Illustrated
Masonic Secrets
of America's Founding Fathers
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Culled from little-known Masonic texts of the 1800s and early 1900s, the "Illustrated Masonic Secrets of America's Founding Fathers" is a must-read for any Freemason or person curious about the Masonic ties of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere, John Sullivan and Joseph Warren. Consider these excerpts of letters contained in the book:
G. W. Snyder to George Washington - Aug. 22, 1798
"It was some time since that a book fell into my hands, entitled 'Proofs of a Conspiracy, etc.,' by John Robison, which gives full account of a Society of Freemasons, that distinguishes itself by the name of the 'Illuminati,' whose plan is to overturn all government and all religion, even natural, and who endeavor to eradicate every idea of a Supreme Being, and distinguish man from beast by shape only."
George Washington to G. W. Snyder - Oct. 24, 1798
"It was not my intention to doubt that the doctrines of the Illuminati, and principles of Jacobinism had not spread in the United States. On the contrary, no one is more satisfied of this fact than I am."
Read how the Freemasons set the cornerstones of the U.S. Capitol, Washington D.C., the Boston State House, the Washington Monument, and the Bunker Hill Monument. What is the true story behind George Washington's Temple of Virtue and Society of Cincinnati? Below is a section of the book where you can view the Masonic apron of George Washington given to him by General Lafayette of France.
The Masonic Apron of Washington
Washington proceeded to Mount Vernon immediately after resigning his commission at Annapolis, and arrived there on the following evening. It was the 24th of December, three days before the anniversary of St. John the Evangelist. A lodge of Freemasons had been formed in Alexandria, a few miles from his home, in the preceding February. It was working under a warrant from the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, and numbered, 39. Robert Adam was its Master, and many of Washington’s old friends and neighbors, in and about Alexandria, were its members. This lodge was preparing to celebrate the coming festival of St. John the Evangelist, on the 27th; and the following letter, signed by the officers of the lodge, was addressed to General Washington:
“Alexandria, 26th December, 1783.
“Sir—Whilst all denominations of people bless the happy occasion of your Excellency’s return to enjoy private and domestic felicity, permit us, sir, the members of Lodge No. 39, lately established in Alexandria, to assure your excellency, that we, as a mystical body, rejoice in having a brother so near us, whose pre-eminent benevolence has secured the happiness of millions; and that we shall esteem ourselves highly honored at all times your excellency shall be pleased to join us in the needful business.
“We have the honor to be, in the name and behalf of No. 39, your Excellency’s
Devoid friends and brothers,
Robert Adam, M.,
E. C. Dick, S. W.,
J. Allison, J. W.,
Wm. Ramsey, Treas.
“His Excellency General Washington.”
Washington had but two days ‘before returned to the quiet of his own loved homo, after years of toil and dangers in the camp and in the battle-field, and he might well have said to them:
“Now give mo rest; my years demand
A holiday, companions dear:
My days are drawing to an end,
And I would for that end prepare.
“Now give mo rest; but when ye meet,
Brothers, in that beloved spot,
My name with loving lips repeat,
And never let it be forgot.”
Washington was unable to attend this festival, but he sent to the lodge the following reply:
“Mount Vernon, 28th December, 1783.
“Gentlemen—With a pleasing sensibility, I received your favor of the 26th; and beg leave to offer my sincere thanks for the favorable sentiments with which it abounds.
“I shall always feel pleasure when it may be in my power to render service to Lodge No. 39, and in every act of brotherly kindness to the members of it, being with great truth,
“Your affectionate brother
and obedient servant,
“Go. Washington.
“Robert Adam, Esq., Master,
Wardens and Treasurer of Lodge No. 39.”
