Contents
Why Don't Masons Read The Bicentennial Of the American Revolution
The American Revolution Two Grand Masters Battle to the Death
Joseph Warren, Hero of Bunker Hill President Gerald R. Ford
The Word In Masonic Ritual Duties, Rights and Privileges of A Master Mason
The Beginnings of Freemasonry Recommended Masonic Reading
More on 'What's In A Name' Scottish Rite Opens National Heritage Museum
St. John's Lodge Planning Feature The Sword of Joseph Hamilton Daveiss
The Feed Mill Had Nothing
On Us
A DELIGHTFUL CUSTOM
John Black Vrooman, F.P.S., Editor
P.O. Box 402
St. Louis, Missouri 63166
OFFICERS
Robert V. Osborne, F.P.S., President
3624 Gifford Road
Franksville, Wisconsin 53126
Eugene S. Hopp, F.P.S., First Vice President
2000 Van Ness Ave.
San Francisco, California 94109
Dwight L. Smith, F.P.S., Second Vice-President
Masonic Temple, 525 North Illinois St
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204
Franklin (Andy) Anderson, F.P.S., Executive Secretary
P.O. Box 529,
Trenton, Missouri, 64683
Ronald E. Heaton, F.P.S., Treasurer
728 Haws Avenue
Norristown, Pennsylvania 19401
LIVING PAST PRESIDENTS
Philalethes Society
Lee E. Wells FPS
Alphonse Cerza, F.P.S. (Life)
Dr. Charles Gottshall Reigner, F.P.S.
Judge Robert H. Gollmar, F.P.S.
William R. Denslow, F.P.S.
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Jerry Marsengill, F.P.S., Editor
2714 Park Place
Des Moines, Iowa 50312
Alphonse Cerza, F.P.S. Life., Assoc. Editor
237 Millbridge Road
Riverside, Illinois 60546
EXECUTIVE SECRETARY EMERlTUS
Carl R. Grelsen, F.P.S.
Volume XXVIII, No. 3
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By Jerry Marsengill, F.P.S., Associate Editor
(A Guest Editorial)
Article after article crosses our desk which necessitates our writing numerous letters to the various authors in order to check some small point in something they quote. Many of these articles display a woeful lack of acquaintance with literature. Authors are not the only ones who are to blame. Freemasons, as a whole, are not great readers. Much of this can be traced to our public school system in which a child goes to grade school, high school, and junior college, in order that he may be enabled to enter a university and begin the study of his primary course, remedial reading!
If one has not discovered the wonder of the world of books, it is never too late to start. We are not talking about Masonic books, for there are not enough good Masonic books published to take up one tenth of a person's time. We are talking about the entire world of books. Certainly if a person is intending to write on Freemasonry, he should have a working knowledge of the Scriptures, and not from a religious standpoint, but from a historical and literary viewpoint.
Plato's Dialogues should be read by every Masonic author at the earliest possible time, since much of the misinformation which is given to newly made Masons is stolen completely from Plato, through one or another Masonic author.
Shakespeare is one author who should never be neglected. Since we have used so much of his work in our ritualistic work, we should become acquainted with the original source of the material. Read all of Shakespeare's good plays and poetry. I say his good work, because like many of the rest of us, old Bill wrote some stinkers too. After you have taken these three fundamental works, branch out. Use the local library. Read background works on history, geography, some sociology, and all the reference works you can read. Read some good novels too. No one can develop a writing style unless he has studied the writing style of other people. I don't mean "Tarzan of the Apes" or "Batman," but try something like Tolstoy's "War and Peace." Read Kipling's "Kim." Read the science fiction of Robert A. Henlein, and note the Masonic references in all of these. Whatever you do, read.
Harry Truman had little formal education, yet he was one of the best informed presidents we have ever had. His knowledge of history and of military history amazed the military leaders of the world. Why? Harry Truman discovered at an early age the value of books and was an omnivorous reader.
Napoleon was one of the world's great military leaders. Yet he never undertook a campaign without a well stocked traveling library. He also knew the value of the printed word. We don't claim that if you are a reader you will be elected President or that you will conquer the world. We do claim that you will better yourself in any endeavor. There is one of the greatest experiences which you can ever obtain awaiting you. It is yours for the asking. It is found in the world of books.
Featured in this issue . . .
WHY DON'T MASONS READ? EDITORIAL, by Jerry Marsengill, F.P.S.
TAKING TICONDEROGA, by James R. Case, F.P.S
A WORD OF EXPLANATION AND APOLOGY TO OUR READERS
STEPHEN GIRARD, FREEMASON, by Alphonse Cerza, F.P.S.
THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL, by Justin Winsor
THE BUNKER HILL FLAG
TWO GRAND MASTERS BATTLE TO THE DEATH
JOSEPH WARREN, HERO OF BUNKER HILL, by Earl K Dlile, M.P.S.
PRESIDENT GERALD FORD DEDICATES A MASONIC PLAQUE
THE WORD IN MASONIC RITUAL, by Edward M. Selby, M.P.S.
DUTIES, RIGHTS, AND PRIVILEGES OF A MASTER MASON
THE BEGINNINGS OF FREEMASONRY IN THE AMERICAN COLONIES by Conrad Hahn, F.P.S.
RECOMMENDED MASONIC READING, by Alphonse Cerza, F.P.S.
WHAT'S IN A NAME?, by Charles F. Adams, F.P.S.
WELCOME TO NEW MEMBERS.
SCOTTISH RITE OPENS NATIONAL HERITAGE MUSEUM
ST. JOHN'S LODGE PLANNING FEATURE
ATTENDANCE AT TWENTY-FIRST MASONIC WORKSHOP
THE SWORD OF JOSEPH HAMILTON DAVEISS, by Carroll M. Curtis, M.P.S.
THE FEED MILL HAD NOTHING ON US, by William B. Oswalt, M.P.S.
EXTRA, EXTRA, READ ALL ABOUT IT
A DELIGHTFUL CUSTOM
CHAT AND COMMENT, by Jerry Marsengill, F.P.S.
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The Bicentennial Of the American Revolution
9. Taking Ticonderoga
by James R. Case, F.P.S.
In his "History of Connecticut", Gideon Hollister claims that the movement which resulted in the seizure of Fort Ticonderoga on May 10, 1775 originated in Connecticut and was paid for out of the Connecticut treasury. It does appear that a cadre of the task force was sent from Hartford, and that public funds of the. colony paid the costs of the initial effort. The Green Mountain Boys who carried the mission through to a successful conclusion were largely Connecticut born, and their settlement sometimes called New Connecticut.
Early in 1775, the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts had delegated one of their number, John Brown of Pittsfield, to go to Canada and sound out popular sentiment there about joining in resistance to the oppressive acts of the British ministry. Brown was a Yale graduate of 1771 who had studied law with a cousin of Benedict Arnold. He reported from Montreal that the Canadians were lukewarm on the issue, but recommended that no time be lost in getting control of the forts at Ticonderoga and Crown Point, adding that the people in the Hampshire Grants were ready to help.
The Champlain Valley was an old battlefield in the struggle between the French and British for supremacy in North America. The forts were key points on the invasion route and whoever had possession, controlled communication between Montreal and New York. Veterans of the French and Indian wars were well acquainted with the importance of the forts, and aware of the munitions in storage there, and the artillery, some mounted and some in park.
While the General Assembly of Connecticut was in session at Hartford late in April, the situation was discussed by a small group who decided to act immediately and on their own responsibility. A dozen of the "principal gentlemen" at the Assembly signed a collective note for $1,000 taken from the public treasury. They were Samuel Wyllys, Jesse Root and Ezekiel Williams of Hartford; Samuel
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The author of this article, James R. Case, F.P.S., is the Grand Historian for each of the Masonic Grand Bodies of Connecticut, and is the author of numerous articles of historical significance.
Ethan Allen's own story of the capture of Fort Ticonderoga may be found in his autobiographical "Narrative of Colonel Ethan Allen's Captivity", published in several editions. Moore's "Diary of the American Revolution" also contains some contemporary reports. Any biography of Benedict Arnold has the author's account of his participation. All general histories make some reference to the exploit, while Lessing's "Field Book of the American Revolution" has several pages concerning the affair. Readers in depth will find many references cited in Justin Winsor's "Narrative and Critical History . . ." and in the "Harvard Guide."
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Bishop and Adam Babcock of New Haven, Samuel Holden Parsons * and Thomas Mumford of New London; Silas Deane of Wethersfield; William Williams of Lebanon, Charles Webb of Stamford; and Joshua Porter of Salisbury.
Appointed to the leadership of the Connecticut party were Edward Mott of Preston, Noah Phelps * of Simsbury, and Bernard Romans of Hartford. With a half dozen ardent spirits they rode to Salisbury, recruited as many more adventurers, and rode on northward. At Pittsfield James Easton with John Brown and Israel Dickinson and about forty others were ready to go, and went along to Bennington. Besides those already named the Connecticut contingent included the following who were paid for their services - Jeremiah Halsey of Preston; Elijah Babcock, Thomas Barber, John Bigelow *, Epaphras Bull *, William Nichols * of Hartford; Simeon Belding * of Wethersfield; Elisha Phelps of Simsbury; Chapman Judson of Woodbury; Elias Herrick, Gershom Hewitt and John Stevens of Canaan; Levi Allen *, Samuel Blagden, and Josiah Stoddard of Salisbury.
At Bennington, Ethan Allen and Seth Warner *, with a hundred or more of the Green Mountain Boys, were assembled and a council of war was held. Ethan Allen was the popular choice for leader of the group with Easton and Warner next in command. An agent was dispatched to Albany to obtain some needed supplies. Sentries were posted along the eastern shore of the lake to guard all approaches to Ticonderoga. A party of thirty, under Captain Elias Herrick, was detached to go to Skenesboro (now Whitehall) and take over the boats and stores, as well as to secure the Tories there. The party, now approaching 200 in number, proceeded to Castleton. Captain Douglas was sent to Panton to picket the northern approach by water and to collect boats for crossing the lake.
With Ezra Hecock, Noah Phelps had visited the post barber at Ticonderoga on the preceding day and had spied out the general lay of the land. A lad named Nathan Beman, who had often visited the fort to play with the boys there, was taken along as a guide for the assault party.
Benedict Arnold *, as Captain of a voluntary company, made up of Yale students and members of the Governor's Foot Guard which he had organized in New Haven, had answered the Lexington Alarm. Upon arrival at Cambridge there seemed to be no prospect of early action for his command. Always an opportunist and a glory hunter, Arnold persuaded the Massachusetts Assembly to commission him a colonel with authority to raise a force of 400 men in western Massachusetts, and to seize the forts at Ticonderoga and Crown Point. He left Cambridge with Eleazer Oswald as his companion and with the commission in his saddlebag.
Benedict Arnold came galloping into Castleton with his small party, having learned as he passed through Berkshire county that he had been preceded and forestalled by the party from Connecticut. He displayed his Massachusetts commission and his orders, which made no impression on the independent minded Green Mountain Boys, much less on their leader. However, Arnold was permitted to accompany Allen as the party moved along to Shoreham, and they were "side by side" as they entered the fortress.
As early dawn tinged the eastern sky on the morning of May 10th, not enough boats had been brought in to permit the whole party to cross the lake. About eighty men followed Allen, leaving Warner and the remainder on the Vermont shore. There was little difficulty in surprising and overpowering the lone sentry, or entering through the sally port, and taking the officers and soldiers captive. A total of about fifty military personnel and their families were sent back to Hartford and interned.
Allen’s demand for surrender of the fort "in the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress" is generally accepted as the exact language he used. Another and more characteristic version is that he said "I want this fort, and By God, I'm going to have it!"
Nearly 120 cannon, embrasure, field and siege pieces, were at the fort, along with a number of carriages, also fifty swivels and a quantity of powder and some shells. The following winter, under direction of Colonel Henry Knox *, a large number of the cannon were sledded over the snow for use in the siege works surrounding Boston. When implaced and brought into play they convincingly hastened the decision of the British to evacuate the city.
Colonel Seth Warner started down the lake the next day with a small force and took over Crown Point, where a sergeant and a dozen men composed the care-taking detachment. Here were still more cannon and supplies. John Brown was sent to Philadelphia to inform Congress of the successful outcome of the undertaking. Congress, uncertain as to just what to do, asked Connecticut to take appropriate steps to assume control.
Arnold sailed down the lake with a select party in a vessel captured at Skenesboro, had no trouble in taking the small garrison at the slight defense works at St. Johns, and sailed back to Ticonderoga in an English sloop. At the request of the New York Provincial Assembly, Connecticut sent Colonel Benjamin Hinman's regiment to assume occupational duties on the lake. Arnold was thus superseded a n d returned to a Cambridge in late June. His bold nature recommended him to Washington for a Continental commission and command of the expedition to be sent through the Maine woods against Quebec.
Connecticut archives show that payment was made to a number of Massachusetts and Vermont individuals for their services in the expedition. Among them were John Brown, James Easton and Israel Dickinson of Pittsfield; Ira Allen *, Ensign Lewis, Josiah Fuller, Dr. Jonas Fay * from Vermont. Ezra Hecock of Sheffield, Mass. and Benedict Arnold and Eleazer Oswald are also listed among those receiving some pay or allowances. Others who seem to have been concerned with supply or later consolidation were Barbabas Deane * of Wethersfield, Asa Eddy and William Bull of Hartford.
The good fortune which attended the leaders in the enterprise against Ticonderoga did not attend them for long. Benedict Arnold's brilliant career is overshadowed by his defection, and the cruel conduct of the raiders he led against Virginia and Connecticut seaside towns. Ethan Allen, during an all advised foray into Canada, was made a prisoner of war and so immobilized for the rest of the war. John Brown as a Continental Colonel led son expedition against the Indians on the Mohawk and lost his life in an ambush. Seth Warner, worn out by wounds, his title to Vermont lands impaired, came back to his Connecticut birthplace to pass out of a short though eventful life. At his funeral part of the text of the sermon was "How have the mighty fallen!"
