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This secret society hatched a plot to protect and extend slavery, arguably the most contentious issue in the history of the United States. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. A secret group is known as the golden circle organised by high ranking Confederates holding on to the idea and cruelty of slavery.Subscribe to Discovery TV f. Alexander the Greats epitaph expressed the sentiment that the world is not enough. In the mid 19th century United States, a group of Southern men known as the Knights of the Golden Circle subscribed to a similar philosophy. A successor organization, the Sons of Liberty, was alleged to have taken its place. University of CincinnatiGeorge 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. Originally, the KGC advocated that the new territories should be annexed by the United States, in order to vastly increase the number of slave states and thus the power of the slave-holding Southern upper classes. The Knights of the Golden Circle (K. G. C.) was a secret society founded by George W. L. Bickley on July 4, 1854. His plot was discovered, and led to greater distrust of secret societies and Copperheads in general. The Spanish possessions of Cuba and Puerto Rico and the Empire of Brazil continued to depend on slavery, as did the Southern United States. They opposed the abolitionists, Northern churches, and other Yankee movements that sought to "interfere" with the Southern economy, Southern society, and way of life. Knights of the Golden Circle, a semi-military secret society that was active in the Midwestern states during the American Civil War. 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. The group included notable figures such as Elkanah Greer, a colonel of the Third Texas Cavalry, and future governor of Texas L. Sullivan Ross. Sam Houston, who reportedly became an initiate. The Knights of theGolden Circle, according to most authorities, ceased its operations in 1916 for two primary reasons. His case galvanized abolitionists in the North. 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). Mayor Brown and Marshal Kane were soon arrested and thrown into jail without trial. The overarching goal of Bickleys secret organization was simple, if not a little grandiose: to create a slavery-fueled empire known as the Golden Circle.. What was the ultimate goal for the Knights of the Golden Circle? He used his status to accost Lincolns abolitionist efforts on his tours throughout the North and South. Texas State Historical Association (TSHA), http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. sought to have newly freed slaves returned to Africa, and they opposed the international ban of the African slave trade that exported additional slaves from that continent. Every penny counts! Later, during the 1850s, businessman Armstrong would expand his empire by opening a downtown insurance firm that specialized in insuring ships cargoes. Banker Fletcher dismissed each of the three blackmailers curtly, but their claims that they had Golden Circle ties fitted into the public concept about the pro- Southern secret ~0ciety.I~ they were still digging right where, in his vision, . Along with a series of secret hand gestures, these tickets were supposed to protect the horses and other possessions of ticket holders from seizure by invading Confederate soldiers. Some of that money was set aside (buried) in anticipation of funding Latin American expeditions that never materialized. Knights of the Golden Circle - A secret society formed in 1854 by George W.L. Bickley responded by calling a general convention of the K.G.C., which met in Raleigh, North Carolina, on May 711, 1860. By 1873 Kane had left the Jones Falls Commission to run successfully for Sheriff of Baltimore. Could this somehow all be a coincidence?? The leaders were sentenced to death or imprisonment by military commissions, but the sentences were suspended, and in 1866 the convictions were overturned by a decision of the U.S. Supreme Court. Members were known as Copperheads. As the Knights of the Golden Circle was a very well-funded organization, the Spanish government was to be approached to buy Cuba first. 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. 8Do Knights of the Golden Circle still exist? dvd extra Plot summary Add synopsis Genre Short Perhaps the greatest historical significance that can be assigned to the K.G.C. Operating as the strong-arm military branch for the society, its plausible that the KKK was an offshoot that grew into its own organization over time. By that time, he had already begun working on his conspiracy to kidnap Lincoln. He sued, unsuccessfully, for the freedom of himself and his family as they were living in the free state of Illinois. They also unite with Mexico and the rest of Central America. The Golden Circle gains a huge population and so has . 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. 11What are the three pillars of the Golden Circle? However, this dream of the Golden Circle would never be realized. World War One devastates Europe. One of his first moves in office would be to appoint his longtime friend Charles Webb as tax collector for the city. Then, as Booth and his henchmen planned for yet another attempt at seizing Lincoln and holding him hostage, Union forces succeeded in surrounding Richmond. 