BROTHER SACHSE'S LATEST FINDS IN PENNSYLVANIA'S TREASURE
HOUSE OF MASONRY.

THE AMERICAN FREEMASON, JANUARY 1913

"OPPORTUNITY" and the "Man" - these make the combination essential for
accomplishment, in Masonry as in any other line of activity.  It is seldom,
for most of us, that opportunity beyond the common, comes our way.  And,
as is most likely, in most instances we would fail to measure requirements
of fortunate chance. But it is also probable that the Man, being of the right
sort, makes the Opportunity.  All of which comes to mind, with much
admiration, and some little brotherly envy, on consideration of what Brother
Julius Sachse has been able to accomplish for the Grand Lodge of
Pennsylvania in particular, and the Craft of Masonry in general.

The Librarian of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania is an example of the man
rightly placed; with the work to his hand for which, by natural tastes and
acquired knowledge, he is peculiarly fitted. He is fortunate, moreover, in
being set down in the richest treasure-house of Masonic lore in America. 
The Fraternity in that jurisdiction had appearance antedating any show
thereof in the Colonies of pre-Revolutionary times.  And this is said with a
full knowledge of the claims of Massachusetts for Masonic priority. 
Nowhere else in the entire country is there such abundance of material to
invite the search and reward the zeal of one who is upon the scent of
forgotten Masonic history.  And, again, those who have charge and control
of finances for the Craft of the Keystone State are generous in providing
ample means for prosecution of any quest, and equally liberal in making
possible the publication and dissemination of knowledge when gained.

It is seldom, indeed, that knowledge of any sort is lost entirely and
irretrievably, however we may discourse on lost arts and sciences and
wisdom to us now denied.  The heaped detritus, left by current of the years
upon the shores of time, may show upon the surface no sign of what is
buried therein, and so the superficial searcher bemoans the uselessness
of his investigations.  But afterwards comes one with imagination near akin
to the intuitive faculty, and from the debris finally unearths the materials
required to reconstruct some story and meaning of the past.  Brother
Sachse's latest finds make up a case in point.  Several months ago I visited
the good brother in his lair - the magnificent Library of the Grand Lodge of
Pennsylvania at Philadelphia.  There he told me, with all the enthusiasm of
a true antiquarian and historian, of what had turned up, upon strict search
among the archives under his care. Even then the matter promised for
publication was such as to make the amateur stare.  Later he wrote me of
other discoveries, and these of a nature to make one more than ever
envious of his good fortune.  And now, according to promise that readers
of THE AMERICAN FREEMASON should early share in knowledge of the
good things found, I have advance sheets of a most important chapter from
the book which the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania is soon to issue, together
with duplicate plate which this month serves as our frontispiece.

The partial title of this forthcoming volume will be: "Old Masonic Lodges of
Pennsylvania, "Moderns" and "Ancients" - 1730 - 1800 - which have
Surrendered their Warrants or Affiliated with Other Lodges," etc.  Just now
we are concerned with Chapter XXV, which deals with "Unity Lodge No.18,
A.Y.M. [Ancient York Masons] in his Britannic Majesty's 17th Regiment of
Foot.' The first point of interest is thus clearly stated in the opening
sentence of the chapter, thus:

One of the most interesting questions in connection with the history of
Pennsylvania Freemasonry, and one which has thus far baffled Masonic
historians on both hemispheres, is how it happened that the Provincial
Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania granted a warrant to a British regiment during
the Revolutionary period.

With the true instinct of a writer who first proceeds, by general information,
briefly supplied, to gratify the natural curiosity of the reader when aroused,
Brother Sachse goes on, reserving for the course of the narrative the
supplying of details:

No record as to any action as to date and occasion has thus far been
found among the records of the Grand Lodge.  The positive evidence of
this warrant having been granted is, however, shown by the fact that when
the regiment was captured, during the attack on Stony Point, July 16, 1779,
among their baggage was found the warrant and regalia of the Lodge. 
When this was brought to the notice of General Samuel H. Parsons, an
American commander, and a member of American Union Lodge, in the
Continental army, he at once sent the warrant back to the British regiment
with the following fraternal letter:

WEST JERSEY HIGHLANDS, July 23, 1779.

Brethren: - When the ambition of monarchs or the jarring interests of
contending states call forth their subjects to war, as Masons we are
disarmed of that resentment which stimulates to undistinguished desolation;
and however our political sentiments may impel us in the public dispute, we
are still Brethren, and (our professional duty apart) ought to promote the
happiness and advance the weal of each other.  Accept, therefore, at the
hands of a brother, the Constitution of the Lodge Unity No. 18, to be held
in the 17th British regiment, which your late misfortunes have put in my
power to restore to you.

I am your Brother and obedient servant,
SAMUEL H. PARSONS.

Addressed to the Master and Wardens of Lodge Unity No. 18 upon the
Registry of England.

