‘Simpsonic degree at Buffalo’

    

There’s nothing wrong with making a little time for frivolity, and the Erie County Masons are going to lampoon the Simpsonic parody of Freemasonry. Yes, that’s right, a “Stonecutters Degree” and rib dinner (they ain’t saying what kind of rib) is being planned for August 24.

Unluckily, I’ll be in Philadelphia with the Masonic Restoration Foundation, but if you’re able to be there, it certainly sounds like a fun end-of-summer occasion.

Call 716.668.2755 for tickets.

(Don’t ask me about the malaprops in the advertisement.)

     

‘NOLA: Freemasonry and the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience’

    

Hurd Hatfield in The Picture of Dorian Gray, MGM, 1945.

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

I fell asleep the night before with the television on and awoke June 5 to Albert Lewin’s The Picture of Dorian Gray from 1945. After breakfast at the Clover Grill (how do they make the eggs like that?!) and while hurrying to get ready for the day of museum hopping, the TV was still on. You see a certain theorem on the chalkboard. The “Non ignoravi mortalem esse” translates, according to some Google hits, to something like “I have not ignored to be mortal,” which could make for a snappy answer to Memento Mori, if you’re an Al Jaffe fan with a better command of Latin.

It was a great day. At 400 Esplanade Avenue, you get two for one: downstairs is the Old U.S. Mint; upstairs, the Jazz Museum. If you ever collected U.S. coins and gathered a Morgan dollar, maybe there is an O on its reverse. That initial means the U.S. Mint at New Orleans struck that coin, as it had in the manufacture of hundreds of millions of dollars in gold and silver coinage between 1838-61, and 1879-1909.

I’ll have to remember to share this with Civil War Lodge of Research: These scraps of fabric are believed to be remnants of the U.S. flag once flown above the U.S. Mint in New Orleans. Early in the Civil War, Commodore David Farragut sent Marines into the city to seize the Mint, for obvious reasons. Mr. William Mumford, with a few accomplices, allegedly managed to steal the flag, and Mumford reportedly wore the flag’s tatters on his jacket henceforth. U.S. Gen. Benjamin Butler had Mumford hanged in front of the Mint on June 7, 1862. An outraged Confederate President Jefferson Davis ordered Butler to be executed immediately if ever captured.

Its museum is a small space, but if you or someone you love is a numismatist, it’s worth visiting.

Upstairs is the New Orleans Jazz Museum. During my research before the trip, I thought maybe a museum devoted to jazz and located in New Orleans would be something on a Smithsonian scale, but not quite. Still a must see, but I was hoping for deeper history than what is offered. There actually was a near absence of Louis Armstrong, which the museum explained is the result of its preparing for Satchmo’s birthday—today! August 4, according to his baptismal certificate—with a special exhibit. The Mint building is the site of Satchmo Summerfest this weekend, if you’re in the neighborhood.

I really thought there might be a Masonic clue somewhere in the exhibits, given how many jazz legends were Freemasons, but I missed it if there is.

In late afternoon, after a bite and a beer at one of the ubiquitous Willie’s Chicken Shacks, I roamed the French quarter and did find something Masonic—finally, after stalking the streets for more than forty-eight hours. A jewelry store on Royal Street had these rings in its window:

Typical Masonic supply company catalog fare.

Satisfied somewhat, I took a seat on the steps of the courthouse on Royal, joining a few homeless men, and lit up an Aroma de Cuba Monarch—a fine Fuente product! Also in my research, I found smoking is prohibited just about everywhere, yet the stench of marijuana is ever-present, so I thought quality tobacco should be represented.

I’m rambling because my memory is failing. I thought this was the day I had visited the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience, but that actually was June 6. Anyway, I arrived there late that morning and did find a few Masonic items, plus several mentions of famous Masons.

All Masonic historians know how Masonic halls served their neighborhoods in many ways: as schools, post offices, civic meeting spaces, polling places, and even houses of worship.

This is a facsimile of Bro. C.L. Schlom’s Masonic patent from 1902. He was at labor in South Memphis Lodge 118 in Tennessee. It remains of the rolls today, as Memphis 118, and will meet this Thursday at 7 p.m. for its August communication.

And from the Famous Masons Department:

T.R. kicks ass. Typically, when we think of him vis-à-vis Russia, it’s about ending their war with Japan, but apparently he had earlier interactions.

