Golden Circle, Dark Plot

Golden Circle, Dark Plot
By THE STAFF OF THE INDIANA MAGAZINE OF HISTORY
January 30, 2012

Photo: Harper's Weekly
It was suspected that Morgan's Raid--as pictured in this illustration from the August 15, 1863 edition of Harper's Weekly--was timed to coincide with an uprising of the Knights of the Golden Circle
http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/golden-circle-dark-plot/

During the Civil War, rumors flew in Indiana, as they did elsewhere in the North, that certain parts of the state were full of Copperheads–Southern sympathizers who, it was widely believed, were not only opposed to the president and the war but who were actively working for the defeat of the Union.

Letters and memoirs, as well as official documents from the period, have proven that there were indeed many Copperheads in Indiana.  More disputed, however, is whether any of these Southern sympathizers took their disagreement further into plans for the violent overthrow of the state government—plans that were said to be hatched in secret meetings of a society known as the Knights of the Golden Circle.

The 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.  By 1863, Indiana Governor Oliver Morton was convinced that these secret societies were forming in his state.  Morton accused the state’s anti-war Democrats, who opposed many of Lincoln’s policies and still favored reconciliation with the South, of trying to set up a “Northwest Confederacy” in Indiana.  Morton and other Republicans blamed the Knights for aiding and encouraging deserters and for a lag in the recruitment of volunteers. Morton also suspected that Morgan’s Raid had been planned “to coincide with an uprising of the Golden Circle” .

Was Morton correct, or were his charges a combination of war-time paranoia and convenient politics?  Beginning in the 1960s, historian Frank Klement wrote books and articles claiming that the Knights were almost entirely a fiction.  More recently, historian Jennifer Weber, who has studied the Copperheads across the North, says that historians “cannot dismiss” the sizable correspondence that proposes violent action against Northern interests.  One story that may give support to Weber, and to Morton’s claims from the 1860s, comes from Florence L. Grayston, of Huntington, Indiana.

In the 1940s, Grayston wrote about a story her father had told her from his own childhood.  One night a group of men came to the door asking for his father, a local doctor.  The doctor was blindfolded by the men and put into their wagon.  He later told the story of the night’s events to his sons.  After a long drive, they arrived at a barn where two masked men lay injured—one had a broken leg and the other had been shot in the hip.  The doctor attended his patients, being warned several times to tell no-one of what had occurred.

Later, in relating the story to his sons, the doctor told them that he had recognized at least one of the wounded men and others in the group as local acquaintances and friends and as members of the Knights of the Golden Circle.  He remarked that “if the roll of membership of the Knights should ever be published many people might be surprised.”  Florence Grayston recounted that her father would be “covered with goose pimples” when he told the story to her and that she, in turn, had “cold shivers down my spine” whenever she heard about the Knights.

We will never be certain as to whether Florence’s grandfather had an encounter with the Knights, but historians are increasingly convinced that there were Hoosiers among their membership, plotting to overthrow Indiana Governor Morton and Abraham Lincoln.

A Moment of Indiana History is a production of WFIU Public Radio in partnership with the Indiana Public Broadcasting Stations. Research support comes from Indiana Magazine of History published by the Indiana University Department of History.

IMH Source Articles:
Frank L. Klement, “Carrington and the Golden Circle Legend in Indiana during the Civil War,” Indiana Magazine of History 61 (Mar. 1965)
Florence L. Grayston, “Lambdin P. Milligan—A Knight of the Golden Circle,” Indiana Magazine of History 43 (Dec. 1947): 379-391.

The story of the abolitionists of Pekin, Ohio

From the history room @ The Pekin Public Library

Excerpt: "With the onset of the Civil War in 1861, Pekin was divided between the pro-slavery element, who favored the Confederacy, and the abolitionist and pro-Union element. In the early days of the war, the secessionist organization known as the “Knights of the Golden Circle” (which was something of a precursor to the Ku Klux Klan), boldly worked in support of secession and slavery. The Centenary says the Knights were “aggressive and unprincipled,” and “those who believed in the Union spoke often in whispers in Pekin streets and were wary and often afraid.”

Read the article in its entirety:
http://www.pekintimes.com/lifestyle/x1393365210/From-the-history-room-The-Pekin-Public-Library

The Knights of the Golden Circle Research and Historical Archives
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Knights_of_the_Golden_Circle
http://knights-of-the-golden-circle.blogspot.com
http://knightsofthegoldencircle.webs.com

Empire of the Knights of the Golden Circle

  It seems the Knights of the Golden Circle have again springboarded into the role playing arena. There is an Empire of the Knights of the Golden Circle at http://www.nationstates.net/nation=the_knights_of_the_golden_circle
  It is listed as a Free Market Paradise and while it tout's a strong economy its leading cause of death is exposure even though it was founded only a couple of days ago!

