254 lines
15 KiB
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254 lines
15 KiB
Plaintext
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SHORT TALK BULLETIN - Vol.XII April, 1934 No.4
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WHERE WAS LAFAYETTE MADE A MASON?
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by: Unknown
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Brother Lafayette entered the Grand Lodge Above on May 20, 1834.
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Many Lodges in 1934 will dedicate meetings to a memory only less
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immortal than that of his friend and brother George Washington. To
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aid n such undertakings, this Bulletin sets forth the principal
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contradictory testimonies about this Masonic making.
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Julius S. Sachse, Grand Librarian if the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania,
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learned student and scholar. wrote (Brochure. 1916):
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<EFBFBD>No original documentary evidence is known to be in existence which
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records the initiation of General Lafayette in the Masonic
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Fraternity, nor in what Lodge or when it took place. It has always
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been a tradition in Masonic circles that General Lafayette was made a
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Mason in one of the Military Lodges at Morristown, New Jersey, where
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a Festal Lodge was held December 27, 1797, for which occasion the
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jewels and furniture and clothing of St. John<68>s Lodge No.1 of Newark,
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New Jersey, was borrowed. The meeting proved a great success, sixty-
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eight brethren being present, one of whom was George Washington.
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<EFBFBD>There is another tradition that General Lafayette was made a Mason
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in a Military Lodge which met at Valley Forge during the winter of
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1777-78, but no official records of such action have thus far been
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discovered.<2E>
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Dr. Fredrick W. Hamilton, Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of
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Massachusetts, eminent and learned Masonic scholar, write (The
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Builder, March 1921):
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<EFBFBD>Where and when La Fayette was made a Mason is not known. There are
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at least two quite different traditions, but neither rests on any
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very substantial basis or historic fact. Not improbably it was on
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the eve of his momentous diplomatic mission to France when he was
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just twenty-two; almost certainly it was in the Army Lodge; very
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probably it was at the insistence and in the presence of Washington.
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What is more likely than that Washington should have desires to weave
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the bond of Masonic brotherhood around the young man who was to play
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so delicate and important a part in the relations between the great
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Mason who commanded the American Army and the other great Mason,
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America<EFBFBD>s greatest diplomat, Benjamin Franklin, who was American
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Ambassador to the French King.?
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<EFBFBD>When La Fayette made his last visit to the United States the Grand
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Lodge of Pennsylvania received him with distinguished honors, but
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before doing so appointed a committee to investigate and report upon
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his Masonic regularity. The committee reported that they had made
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careful investigation and were fully satisfied, but unfortunately
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their report gave no information whatever as to the evidence upon
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which this conclusion was based.
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<EFBFBD>Gould, in the <20>Library of Freemasonry.<2E> named the place of ceremony
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as Morristown, N.J., saying, <20>According to the late C.W. Moore, all
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the American Generals of the Revolution, with the exception of
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Benedict Arnold, were Freemasons. The Marquis de Lafayette was among
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the number, and it is believed that he was initiated in American
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Union Lodge at Morristown, N.J., the jewels and furniture used on the
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occasion being sent by St. John<68>s Lodge at Newark, N.J.<2E>
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Under the full page portrait of Lafayette which embellishes this
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article, appears this caption: <20>The Marquis Lafayette was admitted
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into Freemasonry in American Union Lodge which was held in a room
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over the old Freeman<61>s Tavern, on the north side of the green,
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Morristown, New Jersey, during the winter of 1777, at which time
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Brother George Washington presided in person.<2E>
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As Benedict Arnold <20>was<61> a Mason, his name was expunged from the
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rolls after he was proved a traitor; the reader must decide for
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himself how much weight can be given the testimony of <20>the late C.W.
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Moore.<2E>
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Past Grand Master Harry J. Guthrie, Delaware, Contributed a scholarly
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paper on Lafayette to <20>The Builder<65>, in March, 1925. From it the
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following is abstracted:
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<EFBFBD>General Lafayette arrived in this country on June 14, 1777; received
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a commission (honorary in effect) as a Major General from the
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congress and was later assigned to Washington<6F>s staff July 31, 1777;
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led part of the troops in the Battle of Brandywine on September 11,
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1777, where he was wounded in the leg and remained incapacitated at
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Bethlehem, Pa., until the later part of October. He volunteered for
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duty when scarcely able to place a boot on his foot, was assigned to
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the command of General Green and assisted in a reconnoiter with a
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view of giving battle to Lord Cornwallis, strongly entranced at
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Gloucester Point, N.J. The fact that the whole country between New
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York and Philadel-phia was held in British grip precludes the
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probability of a gathering of general officers of the American Army
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attending a Masonic function at Morristown, N.J. between the first
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of November and the fifteenth of December 1777, on which date
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Washington went into winter quarters at Valley Forge, Pa., where
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Lafayette was quartered until after Dec. 30, 1777, after which time
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he went to Albany, N.Y.
