The Knights Templar (full name: The United Religious, Military and Masonic Orders of the Temple and of St John of Jerusalem, Palestine, Rhodes and Malta) is a modern off-shoot of Masonry and does not have a direct tie to the original Knights Templar a religious military group formed in the 12th century. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. The Spanish possessions of Cuba and Puerto Rico and the Empire of Brazil continued to depend on slavery, as did the Southern United States. The Knights soon had thousands of followers, many of whom formed guerilla armies and began raiding Union strongholds in the West. Unlike most secret societies, the Golden Circle didnt just concern itself with clandestine meetings and mysterious plans. Bickley, who served as a surgeon in the Confederate Army before being arrested as a spy in Indiana in July 1863 and held until October 1865, died in August 1867. This would extend pro-slavery interests. No famous members, but attendees have included Ben Bernanke, the royal families of Spain and the Netherlands, World Bank officials, and representatives from major TW. On February 15, 1861, Ben McCulloch, Texas Ranger, began marching toward the Federal arsenal at San Antonio, Texas, with a cavalry force of about 550 men, about 150 of whom were Knights of the Golden Circle (KGC) from six castles. If such a plot existed, nothing came of it, suggesting that the rumors were just that or that the K.G.C. The Night of The Iron Tyrants (19901991), written by the novelist Mark Ellis and drawn by Darryl Banks, is a four-part comic book miniseries based on The Wild Wild West television series. addthis_pub = 'webs'; July 2nd - The Knights of the Golden Circle & Their Treasure, Knights of the Golden Circle - Codes and Conspiracies. The KGC's proposal grew out of previous unsuccessful proposals to annex Cuba (Ostend Manifesto), parts of Central America (Filibuster War), and all of Mexico (All of Mexico Movement). California Senator Milton Latham subsequently did so when he entered the entire PierceSeward correspondence into the Congressional Globe. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/knights-of-the-golden-circle. The street is a beautiful showcase of Gothic architecture, The KGC are portrayed as conspirators in the Lincoln assassination in the Disney movie National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets (2007). Because their number was small, the group used guerilla tactics in their battle against their enemies, including espionage, sabotage, and, most famously, political assassination. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph.. A few clouds. The signs and handshakes often differ from one jurisdiction to another and are often changed or updated. } WebKnights of the Golden Circle, a semi-military secret society that was active in the Midwestern states during the American Civil War. 27 (2003) by Michael Uslan and Peter Snejbjerg. [6], Hounded by creditors, Bickley left Cincinnati in the late 1850s and traveled through the East and South, promoting an armed expedition to Mexico. A few agitators, some of them encouraged by Southern money, talked of a revolt in the Old Northwest, with the goal of ending the war.[11]. Originally, the KGC advocated that the new territories should be annexed by the United States, in order to vastly increase the number of slave states and thus the power of the slave-holding Southern upper classes. George W. L. Bickley, a Virginia-born doctor, editor, and "adventurer" who lived in Cincinnati, founded the association. This group was the Knights of the Golden Circle who planned the creation of a new nation dominated by slavery. [citation needed] Mexico and Central America had no interest in being part of the United States. Separate Zoom link information will be emailed closer to the date of the program. In Cuba, the issue was complicated by the desire of many in the colony for independence from Spain. The group was originally started as a means of addressing a streak of anti-Americanism that was spreading through Europe following WWII, but over the years it appears to have morphed into a more broad discussion on reaching mutual understanding between cultures. During the American Civil War, some Southern sympathizers in the Northern states such as Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa, were accused of belonging to the Knights of the Golden Circle, and in some cases they were imprisoned for their activities. [3] The new country's northern border would roughly coincide with the MasonDixon line, and within it were included such cities as Washington, D.C., St. Louis, Mexico City, and Panama City. addthis_title = document.title; In most areas only a minority of its membership was radical enough to discourage enlistments, resist the draft, and shield deserters. [4][citation needed] In May 1861, members of the KGC and Confederate Rangers attacked a building which housed a pro-Union newspaper, the Alamo Express, owned by J. P. Newcomb, and burned it down. The order of the Golden Dawn was created by Dr. William Robert Woodman, William Wynn Westcott, and Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers. They opposed the U.S. governments war policy, actively encouraged desertion, prevented enlistments, and resisted the draft. Roy Sylvan Dunn, The KGC in Texas, 1860-1861, Southwestern Historical