* These were Freemasons
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Tentative Work Sheet For Program General Grand Chapter, Royal Arch Masons
International and the General Grand Council, Royal and Select Masters, International
The Triennial Convocation of the General Grand Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, International and the Triennial Assembly of the General Grand Council of Royal and Select Masters, International will be held in the city of Cleveland, Ohio, September 28 - October 2, 1975.
Sunday, September 28th
The sessions will open with a Vesper Service, which will be held at 5:00 p.m. in the famous "Old Stone Church" directly across the street from the headquarters hotel.
A Word of Explanation
and Apology
To Our Readers
The Bicentennial article "Taking Ticonderoga," by James R. Case, F.P.S., appearing in the April issue of the Philalethes magazine, was somehow, badly garbled typographically. We are sincerely sorry for this, and apologize, both to the author, Brother Case, and to the readers. Such things happen.
It is of relatively little importance as to who was responsible for the difficulty, but it is very important that the error be acknowledged and corrected. Our readers are important people and deserve the best. When a mistake is made it will be corrected as soon as possible.
Perhaps this item is a symbol of the present trend of some Freemasons to correct their habit of printing so much Masonic information, and assuring ourselves that accuracy and truth are the most important items of our craft.
Fraternally yours,
John Black Vrooman, F.P.S.,
Editor
Registration will be held on the mezzanine floor of the Sheraton-Cleveland Hotel from 1:30 p.m. through 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, continuing at 8:00 a.m. Monday, September 29th until 4:00 p.m. Registration will continue on Tuesday, the same hours.
Monday, September 29th
At 9:00 a.m. Monday morning, General Grand King, Gordon R. Merrick will convene a conference for Grand High Priests, Grand Kings and Grand Scribes. Other interested Companions are welcome. This session will last until noon.
At 9:00 a.m., Deputy General Grand Master, Owen L. Shanteau will also conduct a like meeting for his Grand Masters, Deputy Grand Masters and Principal Conductors of Work and Recorders.
At 2:00 p.m., joint sessions of both General Grand Chapter and General Grand Council will participate in the Triennial Flag Pageant, and it will be during this time all distinguished guests will be formally introduced.
On Monday evening, various state dinners are being scheduled. The arrangements for these dinners should be made by the state desiring to hold such dinners through Mr. Michael Brenan, Sheraton-Cleveland Hotel, 24 Public Square, Cleveland, Ohio 44101.
On that evening at 8:30, there will be an extravaganza entertainment program presented for all delegates, their ladies and guests.
Tuesday, September 30th
7:00 a.m. Breakfast, K.Y.C.H.
8:30 a.m. The Grand Council of Ohio, Royal and Select Masters will open the Grand Council of Ohio, and then vacate their stations to the officers of General Grand Council. General Grand Council will then formally convene its 32nd Triennial Assembly at 9:00 a.m., and will continue its labors through the day until their work has been completed.
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The Bicentennial Of The American Revolution
10. The Battle of Bunker Hill
By Justin Winsor
In his eight volume compilation, "Narrative and Critical History of America", the editor himself wrote the account of the Battle of Bunker Hill which follows:-
During May 1775, Artemas Ward of Worcester was appointed Major General and commander in chief of the Massachusetts forces encircling Boston; John Thomas, a physician of Kingston, had been made second in command under Ward; and Richard Gridley *, an old Louisbourgh artilleryman, had been made chief engineer. As yet the New England colonies were the only ones which had sent their armed men to the scene. The Massachusetts men had taken post mostly at Cambridge, near the college; and here, as the days went on, came also a Connecticut regiment under Israel Putnam *, who had left his plough in its furrow. So, as June began, there had assembled outside of Boston between seven and eight thousand men, eager, but poorly equipped, and with a small supply of powder. On the Roxbury side, fronting the British lines on Boston Neck, there were about four thousand Massachusetts men, under John Thomas, supported by a camp a little farther out, at Jamaica Plain, to which Joseph Spencer had come with another
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BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Justin Winsor (1831-1897) author, historian, librarian, was so thorough accurate and unbiased, that his brief account of the battle of Bunker Hill was preferred by the Editorial staff to any other version. Henry Dearborn *, a participant, published his recollections in 1818, more than forty years after the event. He gave much space to the circumstances surrounding the death of "a bosom friend", Major Andrew McClary *. He was also highly critical of Putnam's activity that day and started a controversy still simmering. The Bunker Hill story is told in countless books - factual and fictional - but the most detailed and most reliable account is to be found in the "Life of Joseph Warren" and "Siege of Boston" both written by Richard Frothingham, cited by Winsor as "master of the literature and records of the fight."
Several more recent books will be of interest to the student studying this important event in our history: Thomas J. Fleming, "Now We Are Enemies," "The Story of Bunker Hill." (1960; St. Martin's Press, New York). John Henry Cary, "Joseph Warren, Physician, Politician, Patriot." (1961; University of Illinois Press, Urbana, Ill.). "Joseph Warren," Digest issued by the Masonic Service Association.
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Connecticut regiment, and Nathanael Greene, with a body of Rhode Islanders. Thomas had some fieldpieces and a few heavy cannon, and his force constituted the army's right wing. Its left wing was upon the Mystick at Medford, and near Charlestown Neck, and here were the New Hampshire men, and among their officers the old Indian fighter, John Stark *, was conspicuous. Three companies of Massachusetts men constituted the extreme left at Chelsea. So, as the summer came on, perhaps about 16,000 men in all were encamped as a fragile army besieging Boston. General Ward exercised by sufferance a superior authority over all, though as yet no colony but New Hampshire had instructed its troops to yield him obedience. As Massachusetts claimed three quarters of the entire force thus drawn together, the assumption of chief command by her first officer was natural enough in a common cause.
The force which this sixteen thousand loosely organized men dared to hold imprisoned in Boston was a well-compacted army of somewhere from five to ten thousand men, for it is difficult amid conflicting reports to determine confidently a fixed number. On the 25th of May Gage had been joined by a reinforcement, accompanied by three other general officers, - Burgoyne, Clinton, and Howe.
The council of war at Cambridge was meanwhile directing new works to be constructed, strengthening and stretching their lines of circumvallation. Its opinions were divided on the question of occupying so exposed a position as the most prominent eminence on the peninsula of Charlestown, the defense of which might bring on a general engagement, which their stock of powder could not support. On the 13th of June the American commanders had secretly learned that Gage intended on the 18th to take possession of Dorchester Heights, the present South Boston. There was but one counter-move to make, and that was to seize in anticipation the summit of the ridgy height which began at Charlestown Neck and extended, in varying outline, to the sea-ward end of the peninsula, - an eminence known as Bunker Hill. On the 16th of June, a council of war, held in the house near Cambridge common, known later as the Holmes House, decided, upon the recommendation of the Committee of Safety, to occupy Bunker Hill at once. That evening about 1,200 men, of whom 200 were from Connecticut under Thomas Knowlton, the whole being under the command of Colonel William Prescott, first listened to a prayer of the president of the college, and then marched, with their intrenching tools, in the darkness, to Charlestown Neck. Here the purpose was for the first time disclosed to the men. They resumed their march, going up the slope of the hill before them, while Nutting's company and a few Connecticut men were sent along the shore opposite Boston, to patrol it. The highest summit of the hill was the one first reached; but, after a consultation, it was decided to proceed to a lower one, more nearly before Boston. Here Richard Gridley marked out a redoubt, and at midnight the men took their spades and began to throw up the breastworks. Putnam, who seems to have accompanied Prescott, now returned to Cambridge, and while the men worked busily, Prescott sent an additional patrol to the river, and twice went down himself, to be satisfied, as he heard the "All's well" of the watch on the men-of-war moored opposite, that no noise of the intrenching tools had reached the enemy. Soon after the first glimmer of dawn on the 17th, the sailors on the shins discovered the embankments, now about six feet high, when one of the vessels, the "Lively," at once opened fire upon them. This lasted only till Admiral Graves could send orders to cease, but was shortly renewed from the ships and from the batteries on Copp's Hill, in Boston, as soon as the British generals comprehended t h e situation. Prescott's men meanwhile kept at their work. One man was soon killed by a cannon-ball. The commander and others walked the parapet, encouraging their men, and Willard, one of the councillors who stood by Gage as they surveyed the hill through their glasses, recognized the Pepperell colonel, and told the British general what sort of man he had got to encounter. A promise had been given to Prescott that in the morning a relief and refreshments would be sent from Cambridge; but nothing came to the hungry men, as they still worked. Ward, who heard the firing, yielded to Putnam's persuasion to send reinforcement, only so far as to dispatch a part of Stark's regiment, for he feared that Gage would seem to prepare to assault in Charlestown, while his intention might be to attack in Cambridge. Finally, about ten o'clock, Major John Brooks * reached headquarters with a request from Prescott for help and food. Richard Devens pressed Ward to comply, and at eleven the rest of the New Hampshire men were ordered to march.
Meanwhile, as the tide rose, some floating batteries were sent up the stream to take the works in flank, and later, to rake the Neck. A few stray shots were returned from a field-piece in the redoubt, one of whose balls passed over Burgoyne's head, as he tells us, while he was watching at Copp's Hill. Putnam came again from Cambridge, and induced Prescott to send off a large number of his men with the in-trenching tools, and under Putnam's direction this detail soon began to use them in throwing up earthworks on the higher summit in the rear, - labor wasted, as it turned out.
As the day wore on, Gage held a council of war, and it was determined not to land troops at the Neck and attack in rear, as Clinton urged, but to assault in front. This decision was long the ground of severe criticism upon Gage, and ruined his military reputation. The ships were put into better positions, and redoubled their fire. By noon the British troops in Boston were marching to the wharves, where they - embarked in boats, and under the command of General Howe, they rowed to Moulton's or Morton's Point, where the landing was quickly made. Howe drew up his men on the rising ground which makes the least of three heights of the peninsula, and anticipating sharp work, sent back the boats for more men.
Prescott observed all this from the hill, but looked longingly up the peninsula for his own reinforcements. A few wagons came, not with men, but with beer, though nothing adequate even of this. The feeling began to spread among the men on the hill that they had been treacherously left to their fate; but they got encouragement from a few brave souls who came straggling in from Cambridge. Pomeroy, the French war veteran, was one. James Otis *, wreck as he was, came. So did Dr. Joseph Warren *, whose presence the men recognized by a cheer, and, major-general as he was, he came to fight under Colonel Prescott. Putnam, too, had again returned, and was seen riding about the field in a restless way, with a word of encouragement here and there, and pointing out to a few reinforcements now arriving where best to go.
Prescott's eye, observing Howe's dispositions, saw he was aiming to advance along the Mystick and take the redoubt in reverse. So Knowlton, with two field-pieces and the Connecticut troops, were sent down the hill towards the Mystick, where they began to make a line of defense of a low stone wall, which was topped by a two-rail fence. Stark and Reed, with the New Hampshire regiments, diminished somewhat by details which Putnam had taken from them to help the work in the trenches on the higher hill, soon came up and ranged their men in a line with Knowlton. There was, however, an interval between this part of the field and the breastwork and redoubt, which offered a chance for the enemy to intervene and break the line. An attempt was made to prepare for such a contingency by grouping the few guns which they had at this point. New troops, in small numbers, continued to come up, and they were placed in position as best they could be to keep the line strong in all parts as it sloped away from the crowning redoubt towards either river.
It was nearing three o'clock when the British boats returned from Boston; and when their troops landed Howe had about 3,000 men in array. He pushed his guns forward and got them in position to play upon the American field-pieces, and soon drove them away, while at the same time some skirmishing took place on the British flanks, whose main body was now advancing in a measured step in two columns: one led by Howe against the rail-fence, the other by Pigot against the redoubt. The assault was become one of infantry only, for the British guns were soon mired in some soft ground, and the balls in reserve had proved of an over-calibre. Pigot's front got near the redoubt before the Americans poured in their fire, which was deadly enough to send the staggered column wildly back. At the same time, along the Mystick Howe's advance was met by the American field-pieces, some of which had been drawn to the rail-fence. Their musketry fire was reserved, as at the redoubt, and when it belched upon the deployed enemy it produced the same effect. So there was a recoil all along the British line. In the respite before they advanced again, Putnam tried to rally some troops in the rear, and to get others across the Neck, which the raking fire of the British vessels was now keeping pretty clear of passers. But there was not time to do much, for Howe was soon again advancing, his artillery helping him more this time; and to add to the terror of the scene, he had sent word to Boston to set Charlestown on fire by shells, and the conflagration had now begun. The smoke did not conceal the British advance, and Prescott and Stark kept their men quiet till the enemy were near enough to make every shot tell. The result was as during the first attack. The royal troops struggled bravely; but all along the line they wavered, and then retreated more precipitately than before.
There was a longer interval before Howe again advanced, and Prescott used it in making such a disposition of his men as would be best in a hand-to-hand fight, for neither adequate reinforcements nor supplies had reached him and his powder was nearly gone. There was a good deal of confusion and uncertainty in the rear, all along the road to Cambridge. Ward had ordered a plenty of troops forward, but few reached the peninsula at all, or in any shape for service. Putnam did what he could to bring order out of confusion; but his restless and brandishing method, and his eagerness to finish the works on Bunker Hill, were not conducive to such results as a quiet energy best produces. The brave men at the front must still do the work left for them, with such chance assistance as came.
