Washington as a loyal mason

George Washington has been studied from nearly every angle: soldier, statesman, surveyor, farmer, president, and founding father. Yet this old newspaper article presents him from another perspective—as a Freemason. Published in a fraternal section of the New York newspaper, The Argus, in 1902, “Washington as a Loyal Mason” preserves the story of his initiation, his Masonic honors, and the relics later treasured by the fraternity that claimed him as one of its most honored members.

Notice, in masonic records, they added 4,000 years to their dates. For example, 1752 was written 5752. At first glance, the date “5752” may look like a printer’s mistake, but in the world of Freemasonry, it opens the door to a deeper story. They were using the Masonic calendar, called Anno Lucis, meaning “Year of Light.” The wording reflects Masonic symbolism around light, knowledge, and creation.

This article was printed in The Argus, Feb. 16, 1902, p. 11:

WASHINGTON AS A LOYAL MASON

INITIATED IN FREDERICKSBURG LODGE NO. 4 IN THE YEAR 1752.

PATRIOTS IN FREE MASONRY

Honors Conferred Upon First President of United States by This Ancient Fraternity—Aprons and Emblems as Relics.

There is one name on the membership rolls of American Masonry which is, by common consent, exalted far above all others—that of Washington. Of the fact that “The Father of His Country” was a loyal member of their ancient society, that he was at one time a master of one of their lodges, and that his body was committed to its resting place in the tomb at Mount Vernon with Masonic ceremonies, Masonic craftsmen in this country have always been justly proud. True, many attempts have been made by enemies of the craft to discredit these facts, but they are matters of recorded history, amply vouched for by documentary evidence of a kind which defies successful impeachment.

The lodge at Fredericksburg, Va.—Fredericksburg Lodge No. 4—probably received its warrant from the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, its records dating back to September 1, 1752. On the lodge records, under date of November 6, 5752, (1752), appears the entry: “Received of Mr. George Washington for his entrance, £2:3.” The minutes of a lodge meeting held November 4 show that he was initiated on that night. Then follow these further entries:

“March 3d, 5753—George Washington passed Fellow Craft.”

“August 4th, 5753—George Washington raised Master Mason.”

Had the brethren gathered on these successive evenings to witness the “entering,” “passing” and “raising” of the young surveyor been endowed with prophetic vision, those important events in his Masonic career would doubtless have received more extended mention. It is an interesting fact that Washington took his first degree more than three months previous to his twenty-first birthday, although 21 years is now almost universally accepted as the age at which a man is eligible to entrance into the order.

Masons in the Revolution.

When the relations between the American colonies and the mother country became so strained that it was evident that war was inevitable, it was found that Freemasons, like all the other colonists, were divided in their allegiance. Among the Tories were Sir John Johnson, the last provincial grand master of the First Grand Lodge of New York, and William Franklin, the last of the royal governors of New Jersey, and at one time grand secretary of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. The latter was a son of Benjamin Franklin, but unlike his father, adhered to the Crown during the War of Independence. He sailed for England in August, 1782, and lived in that country until his death. Although his distinguished father once visited him, and they occasionally corresponded, the barrier between them was never broken down.

On the side of the patriots were many Masons whose names were destined to become famous in national annals. Chief among them, of course, was Washington himself. Peyton Randolph, the first President of the Continental Congress, was last Provincial Grand Master of the Masons of Virginia. General Joseph Warren was Grand Master of the Massachusetts Grand Lodge when he was killed in the battle of Bunker Hill. Tradition says that the lodge at the Green Dragon Tavern, in Boston, was the headquarters of the patriots of that vicinity, and that the chief guests at the famous Boston “Tea Party” began their march to the harbor from the lodge room. Paul Revere became the Grand Master of Massachusetts after the war, and in that capacity he signed an address to Washington from the Massachusetts Grand Lodge, dated March 21, 1797. General Lafayette, it is said, was made a Mason in Washington’s presence. During his visits to this country, accompanied by his son, George Washington Lafayette, in 1825, he was elected an honorary member and attended sessions of the Grand Lodges of Tennessee and Missouri, being introduced in the first-named by President Jackson, at one time Grand Master of Tennessee. Generals Knox, Wooster, Rufus Putnam, and many other Revolutionary leaders were also members of the Order which their commander-in-chief honored with his allegiance.

Masonic Honors to Washington.

Washington visited Philadelphia in December, 1778, while Congress was in session. Masonic services were held in Christ church on St. John’s Day, Monday, December 28, the Rev. William Smith, D. D., preaching the sermon. On that occasion about 300 brethren, including the members of the Grand Lodge, all newly clothed, formed in procession, “His Excellency, our illustrious Brother, George Washington, Esq., supported by the Grand Master and his deputy,” marching in the parade. An offering for charitable purposes was taken, amounting, it is said, to more than £400. By order of the Grand Lodge, Dr. Smith’s sermon was published in pamphlet form, and the proceeds of its sale devoted to helping the poor. It was prefaced by the following dedication:

“To His Excellency, George Washington, Esq., General and Commander-in-Chief of the Armies of the United States of North America, the friend of his country and mankind, ambitious of no higher title, if higher were possible, the following sermon, honored with his presence when delivered, is dedicated, in testimony of the sincerest affection and brotherly esteem of his merit. By order of the Brethren.