I’ll have to research Jonas Phillips because he was a fascinating figure in Revolutionary America. I believe the quotation above is borrowed from his petition to the Continental Congress of September 7, 1787, in which he lobbied to avoid religious requirements for Federal office holders. During the war, he would write correspondence in Yiddish, confounding the Redcoats who intercepted the letters. A few websites say he was a Freemason as of 1760. Maybe. I’ll check it out.

      

‘Competition for plaid mad Masonic designers’

    

The initiatives of the Grand Lodge of New York under its new Grand Master are coming fast. The latest is a competition to design a tartan for the brethren here. The graphic above has all the info.

Tartans with Masonic meanings are not completely new. The Grand Lodge of Scotland has had its own for more than twenty years, unsurprisingly. Both the General Grand Chapter and General Grand Council in the York Rite have theirs. I bet there are others.

Design is not my field, but I hope the winning entry incorporates New York’s traditional colors: orange, white, and blue. Or maybe purple, blue, and crimson, in honor of GMHA. Nor do I wear kilts, but I’ll sport a necktie proudly. Flat cap too.

     

‘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.

     

‘Szramoski is new E.D. of GWMNM’

    

Matthew T. Szramoski

The George Washington Masonic National Memorial has a new executive director. From the announcement:

ALEXANDRIA, VA—The George Washington Masonic National Memorial Association is delighted to announce the appointment of Matthew T. Szramoski as its new Executive Director. Szramoski, a distinguished leader with a profound dedication to non-profit fundraising and historic restoration, will assume his new role effective immediately.

Mr. Szramoski was most recently the Director of Development for the Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite in Washington, D.C., and formerly the Youth Programs Manager for the National Rifle Association. With over three decades of experience in organizational leadership and development, Mr. Szramoski brings a wealth of knowledge and a deep passion for the mission of the Memorial. He has demonstrated a strong commitment to preserving and promoting the legacy of George Washington and the principles of Freemasonry.

“Matt Szramoski’s extensive experience makes him the ideal choice to lead the Memorial into its next chapter,” said the Memorial Association’s President Kenneth G. Nagel. “His leadership is expected to usher in a new era of growth for the Memorial.”

Szramoski’s appointment comes at a pivotal time as the Memorial embarks on several ambitious initiatives aimed at expanding its educational outreach and enhancing visitor experience. Under his leadership, the Memorial will further engage the public and foster a deeper understanding of George Washington’s life and the impact of Freemasonry on the founding of the United States.

Read all about it here.

     

‘Archaeologists find evidence of ancient crimson’

    

Israel Antiquities Authority

The crimson fragments.

And now, I have sent a wise man, endowed with understanding, of my father Huram. The son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a Tyrian man, who knew how to work with gold, with silver, with copper, with iron, with stones, with wood, with purple, with blue, and with fine linen and with crimson yarn …

II Chronicles 2:12-13

Adapted for use in the Master Mason Degree Lecture in many lodges

Here’s something you don’t see every day: The Israel Antiquities Authority announced Thursday the discovery of a tiny piece of ancient fabric exhibiting “scarlet worm.”

I don’t see anything on the IAA’s website explaining this, but The Times of Israel, among others, reports on the find. The following is copyright ©️ 2024 The Times of Israel.

Tiny 3,800-year old textile

found in Israel was dyed

with biblical ‘scarlet worm’

Israeli researchers have confirmed that a 3,800-year-old scarlet-red textile found in the Judean Desert in 2016 was dyed using a tiny insect referred to throughout ancient sources, according to an article published this week in the Journal of Archaeological Science.

The peer-reviewed study was a joint effort of Hebrew University, Bar-Ilan University and the Israel Antiquities Authority, researchers said in a press release. Archaeologists discovered the piece of textile, less than 2 centimeters (about a half-inch) across, in the so-called “Cave of Skulls” in the Tze’elim Stream near Masada, during a joint excavation to save heritage finds from antiquities theft in 2016.

IAA

The Cave of Skulls.

Researchers were struck by the textile’s dark-red color. Scientists carbon-dated the artifact to the Middle Bronze Age (20th-18th centuries BCE), and employed high-performance liquid chromatography—a technique used to identify the ingredients of mixed solutions—to trace the origin of the dye to a scale insect called Kermes vermilio. The crimson bug, found throughout the Mediterranean region but not in Israel itself, is probably the same “scarlet worm” (tola’at hashani) mentioned 25 times in the Bible, often next to mentions of blue (techelet) and purple (argaman), considered the most precious and prestigious colors in the ancient world.