  NationStates is a nation building sim game created by Max Barry and based loosely on his novel Jennifer Government.  http://www.nationstates.net

The Knights of the Golden Circle Research and Historical Archives
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Knights_of_the_Golden_Circle
http://knights-of-the-golden-circle.blogspot.com
http://knightsofthegoldencircle.webs.com

kgcmastercastle · Knights of the Golden Circle - MC

There is a new yahoo group devoted to the restoration of the Knights of the Golden Circle as a "pro-Dixie, pro-Confederate fraternal membership and secret society consisting of small groups of members in voluntary association." found at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kgcmastercastle
It was founded January 11th, 2012.

Description

(Confederates and Copperheads follow the links below.)

HEADS UP: This is a Christian Crusader themed group and if of another religion there are plenty of organisations elsewhere. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.

The Knights of the Golden Circle (KGC) is a pro-Dixie, pro-Confederate fraternal membership and secret society consisting of small groups of members in voluntary association.

The KGC was originally organized July 4, 1854, at Lexington, Kentucky, with five members. By 1860 there were clubs everywhere below the Mason-Dixon line. Evidence shows the order had clubs in nearly every Dixie state. More than twenty organizations could be located in Texas alone.

"This section of the country is filled with members of this mysterious organization, and their camp fires are increased every night by new parties arriving during the day. The road is dusty with their constant movement, and from this place to Goliad it is said there is a continuous caravan of them, coming in small parties and large parties, on horseback and in wagons, armed and unarmed, with money and without it." --C.A. Bridges

To become a Knight Defender of Knights of the Golden Circle (KntD) and this secret society one should be prepared to show an even temperament, leave off cursing, do personal research in quest of Christian truths and promote the Order for the same said purposes. E-mail ccfpastor@inbox.com It's a secret order. Please do not list name, address and telephone number in forum postings. The KGC is not a Masonic organisation. Please visit the KGC Home page. (Posts made on this forum are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Knights of the Golden Circle.) --

The Knights of the Golden Circle Research and Historical Archives
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Knights_of_the_Golden_Circle
http://knights-of-the-golden-circle.blogspot.com
http://knightsofthegoldencircle.webs.com

SECRETS AND LIES

Mark A. Lause. 

A Secret Society History of the Civil War

University of Illinois Press, 2011

The influence of Freemasonry on American Independence is fairly well-known (e.g. from Baigent and Leigh, The Temple and the Lodge, which formed the basis for Dan Brown’s latest novel), but not much has been published, at least in Britain, about the involvement of secret societies in the American Civil War. This book is not entirely easy to read, because, for one thing, it is assumed that the reader will know a lot about the American Civil War already, which is not true of the average Briton, and there were a bewildering number of political movements flourishing at the time, even before one gets to the secret societies.

 

The latter were generally organised on quasi-masonic grounds, but espoused between them the whole spectrum of contemporary political views (in contrast to the Freemasons themselves, who were and remain avowedly apolitical). At the outset we are told of the initiation ceremonies of the Brotherhood of the Union, at which a costumed herald announced “Behold the enemies of mankind!” Curtains then parted to reveal a table covered with scarlet on which were a Gospel and a copy of the Declaration of Independence, but then those present “expressed their contempt for the ethics of the Gospel and the values of the Declaration.” Apparently they were not, as would seem at first sight, unpatriotic, but thought that the constitution needed radical reform.

 

The John Brown League, founded after the execution of their eponymous hero in 1859, required their members to take an oath to devote their lives to the destruction of American Slavery: “Although it had officers, grips, signs, and obligations like a fraternal order, it was a paramilitary secret society . . . short-lived, it represented a considerable step toward the professionalization of revolutionary politics in America.”

 

At that time, the federal Fugitive Slave Law required that runaway slaves must be returned to whence they came, even if they fled to northern states that themselves had no slavery. The only way they could get to safety was to go all the way to Canada. In this they were aided by such societies as the African-American Mysteries, the Order of the Men of Oppression. Certain signs and passwords were used in the course of escape, so that an applicant might say “Cross” to which the counterword was “Over”, followed by a "seemingly meaningless exchange about travel” to “a place called Safety”. Or, the fugitive could inquire with a sign, “pulling the knuckle of the right forefinger over the knuckle of the same finger on the left hand. The answer was to reverse the fingers as described.” It was said that tens of thousands were helped to escape the United States by these societies.