Howe was rallying his men for a third assault. Major Small had landed 400 marines, to make up in part for the losses. Clinton had seen how confused the troops were as he looked across the river with his glass, and had hurried over from Boston to render Howe help as a volunteer aid. The British general determined now to concentrate his attack upon the works on the crown of the hill, making only a demonstration against the rail-fence. He brought his artillery to bear in a way that scoured the breastwork which flanked the redoubt, and then he attacked. His column reserved their fire and relied on the bayonet. They met the American fire bravely, but soon perceived that it slackened; and surmising that the American powder was failing, they took new courage. Those of the defenders who had ammunition mowed down the assailants as they mounted the breastworks, Major Pitcairn among them; but as soon as Prescott saw the defense was hopeless, he ordered a retreat, and friend and foe mingled together as they surged out of the sally-port amid the clouds of dust which the trampling raised, for a scorching sun had baked the new-turned soil. It was now, while the confused mass of beings rocked along down the rear slope of the hill, that Warren fell, shot through the head. No one among the Americans knew certainly that he was dead, as they left him The British stopped to form and deliver fire, and there was thus time for a gap to open between the pursuers and the pursued. The New Hampshire men and others at the rail-fence, seeing that the redoubt was lost, tenaciously faced the enemy long enough to prevent Prescott's men from being cut off, and then stubbornly fell back. Some fresh troops which had come up endeavored to check the British as they reached the slope which led to the intrenchments that Putnam had been so solicitous about; but the British wave had now acquired an impulse which carried it bravely up the hill; and Putnam, scurrying about, was not able to make anybody stand to defend the unfinished works. So down the westerly slope of the higher summit to the Neck the provincials fled, and the British followed. The vessels poured in their fire anew as the huddled runaways crossed the low land, and not till they got beyond the Neck was there any effectual movement by fresh troops to cover the retreat. General Howe fired a few cannon shot after them, as he mustered his forces on the hill. It was now about five o'clock. There was time in the long summer's day to advance upon Cambridge, but Howe rejected Clinton's advice to that end, and began, with other troops which had been sent to him from Boston, to throw up breastworks on the inland crown of Bunker Hill. Thus spading for their defense, the British passed the night, while the Americans lay on their arms on Winter and Prospect hills, or straggled back to Cambridge. There was no disposition on either side to renew the fight.
Prescott did not conceal his indignation at not having been better supported, when he made his report at Ward's headquarters. He knew he had fought well; but neither he nor his contemporaries understood at the time how a physical defeat might be a moral victory. Not knowing this, there was little else than mortification over the result, - indeed, on both sides. A wild daring had brought the battle on, and something like bravado had led the British general into a foolhardy direct assault, while more skilful plans, availing of their ships, might have accomplished more without the heavy loss which they had endured. The British folly was increased by the way in which they allowed the provincials to make the first great fight of the war a political force throughout the continent.
The general opinion seems to be that the Americans had about 1,500 men engaged at one time, and that from three to four thousand at different times took some part in it. The British had probably about the same numbers in all, but were in excess of the Americans at all times while engaged. The conflict with small arms lasted about ninety minutes.
* Freemasons
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Two Grand Masters Battle to the Death
Shortly after he presided over the Massachusetts Grand Lodge as Grand Master, Dr. Joseph Warren, a major general of the Massachusetts "rebel" forces, died on June 17, 1775, at the Battle of Bunker Hill. The 2nd Earl of Moira was fighting on the English side; he served as acting Grand Master of England from 1790 to 1813, as Grand Master of Scotland in 1806-07, and after 1813 as acting Grand Master of India.
- National Sojourner
- March-April, 1974
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In; Our Next Issue
"George Washington Takes
Command"
by Norman C. Dutt, F.P.S.
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Joseph Warren, Hero of Bunker Hill
By Earl K. Dille, M.P.S.
Of the great Revolutionary triumvirate of Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Joseph Warren, the least well known today is certainly Warren. Probably the most effective leader of the three, this Boston physician and major general of the colonial forces was killed very early in the war, and thus never had the continuing role through the Struggle which would have made him better known in our history. He is of particular interest to Masons because at the time of his death he was Grand Master of the Provincial Grand Lodge (Ancients) for Massachusetts.
Warren was very active in the fight for colonial rights which eventually led to war. He believed in the restoration of these rights, however, without necessarily requiring separation from England. He felt that a revitalized colonial government should "give every man the greatest liberty to do what he pleases consistent with restraining him from doing injury to another." His revolutionary activity commenced at the time of the Stamp Act, in 1765, when he started contributing to the press. He argued Tenuously against the Townshend Act, which established taxes on paper, glass, tea, and other items of importance to the colonists. He was one of the famous Sons of Liberty, and many say he was the principal instigator of the Boston Tea Party. Certain it is that Warren dispatched Paul Revere and William Dawes on their well known errands during the evening of April 18, 1775. Warren rushed to the scene of action at Lexington on the next day, and narrowly missed death from an enemy musket during the British retreat from Concord. He was killed in action at Bunker Hill the following June 17.
Joseph Warren was born on June 11, 1741 at Roxbury, Massachusetts, and graduated from Harvard College in 1759. He taught public school in Roxbury for a year, then studied medicine under Dr. James Lloyd of Boston, receiving his M.D. in 1764. He immediately distinguished himself in battling a smallpox epidemic in that year. He was the family physician for the Adames, Hancocks, and other well known families in the Boston area. Dr. Warren was eventually offered the position of Surgeon General for the colonial forces, but turned it down for a more active role. The "Suffolk Resolves," which urged opposition to Britain, were drafted by Warren. He was a member of all three Provincial Congresses, and president of the third.
Warren was made a Mason in September of 1761, in St. Andrew's Lodge, which had been formed just a few years before. This was an "Ancient" lodge as opposed to many other British lodges of the time, termed "Modern." Actually the Moderns were older than the Ancients, in general. The first Grand Lodge which convened in London in 1717 was somewhat fractured in 1751 when the Ancients broke away, eventually under the Duke of Atholl, practicing what they felt was a more ancient ritual. The Grand Lodges of Ireland (founded in 1725) and Scotland (1736) recognized both the British Grand Lodges, but they were considered Ancient in their own practice an d preference. In the American colonies the Modern lodges were largely made up of Tories, and the Ancient lodges attracted most of those who were to become Rebels. It was not until 1813 that these British Grand Lodges finally united.
Dr. Warren was elected Worshipful Master of St. Andrew's Lodge on November 30, 1768. Richard Frothingham, Warren's best known biographer, reports that the doctor was regular at lodge meetings and made earnest efforts to establish the character and widen the influence of the fraternity. "It was his Alma Mater, and as such (Warren) was ever zealous to defend its honor and promote its welfare." Shortly after Warren was installed as Master of St. Andrew's, that lodge, together with three traveling lodges associated with British Army regiments in Boston, petitioned George, Earl of Dalhousie, Grand Master of Scotland, for the formation of a Provincial Grand Lodge. Dalhousie commissioned Joseph Warren on May 30, 1769, as Grand Master of the province including Boston and surrounding territory (within a radius of 100 miles). This fulfilled Warren's Masonic ambition to see a provincial Grand Lodge of "Ancients" in the area. The three travelling lodges which united with St. Andrews' were as follows:
(1) 64th Regiment of Foot - The Duke of York's Lodge No. 106 on the Registry of the Grand Lodge of Scotland.
(2) 14th Regiment - Lodge No. 58 on the Registry of Ancients (Atholl) Grand Lodge of England.
(3) 29th Regiment - Lodge No. 322 on the Registry of the Grand Lodge of Ireland.
Joseph Warren was installed as Grand Master in Boston on December 27, 1769 (St. John the Evangelist's Day). Fortunately, none of the British regiments with the charter travelling lodges was involved in the battle at Bunker Hill little more than five years later, when Grand Master Warren was killed in action.
After the battles at Lexington and Concord, the Americans beseiged Boston. Warren was kept busy as President of the Provincial Congress and the Committee of Safety. Troops reinforced the colonial army from several New England states, and additional British regulars arrived in Boston by sea. Dr. Warren was elected Major General of Massachusetts troops on June 14, 1775. Only two days later American troops under General Israel Putnam fortified Breed's Hill, near Bunker's Hill and Charlestown, across the Charles River from Boston. This was unacceptable to the British commanders and they determined to put troops over the river to evict the colonial army. Warren rushed to the scene of impending action, on the theory that major generals were supposed to fight. Putnam offered him the command, but Warren refused it, stating that he had not yet actually received his commissioning document, and adding that he would be proud to serve Colonel Prescott, in command at the redoubt on Breed's Hill. Elbridge Gerry had cautioned Warren against rushing into the front line, and Warren said, "I know that I may fall, but where is the man who does not think that it is glorious to die for his country?"
The British troops took the American fort after three bloody charges on June 17, 1775, with heavy losses The issue was very much in doubt until the colonials ran out of gunpowder. The battle proved that the colonial troops could stand effectively against the red-coated regulars. Warren was shot in the head and died instantly in the thick of the action. A British officer later wrote, "He died in his best clothes – everybody remembers his fine silk-ringed waistcoat." The English burial detail which found Warren's body buried it together with that of another militiamen. Warren's two brothers, with Lodge Brother Paul Revere, located the Grand Master's body on April 4, 1776. Revere was able to identify the remains by two false teeth which he himself had installed with silver wire previously.
The British having evacuated Boston, the Massachusetts Grand Lodge (Ancients) convened on April 8, 1776, to give their Grand Master proper burial. A solemn procession was held from the Boston State House to King's Chapel, where Perez Morton, Grand Marshal of the Grand Lodge, gave the funeral oration, stating, "Our Grand Master fell by the hands of ruffians but was afterwards raised in honor and authority. We searched on the field for the murdered son of a widow and found him by the turf and the twig, buried on the brow of a hill, though not in a decent grave." After these services, the body was placed in the Minot tomb at the Granary Burying Ground, Boston, until 1825, when it was placed in the Warren tomb at St. Paul's Church, Boston. Finally, on August 3, 1855, the remains reached their last rest in the family vault at Forest Hills Cemetery.
A monument was erected to Grand Master Warren by the members of King Solomon Lodge, Charlestown, "to commemorate his labors, his fidelity, and his untimely death." This was eventually replaced by the present Bunker Hill Monument; a marble model of the original Warren Monument was placed inside.
Thus went Joseph Warren. Immediately after his death a fund was subscribed for the relief of his children. Ironically, one of the largest donations, for $500, was from Benedict Arnold.
Abigail Adams, later to be a first lady, wrote of Warren, "We want him in the Senate, we want him in his profession, we want him in the field." It was in the field that this nation lost hire, but his memory should be a source of great pride to his fraternity and to his fellow countrymen.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Frothingham, Richard, Jr., History of the Siege of Boston: Little, Brown; Boston 1849.
Frothingham, Richard, Jr., Life and Time of Joseph Warren; Little, Brown; Boston 1865.
Ketchum, Richard M., Decisive Day - The Bottle for Bunker Hill Doubleday; New York 1974.
Morse, Sidney Freemasonry In the American Revolution; Little Masonic Library; Kingsport, Tenn. 1946.
Roy, Thomas Sherrard, Stalwart Builders; Grand Lodge of Massachusetts: Boston 1971.
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Dedicates A Masonic Plaque
The annual convention of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial Association was declared open at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, February 17, 1975, by the President of the Association, Most Worshipful Brother Raymond C. Ellis, Past Grand Master of New York. The opening prayer was given by Most Worshipful Brother S.C. (Woody) Parish, the Grand Master of Arizona. With Brother Ralph H. Gauker at the pipe organ, the assembled brethren joined in singing one verse of AMERICA and one verse of GOD SAVE THE QUEEN. Most Worshipful Brother Seymour J. Levy, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Virginia, delivered the address of welcome. The response was by Most Worshipful Brother Stanley F. Maxwell, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts. Worshipful Brother Donald M. Robey brought greetings from Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22, the lodge over which George Washington served as Charter Master.
The President Emeritus of the Association, Most Worshipful Brother John H. Hessey, Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Maryland, extended a welcome to the heads of the various Masonic bodies in the United States. Most Worshipful Brother Marvin E. Fowler, Secretary-Treasurer of the Association, welcomed the delegations from Sister Grand Lodges beyond the borders of the United States.
The President of the Association delivered his annual report on behalf of the Directors of the Association. He emphasized the financial condition of the Association and urged all Grand Lodges and other Masonic bodies to support the current program designed to increase the Endowment, so as to be concluded by the end of 1976, is designed to obtain a total of 10,000 life memberships, based on contributions of $100.00 each, and 1,000 donations of $1,000.00 each. The names of the individuals or Masonic bodies contributing $1,000.00 or more to the endowment, will be placed on a bronze plaque to be permanently located in the Memorial Hall near the statue of George Washington.
M.W. Brother Marvin E. Fowler, Secretary-Treasurer, gave a brief account of the conduct of business at the Memorial during the past year, and described plans for some future activities.
Contributions received at the Annual convention and by mail since January 1 totaled over $100,000.00.
Most Worshipful Brother J. Thomas Middleton, Grand Master of Maryland and Chairman of the Nominating Committee, made his report after which the following were unanimously elected: President - Raymond C. Ellis of New York; 1st Vice President - Charles F. Adams of Nebraska; 2nd Vice President - John K. Young of Pennsylvania; 3rd Vice President - Charles M. Lankford, Jr. of Virginia and Secretary-Treasurer - Marvin E. Fowler of the District of Columbia.
Members re-selected to the Board of Directors whose terms had expired on this date were: C. Fuller Dorr, Michigan; Bernhard G. Gustafson, North Dakota; James J. Harbage Ohio; Lee Lockwood, Texas; Robert V. Osborne, Wisconsin; Joseph L. Seltzer, Minnesota, and Edward H. Siems, California.
A committee of Grand Masters of which Most Worshipful Brother Robert D. Sager, Grand Master of Ohio served as chairman, visited the tomb of Washington at Mount Vernon earlier in the morning and placed therein a wreath on behalf of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial Association.