IAA

The Scarlet Worm.

In the Bible, the Israelites are commanded to use the “scarlet worm” to dye the fabrics of the Tabernacle and the priestly garments. “In ancient times, the dye was produced from the female scale insect, which lives on the kermes oak tree (Quercus coccifera),” Na’ama Sukenik of the Israel Antiquities Authority explained in a press release.

“Collecting these kermes was done in a very short window of time—one month of the year, in the summer, after the female had laid her eggs but before they hatched—when the amount of dye was greatest,” Sukenik said.

Though references to dyes made from scale insects abound in ancient sources, very few textiles dyed with the creatures have been found that predate the Roman period. The tiny textile is the earliest evidence of the technique ever discovered, and “bridges the gap between written sources and the archaeological discoveries,” Sukenik said.

Read all about it here.

Lucky timing for this news. I was just preparing a Magpie post on the subject of the Auld Boy YouTube channel, where there is frequent and recent discussion of ancient purple, whether from Tyre or elsewhere. Click here.

     

‘The meanings of Ahiman and Rezon’

    

See? Facebook is good for something.

Shawn Eyer, one of the “go to guys” in the study of eighteenth century Freemasonry, posted on social media, more than five years ago, a highly useful explanation of a commonly misunderstood point of history. It came up again this week, so I thought I’d share it here (with Shawn’s permission). Enjoy.

Clarifying a Very Old Misunderstanding

In 1756, Laurence Dermott published the first edition of Ahiman Rezon, the book of constitutions for the Masonic Ancients. This was one of the most popular Masonic books of the eighteenth century, with many daughter editions produced in England, Ireland, America, and even in Canada.

At a certain point, the meaning of the title of the book was forgotten by the fraternity, which has led to many bizarre claims. The “historians” who have theorized that these words are pseudohebrew made up by Dermott, nonsense words fabricated to sound confusing, or loan-words from other languages (Portuguese was proposed at one point!) are simply not aware of the context of these two ancient words.

Happily, the Ancients knew Hebrew better than our modern critics who like to say Ahiman and Rezon aren’t Hebrew (even though the ones writing that are not qualified to say it). Ahiman and Rezon are in fact, and quite unambiguously, Hebrew words: names, actually—and both are found in any Bible.

In the Volume of the Sacred Law, there are two characters named Ahiman. The first, an Anakite occupying Hebron, who is conquered by Caleb (Numbers 13:22, Joshua 15:14). But the Ahiman who is relevant Masonically is a later figure—one of a group of Levites appointed by King David to serve a special function in the Jerusalem sanctuary. He was, specifically, one of the four gatekeepers. (1 Chronicles 9: 17–19, 22–31) Dermott included these gatekeepers, especially Ahiman, in his introductory remarks to the original editions of Ahiman Rezon.

Shawn Eyer

Rezon is another character in the Bible: an opponent raised up by God to punish King Solomon after he had allowed his faith to wander. (1 Kings 11:23-25) Read all of chapter 11 for the story.

It is easy to understand why Dermott selected these two names (or why they were potentially emphasized in now-lost Ancients Masonic tradition): Ahiman guarded the holy of holies from the unworthy, Rezon was a thorn in King Solomon’s side during the time of his fall from purity. This is precisely how the Ancients saw themselves in relation to the Moderns.

The perception that these two words were not Hebrew came from attempting to find them in Hebrew dictionaries. Dictionaries typically do not contain names. Just as you won’t find Timothy or Edward in an English dictionary, you won’t find Ahiman or Rezon in a Hebrew dictionary. But they have been Hebrew words since before the second Temple fell.

A takeaway for us all: Before we say that our Masonic forebears were writing nonsense words or dabbling in things they didn't understand, we need to make sure that we are not the ones who are confused.

      

‘Agüeybaná: New York’s new lodge’

    

GLNY

Grand Master Steven A. Rubin and Assistant Grand Secretary Richard W. Bateman display the freshly printed dispensation for Agüeybaná Lodge, which will meet in New York City.

Dispensation was granted last week for a lodge in New York City to begin meeting in the Tenth Manhattan District. MW Grand Master Steven A. Rubin briefly announced the launch today:

I am pleased to share that, on this day, I signed the Dispensation for Agüeybaná Lodge UD, the newest lodge in the Grand Lodge of New York. Agüeybaná was the principal and most powerful chief of the Taino people on Boriken, modern-day Puerto Rico, when the Spanish first arrived on the island on November 19, 1493.

