The Masons and the Colonial Army

The first four years of the war was a learning curve for the British /colonial army. In April 1755 the colonial / British army under the command of General Edward Braddock was ambushed by the French and their Indian allies close to Fort Duquesne.

The colonial Army was wiped out, General Braddock was fatally wounded and his Aide- de- Camp a young Captain George Washington barely escaped with his life.

The British / Colonials started on a trend of one disaster after another. British forts from what is now upstate New York were lost and a massive assault to recapture Fort Ticonderoga was repulsed with massive casualties.

The commander of the assault General James Abercrombie and General Lord George Howe were both killed in this engagement. The British army started changing their tactics from European style large scale head on engagements to guerrilla style warfare.

Small units who gave up their Red Coat's for buckskin clothing and leather leggings to protect from the briar bramble. They got rid of shoe polish and brass shining polish and replaced it with 30lbs of food for (LRRP) long range reconnaissance patrols.

They learned techniques of camouflage from the Indians, they learned to travel swift, Silent and deadly. Which is the motto of current 1st Force Reconnaissance company, USMC.

Major General Jeffrey Amherst, First Baron of Amherst, was appointed commander in Chief of British Forces in America. General Amherst was rapidly advanced in rank because of his ability to learn to adapt to the environment, a great student of “Special Warfare Techniques”. 

How to step outside of the very regimented mindset of the traditional British / European fighting style which was poorly adapted to warfare in the forests, rivers and swamps of North America.

He introduced sharpshooter recon teams. They performed scouting, light infantry and intelligence gathering missions. They were able to deploy quickly, dressed in green clothing, with light armament without all the pomp and spender involved in deploying a full infantry Battalion.

Many of the Colonial officers learned these techniques from General Amherst, Colonial officers who would go on to be leaders in the American Revolution.

In 1758 General Amherst using his newly formed special warfare teams recaptured Louisbourg. Three month's later he razed Fort Duquesne, burnt it to the ground and then rebuilt it and changed it's name to Fort Pitt, now its called Pittsburgh.

The following year General Amherst entered upstate New York, capturing several Forts which were lost previously including Fort Ticonderoga.

In 1759 General Wolfe led one of the most revered operations in military history. His command, with General Howe, led four thousand soldiers up the St Lawrence River by ship, then scaling the sheer cliffs of the Heights of Abraham.

In this battle both General Wolfe and the French commander, General Marquis de Montcalm, died. The tide of the war had now changed. These operations continued for another year; then in 1760 General Amherst had laid siege to Montreal and the French surrendered unconditionally to General Howe.

 France turned over her North American colonies to Britain.

This influx of British soldiers into North America brought an influx of Freemasonry. Especially the higher degree's of Freemasonry associated with Irish Grand Lodge.

Of the nineteen regiments under General Amherst command thirteen had practicing Field Lodges. Lieutenant Colonel John Young, who commanded the 60^th Infantry battalion under General Amherst command, at both Quebec and Louisbourg, had been appointed Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Scotland by Sir William Sinclair of Roslyn.

In 1757 he had become Provincial Grand Master of all Scottish Lodges in America and the West Indies. In 1761 Lieutenant Colonel Young was succeeded in the 60^th Infantry by Lieutenant Colonel Augustine Prevost.

In the same year 1757, Lieutenant Colonel Prevost later to be Major General was named Grand Master of all Lodges in the British Army.

In 1756 Colonel Richard Gridley was authorized to gather all Freemasons that were involved in the assault against Crown Point under the command of General Amherst and formed a single lodge.

When Louisbourg fell in 1758 Colonel Gridley formed another lodge. In November 1759 when Quebec was captured by General Wolfe the six Field lodges of the Citadel held a meeting.

They decided that there were so many Field Lodges in the Quebec garrison that they should merge into one Grand Lodge and elect a Grand Master.

Lieutenant John Guinet of the 47^th Infantry (Lancashire Regiment) was elected Grand Master of the Providence of Quebec. A year later he was succeeded by Colonel Simon Frazier of the 78^th Infantry Regiment the “Frazier Highlander”. 

 In 1761 Colonel Frazier was replaced by Major Thomas Payne of the 47^th Infantry Regiment as the Provincial Grand Master of the Quebec providence.

In 1762 Major Span was replaced by Captain Milborne West of the 47^th Infantry Regiment . Captain West in 1764 became the Provincial Grand Master of all of Canada.

Its interesting to note the relatively junior rank of these leaders to have such a prestigious position, none of whom were from aristocratic ancestry, none of them went on to public office or to become General grade officers.

These were ordinary soldiers, voted by other ordinary soldiers, who came from the entire spectrum of the chain of command. This is evidence why the lodges were so popular in the military establishment.

A junior rank officer like a Lieutenant, who associated with the rank and file soldiers, but in the lodge they could deal with each other as equals.

The Provincial Grand Master would frequently deal with officers who greatly out ranked him in the army. The Field Lodges therefore created a frame work of communication, which was very unique for that time.

 This form of Freemasonry was conveyed to the colonial army. They jumped at this opportunity to not only be comrades in arms with their British counterparts but also Freemasons as well.

Fraternal comradeship were formed between the British and Colonial Freemasons. The lodges grew in number and also in strength of membership. They handed out awards similar to medals or promotions in the army.

The values of Freemasonry spilled over into the colonies not just in the army but also into the townships, by this spreading the whole culture of the colonies had democratic thought, creative expression, taxation by vote and a certain level of religious freedom. I say that with a certain amount of tongue in cheek!