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. did not have the strength attributed to it in such reports. Perhaps this should be expected, after all, for a secret society. More importantly, the Northern states did gradually come to prohibit slavery. [15] In May 1861, members of the KGC and the Confederate Rangers attacked a building which housed a pro-Union newspaper, the Alamo Express, owned by J. P. Newcomb, and burned it down. It was the only time Lincoln would see Booth perform. Corrections? There exist reports of the KGC continuing after 1864 as a secret group which planned to start fighting the Civil War again, as soon as a generation or two had passed and they had regained their manpower and resources." . George W. L. Bickley was one such man. The Knights of the Golden Circle or K.G.C. The Golden Circle advocates businesses starting with why they are in existence and then developing a product to suit - as opposed to the reverse. In August 1861 The New York Times described the order as a successor to the Order of the Lone Star, which had been organized for the purpose of conquering Cuba and Nicaragua, succeeding in the latter cause in 1856 under William Walker before being driven out by a coalition of neighboring states. Texas State Historical Association Handbook of Texas. A group of Knights in New Orleans then publicly attacked him as a liar, coward, and inept leader. The group is said to have included men such as Albert Pike, John Wilkes Booth (assassin of President Abraham Lincoln . Such was the case in New Orleans in 1860 when a group of Knights, perhaps 1,000-large, descended into madness while Bickley was otherwise occupied. Their attempt was detected and they were seized on the night of their intended departure. During the 1863 Gettysburg Campaign, scam artists in south-central Pennsylvania sold Pennsylvania Dutch farmers $1 paper tickets purported to be from the Knights of the Golden Circle. 9What is the Order of the Golden Circle? Booth took a solemn oath to protect the South and the new Confederacy at all costs. He even served as a consultant to the 2007 movie, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, which touches on this legend. How did John Wilkes Booth use his status? Ollinger Crenshaw, The Knights of the Golden Circle: The Career of George Bickley, American Historical Review 47 (October . Alternate titles: Order of American Knights. 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. [6], Hounded by creditors, Bickley left Cincinnati in the late 1850s and traveled through the East and South, promoting an armed expedition to Mexico. What is the difference between endocervical and cervical? Indeed, with that kind of representation, slave-holding states could stop any and all abolitionist policies organized by free Northern states. These attempts appear to have been foiled by Lincoln having a change of plans. The company was originally called 'Queensland Tropical Fruit Products', with 'Golden Circle' used as their brand name. 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. 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. This convention adopted a largely Copperhead platform and selected Ohio Representative George Pendleton (a known Peace Democrat) as the vice presidential candidate. 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 . National Archives CatalogSeal of the President of the Knights of the Golden Circle. [citation needed], As abolitionism in the United States grew in opposition to slavery, the KGC members proposed a separate confederation of slave states, with U.S. states south of the Mason-Dixon line to secede and to align with other slave states to be formed from the "golden circle". That same year, Asbury Harpending and California members of the Knights of the Golden Circle in San Francisco outfitted the schooner J. M. Chapman as a Confederate privateer in San Francisco Bay, with the object of raiding commerce on the Pacific Coast and capturing gold shipments to the East Coast. This would, according to Bickley, protect the Southern states from being overwhelmed by the industrial and commercial interests of the North. The whereabouts of the Danville silver to this day is unknown. 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. The K.G.C. [3] In the United States, the new country's northern border would roughly coincide with the MasonDixon line, and within it were included such cities as Washington, D.C., St. Louis, Mexico City, and Panama City. How did John Wilkes Booth react to Lincolns speech? served in the Confederate Army not as members of the societys military division per se, but simply as soldiers in the southern cause. [1] Floyd used his position as Secretary of War to move munitions and men to the South towards the end of Buchanan's presidency. Seasoned scholars will find new ground trod here, particularly regarding the origins of the Knights. But that is exactly what happened to two Baltimore boys in 1934. . Knights of the Golden Circle, a semi-military secret society that was active in the Midwestern states during the American Civil War. 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. Alerted to a sudden change in plans by a Confederate courier, Colonel Kane rode his horse south day and night in time to rendezvous with the retreating Jeff Davis train in Danville. Charles Webb and his brother James were high-ranking Freemasons, with Charles having been selected to be Marylands youngest-ever Grand Master of Freemasonry in 1853. The Knights of the Golden Circle ( KGC) was a secret society founded in 1854 by American George W. L. Bickley, the objective of which was to create a new country, known as the Golden Circle ( Spanish: Crculo Dorado ), where slavery would be legal. Problem was, the troops were viciously attacked in Baltimore as the passed over the Pratt Street Bridge. Warren Getler and Bob Brewer, Rebel Gold: One Mans Quest to Crack the Code Behind the Secret Treasure of the Confederacy (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004). Rebel, In late 1863, the Knights of the Golden Circle (KGC) was reorganized as the Order of American Knights and again, early in 1864, as the Order of the Sons of Liberty, with Ohio politician Clement L. Vallandigham, most prominent of the Copperheads, as its supreme commander, with Its original object to provide a force to colonize the northern part of Mexico and the West Indies and thus . Was John Wilkes Booth in the Knights of the Golden Circle? He later increased his claims to 115,000, but such numbers were widely dismissed as fanciful. The order itself had little influence in the South and had few or no Northern adherents. Milligan, they were imprisoned for their activities. Copperheads Fernando Wood, former Democratic mayor of New York City, and Clement L. Vallandigham of Ohio were reputed to be the chief officers. The K.G.C. The Northern and Southern United States had adopted different approaches to slavery since the country was colonized. 