‘Civil War Dinner at Gettysburg’

    

Rest assured peace and harmony will prevail at the Civil War Dinner next month in Gettysburg.

The brethren at Good Samaritan Lodge 336 will host their fourth such occasion—and the second this year. I think this would make a fine start to a great weekend for visiting the historic battleground town. From the publicity:

Good Samaritan Lodge will host our fourth Civil War Dinner on Friday, November 15.

These events continue to grow in popularity with excellent presentations and delicious dinners. You don’t want to miss out!

Dinner choices will be Union or Confederate.

Come hear the stories of Nick, an Adams Express agent; Liberty Hollinger Clutz, a young girl who witnessed the Battle of Gettysburg; and two others.

Proceeds to benefit the clothes-for-kids program and other charities. Buy tickets here. $50 per person or a $250 for a table of six.

I don’t know exactly what the menu will offer, but click here to get a possible idea.

     

‘NOLA: Freemasonry at the Civil War museum’

    

First in a series recapping my recent trip to New Orleans.

Speaking of the Civil War (see post below)…

While it is among the smaller museums in a historic city that offers countless places to visit, Louisiana’s Civil War Museum at Confederate Memorial Hall in New Orleans houses the second largest collection of Confederate items in the world. Established in 1891, it is Louisiana’s oldest museum and it is filled with artifacts donated by men who fought in the War Between the States, and the families who survived them.

And there are several items of Masonic interest.

One enters the cathedral-like Romanesque entrance of the sandstone structure and beholds a gorgeous space crafted of Louisiana cypress with meticulously arranged exhibits. Not a cubic inch is fallow, as the walls display battle-torn flags, and numerous display cases exhibit uniforms, an arsenal of firearms and bladed weapons, and personal items of legendary leaders and regular soldiers alike.

There is a helpful staff who can field most questions, but a visitor is free to enjoy a self-guided walk around. It is recommended that one begin with an introductory video that is screened in a small room off the main hall. It was there where I encountered the first Masonic reference.

The short video tells the story of the museum’s origins, including how some of the first artifacts came into its possession. Part of the narrative involves a letter and a box of personal effects sent in 1867 to the mother of a slain Confederate officer. 

Eliza Crosby Field, of Mansfield, Louisiana, wrote to the late Lt. Charles Horton’s mother in New Orleans. Excerpted:

Dear Mrs. Horton,

Charles Horton

I send by my Uncle, Mr. E.H. Crosby, a box Lt. Horton used during the war. I thought you would like it simply because it belonged to your dear son, and also as a relic of Confederate times. I think such things are heirlooms in a family that should be transmitted from one generation to another through all coming time. There were so few things I had to pack, put straw in with them. In a little book, the Masonic Manual, you will find a lock of his hair which I know from experience you will prize above all things.

That parcel contained insignia off Horton’s uniform, remnants of the Confederate flag and regimental colors he was believed to have held aloft when he was cut down in the Battle of Mansfield on April 8, 1864, and other militaria and personal items. Many of these pieces are displayed inside a glass case, with his uniforms, sword, and the above photo of Horton, in the screening room.

The Masonic Manual is not among them, unfortunately, so we cannot see any possible inscription therein that may have identified Horton’s lodge or other clues. I believe the Masonic Manual most likely was that published by Robert Macoy, a pocket-sized monitorial book of exoteric parts of our degrees and other useful literature. There were several editions of that during the 1850s and ’60s, the first, I think, in 1852.

hanna1172

1861 edition available now on eBay.

Earlier this year, Macoy Masonic Supply Co. in Virginia published a painstaking reprint of the 1867 edition. Not merely a facsimile reproduction, but an actual reprinting in a limited edition, handmade on their 1850s letterpress, employing the original hand-carved wooden dies for the illustrations. (A Magpie review is forthcoming.)

There were other Masonic monitors in that period, but Macoy’s showed the title Masonic Manual boldly across the front cover.

Among the items of more prominent Confederate warriors is a collection that had belonged to Gen. Braxton Bragg. The namesake of Fort Bragg (now Fort Liberty) is not remembered kindly by history, as he is blamed for repeated defeats during the Civil War and had earned a reputation for disharmony among the officer corps throughout his career in the American and Confederate armies. He was even court-martialed in 1844, but received easy punishment.

Gen. Braxton Bragg display.

