However, once the seat of power was secured, a furious Lincoln dispatched Union troops to seize Baltimore at night and occupy the Charm City for the remainder of the war. This short gives us comments from the Wibberlys, Cage, The Mysterious and Secret Order of the Knights of the Golden Circle author Dr. Roy Roush, Rebel Gold author Warren Getler, and actor Christian Camargo. Robert E. Lee surrendered the last major Confederate army to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865. Some 250,000 to 300,000 oath-bound members were said to have existed in the Midwest. Despite the hundreds of Knights of the Golden circle who had swarmed near the Mexican border, the invasion never happened. [citation needed] The membership, scattered from New York to California and into Latin America, was never large. They opposed the abolitionists, Northern churches, and other Yankee movements that sought to "interfere" with the Southern economy, Southern society, and way of life. The K.G.C. DAILY GAZETTE & COMET [BATON ROUGE, LA], April 6, 1860, p. 2, c. 3 Knights of the Golden Circle.This organization, whose sole aim at presents seems the invasion of Mexico and assists in the establishment of a new government, has caused some interest, especially among the young men of the city, many of whom are unemployed.They have formed an association, and for some time past have been . The Knights of the Golden Circle or KGC were a secret society during the American Civil War period. During the course of the war, from neutral territory, Kane and his cohorts would orchestrate multiple attacks against the Union such as fire bombings, train derailments, and even bank robberies. Knights of the Golden Circle made post-war "appearance" During the 1863 Gettysburg Campaign dozens of Confederate soldiers, including generals Jubal Early and J.E.B. Included within the circle were individuals from some of the Northern States who sympathized with the south and their belief in slavery. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. You must there are over 200,000 words in our free online dictionary, but you are looking for one that's only in the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary. dvd extra Plot summary Add synopsis Genre Short According to the book titled JESSE JAMES WAS ONE OF HIS NAMES by Jesse James III (the grandson) and Del Schroeder, Jesse James was indeed a prominent member of the KGC and hid large quantities of stolen riches in various locations on behalf of the secret society. Although nominally a secret society, the existence of the Knights of the Golden Circle was not, in fact, a secret. Although nominally a secret society, the existence of the Knights of the Golden Circle was not, in fact, a secret.Knights of the Golden Circle. However, it is possible that the Knights tallied closer to 50,000 by 1860, given that there was a membership of 16,000 in California, 8,000 in both Texas and Kentucky, and there were castles established in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and not to mention some 15,000 men who had joined up with the KGC following the dissolution of the OLS. decided to send undercover New York City detectives to Baltimore to root out the conspiracy. Henry Grob and Theodore Jones showing off their find. Twiggs was appointed a major general in the Confederate States Army on May 22, 1861.[14]. Start by marking "The Knights of the Golden Circle: The History and Legacy of One of 19th Century America's Most Notorious Secret Societies" as Want to Read: . In 1859 George Bickley, a freebooter and adventurer, launched a fraternal order which proposed the establishment of military colonies of Americans in Mexico. The proposed territory of the Golden Circle included the Confederate States, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and northern parts of South America. 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. Milligan, they were imprisoned for their activities. 1,880 likes. While we dont have too much detail on the Knights and their history is mired in rumor, we do know their ultimate goal: to create an empire that would stretch from the Caribbean to the Pacific built on tobacco, cotton, sugar, and the blood and sweat of slaves. 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.[3]. . Secretive organizations such as the K.G.C. This circle of countries would represent the golden circle of the KGC, the knights of the golden circle. [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. The Order of the Golden Circle is the womens auxiliary of the United Supreme Council, 33, Ancient & Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Prince Hall Affiliation, Southern Jurisdiction, USA, Inc. Golden Circle is an alternative perspective to existing assumptions about why some leaders and organizations have achieved such a disproportionate degree of influence. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. convention held in 1860, the organization was 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. Bickley then occupied himself with other projects during the mid-1850s, and the K.G.C. The team is. 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. American Civil War/End dates An Authentic Exposition of the K.G.C. Knights of the Golden Circle, or, A History of Secession from 1834 to 1861, by A Member of the Order (Indianapolis, Indiana: C. O. Perrine, Publisher, 1861). As the Knights of the Golden Circle was a very well-funded organization, the Spanish government was to be approached to buy Cuba first. Hudson, Linda S. "The Knights of the Golden Circle in Texas, 18581861: An Analysis of the First (Military) Degree Knights", p. 53, in Howell, Kenneth W., ed. Perhaps this should be expected, after all, for a secret society. Knights of the Golden Circle, a semi-military secret society that was active in the Midwestern states during the American Civil War. The symbols of Rich Mountain fit the mid-1800's timeframe for the Knights of the Golden Circle, a secretive organization formed in 1854 to establish a slaveholding empire from the South as well . What is the ISBN number for Knights of the Golden Circle? [10] In the spring of 1860, Elkanah Greer had become general and grand commander of 4,000 Military Knights in the KGC's Texas division of 21 castles. Mayor Brown and Marshal Kane were soon arrested and thrown into jail without trial. 