Washington’s feelings and employments on returning to private life may be best seen from his own correspondence; and from various letters of his written at that period, the following extracts are given:
“The scene is at last closed. * * * * On the eve of Christmas I entered these doors, an older man by nine years than when I left them. * * * * I am just beginning to experience that ease and freedom from public cares, which, however desirable, takes some time to realize. It was not till lately I could get the better of my usual custom of ruminating, as soon as I waked in the morning, on the business of the ensuing day; and of my surprise at finding, after revolving many things in my mind, that I was no longer a public man, nor had any thing to do with public transactions. ***** I hope to spend the remainder of my days in cultivating the affections of good men, and in the practice of the domestic virtues. ***** The life of the husbandman, of all others, is the most delightful. It is honorable, it is amusing, and with judicious management, it is profitable. ***** I have not only retired from all public employments, but I am retiring within myself, and shall be able to view the solitary walk, and tread the paths of private life with a heartfelt satisfaction. Envious of none, I am determined to be pleased with all; and this, my dear friend, being the order of my march, I will move gently down the stream of life, until I sleep with my fathers.”
Such sentiments are so perfectly in accordance with the precepts of Masonry, that they are worthy of a place in Washington’s Masonic history. But in his retirement to Mount Vernon he was not lost to the world, nor forgotten by his countrymen. “With Virginian hospitality, his doors were ever open, and all who had a claim on his friendship or his kindness were ever received with welcome; and he was ready, too, to respond to letters written to him from people of every condition, and upon every subject. But the anxiety of those who traveled abroad was so great to carry some testimonial from him, and of those who remained at home to possess some memorial of his kindness, that the labor of replying to the numerous letters addressed to him became a burden. To an intimate friend he wrote:
“It is not, my dear sir, the letters of my friends which give me trouble, or add aught to my perplexity. I receive them with pleasure, and pay as much attention to them as my avocations will permit. It is in reference to old matters with which I have nothing to do; applications which oftentimes cannot be complied with; inquiries, to satisfy which would employ the pen of an historian; letters of compliment, as unmeaning, perhaps, as they are troublesome, but which must be attended to; and commonplace business, which employ my pen and my time, often disagreeably. Indeed, these, with company, deprive me of exercise; and unless I can obtain relief, must be productive of disagreeable consequences. Already I begin to feel their effects.
“Heavy and painful oppressions of the head, and other disagreeable sensations often trouble me. I am, therefore, determined to employ some person who shall ease me of the drudgery of this business. ****** To correspond with those I love is among my highest gratifications. Letters of friendship require no study; the communications they contain flow with ease, and allowances are expected and made. But this is not the case with those which require research, consideration, and recollection.”
Washington was compelled to employ a young gentleman of talents and education to relieve himself of these irksome labors, and to his care such correspondence was afterwards committed. This was Tobias Lear, who remained his private secretary until his death. Many personal narratives have come down to us of the kind reception Washington gave his guests at Mount Vernon, and among them is one from the pen of the late Hon. Elkanah Watson, who visited him in the winter of 1785. He had been the senior partner of Watson & Cassoul in France during the war, and has been already referred to in this sketch as having corresponded with Washington at that time, and sent him a box of Masonic regalia.
“The first evening,” says he, “I spent under the wing of; Washington’s hospitality, we sat a full hour at table by ourselves without the least interruption, after the family had retired. I was extremely oppressed by a severe cold arid excessive coughing, contracted by the exposure of a harsh winter journey. Ho pressed me to take some remedies, but I declined doing so. As usual after retiring, my coughing increased. When some time had elapsed, the door of my room was gently opened, and on drawing my bed curtains, to my utter astonishment I beheld Washington himself standing at my bedside, with a bowl of hot tea in his hand. I was mortified and distressed beyond expression. This little incident occurring in common life with an ordinary man, would not have been noticed; but as a trait of the benevolence and private virtue of Washington, deserves to be recorded.”
As Washington had been unable to attend the festival of the Evangelist in December, his Masonic brethren in Alexandria resolved to give an entertainment for him in the following February, and the lodge directed its secretary to write to him to know when it would be convenient for him to favor them with his company. At a subsequent meeting of the lodge, held on the 20th of February, the Worshipful Master, Mr. Adam, informed the brethren that it had been intimated to him that it would be inconvenient for Washington to attend at present, and the invitation was postponed.
On the approach of the festival of St. John the Baptist in June, the lodge addressed Washington an invitation to join them, to which he sent the following reply:
“Mount Vernon, June 19, 1784.