This museum exhibits an assortment of Bragg’s belongings, all attractively presented behind glass: a dress uniform frock coat; his sword, scabbard, and sword belt; a telescope; his Bible; a toothpick; and more. That sword and, oddly enough, the toothpick are the Masonic pieces.

Click here to see Winfield S. Hancock’s sword.

Within the decorative metalwork that fills the weapon’s guard, the Square and Compasses are visible. I wouldn’t say prominently—you really have to look at it—but the initiated eye can discern it easily enough.

Gen. Braxton Bragg’s toothpick.

The toothpick may be made of ivory and is in the shape of a pistol. Plainly seen on the “grip” of the pistol is the Square and Compasses in red. (Maybe there’s a bone box joke somewhere in there!)

The potential for more Masonic content in Louisiana’s Civil War Museum at Confederate Memorial Hall is great, especially when considering Freemasonry’s history and diversity in the Pelican State, but the truth is this museum originated as a meeting place for Civil War veterans, so it is not a large place. (The nearby National WWII Museum spans 33,000 square feet in comparison.) But Freemasons who cherish the study of the Civil War, especially from the Southern point of view, will love this museum regardless of any alleged paucity of Masonic memorabilia.

It is located at 929 Camp Street in New Orleans. Click here for more information and beautiful photos.

     

‘Mystic Tie unites lodge, Army fort, and prison’

    

Masons from many states attended our meeting July 13 in Delaware.

It’s been two weeks already, so time for a recap of Civil War Lodge of Research 1865’s trip to Delaware.

The lodge is chartered by the Grand Lodge of Virginia, but it receives dispensations to travel outside the state, and this July 13 Stated Communication featured a visit to a significant historic site and an unusual Official Visit of the District Deputy Grand Master.

Our Master’s hat.

Jackson Lodge 19 in Delaware City hosted us with the assistance of several Grand Lodge of Delaware officers, one of whom, RW Michael Rodgers, also serves as Worshipful Master of Delaware Lodge of Research. He presented a talk on Fort Delaware’s origins and historical significance. I’ll summarize:

The fort stands on Pea Patch Island, which spans about a mile in length in the Delaware River. It was given its name during the late eighteenth century when, according to legend, a ship ran aground and its cargo of peas either spilled or was jettisoned to make the ship lighter to free it from the mud. Either way, those peas sprouted and grew, resulting in sand and silt accumulating and forming the land mass. I have to say, when you’re standing on this island, in and around the stone and brick fort, it is hard to believe this origin story, but that’s the local color of it.

Past Master Gary, our Tyler, noticed this artifact displayed on the wall outside the lodge room: this proclamation from the Virginia Craftsmen degree team commemorating the MM° it conferred October 23, 1976 at Fort Delaware on behalf of Jackson 19. This degree team was the precursor of Civil War Lodge of Research. That top signature is Allen Roberts, our first Worshipful Master.

What is historically factual is how the island first appears on a map in 1794, the year Bro. Pierre Charles L’Enfant chose it to be a key installation in the area’s fortifications. Of course L’Enfant is best remembered as the military engineer who designed Washington, DC.

The fort as seen from our approach via jitney…

…and from the walk to the entrance.

Development of Pea Patch Island for military use began in 1814. Perhaps a lesson learned from the War of 1812. “A five-pointed star fort was built between 1815 and 1824,” Rodgers explained, “but it was destroyed by fire in 1831.” A larger fort was started in 1836, but the current fort dates to 1848. It was completed in 1860, and was used during the Civil War as a prison for Confederate soldiers. By the end of the war, Fort Delaware warehoused nearly 33,000 prisoners.

“Conditions were relatively decent,” Rodgers said, “but about 2,500 prisoners died.” Smallpox was a main killer, but there also were typhoid, malaria, pneumonia, and scurvy, among other hazards. One of those deaths gave rise to the Mystic Tie intwining Jackson Lodge, the prison, and Virginia Freemasonry.

On April 11, 1862, the lodge opened to give a Masonic funeral to Bro. Lewis P. Halloway, a captain of the Twenty-Seventh Regiment of Virginia Volunteers, who died of typhoid while in custody. The care given to the deceased by the lodge inspired Capt. Augustus A. Gibson, commanding officer of the fort, to petition for the degrees of Freemasonry. He was initiated, passed, and raised in a single communication, by dispensation, later that year in Jackson Lodge.