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<EFBFBD>This should satisfy the mind as to the utter improbability of his
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having taken any degrees at Morristown, N.J. in 1777. But I am
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inclined to think the printed date of 1777 an error and that it
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should read 1779 in accordance with the tradition. History and
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government records inform us that on October 21, 1778, Lafayette, as
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a Major General, was granted a leave of absence to go to France to
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return at his convenience. (Probably on a secret mission) Lafayette
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left Boston Harbor Fe. 11, 1779 for France; and the fact that he was
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presented with the Congressional sword at Havre on Aug. 24, 1779,
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comes pretty near proving that he arrived in France. On the return
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trip he sailed aboard the French frigate Herman from Rochelle March
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19, 1780, and landed at Boston April 28, 1780, and on May 13, 1780,
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the Continental Congress considered his return to America to resume
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his command as a fresh proof of zeal, etc., etc. So it was not
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possible for him to have received the degrees of Freemasonry at
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Morristown, N.J. in December 1779, and that is the reason a reference
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was not made to him and that his name was not included in the Lodge
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register which contained the names of Washington and the other sixty-
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seven distinguished visitors.<2E>
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Gould, in his <20>Military Lodges,<2C> says:
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<EFBFBD>In December, 1777, the Army retired to Valley Forge, and it was
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there - according to evidence which seems to be of a trustworthy
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character - that General Lafayette was initiated. The French
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Officer, though he had been received very warmly and kindly by
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General Washington, experience much uneasiness from the circumstance
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that he had never been entrusted with a <20>separate command.<2E> During
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the winter he learned there was a Lodge working in the camp. Time
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hanging heavily on his hands, and the routine of duty being
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monotonous, he conceived the idea that he would like to be made a
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Mason. His wish, on being made know to the Lodge, was soon
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gratified, the Commander-in-Chief being present and in the chair at
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the time of his initiation.
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<EFBFBD>After I was made a Mason,<2C> said Lafayette, <20>General Washington
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seemed to have received a new light. I never had from that moment
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any cause to doubt his entire confidence. It was not long before I
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had a <20>separate command<6E> of great importance.<2E><>
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Moore in his <20>Masonic Biography<68> states: <20>He had already become a
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member of the Masonic Fraternity.<2E> (This was prior to his coming to
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America.)
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Findel, in his <20>History of Freemasonry,<2C> states that Lafayette
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attended a Masonic meeting December 25, 1775, for the purpose of
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consecrating a lodge named Da La Candeur. Particular mention was
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made of Lafayette being present.
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Brother W.P. Strickland, D.D., stated in his late sixties that
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Lafayette was a member of the Fraternity when he came to America.
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Earl B. Dellzell, in the <20>Grand Lodge Bulletin,<2C> Iowa, November,
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1930, states<65>
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<EFBFBD>In the proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Tennessee of 1825, pages
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133 and 135, the minutes of the Grand Lodge of Wednesday, May 4,
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1825, state: <20>Our illustrious brother General Lafayette was
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unanimously elected an honorary member of this Grand Lodge.<2E> Later
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we find: <20>Our illustrious brother General Lafayette was introduced
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by Bros. Andrew Jackson and G.W. Campbell, received with Grand
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Honors, and seated on the right of the W.W. Grand Master.<2E>
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<EFBFBD><EFBFBD>At the conclusion of the Grand Master<65>s address of welcome,
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Lafayette made a feeling and appropriate reply, in substance as
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follows:<3A>
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<EFBFBD><EFBFBD>He felt himself highly gratified at being so kindly welcomed by the
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Grand Lodge of Tennessee, and at being made an honorary member of
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that Lodge, in which he had been introduced by the distinguished
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brother Mason who had erected the lines of New Orleans, and, in
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technical language of the Craft, had made them <20>well-formed, true and
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trusty.<2E> He had, he said, been long a member of the Order, having
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been initiated, young as he was, even before he entered the service
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of our country in the Revolutionary War. He had never for a moment
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ceased to love and venerate the institution, and was, therefore,
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peculiarly delighted to see that it had spread its genial influence
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thus far to the west, and that his brethren here were not only
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comfortable, but brilliantly accommodated. He considered the Order
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as peculiarly valuable in this country where it not only fostered the
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principles of civil and religious liberty, but was eminently
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calculated to link the extremities of this wide republic together,
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and to perpetuate, by its fraternizing influence, the union of the
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States.<2E><>
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Contrast this with the statements made by Dr. George W. Chaytor,
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addressing Lafayette Lodge No. 14, A.F. & A.M., Wilmington, Delaware,
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January 18, 1875, on the fiftieth anniversary of its constitution.
