Washington's Masonic Correspondence. George Washington
Fraternity. Thus far no complete set of his Masonic writings have been compiled or published. Such portions as have been printed were fragmentary, and issued for what may be called local purposes.
How careful Washington was of his Masonic correspondence is shown by the fact that he had copies made, in his private letter books, of most all letters sent him by the various Masonic Grand and Subordinate bodies, and his answers thereto, usually upon opposite pages. He thus had both the addresses and his reply at hand for easy reference. This fact shows the esteem in which Washington held his Brethren of the Masonic Fraternity, as well as his own opinion of Freemasonry.
These letter-books are now in the Library of Congress, and photostat copies of such as relate to Freemasonry have been made for the Library of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania.
As to the authenticity of the Washington Letter Books, and how they came into the possession of the United States Government is explained by the following statement by Mr. Galliard Hunt, chief Manuscript division, Library of Congress:[1]
"They are a part of the Washington papers in
"the Government's possession, purchased from the
"Washington family, one lot in 1834 and the re-
"mainder in 1849, and deposited in the Department
"of State until 1903, when, by the President's order,
"they were sent to this Library. They range in date
"from 1754 to 1799. Some of them are partly
"or wholly in Washington's hand-writing, and others
"in the writing of his secretaries and their clerks.
"There are no volumes of press copies, but there are
"some press copies among the papers."
Washington in writing his answer to the various greetings, in most cases would first make a rough copy of his reply, then digest, alter, correct or change such parts or sentences as he thought proper. Then after deliberate consideration, a fair copy would be made either by Washington or one of his Secretaries and signed by him, and sent to the Masonic bodies for which they were intended.
Fortunately some of the original drafts of these Masonic letters have come down to us; thus far five autographic copies have been found among the Washington papers in the Library of Congress at Washington.
1. Draft of letter written at Newburg, New York, August 19, 1782, to Watson and Cassoul of Nantes, France, thanking them for the Masonic Apron, embroidered by the nuns at Nantes, and which is now in possession of Alexandria-Washington Lodge, No. 22, at Alexandria, Virginia.
2. To the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts.
3. To the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania.
4. To the Grand Lodge of South Carolina.
5. To the Grand Lodge of Maryland; this draft is a two-page letter written upon a letter sheet and shows many changes and corrections; it is dated 1798.
In addition to the above original drafts there were found several addresses and the accompanying answers, which thus far have never been published, in fact no mention of them has ever appeared in print, viz:—
1. An address from the Grand Lodge of Georgia, together with Washington's reply.
2. A letter to Paul Revere, Grand Master of Massachusetts and his Grand Officers.
3. An address from the Brethren of Prince George's Lodge, No. 16, Georgetown, South Carolina, presented to President Washington during his visit to South Carolina, April 30, 1791, also his reply to same.
4. An address from the Brethren of St. John's Lodge, No. 2, of Newbern, North Carolina, and the reply to same.
Photostat copies of the above have also been obtained which make the most complete collection of the Masonic Correspondence of Washington which has thus far been compiled.
A careful study of this correspondence so carefully cherished by Washington puts an entirely new phase upon Washington's connection with the Masonic Fraternity, and his esteem of Freemasonry.
These papers absolutely thrust aside all of the statements, arguments and libels, brought forth by our misguided enemies at the time of the Anti-Masonic craze during the last century, and in a small way kept alive even down to the present day by some people who are blinded by their ignorance or malice.
Referring to some of their published statements that Washington never belonged to the Masonic Fraternity, and that there were no authentic Masonic letters nor copies thereof among his records so frequently made during the political Anti-Masonic craze, which swept over New England and the Middle States about eighty-five years ago, the following quotations from the Masonic literature of the period will prove interesting examples.
One of the chief statements made by these people, and brought before all their conventions and heralded in the public prints was: "That though General Washington caused to be carefully copied in books kept for that purpose, all his letters on every subject, no trace whatever of any of the five letters under consideration,[2] nor any letters to any other Lodge or Masonic body whatever, are to be found among the records of his correspondence."[3]
The chief authority upon whom the leaders of the Anti-Masonic movement at that time depended in their defamation of Washington, was Jared Sparks of Boston, who at the time was engaged writing a life of Washington, and then had access to all the Washington letter-books and papers, and from his connection with the Washington correspondence, was supposed to be the best qualified to pass upon their authenticity.
Another of the charges made by the Anti-Masonic bigots whose chief object was to controvert facts was:
"That although Washington was extremely scrupulous in preserving his correspondence with all public or private bodies, there is not a line of his relating to Freemasonry, to be found among all his papers, except the correspondence with Mr. Snyder![4] It is also a fact, that Washington was equally scrupulous in dating his letters, and it is believed that not one can be found, which is without a date."[5]
It appears that the chairman of a committee of citizens of Boston called upon the officers of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts to submit their two Washington letters to Jared Sparks for his inspection. This the Grand Officers refused to do.
In return Sparks sent the following letter to the Chairman:
"Boston, February 18, 1833.
"Sir—I received this morning your letter of the 15th instant, in which you inquire:
"Whether I have yet seen or had in my possession any original letter or letters, in the hand writing of General Washington, addressed to any body of men denominating themselves Freemasons.
"In reply, I can only state that I have seen no letters from General Washington of the kind described in yours, nor received any communication on the subject, either verbal or written.[6]
"I am, Sir,
"Very respectfully,
"Your ob't servant,
"Jared Sparks."
How Sparks could have overlooked the numerous entries in the letter books whose numbers and folios are here quoted, also the drafts of replies in Washington's hand-writing and signed by him (copies of which are here given in this work), can only be accounted for by the fact that he must have been carried away by the political excitement of the day.
Washington's connection with the Masonic Fraternity has been exhaustively traced by