The regimental Lodge as it appears, dated from 1748, when a warrant was
granted them by the Grand Lodge of Ireland, the 17th Foot being then
stationed on the island of Minorca.  It was carried as No. 136 on the Irish
register.  It was one of the regiments, says Brother Sachse, which took part
in the seige of Louisbourg in 1758, and the military Lodge was known to
have been in existence in 1760, while in garrison at Montreal.  The Irish
warrant was lost, as explained, through the "hazardous enterprises in which
they had been engaged." Upon return of the regiment to England in 1771
a new warrant was asked for and obtained from the Grand Lodge of
Scotland.  It then received its name of "Unity," and was numbered 169 on
the Scotch registry.  The regiment was afterwards ordered to America, as
part of the force designed to coerce the colonies back to the British
allegiance.  At the battle of Princeton the Lodge warrant, with other
baggage of the regiment, fell into the hands of the Americans.  This old
document, which is, so far as known, the only original Masonic Military
Warrant from any British regiment serving in the American Revolution, is still
in existence.  It is a prized possession of Union Lodge No. 5, at
Middletown, Delaware, which took it over from the former No. 5 which met
at Cantwell's Bridge, Delaware.  It is a facsimile of this rare document
which, through the kindness of Brother Sachse, is given as our frontispiece
for this issue.  The transcription is as follows:

"All and Sundry To whose Knowledge these presents shall Come Greeting
In God Everlasting. Whereas upon Petition to the Grand Lodge of Free and
Accepted Masons for the Kingdom of Scotland By Brother John Slater,
Alexander Aberdour, John Hill, Thomas Hanson, and James Scrimgeor of
the Seventeenth Regiment of Foot, presently in Edinburgh as the Setting
Forth That for a Considerable time there was Held a Regular Lodge in the
said Regiment under the Authority of the Grand Lodge of Ireland That
through the many hazardous Enterprises in which they had been Engaged
in the Service of their King and Country, they had not only Lost their
Charter, but their whole Records and Jewels, and being willing Still to
Associate together for the True End of Masonry in a Regular Lodge,
Constituted by the Grand Lodge of Scotland, They Proposed the said
Thomas Hanson for Master; John Slater and John Hill for Wardens, James
Scrimgeor for Treasurer and Alexander Aberdour for Secretary And Praying
it might please the Grand Lodge to Grant them a Charter of Constitution
and Erection in the usual form Which Petition Having been Considered by
the Grand Lodge, And Ample Recommendation having been given of the
Petition by Lieutenant Richard Aylmer, Adjutant in the said Seventeenth
Regiment They authorized the underwritten Patent of Constitution and
Erection to be Expede in the Petitioners favours. Know Ye Therefore That
the Most Worshipful The Grand Master of Scotland, and the Grand Lodge
aforsaid Have Constituted Erected and Appointed And hereby Constitute
Erect and Appoint the Worshipfull Brethren above named and their
Successors, in all time Coming to be a True and Regular Lodge of Free
and Accepted Masons by the Stile and Title of Unity Lodge, in the
Seventeenth Regiment of Foot, and Appoint and Ordain all Regular Lodges
under the Constitution of the Grand Lodge of Scotland, to Hold, Own and
Respect them as Such Giving Granting and Committing to them and their
successors full Power and Authority to Meet, Assemble and Conveen as a
Regular Lodge, And to Admit and Receive Apprentices, Pass Fellow Crafts,
and Raise Master Masons upon Payment of such Composition for the
Support of their Lodge as they shall see Convenient, And to Elect and
Chuse Masters, Wardens, and other officers Annually or other ways as they
shall have Occasion Recommending to the Brethren aforsaid and their
Successors to Reverence and Obey their Superiors in all things Lawfull and
holiest, as becomes the Honour and Harmony of Masonry.  The said
Brethren by Accepting of this present Charter, Becoming faithfully Bound
and Engaged not to Desert their said Lodge so Constituted nor upon any
pretext whatsoever to make any Separate or Schismatical Meetings, without
Consent of their Master and Wardens for the time.  Nor to Collect Money
or other Funds Separate from the Common Stock of their Lodge to the
prejudice of the Poor thereof.  They and their Successors in all time coming
being also Obliged to Obey and Pay  all due regard to the Acts, Statutes
and Regulations of the Grand Lodge already made, or hereafter to be
made, for the Utility, Welfare and Prosperity of Masonry in General, And to
Pay and Perform whatever is Stipulated or Demanded of them for the
Support of the Dignity of the Grand Lodge, And to Record in their Books,
which they are hereby Appointed to keep this present Charter of
Constitution and Erection with their own Regulations and bye Laws and
their whole Procedure from time to time as they shall Occur, to the end the
same may be the more easily Seen, and Observed by their Brethren,
Subject always to the rules of the Grand Lodge, And also the Brethren
aforsaid and their Successors are hereby Required punctually to Attend the
whole General Meetings, and Quarterly Communications of the Grand
Lodge by their Representatives being the Master and the Wardens for the
time or by Law-ful Proxies in their Names Provided Such Proxies be Master
Masons or Fellow Crafts of some Established Lodge, holding of the Grand
Lodge To the End they may Act and Vote in the Grand Lodge, and be duly
Certiorated of the Proceedings thereof Declaring their Precedency in the
Grand Lodge to Commence from the date hereof And to the End these
presents may be the more effectually kept and Preserved, the same are
hereby appointed to be Recorded in the Books of the Grand Lodge Given
at the Grand Lodge Held in the City of Edinburgh upon the Twelfth day of
November In the year of Our Lord One Thousand Seven hundred and
Seventy One, And Light Five thousand Seven hundred and Seventy four
years By The Most Worshipfull His Excellency Lieutenant General, James
Adolphus Oughton Grand Master Mason of Scotland, The Right Worshipfull
Sir William Erskine Deputy Grand Master, The Right Worshipfull and
Honourable Collonel Napier Substitute Grand Master pro tempore, The
Right Worshipfull Doctor James Lind and William Bailie Esquire Grand
Wardens, James Hunter Esquire Grand Treasurer, And the Seal of the
Grand Lodge is Appended here unto.

