prior meetings. May 14th, Bros. Robert Quynn, David Martin, Wm. J. Stowell, Thos. J. Cooper of Baltimore, and Brethren from other jurisdictions were present, when the Lodge was constituted under the Charter, and the officers installed by Bro. Quynn, of Arcana Lodge, No. 110, Baltimore. Meetings were held nearly every week and many applications were received and acted upon. In accordance with the instructions of the Grand Lodge applications for initiation were refused from everyone not connected with the army or navy of the United States. It is to be regretted that in many cases, the rank and former residence of the applicants are not stated in the records. Brig . Gen. Rufus King of Milwaukee, and many others, were elected to receive the degrees, but the exigencies of the service requiring their presence elsewhere, never received them. The last meeting held under the Maryland Charter was November 28th, 1865. The following Brethren having served as Masters: Charles W. Thomas, Ely McClellan, Joseph G. Fulton, and John Bogart. The records have been well kept by the following secretaries: Anthony E. Stocker, James M. Meade, and John Bogart. In accordance with the resolutions of the Grand Lodge of Virginia, a meeting was held under its new Charter Number, 197, January 2nd, 1866, when Worshipful Bro. J.G. Smith, by authority of D. Grand Master Samuel Seldon of District No. 1, proceeded to formally heal the officers and members of Monitor Lodge, No. 113, in accordance with the requirements of the Grand Lodge of Virginia. The Lodge under its present Charter appears to have had a prosperous existence.

     

‘Communication in a cemetery’

    

If you are the type who keeps an all-seeing eye open for Masonic symbols on headstones when visiting cemeteries, this stated communication may be for you.

Western Branch Lodge 189 in Virginia will meet Saturday inside Southampton Memorial Park in Franklin at four in the afternoon.

Closed on Saturdays, the cemetery will welcome the lodge. It contains not one, but two Masonic sections. I imagine there are many familiar images engraved in the granite and other hard stone markers.

Most Worshipful Vernon Stuart Cook, who served as the Grand Lodge of Virginia’s 172nd Grand Master in 2016-17, will be the keynote speaker presenting “Masonry: A Force for Good.”

(Secret of the chair: bring your own.)

     

‘Museum fundraiser seeks auction items’

    

Click to enlarge.

As a fundraiser to benefit its library and museum, the Grand Lodge of Virginia plans a gala for October 23 that will feature a silent auction. We can help by donating pieces of Masonic material culture to be sold by bid that evening. From the publicity:

Silent Auction Donations Needed!

We are preparing for the Grand Lodge of Virginia Library and Museum Fundraising Gala on Friday, October 23 in Richmond, and we are now seeking donations for our silent auction. We are especially interested in antique and historic Masonic collectibles, including:

⬩antique Masonic memorabilia

⬩old Masonic jewels, medals, and pins

⬩vintage lodge items

⬩historic Masonic books

⬩antique Masonic artwork

⬩Past Master items

⬩lodge photographs and documents

⬩rare or unusual Masonic collectibles

We also are looking for gift cards, gift baskets, restaurant certificates, golf packages, experiences, artwork, services, and other unique items. If you have something you would be willing to donate—or know someone who might—we would love to hear from you.

Help us preserve and celebrate the rich history of Freemasonry in Virginia while making this fundraising gala a tremendous success. Brothers, let’s see what treasures are hiding in those lodge rooms, attics, and collections.

To contribute, send an email here.

A transition is underway at the institution. While Grand Lodge’s website still refers to it as the Allen E. Roberts Masonic Library, Inc., it seems that name is subject to change pending the right endowment donation. Also, personnel changes have been made, and displays of artifacts are expanding.

Listen to this recent episode of Grand Lodge’s Nine Mile Road Podcast to hear about these reforms and more. Host Jason Himsey interviews Grand Senior Warden Gino Williams. Not even ten minutes. Check it out.

     

‘Grand Master’s OV on the 29th’

   

Just need to add 1738.