The following distinguished Masons were invited to the podium to extend greetings to the assemblage: Brother Henry C. Clausen, Sovereign Grand Commander of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction; Brother George A. Newbury, Sovereign Grand Commander of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, Northern Jurisdiction; Brother Gordon Merrick, General Grand King of the General Grand Chapter, Royal Arch Masons International, Brother Hoyt McClendon, General Grand Master of the General Grand Council Royal and Select Masters International, and Brother Roy W. Riegel, Grand Master of the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar.
Shortly before noon, the President of the United States was admitted to the meeting. Amid thundering applause, he approached the stage, where he was formerly greeted by the officers and Executive Committee of the Association.
Most Worshipful Brothers Ellis and Fowler then unveiled a Galvano plaque honoring Brother Gerald R. Ford as the 14th Masonic President of the United States.
Remarks of Raymond C. Ellis, President of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial.
Mr. President - my remarks today will be about as brief as those of the little girl who was asked to quote the 23rd Psalm. She said "The Lord is my Shepherd - that's all I want." Mr. President, you are here today and that is all that we want. I simply do not have the words to express to you the sense of pride your brethren feel in that you are a member of our beloved fraternity - the largest and most ancient upon the face of the globe. And we are honored that you are with us today and we are grateful.
Anyone, my brothers, who has been raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason is aware of the importance and the emphasis that is placed upon the word integrity. Mr. President, you represent that word - because that is one of the great and outstanding qualifications of your personal character. (Applause).
About two months ago in the New York Times, you were paid what I consider to be a great compliment by James Reston, the columnist. Mr. Reston said that no matter with whom you are dealing on domestic matters - whether members of the Senate or the House, or heads of departments - even though you didn't reach an agreement, the people with whom you dealt recognized your personal integrity. And then, Mr. Reston went on to say that in your discussion of problems with foreign nations - whether West Germany, or Canada, or Israel - even though those representatives didn't get what or all they wanted - they came away with a good feeling, because they knew they were dealing with an honest man.
Mr. President, the Supreme Architect of the Universe endowed you with the sound inditement and wisdom to discern what is right – plus the determination to do what is right. You have convictions - and what is more important - you have the courage of those convictions.
Mr. President - it is the earnest and fervent prayer of your brethren, and the rank and file of our people throughout the length and breadth of this great and good land, that our Divine and Beneficent Heavenly Father, with Whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning, Who holds all of us in the hollow of His hand, and Who has promised. I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee - will guide and protect you, lead and direct you, and ever keep you and your beloved family under the protecting shelter of His wings of light and love.
Brethren - The President of The United States: - (Applause).
Remarks of The President, Brother Gerald R. Ford:
Most Worshipful Brother Ellis Most Worshipful Brother Fowler, Grand Masters and other officers of the fraternity, Brothers and friends:
Let me, at the outset, express my deepest personal gratitude to Brother Ellis for his more than generous observations and comments, and I truly hope that my performance in the future will bear out the comments that he has made concerning the past. I am deeply grateful for those velour kind words.
The dedication of this medallion gives me a great personal pleasure and, of course, is an honor that I will always cherish.
When I took my obligation as a Master Mason - incidentally with my three younger brothers - I recalled the value my own father attached to that order. But I had no idea that I would ever be added to the company of the Father of our Country and 12 other members of the order, who also served as President of the United States.
Masonic principles - internal, not external - and our order's vision of duty to country and acceptance of God as Supreme Being and guiding light have sustained me during my years of government service. Today, especially, the guidelines by which I strive to become an upright man in Masonry give me great personal strength.
Masonic precepts can help America retain our inspiring aspirations while adapting to a new age. It is apparent to me that the Supreme Architect has set out the duties each of us has to perform, and I have trusted in His will with the knowledge that my trust is well-founded.
As our Nation approaches its 200th anniversary, we do live in very challenging times. It was almost 200 years ago in the darkest days of our war for independence that George Washington answered a question that is sometimes asked today. The question is whether things are as bad as some say.
George Washington answered, and I quote: "We should never despair. Our situation before has been unpromising and has changed for the better, so I trust it will again. If new difficulties arise, we must only put forth new exertions and proportion our efforts to the exigency of the times."
Let us today rededicate ourselves to new efforts as Masons and as Americans. Let us demonstrate our confidence in our beloved Nation, and a future that will flow from the glory of the past.
When I think of the things right about America, I think of this order with its sense of duty to country, its esteem for brotherhood and traditional values, its spiritual high principles and its humble acceptance of God as the Supreme Being.
Today, we honor our first President, who was also our first Masonic President. In a letter in 1798, to the Grand Lodge of Maryland, Washington used some words which are now especially appropriate.
Washington told the order that he "conceived it to be the indispensable duty of every American to come forward in support of the government of his choice and to give all the aid in his power towards maintaining that independence, which we have so dearly purchased."
Such involvement by every American is as essential today as it was in George Washington's Day.
I express to all of you my deepest thanks for this tribute and I ask that we resolve together to honor George Washington and America by perpetuating the national heritage he engendered through the principles which guide our order - friendship, morality and brotherly love.
At the close of the meeting, t he brethren joined their ladies in the dining rooms, where a delightful lunch was served, and after which many had an opportunity to visit the various apartments and rooms throughout the Memorial.
I thank you very, very much. (Applause).
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By Edward M. Selby, M.P.S.
(A paper prepared for the Masonic Workshop, Washington, D.C., February 14, 1975.)
Editor's Note: Companion Selby, General Grand High Priest, General Grand Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, International, was stricken with a heart condition prior to the Masonic Workshop, and could not be present, nor was this paper read at that meeting. Companion Selby is now recuperating from his illness, and is gradually resuming his Masonic activities.
We have an area in Masonic inquiry that deserves more study and a re-evaluation. In spite of evidence to the contrary an opinion still persists there was no Speculative Masonry, as we now think of it, prior to the organization of the Grand Lodge of England in 1717, notwithstanding facts, abundantly proven, that non-operative Masons were working in Britain at least one hundred years before that date. Beginning with the Acception in 1620 numerous records occur of meetings and of the making of Masons all during the Seventeenth Century. Many clues as to the manner of working and scraps of old rituals are preserved which show how lodges worked, perhaps as early as fifty years before 1717. These rituals differ in many details but, nonetheless, they have many characteristic things which are common to all.
For years the accepted thesis was that the Mother Grand Lodge was the first to devise lodge ceremonies into three degrees. It was following this, it was said that numerous inventive and innovative agencies and persons built on this base multitudinous degrees and rites. To an extent this is true but good evidence proves lodge workings had been divided into at least two and possibly three grades several years before Drs. Anderson and Desaguliers wrote their Constitution and ritual about the year 1723. Furthermore, an examination of this evidence reveals several things, later employed in the so-called "advanced degrees," was known and utilized in earlier forms of lodge initiation. This is more understandable if one accepts the fact that the London Grand Lodge, in 1717, was simply an association of four lodges which were then meeting in London and Westminster, and that these lodges only did what many other groups of Masons had already done before them all over Britain. They prepared for their own use a set of Constitutions and a method of initiatory working which was consistent with the views and purposes of their own membership.
About sixty years ago an English scholar, J.E.S. Tuckett, presented a theory that pre-Grand Lodge Masonry consisted of a deep well of Masonic lore, only a part of which later found its way into the Grand Lodge ritual; and that from this well was taken many things that later appeared in the so-called "high degrees." His ideas met with little acceptance at the time they were offered. Masonic documents have since appeared which add weight to his thesis. For example, the Graham Mss., undiscovered until 1936, tells a well known story about the payment of Craft wages which later appeared in the Mark Degree. The Dumfries Mss. No. 4 gave much attention to the furniture of KS Temple, suggesting ideas in our present degree of Most Excellent Master. In it also appears that famous phrase from the Book of Zechariah, "Holiness to the Lord." The Dumfries Mss. is dated c. 1710 while the Graham Mss. is dated 1726 although the language is more consistent with English usage some fifty years before.
During the Eighteenth Century there was a marked difference in opinion as to what constituted ancient Masonry. This was the basis of a dispute between two rival groups of Masons in which the "Ancients" accused the "Moderns" of being ignorant of many things they deemed essential in the old ceremonies. An outstanding example of this is the Royal Arch Degree which the "Ancients" insisted to be a part of their Lodge ritual whereas the "Moderns" branded it as an innovation.
Best evidence leads us to believe that Speculative Masonry, as it evolved during the Seventeenth Century, was a product on one hand of the Old English Constitutions and of ritualistic practices employed in Scottish operative lodges on the other. The merger of these two systems seems to have emerged sometime after the union of the crowns of the two countries in 1603, when James VI of Scotland became James I of England. In this way relations between the two nations became much closer than they had been during three hundred years of previous hostility.
Scottish Masonry has contributed much to our present ritual. One item in particular dealt with an apprentice who, when he had completed his indenture, was taken by his master and "entered" on the rolls of the lodge. He was not immediately "accepted" as a Fellowcraft because, having satisfied his master, it was then mandatory that he also satisfy the body of the Craft. When that had been done, following a period of trial and probation, he was invested with "the Mason Word" and recognized as a Fellow. He could then travel in foreign countries and there work and receive Master's wages. There is good reason to believe this investiture was also accompanied by a ceremony which was similar in substance to the Hiramic Legend of the present Third Degree.
In this there seems to have been some confusion in the use of the term "Master." In one instance it referred to a Fellow who had mastered the skills of the operative craft. In another it meant actual Masters who had presided over a lodge and those whose skill was such they could design and supervise the erection of buildings. These were a privileged class who jealously guarded their preeminence. There was then two Words, one for each class of Masons. In this, some believe, can be found the early roots of the Royal Arch Degree which did not emerge as a separate identity until about 1725.
The story of the Mason Word is told by Douglas Knoop and his associates in their scholarly works on Masonic antiquity, particularly their "Early Masonic Catechisms." Collectively these catechisms and constitutions, as many of them actually are, presents a picture of what British Masonry was like during the years which preceded the Mother Grand Lodge in 1717, and for many years thereafter until its system was finally accepted and it became the dominant body of the fraternity. It should, however, be kept in mind that there was a period of transition which lasted until 1813 during which there continued many varied forms of ritual. And that during that period there was developed most of the so called "higher degrees."
What was the Mason Word or Words? It is spelled out in so many different versions they can only be explained as either deliberate attempts to deceive the profane reader, or as corruptions by ignorant Masons. An early example appears in the Sloane Mss. of about 1700 which gives it as MAHABYN. In the Trinity College Mss. of 1711 in Dublin it is MATCHPIN. In the same document is another word JACHQUIN. In 1723 this poem appeared in one of the public prints -
"An enter'd Mason I have been
Boaz and Jachin I have seen
A Fellow I was sworn most rare
And know the Astler, Diamond, and Square,
I know the Master's Part full well
As Honest MAUGHBIN will you tell."
to this is given a reply -
"If a Master Mason you would be Observe you well the Rule of Three
And what you want in Masonry
Thy MARK and MAUGHBIN makes you free."
In 1725 was printed a broadsheet titled "The Whole Institution of Free Masons Opened - "Two words are given in it, MAGBOE and BOE, which were said to mean "Marrow in the Bone." A year later the Graham Mss. told a story about Noah and his three sons in which MARROW was associated with close fellowship, marrow then being a word of common usage to describe a close fellow or companion. Again, in "The Whole Institution of Free-Masons Opened", appeared this cryptic paragraph -
"Yet for all this I want the primitive Word, I answer it was God in six terminations, to wit, I Am, and Johova is the answer to it, and grip at the rain of the Back, or else Excellent and Excellent, Excellancy is the answer to it, and Grip as aforesaid, or else TAPUS MAGISTER, and MAGISTER TAPUS is the answer to it, and Grip as aforesaid, for proof read the first of St. John."
What all this meant is left to the reader's imagination, but throughout are suggestions of several things familiar to present day Masons.
In the Old Constitutions much was made of two pillars erected by the children of Lamech before the Flood. Sometime during the Seventeenth Century these pillars were gradually replaced in Masonic thought by the B&J of KS Temple. Here we see a Temple Legend slowly superseding the Old Legend of the Craft, as Dr. Mackey was fond of referring to it. The use of the words B&J is not clear. It is certain they were given to a new Mason at the time of his initiation. At one time they were both given to an Entered Apprentice. On other occasions one was given separately to EA and to a FC. This becomes, confusing when we examine an expose published in 1730 by Samuel Pritchard, an apostate mason. In his "Masonry Dissected," he described work then in use during the third decade of the Eighteenth Century. In it J&B are the words of the Entered Apprentice Degree. The significant word of a Fellowcraft was associated with the letter G. while the word of a Master Mason was MACHBENAH.
That Pritchard knew more than he should have told is evident. What is not clear is how accurate he revealed work which generally prevailed during the 1720s. It is possible he belonged to one of the branches of Stuart Masonry which had subverted the ritual of Freemasonry for political purposes, since the word MACHBENAH is translated "The Builder is Stricken," and in Gaelic it means "Blessed Son." All this could have had a reference to James II, son of Charles I and of his widow Henrietta Maria.
Bernard E. Jones states the present version of Lodge Ritual did not appear until sometime after 1730. Before that date he says many versions of ritual existed and that they varied greatly among lodges, which is demonstrated in the Old Catechisms. In the Dumfries Mss., a thoroughly Christian document, the word is given as INRI. Also we find this -
". . christ shall wryt upon these pillars better names than Jachin and boaz for first he shall wryt upon ym ye name of his god ...."