RW Shelby Chandler, DDGM of the Masonic Research District, had the unique opportunity of traveling outside the Grand Lodge Jurisdiction for an Official Visit. “Today was a very special day, especially as a District Deputy Grand Master,” he told The Magpie Mason. “Right Worshipful John Butler, Worshipful Master of Civil War Lodge of Research, was gracious enough to receive me for the Official Visit at Jackson Lodge 19 in Delaware City. Not only were their Grand Lodge officers present from our host jurisdiction, but brethren from various other states, as far as Illinois, were present as well, and they watched, both the reception ceremony and the closing lecture, for the very first time.”

RW Carmine, with tobacco stick,
flanked by WM John Butler
and RW Shelby Chandler.

(A word about the receptions: Virginia likes them. To my mind, these formal intros, escorts to the East, remarks, etc. take too much time. In my more than twenty years of hanging around research lodges, I’ve noticed how we like to get to the point, leaving ceremonial filler to our Craft lodges. Still, aspects of these rites can be enjoyable, as when an honoree’s comments are on point or something else memorable arises. This was the case when Worshipful Master Butler received RW Robert Carmine, Assistant Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Delaware, in the East and presented him the gift of a tobacco stick—a hardwood pole known in tobacco barns for hanging tobacco leaves to dry. A more practical and modern use these days is as a walking stick.)

After our meeting, we enjoyed a quick lunch together downstairs before driving down the street to catch the ferry to the island and its fort.

Since 1951, it is a Delaware State Park and it also has become home to the Pea Patch Island Nature Preserve with a famous heronry.

The Columbiad Cannon. They fire this sumbitch!

The fort is staffed by re-enactors in period wardrobe who tell you what is was like to have lived at the fort during its stint as a prisoner of war installation. Among them is Bro. Ed from Jackson Lodge, who gave his visiting brethren some additional insights gleaned from his fifteen years there.

Bro. Ed from Jackson Lodge with our WM.

CWLR 1865’s next Stated Communication will be Saturday, October 12 at Lee Lodge 209 in Waynesboro, Virginia, to be followed by a visit to the site of the Battle of Waynesboro, where the Union finally took the Shenandoah Valley in 1865. Click here for more information.

Finally a place to sit down on the hot day.
I hope those are ash trays in the back.

RW Shelby inspects an osprey nest on the island.
The island hosts the largest bird habitat outside of Florida.

     

‘The Day the War Stopped’

    

Scott Clause/Feliciana 31

This one is killin’ me.

I’m a New York Mason; I’m currently in Louisiana; I’m also at labor in Civil War Lodge of Research 1865; and I still won’t be able to get to see The Day the War Ended!

This annual re-enactment of a Masonic moment during the Civil War takes place in St. Francisville, Louisiana in June. My trip to New Orleans for the Grotto Supreme Council happens to coincide.

The history tells of Bro. John Elliot Hart, of St. George’s Lodge 6 in New York, commanding officer of the USS Albatross, dying onboard his ship. A messenger was sent ashore to ask about the possibility of a burial, particularly a Masonic funeral. Confederate Army Capt. William W. Leake, Senior Warden of Feliciana Lodge 31, got word of it, and arranged a Masonic burial for his brother in the opposing naval force besieging his state for control of the Mississippi River.

Click here to read how Country Roads magazine describes it.

On Saturday, Masons from both Feliciana 31 and St. George’s 6 will re-enact that learning moment as part of a daylong celebration of local history and culture. Here is the itinerary:

Saturday, June 8

Downtown St. Francisville

All Day: Lodge Tours

Feliciana Lodge 31

Prosperity Street

9 a.m. National Anthem and Welcome

Feliciana Lodge 31

9:30 “The Day the War Stopped”

Jackson Hall, Grace Episcopal Church

10 a.m. Historical Re-enactment and Graveside Histories

Corner of Prosperity and Ferdinand streets and into Grace Episcopal Cemetery

11:30 to 1 p.m. Sixth Annual Jambalaya Cook-Off

Courthouse Grounds (across from lodge)

Noon to 2

Vintage Dancing and Music

Jackson Hall, Grace Episcopal Church

1 p.m. Jambalaya and Raffle Winners

Feliciana Lodge

1:30 to 2 Closing of the Lodge

6 to 10 p.m. Gala (music, food & drinks) $25

Magnolia Café

It’s a two-hour, 100+ mile drive each way—and I don’t have a car. So close, yet so far. Well, there’s always the Grotto’s Clown and Balloon Competition. Just as good.