Agüeybaná is a historical name on the island. An online Taino dictionary, and other sources, put it as The Great Sun, and show its significance in late fifteenth and early sixteenth century Puerto Rico. (And, needless to say, lovers of fine tobaccos recognize the name Taino, as the tribe also lived on Cuba. Cohiba was named for the Taino word for the rolled tobacco leaves these indigenous people smoked.)

Its first meeting will be Thursday, September 26 at 7 p.m. in the Doric Room on eight for the Installation of Officers.

The Tenth Manhattan, “the Cosmopolitan Tenth,” is home to our lodges that work in foreign tongues, like French, Italian, and Spanish.

Congratulations to all the brethren. ¡Salud!

     

‘Brother Lafayette is coming!’

    

UPDATE: The book will ship August 19.

Okay, it’s getting close, so now is the right time to order a copy of Chris Ruli’s new book Brother Lafayette.

Macoy Masonic Supply Co. is the publisher, so click here. Or click here to obtain a copy signed by the author. Inscribed even!

(Mine will read: To the Magpie Mason—America’s third best Masonic blogger!)

The bicentennial celebration of Bro. Lafayette’s farewell tour of the United States is near, so having a single compendium chronicling the legend’s travels, from his landing at New York and through his sojourns across the then twenty-four states, is vital to understanding this thankful nation’s and our panegyric fraternity’s heartfelt honors.

Disclosure: I have not read Brother Lafayette yet, but I will because I want to know the bases for this anniversary bash that is almost upon us.

Bro. Chris will be busy with speaking engagements this fall and into 2025. Be sure to catch him. He’ll be with us at The American Lodge of Research next March on Monday the 31st.

     

‘A voluntary league for freedom and virtue’

    

(Not the source of the speech quoted below.)

It is Independence Day in the United States. In observance, let me share an excerpt from a speech delivered in 1848 during the celebration of the ninth anniversary of the founding of the Grand Lodge of Illinois. E.R. Roe, the Right Worshipful Grand Orator, observed:

Masonry is a voluntary league for the promotion of Freedom and Virtue. In examining this proposition, we do not ask you to follow us through the difficult mazes of ancient Masonic history. Go back only a single century, when Masonry was unquestionably what it is now. It was then practiced by our forefathers in England and America, and bore its present English name. It is therefore easy to trace it, step by step, to the present hour. And when we say that its progress has been so interwoven with the spread of Liberty among men that the history of Freedom is but an account of the influences of Masonry, we simply state a proposition susceptible of the most ample proof. Long before the cardinal principles set forth in the glorious charter of our liberties had become the acknowledged textbook of Freedom for the world, they were taught around the Masonic altar in our lodges. The official jewel of your Senior Warden...is to us but the familiar emblem of that equality proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence: “all men are created equal.” And no well-regulated lodge is ever closed without the reiteration of this principle from the Warden’s lips. That “all governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed,” is another fundamental principle in Masonry. The will and the welfare of the many determine the choice of our officers; and the Master of a lodge, and you, Most Worshipful Master of the Grand Lodge, feel that you but represent the will of the majority. Like the chief officer of our National and State Governments, Masters of Grand and Subordinate lodges are required, at their installation, to pledge themselves, in all their official acts, to abide by the Masonic constitutions.

But the resemblance between the character of our National government and the Masonic institution stops not here. Both are governed by a written constitution; both acknowledge the controlling voice of the majority; both admit no official superiors, but such as themselves have chosen; both limit the terms of office by the previously determined will of the electors. A general and a local government are common to both. The stranger from every kindred and every clime may be naturalized and fraternized in both. “Liberty-Equality-Fraternity” — words which have been linked together and proclaimed with such magic power by the people of France in their late successful revolution, and which now promise to become the watchword of Freedom to all Europe—these have for ages been familiar to the ear of every Mason. Many a listening ear had hung upon the lips of him who fell at Bunker Hill, and thus caught the first principle of Freedom from their beloved Grand Master, the lamented Warren! The leading spirits of Boston, in its revolutionary days, had assembled with him around the same Masonic altar, and together invoked the blessings of Jehovah for the freedom of the world. Long before the declaration of American independence, there were Grand Lodges in Massachusetts, in Virginia and South Carolina, and subordinate lodges were at work in most of the other colonies. In the army of the Revolution the practice of its solemn rites was not omitted; and we have authentic records of “Washington Lodge,” of which General Patterson was Master, and which was chartered by the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts as a Traveling Lodge in the army. Montgomery was an active Mason; Gates was a Mason; Sullivan, Lincoln, Knox, Lee, Schuyler, De Kalb, Lafayette—these were names which adorned the Order then. Finally, that great and good man, whose example should weigh so much with every American—Washington—was an ardent and active Mason.