What was the Mason Word in its earliest form? A suggestion is found in a story told some ninety years ago about an old manuscript that was read by a non-Masonic scholar in one of the British libraries. It was a Fourteenth Century work and contained a Hebrew acrostic MACH which he interpreted as "we have found our master Hiram." Unfortunately this meant nothing to the reader until several years later he happened to refer to it in a conversation with a Masonic friend. A search was made but the manuscript could not be located. This calls to mind a speculation found in Mackey's Encyclopedia. He calls attention to two Hebrew words MAHA and BONAY which can be put together to form a question, "What, is this Builder?"
Considering what we know about the origins of Masonic ritual we offer these conclusions -
Our present ritual has roots in many diverse methods of Masonic working which were practiced during the Seventeenth Century and which continued to be used for some time after 1730.
Slowly the ritual centered itself, more and more, around a Word and all that it came to mean. As early as 1725 one of the news prints poked fun at a certain Doctor who had recently received a Fifth Order of Masonry and with it a mysterious hocus-pocus word that was said to possess great powers.
That sometime between 1725-1740 the Royal Arch Degree appeared as the culmination of a slowly developing philosophy. This had its origin in old Craft practices and utilized much material taken from ritual ceremonies in old lodges. Out of all this resulted a final definition of Ancient Craft Masonry which was given at the Union of the two rival Grand Lodges in 1813.
Pure Ancient Masonry consist of - ". . three degrees and no more, including the Supreme Order of the Holy Royal Arch."
From whence came the idea of an arch in Masonry. One reference appears in the Old Catechisms (A Mason's Examination) which likens the arch to the Rainbow. That same year (1723) Dr. Anderson mentioned it in the same manner in his Constitutions. Notice is taken here of two verses from the beginning of St. John's Gospel which had much use, during the Eighteenth Century, on Masonic membership certificates.
"In the beginning was the Word …."
". . . and the Darkness comprehended it not."
Here we see in use that essential part of Lodge working, the principle of Darkness and Light. This has caused some to speculate on a coincidence that the Greek word for "Beginning" is apxn. In its English form it is written ARCHE, and pronounced Ah-r-he.
Whether any of this has merit the fact remains that in the Arch of Promise, as God described it to Noah, is the ne Plus ultra, the ultimate of everything which is in Masonic philosophy.
Speculative Masonry is not something, like the Goddess Athene, who sprang fully armed from the brow of Jove. Historically its progress can be traced over a period of three centuries between the years 1400-1700. No one can be certain about all its details but the cumulative result came about because of the efforts of many imaginative innovators who developed from the simple forms of old English and Scottish Masonry that great system of morality which we call today Freemasonry.
From a primitive period in the Seventeenth Century we visualize a time when lodges of Masons had their own concept of this growing system, each with a character all its own, but notwithstanding this, all built around a common core of ideals and principles which bound them together. From this rich well of Masonic experience and experimentation was finally formed the three primary grades of the lodge on which was added other explanatory and enlightening ceremonies or degrees when the initial three were felt to be inadequate to express all that was in their common heritage of the past.
What is noteworthy about all this is that the Word, and what it came to mean, either in the Holy Royal Arch - in the Grades of Perfection of what we now call the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite - and in possibly other variants of Masonic instruction employing the same principle, is found what Lawrence Dermott called - "The root, the heart, and the marrow" of everything worthwhile in Speculative Masonry.
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Duties, Rights and Privileges of A Master Mason
(From the Coach's Handbook - Montana Masonic Manual)
Nowhere in Masonry may be found, clearly stated in so many words, a list of the duties, rights and privileges of a Master Mason Many were taught and explained to him during the course of his degrees. They are to be found here and there, each in its own proper context, some in the form of symbols, others in the form of laws and principles, still others in the form of customs, practices and traditions.
Among the duties of a Master Mason are obedience to the constitution, laws and edicts of the Grand Lodge and the by-laws of his lodge. Also, he must maintain and support the Landmarks and "ancient charges and customs of the fraternity." Included in his duties are strict compliance with his obligation; loyalty to the lodge and the fraternity; prompt payment of his dues; obedience to the laws of Masonry, written and unwritten, and affiliation with a lodge. It is his duty to carefully investigate petitioners when requested to do so.
A Mason is subject to the laws of the jurisdiction in which he may be at the moment, as well as the laws of his home Grand Lodge. For instance, a Montana Mason who commits a Masonic offense while in Colorado, may be held responsible by either or both Grand Lodges. A Masonic offense has been defined very generally as "any act unbecoming a good man and true," which, of course, would include any misconduct or violation of his obligation or of any Masonic law. For example, it is a Masonic offense to solicit candidates for Masonry, to display any of the emblems of Masonry for personal gain, or to electioneer for any Masonic office. These are merely random examples of specific provisions in the Code of Statutes of the Grand Lodge (Sees. 206-208).
Among his many rights and privileges, the Master Mason has the privilege (a modified right) of visiting other lodges; the privilege of being vouched for; the right to ask for Masonic relief; the right to apply for admission to the Masonic Home; the right to demit and petition for affiliation with a different lodge; the right to trial by his peers should he be charged with transgressing any of the laws of Masonry; the right to appeal if found guilty of Masonic misconduct; the right of Masonic burial; the right to appear in Masonic processions; the right to join in discussions in his lodge; to vote and to hold office; the right and privileges of giving Masonic service; the right to be taught and to teach all that Masonry includes.
It is also his privilege to recommend a man for Masonry, but only if he is satisfied that the man is worthy and that, if accepted, he will be a credit to the craft. But the potential candidate must have come forth voluntarily, definitely of his own volition, because it is a Masonic offense to solicit petitioners for the degrees of Masonry.
It is his privilege to learn the ritual, the lectures, the charges of Masonry; to seek and find that peace of mind, that spiritual well-being, that understanding of the philosophy of Masonry that will come to him through practicing its teachings and studying its literature.
Masonry does not seek to contravene the laws of the land, and no Mason should ask or expect favors in the outside world to which others would not be entitled. Those who seek through Masonry to gain special favors, get better jobs, or escape justice do not comprehend the meaning of Masonry, nor will they ever reap the real benefits it bestows, because such benefits will not be apparent to the selfish eye.
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The Beginnings
of Freemasonry
In the American Colonies
By Conrad Hahn, F.P.S., 33d, P.G.M., Executive Secretary
The Masonic Service Association of the United States
(From New Age Magazine)
Freemasonry is not a native product of America. It was brought to our shores by early settlers from Scotland, England and Ireland. Seafaring men, military men and Masons moving to the bountiful land beyond the sea brought the Craft to the Colonies in America
The creation of a Grand Lodge in London on St. John the Baptist's Day, June 24, 1717, marks the formal beginning of Freemasonry as we understand the term today. All regular Lodges trace their origin, through one channel or another, to the Premier Grand Lodge in London or to its younger sisters in Ireland and Scotland, or to the rival "Ancient" Grand Lodge established in London in 1751.
The jurisdiction of the Premier Grand Lodge spread quite rapidly into foreign countries and the Colonies. In 1733 the First Lodge of Boston was warranted as No. 126, a number which indicates the rapid expansion of Freemasonry in the first decades of the Grand Lodge era. Traveling military Lodges and England's widespread shipping interests helped to spread the Craft throughout the world.
When English, Scottish and Irish Freemasons migrated to the American Colonies, they carried their Masonry with them, and there is evidence of Masonic activity in North America before the Grand Master warranted the First Lodge in Boston in 1733.
Freemasons of the pre-Grand Lodge period brought Freemasonry to the Colonies very early in the 18th century. It is generally agreed that John Skene, made a Mason in 1682 in Aberdeen, Scotland, who migrated to Burlington, New Jersey, shortly thereafter, is the first "known" Mason in America. Jonathan Belcher, Governor of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, 1730-1741, is believed to have been made a Mason while visiting in London in 1704. Thus, he is recognized as the first-known native American to become a Mason.
Immigrating Masons, with the help of colonists like Belcher, probably established Lodges at various places which they worked without the sanction of warrants or charters. There is some indirect evidence that a Masonic Lodge met in King's Chapel in Boston in the early 1720's. Newspaper notices in that decade concerning Masonic events in England suggest that there were sufficient numbers of Masonic readers in the Colonies to justify their publication. In The Pennsylvania Gazette for December 8, 1730 Benjamin Franklin, not then a Mason, announced that "There are several lodges of Freemasons erected in this Province."
But the earliest record which proves the existence of organized Masonic activity in the Colonies is the famous "Liber B" of the so-called "St. John's Lodge," which met at the Tun Tavern in Philadelphia and whose records begin with the date of June 24, 1731.
A year earlier, the Grand Master of the Premier Grand Lodge in London, the Duke of Norfolk, recognized the existence of Masonic activity in the Colonies when he issued a deputation dated June 5, 1730 to Daniel Coxe of New Jersey to serve two years as Provincial Grand Master for the provinces of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
While there is no record of Coxe's having exercised any of his prerogatives in that office, or having engaged in any Masonic activities in America at that time, the deputation established the fact that the Grand Master in England was asserting authority to regulate the Craft in the American Colonies. He was too far away to exercise it personally; he appointed a surrogate.
Three years later, April 13, 1733, a new Grand Master, Viscount Montague, issued a deputation appointing "Bro. Mr. Henry Price" Provincial Grand Master of "New England and the Dominions and Territories thereunto belonging," giving him power to form Lodges, to superintend them, and to perform other incidental duties. On July 30, 1733 Price formed a Provincial Grand Lodge in Boston, appointing Andrew Belcher, son of Governor Jonathan Belcher, his Deputy Grand Master, and Brothers Thomas Kenelly and John Quane, Grand Wardens pro tem.
At the assembly Price ordered read a petition from 18 "duly examined and well qualified" Brethren, requesting that they be constituted "in a regular lodge," after which Provincial Grand Master Price "did there and then in the most solemn manner . . . constitute us into a Regular Lodge . . . at the sign of the Bunch of Grapes." This was the first Lodge in America to be "duly constituted" and to appear on the registry of the Premier Grand Lodge in London. "Regular" Freemasonry had made its first appearance in this country.
The petitioners described themselves as "belonging to the Society of Free and Accepted Masons now residing here." Exactly where they were made Masons is not known; if they had been meeting previously as a Lodge, they did so without charter or warrant, "according to the Old Customs," as did the Lodge meeting at the Tun Tavern in Philadelphia.
The second Lodge in the Colonies to be constituted under the jurisdiction of the Premier Grand Lodge of England was the "Lodge at Savanna in ye Province of Georgia." Lord Weymouth, the Grand Master, sometime in 1735 issued to Roger Hugh Lacey a warrant to open a Lodge there, which was numbered 139. This warrant was used to constitute the Lodge of Savannah, now known as Solomon's No. 1, which had been meeting as a self-constituted Lodge for almost two years previously.
It must not be supposed that the appointment of Coxe and Price as Provincial Grand Masters immediately established the authority of duly constituted Masonic bodies to which all Masonic Lodges gave allegiance or from which they sought warrants or charters. For example, the Lodge at Fredericksburg, Virginia, whose most famous member is Brother George Washington, was probably meeting as a "time-immemorial" Lodge as early as 1735. There is no conclusive evidence that it had a warrant or charter from any Grand Master or Provincial Grand Master when it made George Washington a Mason in 1753. In 1758, however, "the Lodge of Fredericksburgh in Virginia" applied for and was granted a charter by the Grand Master of Scotland.
Nevertheless, the existence of such Lodges "according to the Old Customs" should not be given undue importance. In those days of isolation, slow travel and lack of easy communication, men were slow to learn of developments elsewhere. Colonial Masons who had received their degrees abroad, in England while traveling there on business, in the West Indies while engaged in trade or shipping, or in military Lodges (as in Nova Scotia) during service to the Crown, met Masonically when they returned home and engaged in "the labors of a lodge" without authority of a warrant or charter.
Exceedingly few such "time-immemorial" Lodges have survived to the present day. Except for those which later secured warrants from a Grand or Provincial Grand Master (such as the First Lodge at Boston, the Lodge at Savannah, St. John's Lodge at Philadelphia and the Lodge at Fredericksburg) most of them have passed into historical obscurity, so that their actual existence can no longer be proved but is usually inferred from tantalizing contemporary references.
What is clearly evident in the period of colonial Freemasonry is the growth of the authority of the Grand Master or his Provincial Grand Master to constitute Lodges and by their governance to establish their regularity. As early as November 28, 1734 Benjamin Franklin wrote to Provincial Grand Master Henry Price in Massachusetts, acknowledging the information that "Mr. Price's deputation and power was extended over all North America," and requesting a "Deputation or Charter," "the sanction of some authority derived from home" to confirm the Brethren in Philadelphia in "their privileges . . . of holding annually their Grand Lodge, choosing their Grand Master, Wardens and other officers."
Contemporary public notices indicate that Franklin was elected Grand Master in Philadelphia on June 24, 1734 and that he was appointed "Provincial Grand Master for the Province of Pennsylvania" by Henry Price on February 24, 1735. As Franklin's letter of November 28, 1734 suggests, he was seriously concerned to have Masonry in Philadelphia properly "sanctioned" and duly constituted. Was he in some doubt about his status as Grand Master and sought to have it confirmed by Henry Price? The territorial jurisdiction and authority of Provincial Grand Masters were apparently confusing.
Coxe and Price were soon followed by other Provincial Grand Masters, acting for the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of England. In 1736 the Earl of Loudoun appointed John Hammerton Provincial Grand Master for North and South Carolina, in which province an annually elected Provincial Grand Master succeeded him. The first Provincial Grand Master in New York was Captain Richard Riggs, appointed by the Earl of Darnley in 1737. One of his successors, George Harison, appointed in 1753, warranted at least 17 Lodges during his 18 years of tenure, most of which have survived to the present day. Although a few Lodges, like St. John's No. 1 at Wilmington, North Carolina, and Royal White Hart No. 2 at Halifax, North Carolina, received their original warrants from the Grand Master of England, most of the Lodges in the American Colonies were warranted by Provincial Grand Masters in the original provinces. For example, 10 of the Lodges which helped to form the Grand Lodge of Connecticut in 1789 were originally warranted by the Provincial Grand Master of St. John's (Provincial) Grand Lodge in Massachusetts, who also warranted Lodges during the colonial period in New Hampshire, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Nova Scotia and elsewhere.
