Washington's Masonic Correspondence Part 16

"Sundry respectable Brethren being then put in nomination, it was moved that the Ballot be put for them separately, and His Excellency George Washington, Esquire, General and Commander-in-chief of the Armies of the United States being first in nomination, he was ballotted for accordingly as Grand Master, and Elected by the unanimous vote of the whole Lodge.

"Ordered, That the minutes of this Election and appointment be transmitted to the different Grand Lodges in the United States, and their Concurrence therein be requested, in Order that application be made to his Excellency in due form, praying that he will do the Brethren and Craft the honor of accepting their appointment. A Committee was appointed to expedite the Business."

The movement was further advanced at a Convention of representatives of the Army Lodges, held at Morristown, N. J., on February 7, 1780, when, fortified by the p.r.o.nounced action of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, a committee was chosen of which Brother Mordecai Gist of Maryland was chairman and Brother Otho Williams of Delaware, secretary.[84]

=FAC-SIMILE OF FINAL LETTER FROM BOSTON, ENDING THE ATTEMPT TO MAKE GEN. WASHINGTON GENERAL GRAND MASTER.=

This Committee issued the celebrated address:

"To the RIGHT WORSHIPFUL, The Grand Masters of the several Lodges in the Respective United States of America.

"UNION----FORCE----LOVE."

This address was signed by representatives of no less than seven states, viz.: Maryland, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ma.s.sachusetts Bay, New York and Delaware; in addition to those of the American Union Lodge, Artillery, St. John's Regimental Lodge and the Staff of the American Army.

It was further ordered that the foregoing address with an exact copy of these proceedings signed by the President and Secretary, be sent to the respective Provincial Grand Masters in the United States.[85]

It was not until the middle of October that a reply was received from the Grand Lodge of Ma.s.sachusetts to the circular letter sent out by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, and then only in response to a letter written by our Grand Secretary, Rev. Brother Dr. William Smith.

This matter led to more or less correspondence between the Grand Lodges of Pennsylvania and Ma.s.sachusetts and was in abeyance, until January, 1781, when the following letter was received from Joseph Webb, Grand Master of Ma.s.sachusetts.[86]

"BOSTON, Jany 17, 1781.

"_Revd Sir and "Respected Brother_

"Last Friday Evening the Grand Lodge met, agreeable to adjournment and after a long debate on the subject, whether it was expedient at present to elect a Grand Master General for the United States, it pa.s.sed in the negative.

"Inclosed I transmit you the vote from the G. Sec'y.

"Yr Affecte Brother "& Hble Servt "Jos: WEBB.

"Rev Dr Smith "Philadelphia."

The belief that WASHINGTON was the Grand Master of the United States was widespread, and, as our late Bro. James M. Lamberton said in his address before mentioned,[87] notwithstanding the fact that the project to elevate General WASHINGTON fell through, "that the action of the Army Lodges and of our Grand Lodge got abroad, is shown by translations of two letters from a Lodge at Cape Francois,[88] on the island of San Domingo, directed to General WASHINGTON as Grand Master of all America, soliciting a charter, which were presented to our Grand Lodge, February 3, 1786. The same thing is shown by a medal struck in 1797, the obverse showing the bust of WASHINGTON, with the legend, "G. Washington President. 1797," the reverse showing many Masonic emblems,[89] with the legend "Amor. Honor. Et Justica G.W.G.G.M." (_i. e.,_ George Washington, General Grand Master).

The writer of the letters to WASHINGTON, Snyder, quoted at the beginning of this chapter, being of foreign birth, and not a member of the Masonic Fraternity, nor even living where a Masonic Lodge existed, evidently labored under the same delusion as the Brethren at Cape Francois.

The Masonic Correspondence of WASHINGTON as represented upon these pages, should settle for all time to come the question, as to the esteem in which WASHINGTON held the Masonic Fraternity, of which he was an honored Member.

It is stated that there are still a large number of Washington papers in the Library of Congress, that are not accessible, as they have thus far not been cla.s.sified or indexed. Thus it is in the possibilities that there may be still further doc.u.mentary evidence found of Masonic import, in addition to such as are set forth upon these pages.

=_The Arms of ye most Ancient & Honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons._=

Footnotes:

[64] "Memorial Volume, Washington Sesqui-centennial Anniversary,"

Philadelphia, 1902, p. 165.

[65] "PROOFS of a CONSPIRACY against all the RELIGIONS and GOVERNMENTS of EUROPE carried on in the secret meetings of FREE MASONS, ILLUMINATI, and READING SOCIETIES, " collected from Good Authorities by JOHN ROBISON, A. M. --EDINBURGH, 1797.

[66] The original letter of August 22, 1798, is among the Washington papers in the Library of Congress; a photostat of same is in the Archives of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania.

[67] Cf. Historical sketch of the Evangelical Reformed Church of Frederick, Maryland, 1904, pp. 22-25.

[68] Cf. "Washington, The Man and Mason," p. 288.

[69] _Vide_ "Sesqui-Centennial Anniversary of the Initiation of Brother George Washington before quoted," p. 149.

[70] Cf. Chapters II and III _supra_.

[71] Cf. "Washington, The Man and Mason," p. 286.

[72] _Ibid_., December 20, 1789. His excellency, General WASHINGTON, unanimously elected Master; Robert McCrea, Senior Warden; William Hunter, Jr., Junior Warden; William Hodgson, Treasurer; Joseph Greenway, Secretary; Dr. Frederick Spambergen, Senior Deacon; George Richards, Junior Deacon. Extract from Minutes, p. 288.

[73] _Vide_ "Freemasonry in Pennsylvania, 1727-1907," Vol. I, Chapter X, pp. 295 _et seq_.

[74] _Ibid._, Vol. I, Chapter XII, pp. 399 _et seq_.

_Vide_ "Washington and his Masonic Compeers," Chapter VIII, pp. 149 _et seq_.

[75] _Ibid._, pp. 86-87. Also records of King Solomon's Lodge, No. 1, Poughkeepsie, New York.

[76] _Ibid._, pp. 150 _et seq_.

[77] _Ibid._, pp. 139 _et seq_.

[78] WASHINGTON, so far as known, attended the following public Masonic functions:

1. Procession in Philadelphia, Festival of St. John the Evangelist, December 28, 1778.

2. Festival of St. John the Baptist, June 24, 1779, with the American Union Lodge, at the Robinson House on the Hudson, New York.

3. Festival of St. John the Evangelist, December 27, 1779, with American Union Lodge, at the Morris Hotel, Morristown, New Jersey.

4. Festival of St. John the Evangelist, December 27, 1782, with King Solomon's Lodge, at Poughkeepsie, New York.

5. Festival of St. John the Baptist, June 24, 1784, with Lodge No. 39, at Alexandria, Virginia.