Quarterly 70 (April 1967). The Texas KGC supported President of the United States James Buchanan's policy of, and draft treaty for, protecting routes for U.S commerce across Mexico, which also failed to be approved by the U.S. Membership levels were initially first and second degree, but in the 1750s this was expanded to create the third degree which caused a split in the group. In early 1862, Radical Republicans in the Senate, aided by Secretary of State William H. Seward, suggested that former president Franklin Pierce, who was greatly critical of the Lincoln administration's war policies, was an active member of the Knights of the Golden Circle. In the novel Queen of the Northern Mines (2011),[17] the KGC plots to seize a gold shipment from Nevada County, California, on its way to San Francisco. while KGC members were still Cabinet officers and Senators". Members of the Masonic Knights Templar do not claim a direct connection to the medieval group, but merely a borrowing of ideas and symbols. It may not display this or other websites correctly. This distrust was the result of a confirmed plot to overthrow the federal government, rather than general discontent. Seal of the President of the Knights of the Golden Circle. After his death, the influence and popularity of Ordo Templi Orientis began to wane, but it still exists today and has various chapters scattered across the world, chiefly in the United States, the U.K., and other parts of Europe. The Knights of the Golden Circle (KGC) was a secret military organization created in 1859 by George W. L. Bickley in Cincinnati, Ohio. Bickley created, on paper at least, an army of 16,000 men. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. It became strongest among Copperheads, some of whom felt that the Civil War was a mistake. Once Texas seceded in March 1861, individual Knights participated in the actions that displaced the authority of the United States in Texas, leading some Unionists such as James P. Newcomb to emphasize the role of the organization in destroying the Union. Castles were established in Salado, Belton and Cameron. Many historians now credit this obscure organization for deception and fomenting unrest leading up to the Souths secession from the Union and for the Civil War. Samuel J. Richardson, farmer, businessman, Confederate officer, Texas state legislator, and police chief, was born in Virginia in 1826. The order of the Golden Dawn was created by Dr. William Robert Woodman, William Wynn Westcott, and Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers. All three were Freemasons and members of Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (an organization with ties to Masonry). WebThe Knights of the Golden Circle (K. G. C.) was a secret society founded by George W. L. Bickley on July 4, 1854. The group was established along the same lines as the less secretive Freemasons, and supposedly relies on ritual and occult practices as a means for members to move from one level of prestige to another within the organization. Many religions frown upon membership of the Masons, and the Roman Catholic Church forbids Catholics to join under pain of excommunication. WebThe Knights of the Golden Circle had been organized in the late 1850s and were said to be dedicated to preserving the slave states and to establishing a new slave empire in Mexico. The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this entry. WebThe Knights of the Golden Circle was a mysterious southern-based society that set out in 1859 to establish a slave empire in Mexico. (Texas): W.H. George W. L. Bickley, a Virginia-born doctor, editor, and adventurer, was one of the founders of the K.G.C. In the years prior to the American Civil War, the rise of support for abolition of slavery was one of several divisive issues in the United States. Randolph W. Farmer, The Knights of the Golden Circle in Texas: How a Secret Society Shaped a State (Las Vegas, Nevada: Vita Histria, 2022). Abraham Lincoln sent his secretary, John Hay, to investigate. Randolph W. Farmer, The Knights of the Golden Circle in Texas: How a Secret Society Shaped a State (Las Vegas, Nevada: Vita Histria, 2022). Thus, promises of riches built on the backs of enslaved people propelled the movements greed. Calhoun had an illustrious political career serving as a congressman from his home state of South Carolina, a state legislator, vice president under the administrations of both John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson, and a U. S. senator. activity circulated for a few more years, but there is no dependable evidence that the organization survived the war in any meaningful way. With the outbreak of the war, however, Republicans charged that Democrats who opposed the conduct of the war were influenced by, or were members of, the Knights. In the beginning, the group sought to encourage the annexation of Mexico and the West Indies, which they believed would help the waning slave trade to once again flourish. In the Northern states, the mysterious order had an even bigger impact. convention held in 1860 state that the organization "originated at Lexington, Kentucky, on the fourth day of July 1854, by five gentlemen who came together on a call made by Gen. George Bickley". K.G.C., Records of the KGC Convention, 1860, Raleigh, N.C. (http://gunshowonthenet/AfterTheFact/KGC/KGC0571860.html), accessed