It’ll be fine. I’m okay. D’oh!

     

‘Civil War Dinner at Gettysburg this month’

    

Good Samaritan Lodge 336 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania has another creative collation planned for later this month. From the publicity:

We will be hosting a Civil War Dinner on Friday, May 24 at our lodge. Presentations from our Civil War guests will begin at six o’clock, and dinner will be served at 6:30. Menu: Union or Confederate.

Union will be Maj. Gen. James Wilson’s Beef Loaf specialty with Benjamin Wade’s lima beans and tomatoes.

Confederate will be Capt. Franklin Buchanan’s favorite Spanish Chicken with John Hunt Morgan’s Plantation Style collard greens.

Both will be served with a simple green salad and roasted potatoes. Dessert will be strawberries with whipped cream.

Join us for a great meal and excellent in-character presentations on Masons in the Civil War.

Tickets, at $50 each, can be had here. The lodge is perfectly situated at 9 Lincoln Square in Gettysburg.

     

‘Researchers to visit North Carolina’

    

Civil War Lodge of Research 1865 will meet this month, taking it on the road to North Carolina. The lodge, now in its twenty-eighth year, is chartered by the Grand Lodge of Virginia AF&AM, but it has dispensation to travel outside the Commonwealth in its pursuit of historical facts concerning the U.S. Civil War, especially where Freemasonry’s history intersects.

Bingham 272

On Saturday, April 13, the lodge will meet at Bingham Lodge 272 in Mebane, North Carolina. Worshipful Master John Butler chose the location for its proximity to Bennett Place, a short drive east to Durham. It was there where the Confederate commander, Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, and U.S. Gen. William T. Sherman met in a little farmhouse and negotiated surrender terms in April 1865, coming to an agreement on April 26. (The U.S. Civil War did not conclude with one single surrender of Lee to Grant. Commanders in four different theaters about the country negotiated surrenders eventually disbanding the Confederate States Army.)

It’s a little too far for me, so I’ll miss this one, but the lodge has a solid weekend plan including Friday night dinner in Burlington; the lodge meeting, followed by lunch on Saturday; the visit to Bennett Place afterward; and a Saturday night dinner yet to be worked out. This edition of The Magpie Mason is intended to encourage Masons in the area to attend the meeting and other stops. Bingham Lodge 272 meets at 309 East Center Street in Mebane. If I’m not mistaken, North Carolina Lodge of Research is no longer at labor, but there is the North Carolina Masonic Research Society, and hopefully they’ll get the word and come to our meeting.

Coincidentally, that weekend will be the anniversary of the attack on Fort Sumter.

I’ll be with the lodge again on July 13 when we’ll meet in Delaware.

     

‘Gettysburg’s lodge to host Civil War-period dinner’

    

Good Samaritan 336, the lodge in Gettysburg where Civil War Lodge of Research met four months ago, has its annual Civil War Dinner with a Soldier planned for two weeks. I’d love to go back, but it’s too far for just a dinner. You should go though, if within the length of your cable tow, etc. From the publicity:

Civil War Dinner with a Soldier

Sunday, November 19

Good Samaritan Lodge 336

9 Lincoln Square

Gettysburg Pennsylvania

Limited seating, at $50, here

Good Samaritan Lodge 336 will host its second annual Civil War Dinner on Sunday, November 19 at the Lodge on the Square. Presentations from our Civil War guests will begin at six o’clock. Dinner will be served at 6:30. Dessert and additional presentations will follow.

Dinner will be prepared by our chef from a Civil War era cookbook. Choice of meat will be venison loaf or pigeon (we will substitute Cornish game hen, as the bird used historically is difficult to source), plus potatoes and vegetables, with pumpkin pie for dessert. Enjoy hot mulled cider, and try traditional hard tack, if you dare.

Come hear the stories of:

• Elizabeth Thorne, who while six months pregnant, buried nearly 100 soldiers at the Evergreen Cemetery.
• Pvt. Sherwood, from Co. K, 2nd Division, 5th Corps, the Pennsylvania Reserves, who returned home to fight.
• Daniel Skelly, a teenager who witnessed the Battle of Gettysburg and the aftermath.
• Cpl. Chester Judson, 24th New York “Orange Blossoms,” who fought at Gettysburg.
• Cornelia Hancock, a nurse tending to the wounded at Gettysburg.
• Nicholas, a newspaper man from New York City observing the war and reporting back.
• Dr. Jelks, a Confederate physician with the 26th Georga, who treated the injuries of the war.
• Cpl. J.R. Bennet, 6th New York Independent Battery, an artillery soldier killed in battle.