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(Quoted from the Guthrie article in <20>The Builder,<2C> March, 1925):
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<EFBFBD>He was not a Mason when he landed in America, nor was he a Mason at
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the Battle of Brandywine. The Army under Washington, in December,
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1777, retired to Valley Forge, where they wintered. Connected with
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the Army was a Lodge. It was at Valley Forge that he was made a
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Mason. On this point there should be no second opinion - for surely
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Lafayette knew best where he was made a Mason. We have this
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statement from himself - made at the time he was the guest of the
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Grand Lodge of Delaware, and to members of that Grand Body. The
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statement he made was as follows:
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<EFBFBD>He had offered his services to this country from the purest motives,
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and he knew that, in his heart he had no selfish impulses. He found
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a people struggling for liberty against tyranny, and he put his whole
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soul in the cause. That Washington received him in the kindest and
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warmest manner, and never in any direct way showed the he had not the
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fullest confidence in his intentions and ability as a soldier, but
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yet, he could not divest his mind of a suspicion (that at times gave
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him great discomfort) that the General of the American Army was not
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altogether free from doubt in his case. This suspicion was
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engendered from the fact that he had never intrusted him with a
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separate command. This fact, he said, weighed upon him and at times
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made him very unhappy. With this exception, he had not the least
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cause for discomfort. During the winter (1777-78), as the Army lay
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at Valley Forge, he learned there was a Masonic Lodge working in
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camp. Time hanging heavy, and the routine of duty being monotonous,
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he conceived the idea that he would like to be made a Mason. He made
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his wish known to a friend, who at once informed him that he himself
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was a Mason, and would take pleasure in making his wish known to the
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lodge. This was done, and he was there made a Mason. He also stated
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that Washington was present and acted as Master of the Lodge at the
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time of initiation.<2E>
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<EFBFBD>This statement was made to members of the Grand Lodge, from some of
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whom it was received. I have no doubt that he said what I have here
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given, for the parties making the statement were gentlemen as well as
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Masons, and their public lives show the estimate their fellow
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citizens placed upon their honor and characters. I know that much
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doubt and contradiction had been bandied about the important point in
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Lafayette<EFBFBD>s life. Various places have been stated as the point of
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his initiation - but an Army Lodge was always the organization in
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which he secured light.
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<EFBFBD>I have not yet finished his statement - the later part is evidence
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of the former. In the beginning he stated he felt rather hurt that
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Washington had not shown sufficient confidence to entrust him with a
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separate command. Now listen to what he said later:
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<EFBFBD>After I was made a Mason, General Washington seemed to have received
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a new light - I never had, from that moment, any cause to doubt his
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entire confidence. It was not long before I had a separate command
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of great importance.<2E><>
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Past Grand Master Guthrie says of this writer:
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<EFBFBD>Dr. George W. Chaytor, well and favorably known, was a notable
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physician and enthusiastic Mason. He was born December 25, 1813,
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initiated September 7, 1841, raised November 2, 1841, and died April
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14, 1878; respected by all men. He served his lodge as Master and in
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1845 became a permanent member of the Grand Lodge of Delaware and was
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immediately elected Senior Grand Warden, Grand Secretary, 1849-59,
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Chairman of Committee on Foreign correspondence in 1875, elected
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Grand Master of Masons of Delaware in 1875.<2E>
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Just how much Dr. Chaytor really knew, and how much he was influenced
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by tradition is now only a matter of speculation. Even a reliable
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and worth witness may easily be misled in reporting on history a
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hundred years after the fact. It is interesting, at least, that
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Chaytor and Gould report the same language as coming from the lips of
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Lafayette as far as the <20>separate command<6E> is concerned.
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No attempt is here made to settle a question which has vexed the most
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learned. That Lafayette was an enthusiastic, loyal and devoted Mason
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no one can doubt; his reception on his final visit to this country
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was one long Masonic Pilgrimage with Grand Lodges and Lodges vieing
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with each other to do him honor. But just where he was <20>brought to
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light<EFBFBD> is so involved with contradictions, that only further
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discoveries seem likely, finally to settle it to the satisfaction of
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Masonic Historians.
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<EFBFBD>ADDENDUM<EFBFBD>
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In <20>The New Age<67> magazine for July 1941, Brother Ray Baker Harris,
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Librarian of the Supreme Council, 33 deg., Southern Jurisdiction,
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revealed the acquisition of a rare 18th century program of the
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inauguration of Lodge St. Jean de la Candeur in Paris in December,
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1775
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The Lodge had invited to the inauguration ceremonies <20>the Honorary,
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Regular and Subordinate Officers, and Deputies, of all Lodges
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composing the Grand Orient of France, and all brethren who could be
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recommended as regular Masons.<2E> Obviously the ceremonies were held
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<EFBFBD>In Lodge.<2E>
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Attached to the program is a Tableau of 100 <20>Les Chers Freres
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Visiteurs.<2E> The Marquis de Lafayette is listed among the visiting
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Brethren.
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While this seems to establish conclusively that Lafayette was a Mason
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in 1775 before coming to America, it leaves unanswered the question
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of when and where he was made a Mason.
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