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. I presume we will receive orders soon to arrest them, to prevent them from going into Mexico.. While the North was certainly not slavery-free, its economic system did not rely solely on the forced labor of enslaved African-Americans. Because the New Orleans men disbanded, they could not meet up with another contingency of Knights gathered around the Mexico border later in March 1860. Fifty states would be carved from Mexico, calling for 50 senators and 60 or more congressmen to represent their interests in the legislative branch of government and thereby ensure that the rights and desires of the South would be heard and acknowledged. The order and its alleged influence sparked the formation of Union League clubs to carry on counterpropaganda. Plots were hatched to invade Cuba, Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, and other lightly-defended Latin American countries. Updates? [citation needed] Mexico and Central America had no interest in being part of the United States. Led by Americas Southern upper class, this empire would create a worldwide monopoly on tobacco, sugar, and cotton. Templar Knights. In 1864, it became the Order of the Sons of Liberty, with the Ohio politician Clement L. Vallandigham, most prominent of the Copperheads, as its supreme commander. Webb had always declined political office until the position of city collector was tendered him by Mayor Kane. Apparently, the bond between Webb and Kane was so tight that Kane was the one individual to whom Webb could not say no., But Kane died in office soon after. This keeps us from unlocking our full potential. Centering on Havana, this empire would be some 2,400 miles in diameterhence the name Golden Circle. Captain John J. Mattison, one of the 19th-century owners of the treasure house on Baltimores South Eden Street, had his own ship The Eliza Davidson, seized off the coast of Sierra Leone for such illegal activity. They also unite with Mexico and the rest of Central America. In 1859 George Bickley, a freebooter and adventurer, launched a fraternal order which proposed the establishment of military colonies of Americans in Mexico. Pinkertons report included the astonishing detail that Marshal Kane himself was likely involved with the plot or at least would offer Lincoln little or no protection because of hisloyalty to the rebel cause. Gen. George Bickley assembled a group of five men whose names have since been lost. Captain Mattison, the secret slaver, lived just around the corner from Southern sympathizer Saulsbury on adjoining Eden Street, site of the 5,000 gold coins. While the Knights dreamt of a slave empire, their more immediate concern was Mexico. Corrections? Although . Why did President Lincoln jail opponents of the war? At a Freemason memorial service for Grand Master Charles Webb, his Masonic brothers recited a poem in his memory a poem written by Albert Pike, the most powerful Freemason of his generation and the long suspected head of the secretive Knights of the Golden Circle. Some of that money was set aside (buried) in anticipation of funding Latin American expeditions that never materialized. Signup today for our free newsletter, Especially Texan. In late 1863, the Knights of the Golden Circle were reorganized ( sans Bickley) as the Order of American Knights and again, early in 1864, as the Order of the Sons of Liberty, with Clement Vallandigham, the most prominent of the Copperheads, as its supreme commander, dissolved in 1864 after being exposed and members arrested and tried for treason. This convention adopted a largely Copperhead platform and selected Ohio Representative George Pendleton (a known Peace Democrat) as the vice presidential candidate. If Spain did not want to sell Cuba to the Knights, they would attack the island and take it over by force. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. The Knights of the Golden Circle emerged around 1858 when a secret society formed by a Cincinnati businessman merged with the pro-expansionist Order of the Lone Star, which already had 15,000 members. Though the theory is murky and evidence is thin, there is also speculation that the Ku Klux Klan was borne out of the Knights of the Golden Circle. The Knights were one of the country's more successful "Southern Rights Clubs" which agitated for more political power for the South. Members were known as Copperheads. YOUR WHY. 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. His sponsor and Companion Mason was the powerful Albert Pike from Arkansas, soon to be the supreme commander of all Southern Freemasons and the suspected national leader of the Knights of the Golden Circle. . However, it chose a pro-war presidential candidate, General George B. McClellan. His case galvanized abolitionists in the North. One of the angry Baltimoreans who joined the K.G.C. He feared secession of the Northwest. How did John Wilkes Booth use his status? The company was originally called 'Queensland Tropical Fruit Products', with 'Golden Circle' used as their brand name. Seal of the President of the Knights of the Golden Circle. Reports of K.G.C. Sam Houston, who reportedly became an initiate. Sir Harry Andrews spent more than 50 years building a headquarters for members of the Knights of the Golden Trail brotherhood. In most areas only a minority of its membership was radical enough to discourage enlistments, resist the draft, and shield deserters. As Lincolns train and entourage left Springfield, Illinois on its several-day winding journey across the country towards its eventual final stop in Washington, D.C., alarm bells started to go off. Baltimores native son, George Herman Babe Ruth revolutionizes the game of baseball by launching 60 home runs in a season. Although civil and military authorities made strenuous efforts to uncover the order and charges abounded in newspapers and in political oratory, no single member or unit of the organization was ever conclusively brought to light. Who were the Knights of the Golden Circle? Seeking out his friend Kane and the colonels Confederate Secret Service comrades, Booth proposed a scheme to kidnap President Lincoln and to hold him for ransom in exchange for thousands of Confederate prisoners. The "golden trail" refers to the Ten Commandments, but Russell says . Linked to the Freemasons and the ceremonies of Freemasonr. That C.E.O. 