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. Not by chance, on South Central Avenue at this time just 4/10th of a mile from Booths home lived a candle and soap company executive named Andrew Saulsbury. 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. During this time, the pro-slavery South and the anti-slavery North wanted to expand their borders and create new states aligned with their respective causes. ), a secretive organization created in 1854, proposed to establish a slaveholding empire encompassing the southern United States, the West Indies, Mexico, and parts of Central America. In an angry letter to Seward, Pierce denied that he knew anything about the KGC, and demanded that his letter be made public. 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. The TSHA makes every effort to conform to the principles of fair use and to comply with copyright law. Cassandra Morris Small letters, York County (PA) Heritage Trust files. northwestern lacrosse. Timothy H. OSullivan/U.S. In the mid 19th century United States, a group of Southern men known as the Knights of the Golden Circle subscribed to a similar philosophy. What is the ISBN number for Knights of the Golden Circle? Both investigative teams came to the same startling conclusion Lincoln would almost certainly be murdered if he attempted to travel through Baltimore. According to the records of the K.G.C. George W. L. Bickley, a Virginia-born doctor, editor, and adventurer, was one of the founders of the K.G.C. Do Knights of the Golden Circle still exist? These Knights of the Golden Circle This enormous empire would have a diameter of 2,400 miles. Centering on Havana, this empire would be some 2,400 miles in diameterhence the name Golden Circle. California became a free state, slavery in Utah and New Mexico territories would be determined by popular sovereignty, and the slave trade in Washington, D.C. was dissolved. In the summer of 1859 an organization calling itself the Knights of the Golden Circle achieved national notoriety as an influential secret society formed to defend the rights southern slaveholders. 5 Reasons to Update Your Business Operations, Get the Best Sleep Ever in 5 Simple Steps, How to Pack for Your Next Trip Somewhere Cold, Manage Your Money More Efficiently in 5 Steps, Ranking the 5 Most Spectacular NFL Stadiums in 2023. On the left is George W. L. Bickley, head of the Knights of the Golden Circle. All copyrighted materials included within the Handbook of Texas Online are in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. A list of identification rules for the Knights of the Golden Circle. 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. Ruins stand in front of the Confederate Capitol, circa 1865, in Richmond, Virginia. Kane would be replaced on the Jones Falls Commission by Webb employee Andrew J. Saulsbury, now owner of the home with 5,000 gold coins buried in the basement. Henry Grob and Theodore Jones showing off their find. Kane would serve over a year in prison. ISBN 978--80715-004-7. Theres a conspiracy that Lincolns assassin was a member of this society. April 9, 1865 If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Unfortunately, this bit of history as is true with most of the Knights history may remain just legend. Houston, however, regardless of his interest in annexing Mexico to the United States, could not accept the K.G.C.s anti-Union stance and refused to support its schemes. The convention confirmed Bickley as leader and published a lengthy address to the people of the southern states that remains the most reliable statement of the K.G.C.s organization and goals. There, a military wing of the Knights planned to march onto the Rio Grande, the river that separates Mexico and the United States and, at first, it appeared that their mission was picking up support. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. [8] The plan was to prevent Lincoln from reaching Washington by capturing him in Baltimore. About the Author: Jack Myers is the author of several books, including Row House Days, Row House Blues, and The Delco Files as well as his book Knights Gold. had its beginnings in the formation of Southern Rights Clubs in various southern cities in the mid-1830s. Baltimores native son, George Herman Babe Ruth revolutionizes the game of baseball by launching 60 home runs in a season. After seeing no immediate profit, he backed out of the operation, losing most of his savings. In Cuba, the issue was complicated by the desire of many in the colony for independence from Spain. The Texas KGC supported President of the United States James Buchanan's policy of, and draft treaty for, protecting routes for U.S commerce across Mexico, which also failed to be approved by the U.S. The so-called Compromise of 1850 further extended this political tightrope. But a majority don't focus on why. Bickley of Ohio, a charlatan jack-of-all-trades with . Some argue that the Knights buried millions of dollars in stolen U.S. Army payrolls in locations across the Southwest, where the money (now worth billions) remained under guard into the mid-twentieth century and perhaps even now. 