August 27, 2010. The Street of the Knights is a historic cobblestone pathway located in the Old Town of Rhodes, Greece. and at other times to different treasonous groups. Robert Barnwell Rhett, who has been called "the father of secession", said a few days after Lincoln's election: We will expand, as our growth and civilization shall demandover Mexicoover the isles of the seaover the far-off Southern tropicsuntil we shall establish a great Confederation of Republicsthe greatest, freest and most useful the world has ever seen. Within days, Austria-Hungary had declared war on Serbia, and after the allies of both countries joined the fray, the small dispute managed to escalate into WWI. Secretive organizations such as the K.G.C. The fundamental documents of the order are known as the Cipher Documents. The order itself had little influence in the South and had few or no Northern adherents. WebThe successor to GEORGE BICKLEY must be over thirty years of age, of Southern birth, liberally educated, Knight of the Columbian Star, sound of body and mind, and married, and Protestant. Joseph Holt, Report of the Judge Advocate General on The Order of American Knights, alias The Sons of Liberty. A Western Conspiracy in aid of the Southern Rebellion (Washington, DC: Union Congressional Committee, 1864). WebThe Knights of the Golden Circle (KGC) was a secret society originally founded to promote the interests of the Southern United States. I am excitedly reading "The Diary and Journal of John H. Surratt, The Conspirator" whose link you posted in another message. They worked as shadowy sentinels for the powerful while they pitched lies and half-truths through the most efficient communication avenue available at the time newspapers. According to Judy Schiff, Chief Archivist at the Yale University Library, the names of the members were not kept secret until the 1970s, but the rituals always have been. Then they would occupy the District of Columbia and install Breckinridge as president instead of Lincoln. Knights were grouped into three divisionsmilitary, commercial and financial, and politicaleach of which was in turn divided into two classes. In order to become a member of this group, you must already be a Christian Master Mason. Historian Christopher Hamner examines the strange history of the secret society in the context of the turbulent debate over slavery and its future that overwhelmed the country in the 1850s and 1860s. Richards Alfred Marmaduke Hobby (1836 - February 5, 1881) was a famous Texas merchant, politician, Confederate officer, and poet. Senate. Beneath the portrait are Lincolns initials and olive branches. [19]. Several members of President James Buchanan's administration were members of the order,[8] as well as Virginia's secessionist Senator James M. Rumors spread that the slaves and abolitionists had planned to add mass murder, poisonings and rapes to the arson. WebThe Knights of the Golden Circle emerged in 1858 when a secret society formed by a Cincinnati businessman merged with the pro-expansionist Order of the Lone Star, which Records of the K.G.C. Thanks to you, our group now has several of our members busy researching and discussing the many important facts from John H. Surratt's Diary. https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=vcsr&GSvcid=755868, function webURL() { Once registered, patrons should receive an automatic email confirmation from CustomerService@SmithsonianAssociates.org. Instead, the group often formed renegade armies and bands of bushwhackers in order to forward their agenda by force. Section 107 related to Copyright and Fair Use for Non-Profit educational institutions, which permits the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA), to utilize copyrighted materials to further scholarship, education, and inform the public. After the Souths surrender, the Knights eventually disbanded. [18], The KGC are the antagonists in a story featured in Atomic-Robo web comic. Widespread publicity in Southern expansionist newspapers called attention to the new order, and Bickley soon claimed it had 65,000 members. Every dollar helps. As Aleister Crowleys popularity as a new age figure has continued to grow, more and more of the teachings of the Ordo Templi Orientis have come to light. just in case someone is interested in research. no problemlet me know when you have finished reading these.. Hi gldhntr. Low 57F. Shadowy sentinels: Mysterious group fostered false claims, unrest before Civil War, UPDATE: Sirens sound in Temple after tornado touches down on North Fort Hood, Chargers select Temple's Johnston in first round of NFL draft, Two BISD principals named; other positions open, Extraco Tower in Temple may become executive hotel, Wendell Williams, former Councilman and banker, dies at age 75, Marks removed from courtroom briefly during foul tirade, ME: Scott, Swearingin suffered violent deaths; two witnesses see man in area where victims were buried, Vicki Jeannice Templin, age 65, of Salado, died Sunday, DA: 4 videos of key witnesses revealed; Marks objects to new evidence in capital murder trial. Knights of the Golden Circle, Armstrong The story of the Knights of the Golden Circle is a cautionary tale of a political movements fabricated claims and perverse influencers coupled with unbridled passions for money and control. This group is now