     

‘Thirty years war memorial’

    

It was thirty years ago today when the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania dedicated the Friend to Friend Masonic Memorial inside the Gettysburg National Cemetery Annex—and it took me almost as long to go see it.

Civil War Lodge of Research 1865 met at Good Samaritan Lodge 336 in Gettysburg last month and, during some down time at the end of that weekend, I finally had a minute to visit it. Very easy to find, I should say. Go to Tommy’s Pizza (itself marking fifty years in 2023) at 105 Steinwehr Avenue; walk across the street to enter the Cemetery Annex; and you can see it from the sidewalk. Just walk in.

The sculptures are more impressive in person than from most photos I’ve ever seen because everyone kind of shoots the same photograph: a front-on shot from about twenty feet out, to get the entire monument in the frame. But it’s art, so it tells a story. Here, I’ll intersperse my photographs amid the history imparted on Good Samaritan’s website:

The Friend-to-Friend Masonic Memorial was originally commissioned by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, and was finished and dedicated as a memorial to the Freemasons of the Union and the Confederacy in the National Cemetery Annex on August 21, 1993. This date marked the first time that a private organization had been permitted to erect a monument in a national historic park.

The dedication of the Monument was the culmination of almost a decade’s worth of work planning, obtaining approval from Congress, coordinating various resources, and the bringing together of various agencies such as the National Park Service and the National Historical Society. All of this was accomplished by various members of Good Samaritan Lodge 336.

It also carried on a tradition of Masonic involvement with the monuments here in Gettysburg. Prior to the Friend-to-Friend Monument, on July 4, 1865, only two years after the battle, the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania dedicated the cornerstone to the Soldiers’ National Monument in the National Cemetery. That monument was the first of any type to be placed on the battlefield in Gettysburg.

The Friend-to-Friend Monument depicts Confederate Brigadier General Lewis A. Armistead, a Freemason, wounded after crossing the wall during the climax of Pickett’s Charge on July 3, 1863, being attended to by Union Captain Henry H. Bingham, also a Freemason. Shown on the wall surrounding this monument, are the names of the States whose soldiers fought at the Battle of Gettysburg.

The story behind the monument goes that: prior to the war, General Armistead served with Union General Winfield Hancock in the Federal Army, and considered him a “valued personal friend.” However, when the Civil War broke out, General Armistead refused to raise his sword against fellow Southerners and he joined the Confederate Army in 1861. After 27 months of fighting the war, the units the two generals commanded met on the battlefield here in Gettysburg during Pickett’s charge. Both of the Generals were injured during the fight that day, but General Armistead was left to the mercy of the Union solders as he lay injured and the Confederate forces had been pushed back.

During the lull after the charge, a staff assistant to Winfield Hancock, Capt. Bingham of the Union, was riding past General Armistead who was lying on the ground where he fell. Capt. Bingham inquired as to who the wounded Southern General was, and General Armistead himself responded. After some conversation between Capt. Bingham and General Armistead, Armistead discovered whom Capt. Bingham worked for, and that Capt. Bingham was also a Freemason. Due to this, Armistead entrusted his personal possessions, including a pocket book, a watch, his spurs, and a chain with a masonic emblem on them to Capt. Bingham. These items were asked to be given to Capt. Bingham’s superior officer, Union General Winfield Hancock, so that they could in turn be returned to General Armistead’s family.

General Armistead succumbed to his wounds shortly thereafter, dying at Gettysburg on July 5, 1863. General Hancock survived the war and finally died in 1886. Captain Bingham attained the rank of General, and later served 32 years in the United States House of Representatives. He was known as the “Father of the House.”

Naturally, everything looks different, ambiguous, from the rear.

This story epitomizes some of the most time-honored virtues of Freemasonry and highlights the unique bonds of friendship, which enabled these men to remain brothers undivided. Even as they fought in a divided nation, they faithfully supported the respective governments under which they fought while seeking to help each other in their time of need.

     

‘CWLR invades Gettysburg’

    

Most of the brethren present July 8 at Good Samaritan Lodge 336 in Gettysburg.

