The Hashshashin, or Nizari, were a mysterious band of Muslim assassins that operated in the Middle East during the 13th century. Other Knights continued to serve in political and administrative roles in the Confederacy. KGC members also figured prominently among those who, in 1861, joined Lt. Col. John Robert Baylor in his temporarily successful takeover of southern New Mexico Territory. Donald S. Frazier, Blood & 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. Bell, 1965. [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. Stuart also reported the alleged KGC tickets when documenting the campaign. Randolph W. Farmer, The Knights of the Golden Circle in Texas: How a Secret Society Shaped a State (Las Vegas, Nevada: Vita Histria, 2022). These conspiracy stories associated with the Knights of the Golden Circle are now part of the historical record associated with the organization, but none of them can be reliably documented. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. These investigators also allege that many famed characters from the Civil War era, including John Wilkes Booth and Jesse James, belonged to and acted under the influence of the Knights. The eventual goal of the plan was the annexation of all of Mexico to the United States. This unusual, three-part wood engraving published in 1865 blames Abraham Lincolns assassination by John Wilkes Booth on the influence of the pro-slavery secret society, the Knights of the Golden Circle. Armstrong I am excitedly reading "The Diary and Journal of John H. Surratt, The Conspirator" whose link you posted in another message. The Knights of the Golden Circle (KGC) was a pre Civil War, pro-Southern secret society founded in Ohio in 1854 by George W. L. Bickley, a Virginian, who soon The Secretary of War, John Floyd and of Treasury, Howell Cobb, were members of the circle, in addition to Vice President John Breckenridge. The robust economy the KGC hoped to create would be fueled by cotton, sugar, tobacco, rice, coffee, indigo, and mining. Black History - From Reconstruction to the Present (US), National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets (2007), Shadow of the Sentinel: One Man's Quest to Find the Hidden Treasure of the Confederacy, Knights of the Golden Circle by Tim Talbott, The Mysterious and Secret Order of the Knights of the Golden Circle, The Knights of the Golden Circle, Buried Treasure and John Wilkes Booth, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copperhead_(politics), Knight Grand Commander, John Robert Baylor. Hope you didn't miss it! Ordo Templi Orientis is a mystic organization that was started in the early twentieth century. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. The left panel is a portrait of George W. L. Bickley, the Head of the Knights of the Golden Circle. Above him is the word Theory. The central panel Practice shows Booth in profile holding a dagger. Appealing to the Confederacy's friends in both the North and the border states, the Order spread to Kentucky, as well as the southern parts of such Union states as Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, and Missouri. It became strongest among Copperheads, some of whom felt that the Civil War was a mistake. Everything old is new again such as conspiracies, clandestine groups, bogus political rhetoric, power grabs and violence. Floyd received instructions from the Order to "seize Navy-yards, Forts, etc. The Spanish possessions of Cuba and Puerto Rico and the Empire of Brazil continued to depend on slavery, as did the Southern United States. Many newspapers and public figures engaged in witch-hunts where they accused supposed Southern sympathizers, including President Franklin Pierce, of being members of the Knights of the Golden Circle. The Street of the Knights is a historic cobblestone pathway located in the Old Town of Rhodes, Greece. European colonialism and dependence on slavery had declined more rapidly in some countries than others. Many Texas newspapers, including the Bell County Democrat, heartily supported Bickley and the Knights. Randolph B. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Newspaper editors across the lower South generally reacted favorably to his message, and Texas proved notably strong in its support. 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 This required the separation of Serbia from the monarchy of Austria-Hungary, which had annexed the country some years before. As he promoted his organization, Bickley focused on the annexation of Mexico as an essential first step. The TSHA makes every effort to conform to the principles of fair use and to comply with copyright law. addthis_url = location.href; It features the Knights of the Golden Circle in an assassination plot against President Ulysses S. Grant and Emperor Pedro II of Brazil during the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition of 1876. The group was started in 1954, and since then it has convened every year as an exclusive, invitation-only conference of various world leaders, captains of industry, and media moguls. From political organisations to college frats, these groups require their members to conceal their activities, and sometimes their identities, from the public. If successful, the Knights intended to reinstate slavery in their proposed empire. The Knights failed invasion of Mexico embarrassed Bickley and his movement. accessed May 01, 2023, The primary economic and political goal of this organization was to create a prosperous, slave-holding Southern Empire extending in the shape of a circle from their proposed capital at Havana, Cuba, through the southern states of the United States, Mexico, the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America. 