known as the Bavarian Illuminati. Sam Houston, who reportedly became an initiate. He was the son of William Stuart and Lavinia Richardson. The society is surrounded by conspiracy theories; the most popular of which is probably the idea that the CIA was built on members from the group. argued that their empire would have a virtual monopoly on the worlds supply of tobacco and sugar and perhaps cotton and have the strength to preserve slavery in the South from constant attacks by northern Abolitionists. Records of the KGC convention held in 1860 state that the organization "originated at Lexington, Kentucky, on the fourth day of July 1854, by five gentlemen who came together on a call made by Gen. George Bickley". Newspaper editors across the lower South generally reacted favorably to his message, and Texas proved notably strong in its support. Some supported slavery and others were worried about the power of the federal government. Bickley was arrested in 1863 and died four years later. [11], With the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, the Texas KGC changed its emphasis from a plan to expand U.S. territory into Mexico in order to focus its efforts on providing support for the Southern States' secession from the Union. Organized 1854, this secret order meant to extend This would extend pro-slavery interests. George W. L. Bickley, a doctor, editor, and adventurer who lived in Cincinnati, founded the association, organizing the first castle, or local branch, in Cincinnati in 1854. In the William Martin novel The Lincoln Letter (2012), the KGC are a group of conspirators in Washington, DC, during the Civil War. This includes many references to architectural symbols such as the compass and square. Joseph Holt, United States Judge Advocate General, submitted a report in October 1864 that warned Secretary of War Edwin Stanton about the danger of this plot, which he attributed at times to the K.G.C. Thanks to you, our members have many more resources to scour in search of our true history. window.location = 'https://www.webs.com/?referer=wftr-blog-' + location.host + '&cm_mmc=Freewebs-_-Free%20Website-_-Freebar-_-blog' The aftermath of WWI eventually led to WWII, and this led to the Cold War, which makes the Black Hand one of the most strangely influential forces of the twentieth century. ET, To Have and Have Another: The Life and Times (and Cocktails) of Ernest Hemingway, Byrdcliffe: An American Arts and Crafts Colony, The Cuban Missile Crisis: Re-examining a Moment of Extreme Danger. This list represents a tiny portion of the KGC's hundreds of thousands of members but it may help you determine if your relatives or local men were Knights. We need your support because we are a non-profit organization that relies upon contributions from our community in order to record and preserve the history of our state. The Knights of the Golden Circle (KGC) was a secret society founded in 1854 by American George W. L. Bickley, the objective of which was to create a new country, known as the Golden Circle (Spanish: Crculo Dorado), where slavery would be legal. Around the time of their downfall, the library that contained all Nizari records was destroyed, so much of what is known about them today has taken on the status of myth. served in the Confederate Army not as members of the societys military division per se, but simply as soldiers in the southern cause. Nevertheless, in spite of the fraternitys official disclaimers, some Masons, non-Masons, and even anti-Masons insist that certain Masonic rites or degrees originally had direct Templar influence. Maybe the last Castle of Knights of the Golden Circle old school. The Golden Knights could eliminate Winnipeg in Game 5 of the best-of-seven series on Thursday night in Las Vegas. Published by the Texas State Historical Association. From its earliest roots in the Southern Rights Clubs in 1835, the Knights of the Golden Circle was to become the most powerful secret and subversive organization in the history of the United States with members in every state and territory before the end of the Civil War. I turn these up when doing an Internet Search using yahoo.com using various keywords including "Knights of the Golden Circle". However, Bickleys correspondence, now archived in libraries and vintage newspapers, reveals many members by name and hometown. Even though there were some known Freemasons in the membership, it was not considered to be endorsed by Masonry. No famous members, but attendees have included Ben Bernanke, the royal families of Spain and the Netherlands, World Bank officials, and representatives from major corporations The Bilderberg Group is not a secret society per se, but it does operate under a similar veil of mystery, which has made it the subject of countless conspiracy theories and criticisms. Internal panic over the succession of a new leader, and government attempts to outlaw the group saw to it collapsing entirely in the late 1700s. As the story goes, enemy leaders would often wake in the morning to find a Hashshashin dagger lying on their pillow, along with a note saying you are in our grip. Their legend soon grew, and before the Mongols finally destroyed the group, they became well known contract killers, supposedly performing jobs for the likes of King Richard the Lionheart. During the 1863 Gettysburg Campaign, scam artists in