Before too much time passes and I forget what happened, here is Magpie coverage of last weekend’s visit of Civil War Lodge of Research to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

CWLR 1865 is chartered by the Grand Lodge of Virginia, so its various sojourns outside that state are legalized by dispensations from both the GLV and the grand jurisdiction being visited. And all that is read aloud in lodge, because this is a real lodge conducting a tiled communication. Anyway, the lodge had been to Gettysburg before, but this was my first trip there—and I definitely will be back. My stay lasted only forty-eight hours, and it’s obvious one needs more time than that to enjoy more than a snippet of all there is to see. Between the battlefield, the cemetery, and the town itself, there’s a lot to do. And I don’t think it’s necessary to be passionate about Civil War history to love this place.

A pipe before dinner

So, my itinerary began with a stop about 25 miles west in Chambersburg, where the famous J.M. Boswell’s Pipes & Tobacco shop serves the area’s discerning smokers. It’s one of those destination stores for us—a classic pipe shop, the way the Lord intended—with pipes and tons of tobaccos for sale, and a smoking lounge upstairs.

Some of Boswell’s proprietary pipe mixtures…

…and a lot of its tins.

I’m not really a shopper any more. My tobacco inventory is, uh, enough. But, I can’t walk into the business without putting any cash in the register, so I bought an ounce of something I never ordinarily would smoke: an aromatic mixture. That’s the favored style in the United States (vanilla, cherry, chocolate, rum, whiskey, etc.), whereas my favorites are the English, Balkan, and Oriental styles—again, how the Lord intended. So I purchased an ounce of Boswell’s own Cherry Smash. It’s okay, but I can’t understand the allure of aromatics. A terrific smoke shop, with a walk-in humidor of cigars too, although I didn’t even look at those.

That was the afternoon of Friday the seventh; later, I ventured into Gettysburg’s Lincoln Square to find the brethren at the Blue and Gray Bar & Grill, as arranged by the lodge. Busy place. So busy that they couldn’t seat the group, despite reservations, so the brethren headed around the corner to Borough BBQ, where I eventually caught up with them. This place was empty for some reason, but the food is good, and the service is friendly. (Everyone is friendly around there. Not what I’m used to, coming from the land of mindless, hyper-aggressive crazies and drug addicts.)

To walk around Lincoln Square is to realize you could reside in Gettysburg. Tons of nineteenth century (and some eighteenth) brick architecture along narrow streets forming a historic town that has benefitted greatly from preservation. Yeah, there’s a fast food chain represented somewhere in there, but Gettysburg is a smart example of planning.

CWLR meets

The lodge meeting was Saturday morning (July 8) at Good Samaritan Lodge 336, perfectly situated on Lincoln Square. The Master of Good Samaritan and others from the lodge were on hand to greet CWLR.

Good Samaritan dates to January 1, 1825 (its original number was 200). It was a popular and prosperous lodge in its early years, but during the anti-Masonry hysteria of the ensuing years, membership was halved. Read their history here.

Our research lodge meeting was brief. What CWLR 1865 does is more sightseeing than publishing. Research lodges basically are historical societies that hold warrants from competent Masonic authorities, and CWLR likes to get into the historic sites, be they battlefields or whatever, and soak it in.

When a lodge takes multiple trips per year, I think you have to expect spotty attendance among its members, and the CWLR officer line was batting about .500 that day. The Master, Treasurer, Secretary, Junior Deacon, and Tyler (Virginia spelling) were present, but the others couldn’t make it. Diverse Masons filled in where needed, resulting in a unique Opening ritual where each officer performed what he knew. It all works, of course, because the differences in some words and gestures do not interfere with the overall practice. The intended Virginia ritual is a lot like our New York, except with a certain due guard in the place of the Sign of Fidelity. Twenty-three were in attendance.

Research papers are welcome, but none were presented that day. The business was tackled. Seven petitioners, representing lodges in Maryland, New York (me), Pennsylvania, and Virginia were elected to membership. This research lodge has 330 members now. That’s a lot.

‘This is my appendant body’

Gary Laing, PM

Probably the highlight of this meeting was the presentation of a ceremonial replica saber to Tyler Gary Laing by Worshipful Master Andy Wilson commemorating Past Master Laing’s silver anniversary with the lodge. Wow! Most lodges give just a pin. Gary made an impromptu acceptance speech in which he explained how much CWLR means to him as a Mason and as a man. Through this lodge, he and his wife have built deep friendships with other CWLR couples. And he likened his initial attraction to Freemasonry to that of Union Army officer William McKinley’s, if you know that story. And he spoke of finding in CWLR the satisfaction that others seek through Masonry’s appendant bodies, which he declined to join. “This is my appendant body,” he said of this lodge. (As one who has sampled nearly all the groups in mainstream Masonry, finding most of them pointless, I certainly empathize.) Past Master Richard Burkman, one of those dear friends (and who kind of resembles Robert E. Lee), arose from the Senior Deacon’s place and spoke in tribute of Bro. Laing, and later told me about the many memorable times they and their wives have shared together over the years.