 

One paradox of writing about secret societies is that, of course, if they were really secret, then nothing could be known about them, indeed there may well have been such societies whose very names are lost to history. This may explain why Lause has so little to say about, for instance, the “ultra-feminist Order of Patriarchs”, of which all he tells is the obvious remark that it was “oddly named”, and that it was followed by the Sacred Order of Unionists A great exception is the Knights of the Golden Circle (KGC for short), who although nominally secret were much given to making public pronouncements about what they were doing and planning, so that there comes a different problem, that is, how much of what they said about themselves was true.

 

The founder, George Bickley, claimed to have been born in Russell County, Virginia, in 1823, yet, on other occasions, in Boone County, Indiana, or in 1819. He would say that he saw “his little brother and sister murdered by blacks during a servile insurrection, urged on by Abolitionists,” in 1831, which the surviving family records show was not true. He boasted that he had studied medicine and Baltimore, and surgery in London, for neither of which is there any evidence. In 1846 he allegedly fought against both the Mexicans and the Seminole Indians, though an extant letter locates him Florida at that time.

 

Returning at last to Russell County, he practised phrenology, the since discredited art of deducing personality from the bumps on the head, and helped found the first Masonic lodge in the community. About 1852 he moved to Ohio, and told people that he had retired from practising medicine. He was able to marry a rich widow. In March 1853 he delivered a ‘major address’ to the Grand Circle of Ohio, Brotherhood of the Union, in which he had become prominent.

 

Eventually, Bickley presided over the foundation of the Knights of Golden Circle, at some time in the 1850s – the exact date, needless to say, being obscured. The name derived from a term used by southern politicians to mean a hypothetical territory to be formed “by extending the United States west and south into Mexico, then east along the Yucatán, and up through Cuba.” Sometimes, Bickley would assert that it was a North American branch of a venerable and widespread Mexican order, Los Caballeros del Circulo de Oro.” Though the details of their initiations do not seem to be known in detail, it included an oath to “do all I can” to keep “Negro, mulatto, Indian or mixed blood” people from obtaining citizenship, and to prevent any Roman Catholic for taking public office. In religion, Bickley espoused “what later Protestants would call Fundamentalism.” Naturally, they were for the Southern Confederacy.

 

Politically, the KGC were said to have been continuation of the Know-Nothing party, who had unsuccessfully campaigned for the re-election of Millard Fillmore, the thirteenth president of the United States (1850-53, he installed the first bathroom in the White House) – it is understandable that they had little success under that name. Originally it was stated that their intention was to raise a company of men who would travel the country “giving exhibitions of the uniform and drill of the troops of all nations”, but, although there were plenty of ‘interested’ men, few if any could afford the $600 that Bickley demanded in advance from anyone who wished to join. Since his intention was not only to put on a show, but to invade Central America, he decided to reform it as a secret society, which he thought would produce a handsome income from (presumably more modest) initiation fees.

 

In June 1861 the Louisville Journal related how the Town Guard in Harrodsburg, investigating noises from an old shooting gallery, stumbled onto “an assembly of Knights of the Golden Circle in masks!” A guard knocked away the disguise of one of them, “and a lawyer and secessionist stood forth.” This is a little too reminiscent of fiction to be believable.

 

What the Knights of the Golden Circle actually achieved, apart from publicity, is unclear. They announced that they were going to invade Mexico, partly in order to seize the wealth of the Romish church there, but never did. The group ultimately “became largely a victim of its own self-promotion”, as from early 1862 there were arrests and trials for alleged involvement.

 

Bickley died in 1867, and it appeared that his organisation had died with him. Instead, “Secessionist sympathizers, as well as antiwar Northern Democrats – the “Copperheads” – tried to form local secret societies, under the name of the Mutual Protection society, the Circle of Honor, or the Circle or Knights of the Mighty Host. Kentucky and Tennessee had a Night-Hawk Association.” An obscure man named Emile Longuemare founded the Order of American Knights, with an inner circle called the Sons of Liberty, “which may be the same association identified with the Copperheads.”

 

But shortly afterwards the Knights of the Golden Circle reformed, in Kentucky and Tennessee, as “the Greek for circle – Kuklos – with the alliterative addition of Klan”, under which name they have of course survived ever since. The name was later modified to the Ku Klux Klan, either because most of its members were only semi-literate, or because this was believed to be the sound made by the cocking of a rifle. In view of their continued anti-Catholic stance, it is ironic that their dress is derived from that worn by Catholic penitents. -- Gareth J. Medway.