south-central Pennsylvania sold Pennsylvania Dutch farmers $1 paper tickets purported to be from the Knights of the Golden Circle. Leaders of the Democratic Party opposed to Abraham Lincoln's administration denounced the draft and other wartime measures, such as the arrest of seditious persons and the president's temporary suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_of_the_Golden_Circle, The Knights of the Golden Circle (KGC) were a pro-slavery secret society in the mid-nineteenth-century United States. In 1860, a group of the Knights made a failed attempt to invade Mexico. They often paid with Confederate currency or with drafts on the Confederate government. The rival paper, the Independent, supported Sam Houston and his efforts to remain in the Union. Still, the results of the assassination were catastrophic. Copperheads Fernando Wood, former Democratic mayor of New York City, and Clement L. Vallandigham of Ohio were reputed to be the chief officers. In the spring of 1860, a small group of K.G.C. The Knights of the Golden Circle was a pro-slavery secret society founded in the decade before the American Civil War. None of them can be reliably documented, Campbell added. Various clandestine actions were undertaken to accomplish this, including a plan in 1861 to intercept Abraham Lincoln in Baltimore and kidnap him before he could take the Oath of Office (which Allen Pinkerton scuttled). Hall but I can't be sure. I'm thinking your relative may have been Thomas J. The Knights of the Golden Circle (K.G.C. Elkanah Greer was Grand Commander of the Knights of the Golden Circle in Texas. During the Civil War, leaders of the K.G.C. Sunshine and some clouds. Elkanah Greer of Marshall, for example, served with distinction as colonel of the Third Texas Cavalry, a unit in the cavalry brigade commanded by future governor L. Sullivan Ross. [16] Other KGC members followed Brig. This organization is a distinct one, and is not just a higher degree of Masonry. They later attempted a second futile annexation of Mexico. In an outbreak of mob justice that became known as the Texas Troubles, alarmed Texans formed committees to search for and punish blacks and Unionist whites whom the Knights demonized. A few agitators, some of them encouraged by Southern money, talked of a revolt in the Old Northwest, with the goal of ending the war. This is one I found today. It should come as no surprise then that the K.G.C. WebThe board of directors of that insurance company included old man Armstrong himself, Charles Webb, Jr., James Webb, and retired ship captain John J. Mattison. Bell, 1965. ), a secretive organization created in 1854, proposed to establish a slaveholding empire encompassing the southern United States, the West Indies, Mexico, and parts of Central America. JavaScript is disabled. As anti-slavery agitation increased after the Dred Scott Decision was issued, the members proposed a separate confederation of slave states, with U.S. states south of the Mason-Dixon line to secede and to align with other slave states to be formed from the golden circle. In an angry letter to Seward, Pierce denied that he knew anything about the KGC, and demanded that his letter be made public. The most well known of these is the apron. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. [7], That same year, Asbury Harpending and California members of the Knights of the Golden Circle in San Francisco outfitted the schooner J. M. Chapman as a Confederate privateer in San Francisco Bay, with the object of raiding commerce on the Pacific Coast and capturing gold shipments to the East Coast. I went first to our group's extensive Links section and looked through the following list for James Hall. has drawn the interest of numerous investigators who claim that it was a vast conspiracy that drew inspiration from groups such as the European Knights Templar, Scottish Rite Masons, and the Sons of Liberty. Following the Mexican-American War of 1846, the group's original goal was to provide a force to colonize the northern part of Mexico and the West Indies. In late 1860, it shifted its focus to supporting [21], The Los Angeles Times noted that one theory, among many, on the origin of the Saddle Ridge Hoard of gold coins is that it was cached by the KGC, which "some believe buried millions in ill-gotten gold across a dozen states to finance a second Civil War".[22]. Through history there have been many secret societies and conspiracy theories about those societies. He later increased his claims to 115,000, but such numbers were widely dismissed as fanciful. The convention confirmed Bickley as leader and published a lengthy address to the people of the southern states that remains the most reliable statement of the K.G.C.s organization and goals. Both of the Bush presidents were members of the society while studying at Yale, and a number of other members have gone on to great fame and fortune. The belief system of the Golden Dawn is largely taken from Christian mysticism, Qabalah, Hermeticism, the religion of Ancient Egypt, Freemasonry, Alchemy, Theosophy, Magic, and Renaissance writings. It was concentrated in the Deep South, on large plantations devoted to the commodity crops of cotton and sugar cane, but it was the basis of agricultural and other labor throughout the southern states.
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