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. The place they chose to stay, disguising themselves as rebel hotheads, was The Fountain Hotel. The Knights of the Golden Circle was a mysterious southern-based society that set out in 1859 to establish a slave empire in Mexico. In late May 1864, Booth invested in an oil company in western Pennsylvania. But an unnamed U.S. soldier stationed near the insurgents wrote in a personal letter that although these men had gathered, their intentions seemed unclear and disorganized: There are three or four hundred men encamped here, supposed to be K.G.Cs or filibusters. They decided to hire Allan Pinkerton and his Pinkerton Detective Agency to spy on the Baltimore conspirators. Donald S. Frazier, Blood & Treasure: Confederate Empire in the Southwest (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1996). The senior Webb had passed away, leaving sons Charles, Jr. and James in charge. Knights of the Golden Circle, a semi-military secret society that was active in the Midwestern states during the American Civil War. Various clandestine actions were undertaken . In Baltimore, American Northern Biography reveals , Booth even joined the Knights of the Golden Circle, a secret society against the North, which he did not share with his mother after promising her he would not join any military groups. George Washington Lafayette Bickley is often referred to as a Cincinnati Conman as he tried to pass for a medical doctor in the alternative field of electric medicine but he was discovered to be without a degree. The Knights of the Golden Circle really did exist. All copyrighted materials included within the Handbook of Texas Online are in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. 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. The TSHA makes every effort to conform to the principles of fair use and to comply with copyright law. . 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. National Archives CatalogA list of identification rules for the Knights of the Golden Circle. Knights of the Golden Circle. U.S. Library of Congress/Getty ImagesRuins stand in front of the Confederate Capitol, circa 1865, in Richmond, Virginia. A journalist reported that: This section of the country is filled with members of this mysterious organization, and their campfires are increased every night by new parties arriving during the dayIt is reported that 300 of them are in this vicinity and on the way to GoliadA company of thirty came in today from Baltimore, under Lieut. In 1991, he found a cache of 1800s coins totaling $400. Dante The Opera Artists; Dante Virtual Opera; Divine Comedy; About IOT. Many prominent Texans joined the K.G.C., and Bickley even courted Gov. Milligan, they were imprisoned for their activities. 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 moved the KGC to the South. Frank L. Klement, Dark Lanterns: Secret Political Societies, Conspiracies, and Treason Trials in the Civil War (1984). The Golden Circle advocates businesses starting with why they are in existence and then developing a product to suit - as opposed to the reverse. The companys main factory sat just off Pratt Street by the Inner Harbor, where Captain Mattison docked his ships, and slaves were held in pens to be sold South. Saulsbury felt so indebted to the Armstrongs that he named his first-born son James Armstrong Saulsbury. Due to a planned power outage on Friday, 1/14, between 8am-1pm PST, some services may be impacted. 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. But in the South, things were quite different. 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. Your why is your underlying purpose and belief. The Knights of theGolden Circle, according to most authorities, ceased its operations in 1916 for two primary reasons. An army of 16,000 men would protect the emigrants and the terms of the treaty with Mexico, thus ensuring American dominance. Now it was John Wilkes Booths turn to be upset. 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. 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. 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. For their assistance, Maximilian rewarded the Knights of the Golden Circle $12.5 million in gold, and Jesse James $5 million. One of his first moves in office would be to appoint his longtime friend Charles Webb as tax collector for the city. According to the Texas State Historical Association, the Knights of the Golden Circle originated in Lexington, Kentucky, fittingly on July 4, 1854. 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). C.O. Wilmer McLean and his family sit on the porch of his house, where Confederate General Robert E. Lee signed the terms of surrender to Union General Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865 in Appomattox Court House, Virginia. A successor organization, the Sons of Liberty, was alleged to have taken its place. The Knights of the Golden Circle In 1854, according to the Texas State Historical Association, General George W. L. Bickley brought together five men who founded the Knights of the Golden Circle. Adagio Overview; Examples (videos) Meanwhile, Colonel Kane was waiting patiently in a remote, out of the way location in rebel-held Shenandoah Valley, Virginia. In late 1864 as the Souths position grew increasingly desperate, John Wilkes Booth traveled to Montreal with an audacious plan.