The Grand Master Mason of Scotland appointed a number of Provincial Grand Masters in North America before the outbreak of the War for Independence, the most famous being Dr. Joseph Warren of Massachusetts in 1769, "for Boston and 100 miles thereabout." Warren had become a Mason in St. Andrew's Lodge of Boston in 1761, a Lodge warranted by Scotland's Grand Master in 1756. In 1772 his commission was extended over all of North America, but with his lamentable death during the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775, his office became vacant. The body over which he presided, known as the Massachusetts Provincial Grand Lodge, declared its independence on March 8, 1777 and became the Massachusetts (Independent) Grand Lodge until it merged with the St. John's Provincial Grand Lodge in 1792 to form the present Grand Lodge of Massachusetts.
Because of its later organization in 1751, the "Ancient" Grand Lodge of London did not create as many Lodges for the development of colonial Freemasonry as did its older rival, the Premier Grand Lodge of England; but that handicap was considerably overcome by its proselytizing zeal and revolutionary fervor. The first Provincial Grand Master in America to be appointed by the "Ancients" was William Ball of Pennsylvania in 1761, since which time Masonry in Pennsylvania has been distinctly "Ancient" in its organization, ritual, jurisprudence and fraternal zeal. South Carolina, too, owes much to the "Ancients" for its Masonic traditions and principles. General Mordecai Gist, of Revolutionary War fame, was elected the Ancients' Provincial Grand Master in South Carolina in 1787, and Grand Master in 1790. Maryland and New York also had "Ancient" Provincial Grand Masters in the period from 1778 to 1784.
While there is no record of the appointment of Provincial Grand Masters for America by the Grand Lodge of Ireland, the Masonic authority, chiefly "Ancient" in its practice, was exerted in the Colonies primarily by members of some of its traveling military Lodges. As "regular" Masons they helped to spread the idea of "duly constituted" Lodges which owe their regularity to a higher authority.
A complete account of all the Provincial Grand Masters appointed in the Colonies and of all the Lodges they warranted in the half century from 1730 to 1780 is a complicated story because the deputations given Provincial Grand Masters were never identical in the powers and prerogatives conferred on the designates, and their territorial jurisdictions were sometimes vague and overlapping. But all of them, in every Colony, were among the principal actors in the drama of the developing "duly constituted" Freemasonry in America. To that achievement all contributed, whether they represented the Premier Grand Lodge of England, the Grand Lodge of Scotland, or the later Grand Lodge of the "Ancients."
Some Masonic historians have attempted to explain the difference between the influence of the "Moderns" (the first Grand Lodge, 1717) and the "Ancients" as a difference in political points of view and sympathies. Such a generalization, however, is not consistent with the facts. While the early Freemasons tended to be more conservative, more "established," and therefore more reluctant to become revolutionary partisans, there were as many "rebels" among them as there were "Loyalists" or Tories. Sir John Johnson, appointed Provincial Grand Master for New York by Lord Blaney, Grand Master of England, in 1771 was a King's man who fled to Canada during the War for Independence; but so was the Ancients' Provincial Grand Master for New York, the Rev. William Walter, elected in 1781. He organized a new Lodge, Parr No. 3, in Nova Scotia, when he went into exile there. Approximately one-third of the population in the Colonies in 1775 were Loyalists, and many of them were forced into exile. Masons of various jurisdictions among them. Records show that some of them, especially New Yorkers, established new Lodges in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
One of the principal reasons for the cessation of Masonic activities in many Masonic Lodges during the War was the divided political loyalties of the members of particular Lodges. They did not agree; they could not subdue their passions; they solved the problem of enmity by avoiding each other. Many a Brother, of course, was off to the battlefields and could not attend the meetings of his Lodge. A few of them, however, were able to enjoy fraternal intercourse in a traveling military Lodge, like the famous American Union Lodge in the Connecticut line of the Continental Army.
In modern phraseology, the Lodges were suffering from "an acuate problem of attendance," which was ameliorated only by the cessation of hostilities and the establishment of a new and legitimate government, to which all Masons as citizens were charged to give their respect and allegiance.
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By Alphonse Cerza, F.P.S., (Life), Illinois
First published in 1972, King Solomon's Temple in the Masonic Tradition, by Alex Horne, F.P.S., proved so popular that a second printing was necessary. When the second printing was exhausted, it was decided to issue the volume in a paperback edition because of the inflationary rise in production cost. This latest Issue is priced at $5.50 a copy and can be secured from the author, at 100 Font Blvd., 5 L, San Francisco, Cal. 94132.
* * *
On the Bicentennial theme, we note with interest a book entitled "Wilkes: A Friend to Liberty," by Audrey Williamson. John Wilkes was a friend of the American colonies and supported their fight for independence in his writings and in his speeches. On March 3, 1769, while he was in prison, the Lodge that met at Jerusalem Tavern, in Clerkenwell, went to King's Bench Jail and made him a Mason; the lodge is now known as Jerusalem Lodge No. 197.
Published by the Reader's Digest, at ten dollars a volume.
* * *
The most popular biography of the late Brother Will Rogers is entitled "Will Rogers, the Man and His Times," by Richard M. Ketchum. Its original price was fifteen dollars, but it is now available in a paperback edition for $6.95. It may be ordered by mail from Kroch's and Brentano's, 29 So. Wabash Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60603.
* * *
In keeping with what has become a tradition, there has been published a detailed index of the contents of The New Age magazine, for the year 1974. Prepared by Brother Aemil Pouler, editor of the magazine, and a Member of the Society of Indexers, of London, England, copies are available at $1.00 a copy, from the Supreme Council, 1733 Sixteenth St., N.W., Washington, D. C. 20009.
As a Bicentennial project the Grand Lodge of Connecticut has published "Freemasonry in Connecticut, Connecticut Masons in the American Revolution." This cloth bound volume of sixty pages has compressed basic facts about the part played by Masons in that state during the War of Independence. The first chapter gives a brief summary of the events leading to the struggle with emphasis on events in Connecticut. Then follows a summary of what took place there during the period. The biographical material is outstanding. The book was written by James R. Case, F.P.S., and Grand Historian of Connecticut for years, this volume is the result of years of devoted and careful research. It is a valuable, informative, and authoritative volume.
Available from Bicentennial Committee, Grand Lodge of Connecticut, P.O. Box 250, Wallingford, Conn. 06492, at $6.50 a copy.
* * *
"If Elected," is a paper-bound volume of 512 pages, presenting the pictures, biographical sketches, and an interesting description of the unsuccessful candidates for the office of President of the United States, from 1796 to 1968. As one glances over the names in the volume he will recognize many names of Freemasons, such as De Witt Clinton, Henry Clay, Lewis Cass, Stephen A. Douglas, William Jennings Bryan, and others. The description of William Wirt, anti-Masonic candidate in 1832 is interesting, but there is no mention that he was a Freemason although he ran on the Anti-Masonic ticket, against Andrew Jackson, a Mason.
Available from the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D.C. 20402, at $9.50 a copy.
* * *
During this Bicentennial period there is interest in the history of our Flag. In 1916 an interesting article by John W. Barry, entitled The Story of "Old Glory," appeared in The Builder, the official magazine of the National Masonic Research Society. This article has been reproduced by Research Lodge No. 2, 2602 Terrace Road, Des Moines, Iowa 50312. The item is interesting and timely, but we wish an addendum had been inserted calling attention to some misconception relating to the Masonic items in the article.
Available from the lodge at $2.00 a copy.
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By Charles F. Adams, F.P.S.
The following letter is self explanatory:
Dear Andy:
I have just received my copy of the Constitution, By-Laws and Roster of the Society. The second paragraph on page 3 contains a glaring error concerning the meaning of the name of the Society. I don't know who wrote it but obviously he was not familiar with the article entitled "What's in a Name" which I wrote and which was published in the August, 1972, issue of the magazine.
"Lethes" does not mean truth. The name of our Society comes from the Greek word "aletheia" which does, indeed, mean truth. Moreover, the Greek word "phila" is a noun, not a verb, and means "lover of" or "one who loves."
I suppose all this is not very important, but as I did a little research before writing the article, I could not resist the temptation to respond.
Best wishes as always!
Sincerely,
Charles F. Adams. F.P.S.
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Welcome To New Members
D. H. FROST, Secy., Read Temple Committee, Read Masonic Hall Damansara Road, Kuala Lumpur 10-06, Malayasia. Recommended by Alphonse Cerza, F.P.S.
GENE K. HOLMAN, R.R.1, Box 228A, Pittsboro, Ind. 46167. Recommended by Jack D. Caldwell, M.P.S.
ALVA C. SHIPLEY, 1710 West 39th Street, Kansas City, Mo. 64111. Recommended by Kenneth C. Johnson, M.P.S.
DR. CRAIG ROBINS McCLEAN, P.O. Box 5947, Fayetteville, N. C. 28303. Recommended by Terry McCammon, M.P.S.
FLOREAN LAMONT QUICK, U.S. Naval Supply Depot, Box 11, F.P.O., Seattle, Wash. 98762. Recommended by Nohea O. A. Peak, M.P.S.
ERVIN H. STRUB, P.O. Box 124,M.P.S. Edgerton, Wisc. 53534. Recommended by Estel W. Brooks, M.P.S.
JAMES BURON STOUT, JR., 8513 Wetherly Dr., Richmond, Va. 23229. Recommended by Allen E. Roberts, F.P.S.
M.L. SPIKES, 705 E. 17th Street, Rome, Georgia 30161. Recommended by Fred H. Crouch, Jr., M.P.S.
SARKIS SAM CHERKINIAN, 1906 Saturn Avenue, Racine, Wisc. 53404 Recommended by Robert V. Osborne, F.P.S.
GEORGE RANDOLPH STER1ING, Box 35, Benalto, Alberta, Canada TOM OHO. Recommended by Executive Committee.
FORREST HUGH PECHT, 3014 Churchill Road, Raleigh, N.C. 27607. Recommended by Dr. Eddie Stiles, M.P.S.
JAMES WILLIAM THAYER, 1624 Avon Ave., Tucker, Ga. 30084. Recommended by R. S. Sager, M.P.S.
CYRIL KENNETH SUTTON, 3766 N. 86th Street, Milwaukee, Wisc. 53222. Recommended by Robert V. Osborne, F.P.S.
CHARLES ERNEST HODGINS, 192 North Mountain Avenue, Ashland, Oregon 97520. Recommended by Norman A. Jenne, M.P.S.
ADOLPH MATHEW ZWITTER, 3850 N. 82nd Street, Milwaukee, Wisc. 53222. Recommended by Robert V. Osborne, F.P.S.
WILBERT RALPH HUTSON, 612 W. Elm Street, La Follette, Tenn. 37766. Recommended by John B. Arp, Jr., M.P.S.
OLIN SYLVESTER McDANIEL, 117 E. School Street, Bonne Terre, Mo. 63628. Recommended by Stanton T. Brown, M.P.S.
JAMES FRANKLIN ATKISSON, Box 29, Kaiser, Mo. 65047. Recommended by K.C. Jones, M.P.S.
CLIFFORD A. REYNOLDS, 8514 Plainfield Rd., Cincinnati, Ohio 45236.
Recommended by Arthur A. Otthoffer, M.P.S.
FIELDING A. POE, 6616 Pepperidge, Berkeley, Mo. 63134. Recommended by John B. Vrooman, F.P.S.
ALVA HADEN MONTGOMERY, JR., Potomac, Illinois 61865. Recommended by William B. Barnes, M.P.S.
DR. GEORGE H. . FRENCH, 7221 Staffordshire, Houston, Texas 77025. Recommended by Kenneth D. Gemmell, M P.S.
JOHN FERGUSON ROBERTS, JR., 2140 Bryant Street, Palo Alto, Calif. 94301. Recommended by Dr. Eugene S. Hopp, F.P.S.
PHILIP MANUAL GOLD, 20 West Brook Road, Bloomfield, Conn. 06002.
JAY COLE SIMSER, 1007 Douglas Avenue, Ames, Iowa 50010. Recommended by J. E. Marsengill, F.P.S.
RAYMOND HOWARD BACHMAN, 1400 Taylor Street, Joliet, Ill. 60435. Recommended by John B. Vrooman, F.P.S.
CLEON VICTOR CAIN, 124 W. Diamond Lake Road, Minneapolis, Minn. 55419. Recommended by Clyde E. Hegman, M.P.S.
CARL J. BAESEMANN, Suite 315, Lakeside Nat. Bk. Bldg., 4704 Harlan, Denver, Colo. 80212. Recommended by Robert V. Osborne, F.P.S.
FREDERICK RUDOLPH DE BARROWS, 1833 Roosevelt Ave., Richmond, Calif. 94801. Recommended by George K. Harry, M.P.S.
JOSEPH E. PRICE, 425 Edwards Street, Fort Collins, Colo. 80521. Recommended by Gordon R. Merrick, M.P.S.
JOHN ALEXANDER DIXON, 109 N. Main Street, Clover, S.C. 29710. Recommended by James D. Penley, Jr., M.P.S.
JOHN CLONEY THOMAS, Harvey Station, R.R. 4, N.B., Canada EOH lH0.
ROBERT L. ROSEBERRY, 2406 Hayden Street, Amarillo, Texas 79109. Recommended by John B. Vrooman, F.P.S.