And now think you this glorious institution, the foundation of whose Temple was laid upon the level of equality, reared by the plumb of moral rectitude and squared by the square of virtue; whose lively stones were, by the Masonic trowel, cemented together with, brotherly love and affection; whose capstone was no less than “Him whom the builders rejected,” but who “has now become the head-stone of the corner;” whose boundaries were vast as from east to west, from north to south, and within whose solemn precincts were equally welcome the men of every clime, and upon whose sacred altar the Holy Bible lay always open, guiding them and urging them to that active virtue which manifests itself in brotherly love, relief and truth; think you that Masonry, who first taught her votaries the golden rules of freedom and equality among themselves, did not thereby aid in the awaking that longing for Political Liberty which first lighted the torch of Revolution at Lexington and Concord? Aye! Masonry was at Bunker Hill! She saw the life-blood flow when Warren fell, but faltered not. She accompanied the little army through the terrible struggle which succeeded, and whispered her immutable principles into the ear of Washington. She followed Franklin to the hall of Congress, and watched over the national council. The Declaration of Independence had made her principles the political creed of a nation; and when the storm of war was over, and triumphant Peace saw the assembled representatives of the nation consulting upon a future form of government, who shall say that she did not aid in tempering the rancor of sectional discord, and thus promote that Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence, and Justice, which brought their deliberations to so happy an end!

And now let us reply to the oft-repeated charge, in times of persecution, that Masonry is a political institution. Truly it is even so! But that its influences are of a partisan character; that it ever sustains one party, composed of its members, and opposes another, which is not; that it ever plots for political power; that it ever kneels for political favor; that it ever swerves from political duty, or shrinks from its responsibility, is false! Within the halls of Masonry the din of political discord is never heard. Around her altars gather not only the men of every clime—Christian, Jew, Mahometan and heathen—all who are willing and worthy to join the league of Brotherly Love, but every sect and every party of each. And he who thinks that Masonry can harmonize all these, till they shall come together for a common government or common creed, would give her superhuman power. No, no. The follower of Mahomet leaves his turban and his crescent at the door; the Christian takes his Jewish brother by the hand, and leaving without the emblematic cross, which separates their faith, they approach the shrine of Masonry together, and bow before the altar of Jehovah, the common God of all.

But there is a mode in which Masonry exerts a political influence—by teaching to its votaries the principles of equality, the necessity of law, the duty of subordination, and the excellence of order in all things. The influence of Masonry is, then, of a general, not of a partisan nature. It prepares men for the reception of political freedom; but that freedom is based upon the most perfect submission to the authority which the majority have chosen to rule. And this is the true reason why tyrants in all countries have opposed its progress. The doctrine that “all men are created equal,” is incompatible with arbitrary power.

(Source: Jewels of Masonic Oratory, New York, 1900.)

     

‘Research lodge to visit Delaware’

    

The details of Civil War Lodge of Research 1865’s meeting this month in Delaware have been announced.

The brethren and their ladies will gather for dinner at six on Friday, July 12 at Texas Roadhouse in Middletown. The research lodge will meet at Jackson Lodge 19 in Delaware City the following morning. Refreshments at 9 a.m. The meeting at ten. Then we’ll go to lunch at 11:30.

University of Delaware

Then we will commute to Fort Delaware for an afternoon tour of the historic site, which will include a boat ride to the prison, where Confederate soldiers were interned.

The day will culminate with dinner at 6 p.m., although I’m sure there will be drinks at the hotel afterward.

I’ll simply drive down for the day.

The lodge’s calendar for 2025 also has been posted, and it looks like I won’t be able to attend any of the meetings in South Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama. The lodge is chartered by the Grand Lodge of Virginia, but it receives dispensation to travel and hold meetings outside the Commonwealth, focusing on locales relevant to the U.S. Civil War.

RW Gary Heinmiller

A call for papers always is open, but I’m not sure if research papers comprise a big part of the lodge’s activities. At some point, likely after I exit the East of The ALR, I will look into the story of New York’s eleven short-lived military lodges during the war, and hopefully assemble a narrative out of that.