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. developed a second plan for invading Mexico later in 1860, but it proved abortive as attention turned to the presidential election and the secession movement that followed immediately across the lower South. Many of our members are related to Quantrill's Raiders so, through them, we are able to access family information that is not widely known about. The fundamental documents of the order are known as the Cipher Documents. I turn these up when doing an Internet Search using yahoo.com using various keywords including "Knights of the Golden Circle". Both Baylor and Trevanion Teel, Sibley's captain of artillery, had been among the KGC members who rode with Ben McCulloch. Go behind closed doors as we examine the 10 most Elite secret societies in history. Beneath the portrait are Lincolns initials and olive branches. 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. Bickley responded by calling a general convention of the K.G.C., which met in Raleigh, North Carolina, on May 711, 1860. I will post whatever you send me, with your permission, in our Bloody Bill Anderson Mystery group's extensive archives and photo collection. This is one I found today. In either case, the goal was to increase the power of the Southern slave-holding upper class to such a degree that it could never be dislodged.[1]. [1]:102104 The Secretary of War, John Floyd and of Treasury, Howell Cobb, were members of the circle, in addition to Vice President John Breckenridge. Discover more about Copperhead opposition to Abraham Lincoln during the U.S. presidential election of 1864, This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Knights-of-the-Golden-Circle, Texas State Historical Association - Handbook of Texas - Knights of the Golden Circle. 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. This has been widely discredited, but the term Hashshashin as it refers to the Nizari is believed to be the origin of the modern word assassin.. Perhaps the greatest historical significance that can be assigned to the K.G.C. Secret society in the mid-19th-century US, Plans to seize Lincoln and inaugurate Breckinridge as president. 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". Genuine secret societies have existed for centuries, conducting their business in darkened back rooms and, more often than not, exerting a mysterious influence upon our culture. [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. In response to the increased anti-slavery agitation that followed the Dred Scott decision (1857), the Knights changed their position: the Southern United States should secede, forming their own confederation, and then invade and annex the area of the Golden Circle to vastly expand the power of the South. WebCategory:Knights of the Golden Circle members Tools Help Pages in category "Knights of the Golden Circle members" The following 5 pages are in this category, out of 5 total. Houston, however, regardless of his interest in annexing Mexico to the United States, could not accept the K.G.C.s anti-Union stance and refused to support its schemes. 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. 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. The Knights merged with the Order of the Lone Star with the expansionist goal of forming a slave-holding empire that operated like the East India Company by annexing Mexico, the Caribbean Islands, and Central America into the United States. Seal of the President of the Knights of the Golden Circle. It's amazing how much is out there about this historically important organization when you perform such a search. 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. Several members of President James Buchanan's administration were members of the order,[8] as well as Virginia's secessionist Senator James M. Made a few Return Trips to Places the last 6 days. A group of Knights in New Orleans then publicly attacked him as a liar, coward, and inept leader. [5] Some Knights of the Golden Circle active in northern states, such as Illinois, were accused of anti-Union activities after the Civil War began in 1861. These seven industries would employ slave labor. This protects the group from people finding out how to gain admission under false pretenses. He and several comrades took time to launch several small projects until 1859 as national tempers roiled over slavery, succession and the fever pitch of the impending 1860 presidential election. Along with a series of secret hand gestures, these tickets were supposed to protect the horses and other possessions of ticket holders from seizure by invading Confederate soldiers. The Street of the Knights is a historic cobblestone pathway located in the Old Town of Rhodes, Greece. George W. L. Bickley, a Virginia-born doctor, editor, and adventurer, was one of the founders of the K.G.C. Two-thirds of the countys 179 slaveholders in 1860 owned seven or fewer slaves, and only four owned 20 slaves or more. As such, the group makes much less of an attempt to be secretive today than it did in the past. Members of the Masonic Knights Templar do not claim a direct connection to the medieval group, but merely a borrowing of ideas and symbols. Stuart also reported the alleged KGC tickets when documenting the campaign. Hall but I can't be sure. 