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    Knights of the Golden Circle

    Excerpts from: THE KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE: A FILIBUSTERINGFANTASY by C. A. BRIDGES

    he association known as the Knights of the Golden Circle was originally organizedJuly 4, 1854, at Lexington, Kentucky, with five members. Its chief member,

    organizer, and source of inspiration was George W. Bickley. He was a native of

    Boone County, Indiana, but he was then making his home at Cincinnati. The organizationgrew slowly and never acquired a very large membership, although by 1860 there were

    local clubs widely spread over all throughout the South. That such an organization

    actually existed was not generally known then and is not widely known today. Reliable

    evidence indicates that the order had local clubs or meeting places in almost everysouthern state. More than twenty such local organizations can be located in Texas alone.

    Lodges are said to have existed in California and even in Mexico.

    When first organized the association is said to have had rather ambitious plans and

    objectives. The idea and name, Golden Circle, came from the proposal that with Havana

    as a center and a radius of sixteen geographical degrees or about 1,200miles, a great circle be drawn that would include Maryland, Kentucky, southern Missouri,

    all the states south of them, a portion of Kansas, most of Texas and Old Mexico, all of

    Central America, the northern part of South America, and all the West Indies. This areathey proposed to unite into a gigantic slave empire that would rival in power and prestige

    the Roman Empire of two thousand years ago. Within this dream-empire were the regions

    that produced nearly all the world's supply of tobacco, cotton, and sugar, and much of itsfinest rice and coffee. With a virtual world monopoly of these important commodities, it

    would have been in fact a rich region, stretching around the Gulf of Mexico like a greatgolden circle. Once firmly established, this empire would control the commerce of theGulf of Mexico, the West Indies, the Isthmian routes, the Mississippi, the Orinoco, and

    perhaps the Amazon. The dream was fantastic, but tremendously intriguing. Slaveholders

    who were becoming discouraged on account of the recent course of events in the UnitedStates cannot be blamed if they were fascinated with such a dazzling plan.

    The internal organization of the Order of the Knights of the Golden Circle wasundoubtedly changed from time to time. Just what these changes were and why and when

    they were made are of little consequence even if such facts could be positively

    established. By 1858 the ritual, by-laws, and constitution had been fairly well developed.

    The regalia and the initiation ceremonies were very impressive. The local units of thelodge were called "castles." The castles were divided into an outer and an inner temple.

    The candidate was admitted first to the outer temple for a period of probation and after

    proving himself sound on the essential questions was allowed to enter the inner temple.There were three degrees. The first was the military degree, whose members were called

    the Knights of the Iron Hand. This was the army of the organization, although not all

    members of this degree were pledged to become soldiers. Its members probably knewlittle of the real workings and motives of the organization. The second was the financial

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    degree. Members of this group were known as the Knights of the TrueFaith. The fee for joining this order was larger than that for the first degree. Its

    membership was not large, but this fee was probably the chief source of funds. The third

    was the governmental or political degree. Its members were called the Knights of theColumbian Star. Only a very few persons ever attained this degree.

    Source:http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/publications/journals/shq/online/v044/n3/contrib_DIVL4326.

    html

    Excerpts from McLagans A Peculiar Paradise.

    n 1861, secessionist sentiment found expression in the organization of a secret society

    that worked to defeat the pro-Union administration, resist the military draft, and plan

    the creation of a separate territory to be called the Pacific Coast Republic. Thisorganization was part of a national group calling itself Knights of the Golden Circle. An

    underground group, it had secret passwords and signs by which members could recognize

    one another. One member would stroke his mustache twice with the first two fingers ofthe right hand closed against the thumb. The response was a scratch behind the ear with

    the right hand. A conversation followed:

    "Were you out last night?"

    "I were."

    "Did you see that lone star?"

    "I did."

    "Which way did it point?""To the Southwest."

    "Right, brother.

    According to information obtained through infiltrators, in 1863 and 1864 there were

    roughly 2,500 members in at least ten groups in various Oregon communities: two inPortland, two in Salem, and one each in Scio, Albany, Jacksonville and Yamhill County.

    They bought weapons and practiced military drills in secret. William Gwin, one of theCalifornia organizers of the Knights, wanted to model the Pacific Coast Republic after an

    ancient Venetian republic. Universal voting rights would be discarded and labor provided

    by Chinese, Hawaiians and Negroes who would be imported and made slaves.

    Many prominent Democrats were rumored to be members of this organization, including

    Joseph Lane. In Washington D.C. he openly supported the Confederacy, suggesting that

    the North surrender and make peace. He returned to Oregon in disgrace, accused ofsmuggling guns for the Knights. In Dallas, Oregon, he was hung in effigy. His reception

    in Corvallis was more cordial and in a speech he affirmed his loyalty to the Union.

    Before he arrived at his home near Roseburg, he was injured by an accidental dischargefrom his rifle. He did not recover completely from the wound and spent the last twenty

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    years of his life a recluse, deserted by all his friends. His last companion was a blackyouth, Peter Waldo, who lived with him in a cabin on the banks of the Umpqua River.

    The Knights became openly militant in 1864, and it was rumored that members were wellarmed, particularly in the Long Tom and Siuslaw River valleys. Local pro-Union militia

    companies were organized and received weapons from the state arsenal, which washeavily guarded. Other secret societies called the Union League and Loyal League wereformed to oppose the Knights. These groups never had a large membership, and when

    they attempted to organize a separate political platform in Multnomah County, internal

    division resulted and the' organizations dissolved.

    When it became clear that the North was winning the war, the Knights of the Golden

    Circle began to vanish. Strong local militia and informers within the organization insured

    against any attempt to seize power. By 1866, the Oregonian exposed the organization andits members, some of whom were running for public office.

    Source: http://gesswhoto.com/paradise-chapter5.html