Masonry in the Civil War

Confederate Masons, no less than their Union counterparts, remembered the obligations of the Craft in the midst of war.  The Federal gunboat USS Albatross, under the command of John Hart hurled shell after shell into the village of St. Francisville, Louisiana.  Later, the crew sent a small boat under a flag of truce to the shore.  The executive officer asked for a Mason.  The Senior Warden of Feliciana Lodge No. 31, W. W. Leake, answered the call.  When informed that Captain Hart, who was a Freemason, was dead, Brother Leake immediately offered to open his Lodge and bury Hart with Masonic rites.

Over the years the United Daughters of the Confederacy kept his grave fresh and green.  In 1972 the Grand Lodge of Louisiana replaced the simple headstone with a monument that covered Hart′s entire grave.  The monument was engraved:  “This monument is dedicated in loving tribute to the universality of Freemasonry.”