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 order to become a Mason, you must generally be recommended by a current mason. [9], In 1859, future Confederate States Army brigadier general Elkanah Greer established KGC castles in East Texas and Louisiana. In 1854 a small group of pro-slavery sympathizers formed the Knights of the Golden Circle, a secret society whose goal it was to create a vast new empire for slaveryone that traced a golden circle from the deep South through Mexico, Central America, parts of South America, and the Caribbean. [5] Other KGC members followed Brig. During the American Civil War, some Southern sympathizers in the Union or Northern states, such as Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa, were accused of belonging to the Knights of the Golden Circle, and in some cases, such as that of Lambdin P. Milligan, they were imprisoned for their activities. WebThe Knights of the Golden Circle was a mysterious southern-based society that set out in 1859 to establish a slave empire in Mexico. 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. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. It is considered by many to be a forerunner of the Ordo Templi Orientis and a majority of modern Occult groups. This doesnt mean that they dont still have some bizarre practices. His plot was discovered and led to greater distrust of secret societies and Copperheads in general. just in case someone is interested in research. no problemlet me know when you have finished reading these.. Hi gldhntr. JavaScript is disabled. Corrections? 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. Receiving reports of the activities of the Order of American Knights (a new name for the alleged order) in Missouri and Illinois, U.S. Pres. 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. I find some of my best information about the KGC from old online newspaper articles. Facing the Gulf of Mexico, these new states would form a large crescent. 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. and at other times to different treasonous groups. Sam Houston, who reportedly became an initiate. The general philosophy of the group was a belief in new age esoteric principles and practices as a method of realizing ones true identity. addthis_title = document.title; 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. Gaylon Ross Sr. said that the Rothschilds created the Knights of The Golden Circle, a club, for the purpose of dividing the North from the South in the USA. In 1860, a group of the Knights made a failed attempt to invade Mexico. This would extend pro-slavery interests. served in the Confederate Army not as members of the societys military division per se, but simply as soldiers in the southern cause. Some supported slavery and others were worried about the power of the federal government. 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. 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 new charges, said Lincoln on receiving Hays report, were as puerile as the Knights of the Golden Circle. Treason trials against members of the Sons of Liberty in Indianapolis on the eve of the election of 1864 furnished campaign material for the Republicans. Low 57F. Welcome to Geni, home of the world's largest family tree. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. 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. Within a relatively brief time, he organized thirty-two castles or local chapters in various cities, including Houston, Galveston, Austin, San Antonio, Marshall, Jefferson, and La Grange. 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. The Black Hand was a secret society of anti-imperialist political revolutionaries that was started in Serbia in 1912. Even though a sizeable minority favored the Union, sentiment ran high for secession and maintaining the countys slave-holding status. [13] As volunteers continued to join McCulloch the following day, United States Army Brevet Maj. Gen. David E. Twiggs surrendered the arsenal peacefully to the secessionists. Join Geni to explore your genealogy and family history in the World's Largest Family Tree. The group was made up of Shia Muslims who broke off from a bigger sect and banded together in order to establish a utopian Shiite state. [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]. Their attempt was detected and they were seized on the night of their intended departure. Because of its secrecy, the Knights full membership list can never be verified. You must log in or register to reply here. "The Pacific Squadron of 18611866", in Aurora Hunt, C.S.A. [12] On February 15, 1861, Ben McCulloch, United States Marshal and former 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. Here is a cemetery list of many members of the Knights of the Golden Circle. did not have the strength attributed to it in such reports. KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. When a person reaches the third degree, they are called a Master Mason. Desires for a tobacco and cotton empire were vanquished. The order of the Golden Dawn was created by Dr. William Robert Woodman, William Wynn Westcott, and Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers. If you do not receive your Zoom link information 24 hours prior to the start of the program, please. 