Far as I’m concerned, it’s the Douglas Smith Lodge of Research, but its warrant reads “A. Douglas Smith Lodge of Research” No. 1949, it having been named for the Grand Lodge of Virginia’s MWGM of the year 1949. Normally, the lodge meets inside the George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria, but on August 29 it instead will meet at Hay Market Lodge 313 in Haymarket for the occasion of Grand Master Matt Szramoski’s Official Visit to the Research Lodge District.

Virginia Freemasonry is home to six lodges of research, so it makes sense to organize so many into one district. The first of those lodges was ADS, which was set to labor in 1982 by MW Lloyd Jefferson. Its namesake was a forceful proponent of non-ritual Masonic education.

In Vol. 3 of the lodge’s transactions, RW Kwame Acquaah explains:

The founders’ intent was to establish a lodge in Northern Virginia to foster research; promote the serious study among the brethren of the different aspects of Masonry and the subjects and issues related thereto; encourage the preparation and presentation of papers on Masonic subjects and their discussion in the lodge; associate with or collaborate with Masonic scholars in other jurisdictions; gather and preserve Masonic information; maintain a library; supply papers or speakers at the request of other lodges when convenient; and conduct a program of general service to the Craft in the field of Masonic education and information.

The lodge will tile at 10 a.m. and at one o’clock the barbecue lunch will be served. Attire, I’m told, is polo shirts and khakis.

I’d love to be there, holding membership in Civil War Lodge of Research, but instead I will be headed north to Connecticut for the Colonial EA° at New Haven, which I will tell you all about.

     

‘Researchers discover Acacia in Pennsylvania’

    

Most of the group at Civil War Lodge of Research 1865 yesterday at Acacia 586 in Pennsylvania.

Another great weekend with Civil War Lodge of Research is behind us. Time to look forward to the next one.

Worshipful Master Bill presents Bro. Creighton his Past Master apron. Our Chaplain this year, Creighton is Pastor at Danieltown Baptist Church in North Carolina. He served in the East last year.

We sojourned from our Virginia home to the Keystone State for a visit to Acacia Lodge 586 in Waynesboro for our meeting and additional stops in the area. It’s great to sit in lodge again with Bennett, almost fully recovered from a recent injury, and the brethren. An encouraging turn-out too, with twenty-two present, including a delegation from our host lodge (we don’t always see many from the lodges that welcome us into their temples).

The Worshipful Master in the East at Acacia 586.

We balloted and added another Virginia brother to our ranks too, as Bro. Donald of, I think, Mount Carmel 133 was elected to membership, so our roster numbers 331 members. (That’s a high number for a research lodge, but brethren from Virginia, across the country, and beyond join us.)

Next year’s meeting schedule is taking shape, so look for communications at MAHOVA for our installation in December; then travels to North Carolina in April; the District of Columbia next July; and Frederick, Maryland (or proximity) in October.

The Masonic Building is located
in a beautiful downtown.

Bro. Carl Lynch, Senior Warden of Acacia 586, was our speaker Saturday, presenting his “Thunder on the Mountain: South Mountain During the Civil War.” This is military history with only scant mentions of Freemasonry (a young William McKinley served in the September 1862 Battle of South Mountain, for example). Unfortunately, we were pressed for time, having lunch reservations at a local restaurant, so Bro. Carl had to abridge his talk, but managed to pack a lot of detail into our brains about that region’s great significance in the war.

The altar from the north side.

The Senior Warden’s station in the West.

The Master’s gavel’s sounding block
is a small ashlar.

I’ve always loved the English-style Past Master jewels made and worn in Pennsylvania. I tried to purchase one years ago, but neither of the manufacturers wanted to help me.

This portrait hangs in a place of honor.