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. Various clandestine actions were undertaken . Many plots, including the plot to infect the North with a yellow fever epidemic, would be hatched at The Fountain. In 1846, it was revealed that Junius Booth had neglected to divorce his first wife before eloping with his second, Mary Ann, 25 years before. Kane was suspected of being the mastermind behind an aborted plot to free two thousand rebel prisoners from a Union military prison on Lake Eerie. His case galvanized abolitionists in the North. The new charges, said Lincoln on receiving Hays report, were as puerile as the Knights of the Golden Circle. Treason trials against members of the Sons of Liberty in Indianapolis on the eve of the election of 1864 furnished campaign material for the Republicans. Leaders of the K.G.C. With the early 1900s death of Thomas Armstrong, the man likely responsible for the stash of coins found on-site at The Fountain Hotel in 1870, no one is left who was originally involved with the burial of the coins in the cellar at the treasure house on South Eden. He feared secession of the Northwest. Linked to the Freemasons and the ceremonies of Freemasonr. Both Baylor and Trevanion Teel, Sibley's captain of artillery, had been among the KGC members who rode with Ben McCulloch. European colonialism and dependence on slavery had declined more rapidly in some countries than others. K.G.C., Records of the KGC Convention, 1860, Raleigh, N.C. (http://gunshowonthenet/AfterTheFact/KGC/KGC0571860.html), accessed August 27, 2010. Much of the Knights mission was based on another older secret society called the Order of the Lone Star (OLS). 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. This secret society hatched a plot to protect and extend slavery, arguably the most contentious issue in the history of the United States. 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. ), a secretive organization created in 1854, proposed to establish a slaveholding empire encompassing the southern United States, the West Indies, Mexico and parts of Central America. Theme: Envo Blog. With the national rise to power of Abraham Lincoln and his Republican Party, the K.G.C. There are no known photos of Henry Ford with any form of facial hair. Mexico would be acquired and divided into multiple slave-holding states with an appointed congressman. activity circulated for a few more years, but there is no dependable evidence that the organization survived the war in any meaningful way. The Knights merged with the Order of the Lone Star with the expansionist goal of forming a slave-holding empire that operated like the East India Company by annexing Mexico, the Caribbean Islands, and Central America into the United States. had its beginnings in the formation of Southern Rights Clubs in various southern cities in the mid-1830s. In 1859 George Bickley, a freebooter and adventurer, launched a fraternal order which proposed the establishment of military colonies of Americans in Mexico. Perrine, 1861 . The Origin of the OrderSouthern Rights' Clubsthe African Slave Trade and the acquisition of new Slave Territorythe first Organization in 1834, and its successthe Mexican War, and the South's interest in itProgress of the Slave Trade up to 1852Acquisition of Cuba, Repeal of the Missouri Compromise, Nicaragua Expeditions, etc . Senate. He sued, unsuccessfully, for the freedom of himself and his family as they were living in the free state of Illinois. Proudly powered by WordPress | He likely secured this appointment with the blessing of Charles Webb. : The Confederate States of America, the Confederacy's defeat in the Second Great War, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. accessed March 04, 2023, Victory by the Union in the Civil War destroyed the cause for which the K.G.C. Published by the Texas State Historical Association. 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. The sum of these treasures has been figured at about $2 million in the 19th century, which would make the mythic gold worth as much as $160 million today. The coins (at least most of them) were handed over to the police, and a prolonged legal battle ensued between the boys and the elderly landlords who owned the crumbling, inner-city tenement house. Still, the Knights of the Golden Horsehoe tell a compelling story. Robert E. Lee surrendered the last major Confederate army to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865. Armstrong would soon leave the running of the soap and candle enterprise to his trusted young executives Charles Webb, Jr., James Webb, Andrew Saulsbury, and nephew Thomas Armstrong. 7What companies use the Golden Circle? and at other times to different treasonous groups. until he found some of the treasures! But war itself was not be averted. In late 1860, it shifted its focus to supporting the secession movement and intimidating Unionists in the South. Booths fellow actors remember his chilling words upon hearing of Kanes arrest: I know George P. Kane well; he is my friend, and the man who could drag him from the bosom of his family for no crime whatever, but a mere suspicion that he may commit one some time, deserves a dogs death.. [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. These clubs were inspired by the philosophies of John C. Calhoun (1782-1850). . would spring into action to bring about Southern secession and the formation of the Confederate States of America. References: Ollinger Crenshaw, "The Knights of the Golden Circle: The Career of George Bickley," American Historical Review 47 (1941). With the outbreak of the war, however, Republicans charged that Democrats who opposed the conduct of the war were influenced by, or were members of, the Knights. 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.