 

http://pelicanist.blogspot.com/2012/02/secrets-and-lies.html

The Knights of the Golden Circle Research and Historical Archives
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Knights_of_the_Golden_Circle
http://knights-of-the-golden-circle.blogspot.com
http://knightsofthegoldencircle.webs.com

Gideon Plan Update

Gideon Plan Update
By Dan Bracewell

Its been awhile since I’ve posted and I think I should go ahead and put up something–for those of you who are following me (let’s see I think there might be one of you)–here’s whats going down with the Gideon Plan.

I’ve been doing a lot of research and have written about thirty scenes that may or may not make it into the final story. I have learned a hell of a lot about the Civil War during this time and based upon what I’ve learned, I’ve made some changes to the story premise and characters. Here’s a few of those.

Charles Gideon is the antagonist (it was William Talbot, but he wasn’t fitting with the theme).  His character is based primarily upon Nathan Bedford Forrest (with a touch of Stonewall Jackson and Chatham Wheat). He’s frontier-tough and a military genius. Unlike Forrest, he has gone to West Point (which historically would probably have been a deadly combination if it were true). He got his start with irregular warfare as a member of the Second Dragoons during the Mexican War fighting Mexican guerrilleros. He’s fought as a filibuster in Mexico and Nicaragua and as a mercenary in Italy. He’s a charismatic fanatic who believes God has made him the instrument in the expansion of the supremacy of the white race and the southern way of life.
The secret society, the Knights of the Golden Circle, is prominently featured in the story. Gideon’s guerrillas are the military arm of this Order.
There is a Union cavalry officer who is trying to find out who these mysterious guerrillas are at the peril of his life.
Gideon’s core group of guerrillas are men he has fought with for many years before the war and represent some of the toughest sons-of-bitches the world has seen including a Texas Ranger, a sharpshooting mountain man, a Cherokee tracker, a British Adventurer, and a bare knuckles and knife fighter from New Orleans.
Gideon is recruiting men of exceptional skill and courage who possess an unfaltering belief in Southern Rights and liberties from the ranks of the regular Confederate military.
As the war proceeds and the south’s plight becomes more desperate, Gideon’s guerrillas take on a more sinister character. This creates a fraction in the group as well as with the rest of the Confederacy.
This is all for now. I hope to get another sample chapter up soon.

About danbracewell
I live in St. Augustine with my wife and two daughters. I have a unique background in history and video games. My lifelong goal is to marry the two concepts. I am a huge history buff and I love to write.

http://danbracewell.wordpress.com/2012/01/05/gideon-plan-update/

The Knights of the Golden Circle Research and Historical Archives
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Knights_of_the_Golden_Circle
http://knights-of-the-golden-circle.blogspot.com
http://knightsofthegoldencircle.webs.com

Knights Of The Golden Circle – Secret Society

Knights Of The Golden Circle – Secret Society
Posted: 5th January 2012 by johney in History-Archeology-Anthropology, NWO - Secret Societies - Cults

Brief overview from wikipedia:

The Knights of the Golden Circle (KGC) was a secret society. Some researchers believe the objective of the KGC was to prepare the way for annexation of a golden circle of territories in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean for inclusion in the United States as slave states. During the American Civil War, some Southern sympathizers in the Northern states such as Ohio, Indiana, and Iowa, were accused of belonging to the Knights of the Golden Circle.

1. Authentic Exposition of the KGC 1861 .pdf
2. Laird C – Copperhead Conspiracy KGC 1864 .pdf
3. Lesh U S – A Knight of the Golden Circle .pdf
4. Narrative of Edmund Wright KGC 1864 .pdf
5. Pitman B – Trials for Treason KGC 1865 .pdf
6. Stidger – Knights of the Golden Circle – Treason History of American Civil War (1903) .pdf
7. Stidger F G – Treason history of the Order of Sons of Liberty 1864 .pdf
8. Vallandigham C L – Copperhead conspiracy in the North-West – an expose of the treasonable order of the Sons of Liberty 1864 .pdf
9. http://knights-of-the-golden-circle.blogspot.com/

Video:

Brad Meltzer’s Decoded – Confederate Gold.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yjd_CBetxZU&feature=player_embedded

http://www.kipnews.org/2012/01/05/knights-of-the-golden-circle/