J. VERNON ASHWORTH, 32 Coeyman Ave., Nutley, New Jersey 07110. Recommended by S. Spencer Donald, M.P.S.
FRIEND HORACE LODGE, 1509 Rodewood Avenue, Louisville, Ky. 40204. Recommended by Clarence P. Jacobs, M.P.S.
ARNOLD C. ZENTZ, 3416 W. Melrose Street, Chicago, Ill. 60618. Recommended by Allan D. Parsons, M.P.S.
KLEBER CONWAY JONES, SR., 7106 Interstate 70 Drive S.E., Columbia, Mo. 65201. Recommended by Cyril E. Brubaker, M.P.S.
WM. A. MACMILLAN, P. O. Box 825, Helena, Mont. 59601. Recommended by Ernest A. Neath, M.P.S.
GEORGE WESLEY RYAN, JR., 200 Walnut, Kansas City, Mo. 64108. Recommended by Kenneth C. Johnson, M.P.S.
CALEB HAYNES HILL, P.O. Box 1224, Mt. Airy, North Carolina 27030. Recommended by James H. Home, M.P.S.
BENJAMIN JUNIOR FRANKLAND, 1571 Girard Street, Akron, Ohio 44301. Recommended by Warren F. Bower, M.P.S.
W. NOLAN ARTZ, Seneca State Bank, Wichita, Kansas 67217. Recommended by Forrest D. Haggard, M.P.S.
MARCUS LEON CHEESEMAN, 4544 E. Burns Street, Tucson, Ariz. 85711. Recommended by Estel W. Brooks, M.P.S.
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Scottish Rite Opens National Heritage Museum
The nation received one of its most impressive birthday presents on April 20, when the Museum of Our National Heritage was officially opened to the public.
The multi-million dollar facility was built through contributions by members of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Northern Jurisdiction, and presented as a Bicentennial gift to the American people. Admission will be free at all times.
Over 400 Masonic officials from 15 states attended the ceremony, with Sovereign Grand Commander George A. Newbury presiding. The principal speaker was the Secretary of the Air Force, John L. McLucas, representing President Ford.
The formal dedication was an impressive Masonic ceremony patterned after that used for the consecration and dedication of a Scottish Rite Cathedral. At its conclusion, George A. Newbury, Sovereign Grand Commander, said:
"As the story of America unfolds within these walls, it must ever be rigidly truthful, presenting those aspects of our history and our national life that we deplore as well as our successes. May we ever see it through eyes of love for this land of our birth or our adoption, unafraid of the future and highly resolved that Justice and Equity shall prevail throughout all our land among all our people."
Opening day crowds viewed these exhibits in the four galleries, arranged under the supervision of Museum Director Dr. Clement M. Silvestro:
The Bowdoin College Walker Art Museum collection of colonial and federal paintings and colonial furniture, including the Gilbert Stuart portraits of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.
Civil War Drawings, an exhibit of 100 examples of the work of such nineteenth century artists as Edwin Forbes, Alfred R. Wand and Theodore Davis.
An exhibit of American quilts, 1750-1900, co-sponsored by the Lexington Bicentennial Committee.
In the central foyer is a series of orientation exhibits designed to give the visitor an overview of the museum features and special exhibits. Included is a mini-theatre with a six-minute slide show that highlights the various themes in American history covered in the exhibit areas.
The focal point for educational programs will be the 400-seat auditorium. "Song of America," a new thirty-minute film featuring Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians, will be shown regularly in the auditorium. The film is based on the popular choral concert Roy Ringwald composed in the early 1950's, and initially recorded by Waring. Detroit playwright William W. Merrill directed the new visual presentation.
The library includes a large reading room, 80,000 volume book exhibition area. and amble space for the development of several collections of books, newspapers, maps, manuscripts, and photographs.
The museum galleries will be open Monday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5:30 p.m. The library will be open Tuesday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. There is ample free parking for cars and buses.
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St. John's Lodge Planning Feature
St. John's Lodge No. 1, F. and A. M. of Portsmouth, New Hampshire is planning a Country Auction on 12 July 1975 at 10:00 a.m. for the benefit of the Bicentennial Committee Fund. The Auction will be held on the premises at 351 Middle St., Portsmouth, N.H. and catering will be provided.
The Committee needs articles to be auctioned: Attic and Cellar Treasures, costume jewelry, bric-a-brac, dishes, furniture, lamps, etc. (Anything acceptable but clothing and large appliances).
Those brethren residing out of state (as well as any locally) if they so desire may make a cash gift by mailing a check to Mr. Raymond E. Bemis, Secy., 351 Middle Street, Portsmouth, N.H. 03801 and noting on the check its purpose.
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Attendance at Twenty-First Masonic Workshop
Conducted by The Philalethes Society
In Washington, D.C., February 14, 1975
| Members | Non-Members | Total | Members | Non-Members | Total | ||
| Pennsylvania | 19 | 9 | 28 | Iowa | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Virginia | 16 | 18 | 34 | Washinton | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| New Jersey | 11 | 9 | 20 | Nebraska | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| New York | 7 | 6 | 13 | Vermont | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| N. Carolina | 6 | 4 | 10 | Alabama | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Illinois | 6 | 0 | 6 | Arizona | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Indiana | 2 | 2 | 4 | Delaware | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Ohio | 7 | 3 | 10 | Kansas | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Kentucky | 7 | 0 | 7 | Mississippi | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| Connecticut | 3 | 2 | 5 | New Mexico | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Maryland | 5 | 0 | 5 | S. Carolina | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Massachusetts | 1 | 0 | 1 | Tennessee | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Missouri | 2 | 0 | 2 | Florida | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Maine | 2 | 1 | 3 | Wisconsin | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Minnesota | 3 | 0 | 3 | Georgia | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Arkansas | 1 | 0 | 1 | Nevada | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| California | 1 | 0 | 1 | Texas | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Canada | 0 | 4 | 4 | No address given | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Colorado | 1 | 0 | 1 | 132 | 63 | 195 |
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The Sword of Joseph Hamilton Daveiss
Carroll M. Curtis, Past Grand Master
408 Virginia Avenue
Monticello, Kentucky 42633
NOTE: Daveiss and not Daviess is the correct spelling, although the counties to which reference is hereafter made apparently use the latter spelling.
(The writer wishes to extend special appreciation to Brother Jerry Marsengill of Des Moines, Iowa, for finding the photostatic copy of Joseph Hamilton Daveiss' September 3, 1811, letter to Vincennes (Indiana) Lodge in the Library of the Grand Lodge of Kentucky.)
Regulation 191 of the Grand Lodge of Kentucky, Free and Accepted Masons, informs us that the Grand Sword Bearer, when on duty, may use the sword of Past Grand Master Joseph Hamilton Daveiss, who fell at the battle of Tippecanoe while gallantly defending his country, and which was presented to this Grand Lodge in 1858 ....
Col. Joseph Hamilton Daveiss was born in Bedford County, Virginia, on March 4, 1774, a son of Joseph and Jean Daveiss. Historians generally state that Joseph and Jean Daveiss were natives of Virginia, but in the biographical files of the Grand Lodge of Kentucky on Past Grand Master Samuel Daveiss, it is stated that the Daveiss family came from Scotland to the north of Ireland where Joseph Daveiss married Jean Hamilton, and the two came to America, eventually settling in Bedford County, Virginia. The Joseph and Jean Daveiss family came to Kentucky in 1779 and soon settled near the present site of Danville. Thereafter, in the legal, civic, and Masonic affairs of Kentucky, Joseph Hamilton Daveiss, as well as one of his brothers, Samuel Daveiss, Grand Master of Masons in Kentucky for the year 1826-27, was to take a prominent part.
The early education of Joseph Hamilton Daveiss was received from his mother, after which he entered school, and included in his educational attainments were studies in the English, Latin, and Greek languages.
In the fall of 1792, he went on an expedition to Ohio under the command of Major John Adair, for whom Adair County, Kentucky, is named during which expedition he was in battle with Indians near Fort St. Clair.
After returning from this service, he reviewed his classical studies, and resolving to undertake the study of law, he entered the law office of George Nicholas, who was the first Attorney-General of Kentucky and for whom Nicholas County, Kentucky, is named. He was an able student of Col. Nicholas, and Joseph Hamilton Daveiss commenced the practice of law in June, 1795, and later that year was qualified as an attorney in the Court of Appeals, Kentucky's highest judicial body. He rose to eminence in his profession and took his place in the front rank of the distinguished Kentucky bar of his day. He was declared by some of competent judgment to be the most impressive speaker they ever heard.
He served in the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1800 as a Representative from Mercer County, and on December 12 of that year was appointed United States Attorney for the District of Kentucky. In this latter capacity, he was the prosecuting attorney in the trial of Aaron Burr held in Kentucky in 1806.
In 1803, he was united in marriage to Anne Marshall, sister of John Marshall, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
A Fellow-Craft at least as early as April 5, 1802, he was, in 1803, raised to the sublime degree of a Master Mason in Lexington Lodge, No. 1, Lexington, Kentucky. He served that lodge as Master in the latter part of 1810, it being the practice at that time to elect officers in both June and December. On August 30, 1811, he was elected and installed Grand Master of Masons in Kentucky.
With the Indian dangers and difficulties increasing in the Indiana Territory, he, about this same time, volunteered his services to Gen. William Henry Harrison, Governor of that Territory, and, although he had previously attained to higher rank, accepted the rank of Major in the Indiana Militia.
In a letter written from Lexington, Kentucky, dated September 3, 1811, Grand Master Daveiss wrote to the Worshipful Master of Vincennes Lodge No. 15, Vincennes, Indiana, which had been chartered by the Grand Lodge of Kentucky in 1809 and which became Vincennes Lodge, No. 1, when the Grand Lodge of Indiana was formed in 1818:
"Intending to be at Vincennes between the 18th & 20th inst. to enter upon the campaign, I desire earnestly to see the work of your worshipfull Lodge at that time, that so I may discharge a duty very dear to me, toward that western infant, whose destiny it will be, I trust, in its riper years, to diffuse its divine light over your new world."
In his letter, he further stated
"I anticipate great pleasure in this visit, and most especially, that I shall find, that no anxiety to make proselytes has touched your worshipfull Lodge, whereby idle and unworthy persons so often are employed to help the craft, only to the scandal and reproach of their work and their order."
How appropriate is his admonition also to us of today!
According to the historical records of Vincennes Lodge, Grand Master Daveiss' visit to that lodge occurred on September 18, 19, 21, and 22, 1811, during which time all three degrees were conferred.
The battle of Tippecanoe was fought on a site about seven miles north of the present city of Lafayette, Indiana, the battle-ground being near where the Tippecanoe River flows into the Wabash River. In that battle with Indians, Joseph Hamilton Daveiss was mortally wounded about dawn on November 7, 1811, and died that day, several hours later, and was buried on the battle-ground. It was reported to his family that "by the starlight his soldiers laid him in his rude grave, wrapped only in his soldiers' blanket, and as the thud of the falling earth fell on their ears, they wept like children."
Daviess County in Kentucky, Indiana, and Missouri, and Jo Daviess County in Illinois are named in honor of this illustrious hero.
Others who gave up their lives in this battle included Col. Isaac White, who had been passed to the degree of Fellow-Craft and raised to the sublime degree of a Master Mason during Grand Master Daveiss' visit to Vincennes Lodge, and Col. Abraham Owen, a Past Master of Solomon's Lodge, No. 5, Shelbyville, Kentucky, for whom Owen County, Kentucky, Owen County, Indiana, and the cities of Owensboro and Owenton, Kentucky, are named.
Some forty years after the battle of Tippecanoe, Dr. Elizur Deming, Grand Master of Masons in Indiana, proposed the erection of a Masonic monument on the battle site. The Grand Lodge of Indiana approved, arid the Grand Lodge of Kentucky expressed its willingness to share in this worthy undertaking. Although the movement continued for several years, it was unsuccessful, and it was many years later that a monument was erected through the efforts of the Tippecanoe Battleground Association, which seared an appropriation from Congress and the State of Indiana for that purpose. The monument is maintained by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
During the movement in attempting to build a Masonic monument, it was learned that Judge Levi L Todd, who resided near Indianapolis, had in his possession the sword and belt worn by Joseph Hamilton Daveiss when he fell at Tippecanoe.
A first cousin of Judge Todd was Robert S. Todd who was the father of Mary Todd, wife of Abraham Lincoln. Levi Luther Todd was raised to the sublime degree of a Master Mason in Lexington Lodge, No. 1, Lexington, Kentucky, on August 30, 1814. He w as admitted to Montgomery Lodge, No. 23, Mount Sterling, Kentucky, on April 11, 1818, and was Master of that lodge in 1819. He subsequently moved to Indiana. As a young man, he had been a student of law in Col. Daveiss' law office in Lexington, Kentucky. Mrs. Joseph Hamilton Daveiss had given him the sword and belt.
When it was learned that he had these in his possession, inquiry was made to determine if he would be willing to present them to the Grand Lodge of Indiana and he replied that he felt they should be given to the Grand Lodge of Kentucky.
On October 14, 1858, a group of distinguished Masons of Indiana, consisting of Past Grand Master William Sheets, Past Musty Grand Master Harvey G. Hazelrigg, Grand Secretary Francis King, and Judge Levi L. Todd, was received and welcomed into the Grand Lodge of Kentucky by Grand Master Philip Swigert.
