masonry - south ho! --- a masonic journey by barry j. lipson, 33°, psp

8/10/2019 Masonry - SOUTH Ho! --- A Masonic Journey by Barry J. Lipson, 33, PSP

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SOUTH Ho! --- A Masonic Journey

Barry J. Lipson, 33, PSP, Valley of Pittsburgh

The decade of the 1860's caused much disruption in this Nation, the "cornerstone" of which had been

laid Masonically by Brother George Washington seven decades before (U.S. Capital, 1793). The Civil

War in the Scottish Rite Southern Jurisdiction (SJ) interrupted Grand Commander Albert Pike'srefashioning of Scottish Rite Rituals. In the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction (NMJ) it delayed the

"Union of 1867," the merging of the NMJ Supreme Council, established by the SJ 1n 1813 (the same

year the two Grand Lodges in England merged into the United Grand Lodge of England), with the

competing Cerneau Supreme Council in New York, which awaited its end. But, the Northern andSouthern bonds of Masonic Brotherhood had survived even this, the greatest of upheavals on American

soil in American history.1

Take the incident of December 13 1862, a typical example. At Fredericksberg, the

Confederates under Gen. Longstreet had the Federals stopped cold and pinned down in front ofMaryee's Heights. The firing stopped about 4:30 PM. and soon after a white handkerchief on a stick

was raised from one of the shell holes on the plain. The Confederates waited to see what was wanted.

The man crawled on his stomach toward the Southern lines and tumbled over the stone wall in front of

Maryee's Heights. He asked if there was a Mason there." Who would think that in the middle of such abloody confrontation, with each side killing and demonizing the other, thoughts of seeking aid and

solace from the enemy could have even been conceived, or that a positive response would be received?

Well, sir, a "Confederate officer stepped

forward and said that he was a Mason. The Manreplied that there were two Masons in the shell

hole and if help didn't come soon they would

bleed to death. The Confederate officer sent twolitters out to get the men, and bring them in."

One would think that Masonic obligations had

thereby been met and POW procedures would

henceforth come into play, leaving themincarcerated for the duration, and MIA's as far

as their Northern Masonic Brethren were

concerned?

No sir! "He took them to his own tent and had adoctor come and treat them. Both lives were

saved."

The End? Not so, they were not to be MIA's, or even POWs.: "When they were able to travel,

assuring himself they would not be future belligerents, he paroled them both and sent them home."

A true act of Brotherhood, well above the call of Masonicduty. Yet acts like this between our Southern and NorthernMasonic Brethren "were common on the fields of war and did

a lot to retard its horrors."2

Thus, the above hand sketch by

Harrisburg artist Frank Hummel depicting a similar, butreverse, Civil War incident at Gettysburg between Northern

and Southern Masonic Brothers, is memorialized by a Grand

Lodge Of Pennsylvania statute on the Gettysburg battlefield.


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And these deep bonds of Masonic Brotherhood between the North and South continue today into the

21st

Century, and this is so even though the boundaries of what is North and what is South may haveshifted a bit (as a slight attempt at humor, the original title of this article was Way Down South in DC& WV, DC being where my modern Southern journey took me even though the Northern

Commander-in-Chief of the Union Army, President Abraham Lincoln, was headquartered there, and

WV which was that part of Virginia that broke off from the Confederacy to align itself with the North).

Having had the honor of becoming acquainted with the mysteries of the Thirty-third and last Degreeof the NMJ, officially The Supreme Council of Sovereign Grand Inspectors-General of the Thirty-

third and last Degree of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite for the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of

the United States of America (1885 Constitution), initially at its meeting in Providence, RhodeIsland, I was most curious about the corresponding mysteries at theMother Council of the World,

theSouthern Scottish Rite Jurisdiction.

The U.S. is unique. In addition to the NMJ,

headquartered in Lexington, Massachusetts, thereis theMother CouncilorSJ, headquartered at the

House of the Temple in Washington, DC (a

distinctive monumental building), officially The

Supreme Council (Mother Council of the World)

of the Inspectors General Knights Commanderof the House of the Temple of Solomon of the

Thirty-third degree of the Ancient and Accepted

Scottish Rite of Freemasonry of the Southern

Jurisdiction of the United States of America,

formed in Charleston, South Carolina on May 31,1801; and two Prince Hall Supreme Councils, the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite ofFreemasonry Prince Hall Affiliation Northern Jurisdiction, U.S.A., Inc, and the United Supreme

Council, 33, Ancient & Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Prince Hall Affiliation, Southern

Jurisdiction, USA, Inc. I have had the honor of being with the Sovereign Grand Commanders of

each of these four Supreme Councils while they were extending the bonds of Brotherly Love to each

other atNMJandSJSupreme Council meetings.

