Redmanship in Kentucky for Fifty Great SunsSmith, Frank L.
History
Redmanship in Kentucky for Fifty Great Suns
Smith, Frank L.
Improved Order of Red Men. Great Council of Kentucky
St. Tammany's Day.--The Sons of St. Tammany, or Brethren of the
Columbian Order, will assemble at the council fire of their great wigwam
on Tuesday, the 12th of the month of Flowers, at the rising of the sun,
to celebrate the anniversary of their patron saint.
A dinner will be provided at Bro. John Fowler's garden, to which the
brethren will march in procession, where a long talk will be delivered
by one of the order.
An adjourned meeting of the Society will be held on tomorrow evening,
at the going down of the sun. By order of the Grand Sachem. N. S.
PORTER, Sec.
8th of the month of Flowers, [1]Year of Discovery, 326."
During the second war with Great Britain, Fort Mifflin, on the Delaware
River, near Philadelphia, was garrisoned for a time by a military
company composed of the sons of the leading citizens of Philadelphia. At
Fort Mifflin, and among these volunteers originated the "Society of Red
Men," about the year 1813. Their motto was "Freedom and Friendship," and
they were a natural outgrowth from and sequence to the St. Tammany
Societies.
The records of the Society of Red Men are abundant and the Great Council
of the United States in its Official History of the Order traces its
growth and decline in detail as well as its customs and ceremonies. It
flourished until about the year 1828, when it began to decline, and in
1832 was about extinct. The elements of conviviality, which seems to
have been inseparable from all fraternal organizations of that period,
finally produced such a degeneration in the Society as to disgust the
better element, and cause the reorganization in its present form, and
the incorporation of the word "Improved" in its title.
[1] It will be observed that the present style of dating was used
nearly one hundred years ago, though subsequently changed to the Jewish
method.
CHAPTER II.
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE IMPROVED ORDER OF RED MEN (1833-1847).
In a pamphlet prepared by Bro. John F. Weishampel, Sr., containing a
long talk delivered by him on Saint Tammany's Day, May 12, 1837, in the
city of Baltimore, Md., he says:
"For some length of time prior to organizing the present Improved Order
of Red Men, there existed in Baltimore, Md., a lodge, or society, called
Red Men. They had their wigwam, or place of meeting, in the garret of a
tavern. They met once a week, paid their dues, and initiated new members
if any were on hand. After the business was over, the rest of the
evening was spent in singing, telling yarns, making speeches, and
convivial enjoyment, in which the decanter largely figured. The object
of the society appeared to be only convivial entertainment. Several
gentlemen who had been induced to join the lodge, but who did not favor
such a course, withdrew as soon as they discovered the nature and object
of the society, and it soon afterwards broke up."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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