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Famous Members of Fredericksburg Masonic Lodge No. 4

by
Brother Chandler
05/23/06 ©

American Presidents

James Monroe

Listed Generals of the American Revolution

George Washington
Marquis de Lafayette
Hugh Mercer
George Weedon
Fielding Lewis
William Woodford
Gustavus Wallace
Thomas Posey

Grand Masters of Masons in Virginia

James Mercer (2nd)
Robert Brooke (7th)
Benjamin Day (8th)
Oscar Crutchfield (30th)
Beverly Wellford (50th)
Silvanus Quinn (68th)
Phillip Bauman (72nd)
William Brown (90th)
Edward Cann (118th)
Oscar Tate (142nd)
Donald Robey (143rd)
George Chapin (155th)

George Washington - was the Commander in Chief of American forces in the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783), and, later, the first President of the United States, from 1789 to 1797. Because of his central role in the founding of the United States , Washington is often called the "Father of his Country". His devotion to republicanism and civic virtue made him an exemplary figure among American public figures. As Gordon Wood concludes, the greatest act in his life was his resignation as commander of the armies at the height of his power--an act that stunned aristocratic Europe ; thus he became the "American Cincinnatus".  Washington was initiated, passed, and raised in 1752 to Master Mason here at our Lodge in Fredericksburg and though he left home shortly afterwards, he retained his membership till his death, attending lodge on the occasions that he returned to visit family and friends, or on his way to the Virginian capital at Williamsburg.

James Monroe - was the fifth President of the United States and author of the Monroe Doctrine.  After graduating in 1776, Monroe fought in the Continental Army as a young lieutenant, initially under Colonel Hugh Mercer, serving with distinction at the Battle of Trenton, where he was shot in his left shoulder while rushing a cannon being aimed at Lt. Alexander Hamilton and his men.  Following his military service, he practiced law in Fredericksburg .  Monroe was initiated, passed and raised in 1775 in the Lodge at Williamsburg in Virginia .  While practicing law a couple of streets from our lodge, he chose to become an affiliate member.  His Law Office still stands as a museum to him right next to our Masonic Cemetery .  

Marquis de Lafayette - is considered a national hero in both France and the United States for his participation in the French and American revolutions for which he became an Honorary Citizen of the United States .  At 19 he was captain of French dragoons when the British colonies in America proclaimed their independence.  Forbidden by the King to leave France and despite being advised by his friends to abandon his zeal for the American cause, he made his way to America arriving in Philadelphia to receive his commission, asking no pay for his service.  He served with honor as a Major General and became almost as a son to Washington who took him in as one of his closest confidantes.   A French Mason, he returned in 1824 to America and upon visiting our Lodge, was given an honorary membership to which he graciously accepted, stating the honor given to him in this was great, that his name should be added to the list of the other famous members before him.  

Hugh Mercer - Probably the most unknown hero of the Revolution, he was a brigadier general of the Continental Army and a close friend to George Washington since the French and Indian War. Both a fallen hero and a rallying symbol of the American Cause, he died as a result of his wounds received at the Battle of Princeton .  Exceptional at logistics and an able strategist but more important a good friend, his unknown role was significant in that he was at the time Washington's closest advisor who was there for him during the most trying period of the American Revolution.  .  It is widely believed that he recommended the idea to Washington to "Cross the Delaware " during Christmas and was central to America 's first two victories at Trenton and Princeton .  To this day, there now stands in Fredericksburg a statue that was erected to him by Congress in honor of his sacrifice, to which on his death he was exemplified by his military peers to be "second only to Washington in all skills, talents, and virtues."  He was initiated, passed, and raised in 1767 here at Fredericksburg Lodge and sat a few years later in the east as Master. 

George Weedon - Rose to Brigadier General, his promotions always seemed to be in the footsteps of his brother-in-law Hugh Mercer.  On Mercer's death at Princeton, Weedon succeeded him and his unit was instrumental in many of Washington 's campaign, a fact which contributed to his fallout with Congress, when William Woodford was given seniority over him.  Upon his resignation, Governor Thomas Jefferson gave him a Militia Brigade that he led for the remainder of the war and was present at Yorktown in which his brigade blocked the English's one means of escape at Gloucester Point; in fact, his forces successfully repelled the feared and infamous unit of Colonel Banastre Tarleton.   Weedon was initiated, passed and raised at Port Royal, affiliated in Fredericksburg Lodge and held many lodge meetings at his tavern.