In presence of Alexander McDougall Esquire Grand Secretary and David
Bolt Grand Clerk.

ALEX: McDOUGALL, G. Secty.
DAVID BOLT G. Clerk

JA. ADOL".  OUGHTON G.M. 
WM. NAPIER S.G.Mr. p.t.
JAMES LIND S.G.W.
WILL: BAILIE J.G.W.

Conyrosition Gratis perder
A.McD., G.S.

Number one hundred & Sixty nine.  Recorded in the Books of the Grand
Lodge of Scotland by David Bolt G. Clerk.

As stated above, this Scotch Warrant was captured by the Americans at
Princeton.  A few months later, while the 17th Foot was part of the British
force occupying Philadelphia, the Regimental Lodge, being then without
any authorization to continue its existence, applied to the Provincial Grand
Lodge of Pennsylvania for a warrant.  That body being, for the time, under
Tory domination, and thus favourable in all things to the British, granted the
prayer of the brothers of "Unity," and a warrant was issued, with the same
name, but numbered 18.

In searching out the history of this Regiment for Masonic matter pertinent
to his chapter Brother Sachse comes upon the following incident, which he
cautiously terms an "interesting tradition." He thus relates:

In this engagement [Princeton] Brother William Leslie, Captain of the 17th
Regiment of Foot, ond Extra Major of Brigade, was mortally wounded.  It
is said that after the battle, when General Washington was riding over the
field, he perceived some British soldiers supporting a wounded officer, and
upon inquiring his name and rank, was informed that it was Captain Leslie. 
Dr. Benjamin Rush, who was on the commander's staff, asked whether he
was a son of the Earl of Leven.  Being answered in the affirmative, he
asked to have the wounded man placed under his own care.  Captain
Leslie, however, died that same evening, and was buried with martial and
Masonic honors by his Masonic brethren, in the graveyard at Pluckamin,
where a monument marks his resting place.

The further explanation given of the granting of a warrant by the Provincial
Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania to the Lodge of a British Regiment as given
in the pages before me, may be thus synopsized: During the period of the
hostile occupation of Philadelphia there were in that city three active
Masonic Lodges - Nos. 2, 3 and 4.  At the entrance of the British the
quarters of No. 2 were looted by the soldiers, and its warrant, regalia and
jewels stolen, For this reason No. 2 held no meetings during the time of
occupation; the other two met regularly.  One of these, Royal Arch Lodge
No. 3, was the especial resort of the English officers, as a majority of the
members were pronounced Tories.  It is also known that the warrant of the
Provincial Grand Lodge was in possession of No. 3, and on one occasion
when the Grand Master and his Deputy had both left the city, or refused to
countenance the proceedings, the Lodge resolved itself into a Grand
Lodge, the two Grand Wardens being present.  From the known facts
Brother Sachse concludes:

If at any future time the old warrant should be discovered, it will be found
that it was granted either on St. John's day, December 57, 1777, when, as
above stated, several Grand Officers were present at the meeting of Lodge
No. 3, or on February 21, 1778, when the Provincial Grand Warrant came
into possession of that Lodge and its members.  That this whole
proceeding was done under Tory auspices, in a more or less irregular
manner, is shown by the fact that the warrant was addressed to the 17th
Regiment of Foot, as upon the registry of England.

There is far more of importance than can be touched upon in a single
article, and this chapter of American Masonic history will be returned to yet
again.  I am not violating any confidence in saying there are other things
of even greater interest yet to come, and readers of THE AMERICAN
FREEMASON will be given early opportunity to judge of their value.

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