JOHN COATS,“Grand Secretary Pro Tem.”

From this time on Masonic honors were showered thick and fast upon Washington. It soon became the custom to devote the first toast at Masonic banquets to the theme, “General Washington,” to show him special honors whenever he visited a lodge, and a military lodge, for which a warrant was granted October 6, 1779, from the Massachusetts Grand Lodge, took his name. An attempt was made shortly after this to establish the office of “Grand Master General of Masons in America” and elect Washington to that position. Massachusetts Grand Lodge finally voted “that no determination upon the subject could, with the propriety and justice due the craft at large, be made by this Grand Lodge, until a general peace shall happily take place throughout the continent.” The subject was never again formally taken up, at least not with the same end in view, but there were many people who supposed Washington to be General Grand Master, and it is even said that a medal with a bust of him on the obverse and Masonic symbols on the reverse was issued, having on it, besides a Latin motto and the words, “Washington, President,” the initials “G. W. G. G. M.” — George Washington, General Grand Master.

Loyalty to Masonry.

The fact that Washington was a Freemason has always been a thorn in the side of the enemies of the fraternity, and numerous desperate attempts have been made at various times, but especially during the years when the anti-Masonic political movement was at its height, to prove either that he never was connected with the Order or that in the latter years of his life he disclaimed his Masonic affiliations. Of these two contentions, the former is hardly less preposterous than would be a declaration that Washington was never President of the United States, and the latter is based upon a complete misconstruction of a single clause in his Farewell Address and of one or two sentences in a private letter.

When Washington returned to Mount Vernon at the close of the war, the lodge in Alexandria, Va., addressed him a letter of greeting, and some months later he became its guest at the festival of St. John the Baptist, on which occasion he was made an honorary member of Alexandria Lodge No. 39. In November, 1788, the lodge, which had been working under a charter from the Provincial Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, applied to the Grand Lodge of Virginia for a new warrant, requesting further that “Brother George Washington, Esq., should be named in the charter as master of the lodge.” The request was granted, the lodge number being changed to 22. Washington, it may be added, had been elected master the May previous. In 1804 the lodge applied for a change of name, and the memory of its distinguished master has been perpetuated in the title, Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22.

One of the most interesting incidents in Washington’s Masonic life took place September 18, 1793, when, clad in the apron and other insignia of the order and holding in his hand an ivory gavel, he took a prominent part in the ceremonies attending the laying of the corner-stone of the national capitol. On this occasion the lodges represented were No. 9, of Georgetown, and No. 22, of Alexandria. Washington marched in the procession between the Grand Master on his left and the Worshipful Master of Alexandria Lodge No. 22, on his right.

Washington Masonic Relics.

There are still in existence many valuable Masonic relics of Washington, most of them the property of various Masonic institutions. Among them is the ivory gavel, already referred to as having been used by him at the laying of the corner-stone of the capitol, now owned by Lodge No. 9, of Georgetown, D. C. Another is the historic Bible on which he took the oath of office when first inaugurated as President. The ceremony took place in New York city April 30, 1789. The marshal for the day was General Jacob Morton, the master of St. John’s, the oldest lodge in the city. General Morton brought from the lodge room the Bible and the cushion of crimson velvet upon which it rested while lying on the altar. Upon this Bible the President took his oath of office, after which it was returned to its original resting place, where it has since remained, except when, on rare occasions, it has figured in some Masonic function. At the Masonic memorial exercises held at Mount Vernon December 14, 1899, commemorative of the 100th anniversary of his death, the Bible, jewels and three lights borne at Washington’s funeral were displayed.

When Lafayette visited this country in 1784 he brought as a present to his former chief and bosom friend a Masonic apron, made of white satin, with numerous Masonic ornaments worked in colored silk, the whole being the handiwork of Madame Lafayette. This, with other Masonic emblems, was presented in a handsomely finished rosewood box, also embellished with Masonic symbols. The apron remained at Mount Vernon quite a time after its owner’s death, but was finally presented to the Washington Benevolent Society, by whom, in turn, it was given to the Pennsylvania Grand Lodge. The box became the property of the Alexandria Lodge. Another historic apron was presented to Washington August 10, 1782, by Watson & Cassoul, a Franco-American mercantile firm, doing business in France. The apron and a Masonic sash were made at the firm’s order by some nuns at Nantes, and is of satin, wrought with gold and silver tissue, and having the flags of the United States and France mingled with various Masonic symbols. The latter is now in the possession of the Alexandria-Washington Lodge, and is kept in the box in which the Lafayette apron was originally placed. The Lafayette apron is worked in silk and has on the frontlet the Mark Master’s circle and secret letters, with a beehive as a mark in the centre.