In furtherance of this Masonic journey, I contacted C.B. Hall, 33, then SJ Grand Minister of State

andSovereign Grand Inspector General in West Virginia (equivalent to theDeputy for Pennsylvaniain the NMJ), who invited me to participate in Washington, DC in the then forthcoming SJ BiennialSession and Thirty-third Degree Conferral and Annual Meeting of The Scottish Rite Research

Society; and in Charleston, West Virginia in the then forthcoming Grand Celebration of the 100th

Anniversary of the Charleston Lodge of Perfection, the Investiture of Knights Commander of theCourt of Honour (KCCH), and the Orient-wide Reunion and Initiation of New Memberswhere

each Degree was being performed by a different Orient of West Virginia Valley (Charleston,Parkersburg, Morgantown, Huntington and Clarksburg), which I did.

I had previously invited C.B. to Pittsburgh when I was Sovereign Prince (a position not used in theSJ,but hidden in theSJtraditional 32 ritual), and Commander of the Scottish Rite Valley of Pittsburgh

Legion of Honor, to fulfill my strong desire to exchange degree presentations. He was instrumental in

helping to arrange for the Valley of Charleston to exemplify in the Valley Of Pittsburgh on November2, 2000 theirSJ 14

thDegree (with yours truly as the exemplifier). During this visit C.B. was the

recipient of the second presented Valley of Pittsburgh Legion of Honor Medallion. Then, on April 25,

2001 the Valley of Pittsburgh reciprocated by exemplifying theNMJ29th

Degree in Charleston, WestVirginia (and did aNMJDegree there again several years later when John Corey 32, was Sovereign

Prince).


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If you look closely at thisphotograph taken during my 100

th

Anniversary trip to Charleston, you

can see in the accompanyingphotograph the Valley of Charleston

Trophy Case with at the top two of

the first edition two-sided

commemorative cups (sans the hin Pittsburgh the second edition

having the h) commissioned by

the Valley of Charleston tocommemorate this historic exchange

ofSJandNMJDegrees. This, 100th

Anniversary Grand Celebrationphotograph shows myself (White

Hat), C.B. Hall (Purple Hat) and

John Corey (Yellow Hat).

Speaking of Caps, compare the above

Charleston photograph of C.B. Hall andme, with this photograph of the two of

us a little earlier in DC. Does anything

appear to be out of the ordinary? Clue,the 33 White Cap of the NMJ, bears

the Double-Headed

Eagle Wings Down(as that of the

Supreme Council 33 Ancient and

Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonryof Canada - authorized in 1874 by theSupreme Council for England & Wales

which, in turn, had been warranted in

1845 by the NMJ - bears the Double-

Headed Eagle Wings Up). But the 33White Cap of the SJbears the red andgoldPatriarchal Cross instead. Note, I

am also wearing a Valley of PittsburghScottish Rite Legion of Honor Medalsimilar to the one presented to C.B. Hall in

Pittsburgh, and the 32 MasonicLearning Centers Teddy Bears tie.

Though I do not know if it is unique to C.B. Halls two decade long administration of the Orient of

West Virginia, one of the real joys to the participants, and to him [and me], are his Capping

Ceremonies, both to those being invested as KCCH (Red Hats) and to those receiving the Thirty-thirdDegree (White Hats). As you can see in the above picture, I was honorarily part of his Thirty-third

Degree Capping Ceremony in DC, and had the extreme pleasure of observing the KCCH Capping

Ceremony in Charleston, West Virginia. Much brotherly love was exhibited at both uplifting occasions.


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One of the highlights of my traveling South and North Ho! was the opportunity of being able topersonally share some down home Rite Development Ideas withNMJSovereign Grand Commander

John Wm. McNaughton, 33, the most important of which, in my opinion, for both the Northern and

Southern Jurisdictions, being the "re-packaging" of the 32nd Degree. My point is that we need to treatelevation to the 32nd Degree with the same degree of respect, admiration and awe as it is viewed by

our Blue Lodge Brethren and the general public, or we will lose forever this worthwhile and beneficial

Blue Lodge and public perception. The bottom line is that we have to take steps to make elevation to

the 32nd Degree special, by conferring the 32nd Degree on a separate day, and with all due clat andacclaim (and possibly somehow including the wives). And I was very heartened by the Sovereign

Grand Commanders reaction: I believe you have a great idea about the importance of the degree

itself. Some would probably say that the 32nd degree is in fact the 33rd degree for the vast majority ofour Scottish Rite members.

Heres to our ongoing rededication to the Spirit of Fredericksberg even in the most peaceful of times.

May all of our Masonic adventures be Capping experiences!

Copyright 2011 by Barry J. Lipson

1

Arturo de Hoyos, "The Union of 1867," Heredom, vol. 5:7-45 (Scottish Rite Research Society,Washington, DC 1995).2 Leonard H. Freeman,Masonry and The Civil War, Educational Lodge No. 1002, A.F.&A.M. ofMinnesota, Paper No. 103, February 1982.

masonry - south ho! --- a masonic journey by barry j. lipson, 33°, psp

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