Upon the presentation of the sword and belt of Past Grand Master Joseph Hamilton Daveiss to the Grand Lodge of Kentucky by Judge Todd, Charles G. Wintersrnith, Past Grand Master of Kentucky, eloquently responded to the remarks of Judge Todd, saying, in part:
"Brother Todd: As the proxy of the Grand Master, and in the name of the Grand Lodge of Kentucky, I receive at your hands the sword worn by our deceased Grand Master, Joseph Hamilton Daveiss, when he fell at the Tippecanoe, encased in a casket manufactured of the wood of the oak under which he was standing when he received the fatal shot, with inexpressible feelings of the profoundest gratitude. The reminiscences connected with this weapon, with the man who wore it, and the circumstances of his death, are thrilling to the hearts of every Kentucky and Indiana Mason. At the time of his death he was Grand Master of both - for both were then united in the same jurisdiction. Beside the patriotism which incited him to go forth into the wilderness and to battle, was the additional incentive that the homes of his Brethren of the mystic tie, over whom he presided, were threatened with invasion, by a foe whose relentless cruelty spared neither age, nor sex, nor property, but, while he applied the torch to the one, he consigned the other to the merciless tomahawk and scalping knife. No higher incentives could swell the breast of man, and on no altar did ever their fires burn with a brighter, purer flame, than upon his heart, whose memory is now so vividly and solemnly impressed upon this assembly."
Resolutions of gratitude to Judge Todd for the presentation were adopted by the Grand Lodge of Kentucky.
Thus are these priceless relics of a distinguished man and Mason deposited in the museum in the office building of the Grand Lodge of Kentucky in Louisville.
(Original: September 8, 1973; corrected and revised March 25, 1974). (Original read before the Philalethes Society, September 9, 1973; Ramada Inn Convention Center at I-64 and Thurstbourne Lane, near Louisville, Kentucky.)
REFERENCES
Biographical Files - Joseph Hamilton Daveiss, (Library, Kentucky Historical Society, Frankfort, Kentucky)
Biographical Files - Samuel Daveiss (Grand Lodge of Kentucky, Free and Accepted Masons, Louisville, Kentucky)
Collins, Richard H., History of Kentucky, (2 vol.), (Reprint], (Kentucky Historical Society, Frankfort, Kentucky, 1966)
Concise History of Lexington Lodge, No. 1 F. & A.M., 1788-1913, (Published by order and authority of the Lodge, Lexington, Kentucky, 1913)
Daviess, Mrs. Maria T., History of Mercer and Boyle Counties, (The Harradsburg Herald, Harrodsburg, Kentucky, 1924)
Dillon, John B., History of Indiana, (Bingham and Doughty, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1859)
Green, Thomas Marshall, Historic Families of Kentucky, (Southern Book Company, Baltimore, 1959)
History of Daviess County, Kentucky, (Inter-State Publishing Company, Chicago, 1883)
Journal of the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, 1800
Letter of Joseph Hamilton Daveiss to Vincennes Lodge, September 3, 1811, (Photo-copy) (Museum of the Grand Lodge of Kentucky, Free and Accepted Masons, Louisville, Kentucky)
Morris, Rob, History of Freemasonry in Kentucky, (Louisville, Kentucky, 1859)
Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Kentucky, Free and Accepted Masons, 1802, 1803, 1806, 1808, 1809, 1811, 1814, 1817, 1818, 1819, 1858
Rone, Wendell H., Sr., An Historical Atlas of Kentucky and Her Counties, Daviess County Sesquicentennial Edition, (Printed by Burkert-Walton, Inc., Evansville, Indiana, for Progress Printing Company, Owensboro, Kentucky 1965)
Smith, Dwight L., Goodly Heritage, (The Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Indiana, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1968)
Sword of Joseph Hamilton Daveiss (Museum of the Grand Lodge of Kentucky Free and Accepted Masans, Louisville, Kentucky)
Willoughby, A.M., Chronological History of Vincennes Lodge No. 1, Free and Accepted Masons, Vincennes, Indiana, (Handwritten) (Historical Records of Vincennes Lodge, No. 1, Free and Accepted Masons, Vincennes, Indiana)
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The Feed Mill Had Nothing On Us
(A Personal Opinion)
By William B. Oswalt, M.P.S.
If you are wondering about the ridiculous title, my very close association with Jerry Marsengill has made me that way. It also was the only title I could think of which reflected my honest opinion.
If I recall it correctly, and to paraphrase Henry W. Longfellow a little, his beautiful poem might have begun something like this: "Under the spreading chestnut tree, the village smithy stands ....", and continues with other glorious and glamorous statements. It tells us of a tradition, a vocation, and most of all, a highly skilled craft which existed many years ago.
Recently we were in Branson, Missouri. We attended a beautiful play called the "The Shepherd of the Hills." My young children were thoroughly amazed at the old lumber and grain mill, set upon an earthen stage and operating for the benefit of the masses of tourists who were present. "Old Matt" did a fine presentation of how it used to be.
I use these two particular illustrations for only one reason, to set a background of drama that I hope Masonry will never portray. If you have noticed, in both illustrations, I used the words used to be!
This is exactly how I am beginning to feel when I hear and see: "I had a good year, we raised 39." "Big deal"!! Or when I hear a fine Master of his lodge stand up and announce, "We need help next Tuesday night, brethren, we are having eight third degrees, we will be starting at 7:30 a.m." I don't mind telling you, the last place in town I'll be that day, is in that particular lodge. I couldn't stand the embarrassment of knowing that I had a part in helping to destroy eight potentially good Masons.
They must have been good men, they wouldn't have received a favorable unanimous ballot if they weren't .... or would they?
Let me come down from the ladder for just a moment and share my feelings with you. I am very proud of the fact that I am a Mason. I am very proud of the fact that many famous and hard working men, who helped establish this great nation, were also Masons.
But there is one fact which I am not proud of. That fact is that without some close scrutiny, we may become victims of the absence, under the chestnut tree. We may find ourselves standing among the masses and telling the stories of how we used to be Masons, and how it used to be a fine fraternity.
Now let us ask ourselves a few pungent questions. Are we going to continue to mill our way to membership? Are we going to continue to make light of our new applications? Or are we going to take stock of ourselves, consider these new applications as the strong roots of our fraternity, grasp these roots and feed them that vital nutrition of information that so many of them want, but are unable to find?
Let's face it, one of the reasons for the absence of attendance in our lodge rooms is simply because we are doing nothing to give these fine roots enough nutrition to stimulate their growth.
Masonry was founded on much more than mere ritual. Its roots are deep. True, we must have new membership, but not at the price of destruction. We need the degrees to distinguish us from other societies, but we must also establish within ourselves and within our new brethren a light which many may have never seen. We must also educate ourselves to the fact, that, without a change in the direction we are going, we too, will fall by the wayside, just as did the smithy and the feed mill!
Now, answer these questions truthfully. We don't want your answers! You are your own judge! Does your lodge have a program to educate the newly made Mason? Did you coach him just enough to make him a member in good standing? Did you help him get his feet on the ground by giving him something to do? Did you give him the address of your Masonic library? Did you show him how he could obtain literature on Freemasonry? Did you bring him to his first meeting as a Master Mason so that he would feel comfortable by knowing you were there with him? Did you tell him why you attend??? Or do you know why you attend? Did you become his friend as well as his brother? These are all questions I ask of myself and of others Unfortunately, far too many times, the answers are negative. We have to say "NO." Let's do something to make all of these answers "YES." Let's not fall by the wayside and become a part of a fraternity that used to be! Let's make a determined effort to again give the chestnut tree something to shade, and the old mill something good to grind.
Editor's Note Brother Oswalt is a young Mason, Junior Warden of Southgate Lodge No. 657 of Des Moines, Iowa. He carries an Instructor's Certificate from the Grand Lodge of Iowa and is active in a number of Research Organizations as well as teaching administration for the Polk County Masters and Wardens Council. He has recently designed and programmed a training course for Wardens which is being presented to the 21 lodges in the Des Moines area and which will be implemented throughout Iowa in the coming year.
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Extra Extra
READ ALL ABOUT IT!
Vrooman falls
On his Tush!
On page 33 upper right corner of our April issue in bragging on Walter M. Callaway, F.P.S., Uncle John listed Walt as a 33rd degree A. &A.S.R. Now the lightnings have flashed, the clouds have gathered, a council has been called on Mt. Olympus, and I am left in the position of having to eat crow in John's place. Ole Walt isn't a 33rd degree A. & A.S.R. Walt is a 32nd degree A. & A.S.R. (The best that money can buy.) Before I get a bunch of letters asking me why Walt isn't a 33rd degree, just don't write. They must be overflowing with Masonic talent in Georgia to keep Ole Walt a thirty-tooth, but that's their problem. My problem is apologizing for Vrooman. We regret the error.
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FOR SOME YEARS the Companions of Columbia Chapter No. 202 of Chicago, Illinois, have observed a delightful custom in connection with the annual installation of their officers. As soon as the new High Priest and his officers have been comfortably seated in their stations, a Companion arises from the sidelines and requests permission to approach the East. Permission being granted, he stands before the High Priest and presents him with his first petition for the degrees, to be conferred in the ensuing year. He is followed by other Companions with more petitions.
Anyone know of a more encouraging way in which to start the High Priest joyfully on his way?
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Chat and CommentNews, achievements and items of interest about our Fellows and Members - Discussion and comment on - Pfan Mail and Observations - Mutual Topics.This page conducted by Jerry Marsengill, F.P.S., 2602 Terrace Road, Des Moines. Iowa 50312.
Vrooman has not completely retired but has turned a large share of the editing over to me. This is especially gratifying at this time since I can say what I want to in this column without him sticking his fingers into it. The March, 1975 Short Talk Bulletin, Vol. LIII, No. 3, is entitled "A Third of a Century as a Masonic Service Association Field Agent" by John Black Vrooman. I am not going to quote the entire article, but if you do not get it and read it, you have missed one of the more inspiring Masonic articles which I have recently read. Uncle John tells, in an interesting; sometimes amusing, and many times touching of his experiences during the past 33 years as a M.S.A. field agent.
Vrooman is the oldest, in point of service, field agent for the organization. If you don't get the Short Talk Bulletin yourself, get it at your lodge and read it. It is well worth the time. Now, as to the title. I suggested "Forty Years a Chambermaid and Never dropped a Pot" but was overruled by Connie Hahn.
* * *
Still speaking of Masonic Service Association field agents, on February 14th, Brother Harry Tice of Atlanta, Georgia, known widely as the "Sunshine Man" was honored by being presented an honorary membership in Triangle Lodge No. 1024 of Chicago, Illinois. This was the first honorary membership ever given by the Chicago lodge and was given in acknowledgement of Brother Tice's good work. The Master of Triangle Lodge Selig Oppenheim, accompanied by his brother Louis Oppenheim, traveled to Atlanta to make the presentation.
* * *
Had a note from Al Woody, F.P.S. and he advises that on Monday, March 10th he spoke on "Haym Salomon, John Paul Jones, and Paul Revere" at Renton Lodge No. 29 on Bainbridge Island, Washington. He used Research Lodge No. 2 of Iowa's work on John Paul Jones as background material. (There is the plug, Vrooman.) There were present a visiting brother from Scotland and a District Deputy who is a member of John Paul Jones Lodge No. 271 of Gig Harbor, Washington.
* * *
We have a letter from B. B. Thurston in Bramalea, Ontario, Canada advising that he has written a complete and factual history of the building of the Temple of King Solomon. It is entitled "The Temple" and after being dedicated to Vaughan Lodge, Maple, Ontario, on May 13th was given to their Grand Lodge. Brother Thurston states that his accounts within the pages of the book are based upon historical, geographical and archaeological facts with a slant toward accuracy as opposed to traditionalism. With all of the counting of the cracks in King Solomon's Temple which has been done, this should prove to be a refreshing change.
* * *
On May 13th Walter K. Belt, M.P.S. who has been a certified lecturer and examiner for his Lodge, Newport Lodge No. 85 was honored at a meeting with M.W. Brother Ross Gilkinson making the presentation. Brother Belt was pictured by Brother W. I. Winingham, Grand Lecturer, as the "most dedicated and faithful worker in Masonry that I have ever known."
Brother Belt, active in all facets of Freemasonry is one of the best Masonic poets of the present day. His poetry appears all over the Masonic world and he has a gift of taking the most mundane things and investing them with a little touch of poetic magic. Many more years and many more poems to this good and faithful servant of the institution of Freemasonry.
* * *
Had a letter from M.W. Brother Zvi Levin, Grand Master of Israel this month which disturbs me. I hope it will also disturb everyone who reads it. Brother Levin states in part: "We both know that we don't mix in politics, but our situation here is quite dangerous and I find it our duty as Masons to do whatever we can. I wrote, as Grand Master, to President Ford, as a Freemason, believing in the Masonic tenets. I had the honour of an answer but very diplomatic. This week we cabled him, after Kissinger's departures backing our government, expecting much trouble in this area. In such a case - America's friendship is indispensable. And America is its people. This is where our friends and just real Masons have a very important mission - to avoid another genocide. I know the terrific propaganda of our enemies done in the U.S.A. Can we fight it with so little means? Only our brothers and friends can do it, knowing and being assured that all we want is real peace in safety and without fear. We can not commit suicide in order to ease somebody's job. So again, in God and the people of the U.S.A. we put our trust. Excuse me for these lines and thank you for your lines. Maybe one day you will visit us, and see and feel Israel. Sincerely and fraternally yours. /s/ Zvi Levin."
Now I also know that Freemasons don't mix in national politics, but a Freemason played a large part in the founding of Israel. Had it not been for M.W. Brother Harry S Truman, and had he not been a man of firm fiber and strong integrity, Israel would have never become a reality. We are bound to this country by ties of blood and friendship and we cannot in good conscience, allow it to die. We have all seen one example of genocide in our lifetimes, not only of the Jews but of the gypsies, the Poles, a n d other peoples. How could this have happened? We asked ourselves that question then. It happened because good men did not get involved. We cannot be the peacekeepers for the entire world but we can assure that Israel will survive and that the territorial limits of Israel will be respected by her neighbors. This of course, makes it necessary that any peace keeping force also guarantees that Israel respects the borders of other countries. A strong and lasting peace is needed in the middle east. Read Brother Levin's letter again carefully, please.