The battlefield and cemetery

Michigan Cavalry Brigade Monument.

Click here for more information.

The meeting was closed and we individually headed to Gettysburg National Military Park—the battlefield—to visit several specific sites. Not being a Civil War historian, most of what lodge Secretary/tour guide Bennett Hart imparted went over my head, but simply walking the grounds, and approximately on the dates of the fighting too, is an experience. We were in the East Cavalry Field, where U.S. and Confederate forces repeatedly clashed on July 3, 1863.

The monuments, statues, markers, cannons, and other historical spots are too numerous to see in any single visit. Those dedicated only to New York’s combatants number eighty-seven, if I understand. I couldn’t even find the New York State Monument, the 110-footer dedicated in 1893.

Click here for more information.

Monuments to New York soldiers are everywhere.

Later in the afternoon, the group had plans for a cookout elsewhere in the park, which I’d intended to attend, but the heat got to me. I returned to the hotel for a shower and change of clothes, and then returned to the Blue and Gray, successfully this time, for a seat at the bar for food and hard cider. I reported that already here.

Before heading home

The stock photo everyone shoots.

While I missed the New York State Monument, I was not going to leave before seeing the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania’s Friend to Friend Masonic Memorial. Luckily, it is very easy to reach. Just head to the vicinity of Tommy’s Pizza at 105 Steinwehr Avenue, cross the street, and enter the Gettysburg National Cemetery Annex. It’s right in front of you. (Aaaand it turns out that New York Monument is right near the Friend to Friend, but I still missed it!)

A future edition of The Magpie Mason will be a pictorial of this Masonic masterpiece.

On the downside

There was one negative to the weekend, something beyond our control: It was Bike Week!

This bike, with the S&C, was
parked in the garage all weekend,
and thus was silent
(as Masons are taught!).

I hear Gettysburg Bike Week is the biggest Bike Week in Pennsylvania, and I believe it. Unless it was the same hundred or so flabby old white guys with matching gray goatees riding in circles all weekend, there were maybe a thousand or more Harley-Davidson enthusiasts ceaselessly roaring around town the entire time. Whether it was one biker popping and thundering past or a herd of the hogs rumbling along, the cacophony was too much. It was clearly audible upstairs in the lodge room, and deafening on the street. And literally endless. The biker population likely more than doubled the traffic volume, making getting around difficult and annoying. Don’t schedule your visit knowing this.

And that’s it. I will return to this beautiful historic town before long for deeper sightseeing and other pleasures. (Union Cigar is owned by a Mason.) Good Samaritan 336 meets on second Thursdays, except summertime, if you want to attend.

     

‘Civil War Lodge to bivouac in Maryland’

    

Civil War Lodge of Research 1865 will convene its September meeting to mark the 160th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam. This lodge is chartered by the Grand Lodge of Virginia to preserve understandings of Freemasonry’s varied ties to the U.S. Civil War, and the lodge travels to places significant to that war.

On Saturday, September 17, the brethren will visit Antietam National Battlefield after its meeting at Antietam Lodge 197, both in Maryland. I believe it is the only lodge in the country named for a Civil War battle.

The night before the meeting, everyone will get together for dinner at Captain Benders Tavern in Sharpsburg at 6:30.

The meeting will open at 10 a.m. Saturday at the lodge in Keedysville.

Lunch at 12:30 at Bonnie’s at the Red Byrd.

At two o’clock, the group will visit Antietam National Battlefield. This is exactly the 160th anniversary of what is termed “the bloodiest day in American history,” and at 3 p.m. there will be a commemoration ceremony.

The group will have dinner together at 6:30 at Rik’s Cafe.

Overnight accommodations have been arranged at Sleep Inn & Suites Hagerstown.

It sounds like a productive and memorable weekend. It’s a little too far for me, but hopefully some of you can participate and even join the lodge.

I hope the brethren consider New York City as a future destination. No official battlefield here, but other points of great interest are in abundance.