Waynesboro itself factored into Gen. Robert E. Lee’s battle plans, as it was a locus of industry then. If you’ve ever heard the improbable story of the Confederate battle plan (Special Order 191) that was lost in transit from Lee to Gen. D.H. Hill—the papers wrapped around three cigars when found by Union soldiers—that was there at South Mountain. Another future U.S. president, a young Rutherford B. Hayes, also among Ohio’s troops, fought and was wounded at this battle. Confederate Lt. Col. George S. James died at South Mountain. He had commanded the mortar battery that initiated the attack on Fort Sumter the year before. He doesn’t get the blame for starting the Civil War, but he in fact fired the shot that was first to hit Fort Sumter. His story continues postmortem because his brother traveled to the battlefield in search of his remains to bring home for burial only to be killed in action himself before finding the unmarked grave a local resident promised to show him.

Lynch did a masterful job of presenting these stories, which is not surprising. He is a Frederick County Park Ranger with lots of experience in explaining to the uninformed these aspects of the war. Plus, he’s a hilarious raconteur!

And this history occurred nearly a year before the Battle of Monterey Pass, immediately after Gettysburg, which is what brought us to Waynesboro in the first place.

Carl spoke for about forty-five minutes; after he finished, we crossed town to eat at a casual lunch spot, which was surprisingly good. The bad news is this left little time for our intended visit to the Monterey Pass Battlefield Park & Museum. Civil War Lodge pointedly pairs our meetings with visits to relevant historic sites. There wasn’t a group visit planned this time, so we each were on our own. I could have done it, but would have needed to return to the hotel, change out of my suit & tie and into clothing appropriate for the heat and humidity, which would have made the park’s closing hour even nearer. Instead, I returned to the lodge’s neighborhood, where I’d noticed a few businesses worth visiting.

56 West Main Street in Waynesboro.

Christie’s House of Pipes & Cigars has been located across the street from Acacia since 1980, when founder Eric Christie opened his doors. It’s a small space; don’t expect a huge inventory. Still, I think having an old school tobacconist right outside the temple’s doors is a sign from Providence.

I visited for a few minutes and chatted with Eric. I possess an inventory of pipe mixtures that will outlast me, so I don’t need any more, but I purchased an ounce of what Christie’s names Vesta, an English that “has just the right amount of Virginia, Burley, Toasted Cavendish, Perique, Latakia and Turkish tobaccos,” says his website.

I don’t need more pipe tobacco,
but another ounce can’t hurt.

I will sample this tonight. (In the 1931 Bela Lugosi movie Dracula—but not the Stoker novel—the Vesta is the schooner that brings our favorite vampire to England.)

There are several antiques stores only steps away. To my mind, an antique is something that predates the Second World War, but evidently bric-a-brac from my childhood now occupy the cubic inches of these shops. ($40 for a vinyl Van Halen Diver Down. Cripes.) But there were older items, just don’t look for bargains. Still under the influence of Christie’s, I sought out whatever tobacciana might be about.

These places always have
a lot of Edgeworth tins.

Then I had to return to the hotel for a shower and fresh clothes. The hot wet July air was polluted by Canada’s latest wildfires, and I was wilting in my dark suit. We had dinner reservations at Cashtown Inn, located in Orrtanna, approximately twenty miles away.

 

A familiar statuette decorates
Cashtown Inn’s sitting room.

Cashtown Inn is located in Adams County.

Another pipe!

Most of us remained satiated from lunch, so we disappointed our waitress with modest orders of appetizers, soups, and salads. I tried to compensate by drinking more Yards Porter than I medicinally required. (Is there a more thoughtful guest? I think not!) Still my bill totaled less than $30.

But let me recommend this establishment. In addition to the most charming restaurant, the rooms upstairs are for hire for your overnight stays. A place with its own amazing history.

Finally, bedways was right ways, so it was back to my own hotel for the night’s spatchka. Then it was homeward bound this morning.

Grand Lodge’s 250th anniversary pins
are available. (Not actual size.)

Civil War Lodge of Research 1865 will meet next on Saturday, October 10 at Fort Monroe in Virginia, but don’t forget the Grand Master’s Research Lodge Official Visit next month on Saturday the 29th at Hay Market Lodge 313. A. Douglas Smith Lodge of Research will tile at 10 a.m., and the famous barbecue starts at one o’clock.