“Dear Sir—With pleasure, I received the invitation of the master and members of Lodge No. 39, to dine with them on the approaching anniversary of St. John the Baptist. If nothing unforeseen at present interferes, I will have the honor of doing it. For the polite and flattering terms in which you have expressed their wishes, you will please accept my thanks.
“With esteem and respect,
“I am, dear sir,
“Your most ob’t serv’t,
“Go. Washington.
“Wm. Herbert, Esquire.”
The records of the lodge, which are still extant, accordingly show that Washington attended as a Mason this festival; and that its Master, Robert Adam, read to the lodge a most instructive lecture on the rise, progress, and advantages of Masonry, and concluded with a prayer suitable to the occasion. The Master and brethren then proceeded to Mr. Weise’s tavern, where they dined; and after spending the afternoon in Masonic festivity, returned again to the lodge-room, where, as the record states, “The Worshipful Master, with the unanimous consent of the brethren, was pleased to admit his Excellency General Washington, as an honorary member of Lodge No. 39. Lodge closed in perfect harmony at six o’clock.”
In the autumn of 1784, La Fayette came to America, and visited Washington at Mount Vernon. Of all the generals of the Revolution he had been the most beloved by Washington; and both to him and to his wife in France had the hospitalities of Mount Vernon been often tendered by Mr. and Mrs. Washington. Madame La Fayette had wrought with her own hands in France a beautiful Masonic apron of white satin groundwork, with the emblems of Masonry delicately delineated with needlework of colored silk; and this. with some other Masonic ornaments, was placed in a highly finished rosewood box, also beautified with Masonic emblems, and brought to Washington on this occasion as a present by La Fayette. It was a compliment to Washington and to Masonry delicately paid, and remained among the treasures of Mount Vernon till long after its recipient’s death, when the apron was presented by his legatees to the Washington Benevolent Society, and by them to the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, in whose possession the apron now is, while the box that contained it is in possession of the lodge at Alexandria. The apron presented to Washington by Messrs. Watson & Cassoul two years before, and which is still in possession of Lodge No. 22 at Alexandria, has been often mistaken for this; but the two aprons may be easily identified, by the Watson & Cassoul apron being wrought with gold and silver tissue, with the American and French flags combined upon it, while the La Fayette apron is wrought with silk, and has for its design on the frontlet the Mark Master’s circle, and mystic letters, with a beehive as its mark in the centre.
Masonic Apron of George Washington
The same device is beautifully inlaid on the lid of the box in which it was originally presented to Washington; and as this box is also in possession of Lodge No. 22 at Alexandria, and kept with the Watson & Cassoul apron, it has by many been supposed that this was the apron presented in 1784 by La Fayette. This mistake has also, perhaps, been perpetuated by a statement, that when La Fayette visited this lodge during his visit to America in 1824, he was furnished with the apron now in possession of Lodge No. 22, and in the box in which he had in 1784 presented one to Washington, to wear on the occasion; and that he there alluded to it as the one he had in former years presented to his distinguished American brother. Even were this statement true, a lapse of forty years might have misled him in the identity of the apron, particularly as it was handed to him for the occasion in the well-remembered box in which he had, in his early Masonic life, presented one to Washington. The historic descriptions of the aprons leave no doubt as to the identity of each, and both are among the valued memorials of Washington’s Masonic history. The Watson & Cassoul sash and apron, and also the Masonic box in which the La Fayette apron was presented to Washington, were presented to Lodge No. 22, at Alexandria, June 3, 1812, by Major Lawrence Lewis, a nephew of Washington, in behalf of his son, Master Lorenzo Lewis.
How did the Masonic Grand Lodges get formed in America? What item of George Washington's is contained in the Masonic golden urn fashioned by Paul Revere? Learn about Benjamin Franklin's Society of the Free and Easy and why his first publication was the Constitution of Freemasonry. George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere, John Sullivan and Joseph Warren were not just Freemasons, but Grand Master Masons. Read the true "Illustrated Masonic Secrets of America's Founding Fathers" and discover a whole new perspective on the designs of America. Buy the book today!
Illustrated
Masonic Secrets of America's Founding Fathers
Hardback: $21.77 US (240 Pages)
Paperback: $15.00 US (240 Pages)
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