William Woodford - At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, Colonel Woodford's brigade drove the royal governor, Lord Dunmore from the Norfolk peninsula after the Battle of Great Bridge in January, 1776, the first battle of the Revolution on Virginia soil. Woodford was severely wounded in 1777 at the Battle of Brandywine .  Promoted to Brigadier General, he was given command of the Virginia and North Carolina forces under Benjamin Lincoln that went to South Carolina 's defense only to be captured at the Siege of Charleston . He was taken on board a British war ship and sent to New York where he died in captivity in 1780. He was buried there in Trinity Church, New York .  The date he was initiated, passed and raised in Fredericksburg Lodge is unknown, but his name was noted in the Lodge's registry as an active member.

Fielding Lewis - Washington's brother-in-law Fielding Lewis, along with his partner Charles Dick, were known as "the two most patriotic and overworked leaders in the county" and though he was a civilian and was called "Colonel", he held the title of Brigadier General as Commissary General of Munitions during the Revolutionary War.  Both sacrificed their personal wealth for the war effort and despite both Lewis and Dick's serious health problems, they persevered in running the Munitions factory in Fredericksburg .  His home was the center of a network of family and friends - Washingtons, Willises, Dicks, Mercers, and Thorntons.  Fielding Lewis may have been an "original" member of Fredericksburg Lodge.

Charles Dick - the second half of the dynamic duo, Dick have been partnered up to Lewis since before the French & Indian War, where both civilians were commissioned as store commissaries for the war effort and held the rank equivalent of colonel.  In the 1750's, Dick held offices as sheriff in Fredericksburg during which time he spent most of his efforts protecting the locals from the courtroom of the infamous Justices Benjamin Grymes, to which Dick often found himself ignoring warrants that were issued by him, and Dick found himself supported by the other justices, especially one by the name of Fielding Lewis.  Both men became friends and were dedicated community leaders who were always willing to pull from their own purses to meet the needs of a good cause, more especially during the American Revolution where as Munitions Commissaries, they just about bankrupted themselves.  Charles Dick may also have been an "original" member of Fredericksburg Lodge.

Gustavus Wallace - was Brigadier General for a short time and Lieutenant Colonel of the American Revolution.  He too was taken prisoner at the fall of Charleston, South Carolina , and carried aboard a British man-of-war.  Through Sir Henry Clinton, he obtained an interview with Lord Cornwallis, as to a parole which Colonel Wallace greatly desired; Lord Cornwallis signed the papers himself.  He returned home and in 1802, after a short trip to Scotland , he contracted typhoid fever on ship board coming home.  On landing, Mrs. Daniel brought him in her carriage to the old tavern on Main Street , the Rising Sun Tavern now, of which he was owner.  He died a few days later and was buried in the Masonic Burying ground, but there is no tombstone over him.  The following is a paragraph from his will made December 19th, 1794: "I give my soul to Him who gave it to me; my body I bequeath to my brethren of the Fredericksburg Lodge who I hope will inter me as a Mason in the Burying Ground."  There is a red scarf in the Fredericksburg Masonic Lodge which he wore all during the Revolutionary War. 

Thomas Posey - was a military and political figure in the decades following the American Revolution. He was a member of the Virginia Committee of Correspondence, and served as a Major during the Revolutionary War.  He remained in military service after the Revolution and rose to the rank of Brigadier General in 1793.  In 1794 he moved to Kentucky , where he served as a Major General of the Militia, a state Senator, and then Lieutenant Governor.   He then relocated to Louisiana and during the second war with England he raised a company of infantry in Baton Rouge , and was for some time its Captain.  He was later appointed U.S. Senator from that state in 1812-1813 and was the last territorial Governor of Indiana .  The date he was initiated, passed and raised in Fredericksburg Lodge is unknown, but he too was listed as an active member until he departed Virginia . 

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