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. Because their number was small, the group used guerilla tactics in their battle against their enemies, including espionage, sabotage, and, most famously, political assassination. Organized 1854, this secret order meant to extend This, and the fact that most members were humanists, is the reason for the widespread belief that the Illuminati wants to overthrow organized religion. The original objective of the KGC was to annex a "golden circle" of territories in Mexico (which would be divided into 25 slave states), Central America, northern South America, and Cuba and the rest of the Caribbean for inclusion in the United States as slave states. This distrust was the result of a confirmed plot to overthrow the federal government, rather than general discontent. George William Chilton, Confederate Army officer, was born to Thomas Chilton and Francis Tribble Stoner Henry Foster, lawyer, editor, and politician, was the son of Cony and Caroline Brown Foster of Orono, Maine. In Knights of the Golden Circle, attorney David C. Keehn argues that the secret fraternal order the Knights of the Golden Circle (KGC) played a much more significant role in the coming of the Civil War than historians have previously acknowledged.Specifically, he claims that the KGC used extra-political pressure to advance secession in Texas and Mason. [4] Membership increased slowly until 1859 and reached its height in 1860. Chief among these is the groups fixation on the sexual, especially their teachings on the adoration of the phallus and the magic of masturbation. The Golden Knights became the first team to advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Twiggs was appointed a major general in the Confederate States Army on May 22, 1861.[14]. Meetings included secret rituals, handshakes, passwords and code words, designed to exclude intruders and reveal their strategies. Unless otherwise noted, registration for streaming programs typically closes two hours prior to the start time on the date of the program. 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. Floyd received instructions from the Order to "seize Navy-yards, Forts, etc. As anti-slavery sentiment began to gain momentum in the 1850s, white Southerners became increasingly militant about preserving and expanding their system of slavery. 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. It was founded in 1832 and membership is open to an elite few. Masons conduct their regular meetings in a ritualized style. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Texas State Historical Association Handbook of Texas. 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. 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. 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. I have reposted some of this to the yahoo forum at. The Knights of the Golden Circle was a secret society that flourished in the U.S. during the American Civil War. [8][9][10], In late 1863, the KGC reorganized as the Order of American Knights. 27 (2003) by Michael Uslan and Peter Snejbjerg. I went first to our group's extensive Links section and looked through the following list for James Hall. Some 250,000 to 300,000 oath-bound members were said to have existed in the Midwest. [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. Within a couple of years, Bickley claimed to have recruited a Texas army of 16,000 men at least on paper. In some cases you must be recommended three times before you can join. Some rites (such as the Scottish rite) list up to 33 degrees of membership. Looks like I found the right place. Randolph W. Farmer, The Knights of the Golden Circle in Texas: How a Secret Society Shaped a State (Las Vegas, Nevada: Vita Histria, 2022). Instead, the group often formed renegade armies and bands of bushwhackers in order to forward their agenda by force. lodges, what they called Castles, in several states. [10] Although a Unionist, United States Senator Sam Houston introduced a resolution in the U.S. Senate in 1858 for the "United States to declare and maintain an efficient protectorate over the States of Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, and San Salvador." Knights were grouped into three divisionsmilitary, commercial and financial, and politicaleach of which was in turn divided into two classes. Randolph Mike Campbell, former State Historian of Texas, summed up the Knights perverse influence: Perhaps the greatest historical significance that can be assigned to the Knights of the Golden Circle is its contribution to creating the emotional excitement necessary to persuading Southerners to rebel against the United States. With the start of the Civil War, the semi-military group threw its support to the Confederacy. 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. 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. They refer to God as The Great Architect of the Universe. Many people believe that the Illuminati is still operating and managing the main actions of the governments of the world. The rival paper, the Independent, supported Sam Houston and his efforts to remain in the Union. The plan also called for the acquisition of Mexico which was then to be divided into fifteen new slave-holding states which would shift the balance of power in Congress in favor of slavery. Furthermore, it has been alleged in the History Channel program 'America Unearthed,' (episode 'Lincoln's Secret Assassins') that the James-Younger Gang was the principal source of funds for a second U.S. Civil War that never occurred. In the summer of 1863, Congress authorized a military draft, which the administration soon put into operation. 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. Start a Free Blog at Webs.com. Famed occultist and all-around eccentric Aleister Crowley composed much of the groups lore, including a manifesto called the Mysteria Mystica Maxima, and he later became its head. Below are all the Halls that are listed on our lists. There is a great deal of controversy surrounding the origins of these documents. The street is a beautiful showcase of Gothic architecture, 3: Master Mason, this degree is necessary for participating in most masonic activities. The job was badly botched, and was only completed when a low-level hood named Gavrilo Princip stumbled upon the Archdukes car and shot him to death at close range (see photo).
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