Part 1 of 7 - Dream of an Empire
A filibuster or freebooter is someone who engages in an unauthorized military expedition into a foreign country to support a revolution. The term is usually used to describe United States citizens who attempted to prompt insurrections in Latin America in the mid-19th century. Filibusters are irregular soldiers who act without authority from their own government, and are generally motivated by financial gain, political ideology, or the thrill of adventure. The term of “filibuster” today is figuratively applied to the political act used in the United States Congress.
In the 1850’s, there was a genuine expansionist spirit in America. “Manifest Destiny” was the common theme. This had been excited by Narciso Lopez’s two failed, but sensational filibuster expeditions to free Cuba from Spain, and especially William Walker’s successful expedition into Nicaragua. Texas independence from Mexico and admission into the union was perhaps the most inspiring and successful example of organized expansion. It is in this backdrop that many Dark Lantern or secret societies were formed. There were several major ones, but it was the Knights of the Golden Circle – The American Legion (KGC) that was the most successful and ambitious.
Motivated by the Southern Rights Clubs of the day, the KGC was the brainchild of Virginia born Charles Bickley. These clubs came about due to the influence and philosophies’ of ardent states’ rights advocate, John C. Calhoun of South Carolina. The organization was founded on July 4, 1854, in Lexington, Kentucky, for the sole purpose of extending the United States. The plan was to promote Southern territorial expansion, the continuation of slavery until organized emancipation could be accomplished, and create an agricultural empire efficient enough to influence world prices through voluntary control of acreages planted in cotton, corn, rice, wheat, tobacco, rice, indigo, sugar cane and coffee. The KGC was also a joint stock trading corporation, a more humane model of the East India Trading Co.
Unlike other filibuster societies, the KGC was elaborately organized into three degrees complete with separate rituals, oaths, obligations, passwords, and modes of recognition. Only those of high moral character were admitted. Gamblers, felons, drunkards were excluded. There were three degrees: 1st military, 2nd financial and 3rd political.
References and endnotes available upon request. To be continued.
Established in 1896, the SCV is dedicated to preserving the history and legacy of Confederate veterans. As the direct heir of the United Confederate Veterans, it is the oldest hereditary organization for male descendants of Confederate soldiers. Today, the SCV remains committed to ensuring the true history of the 1861-1865 period is preserved.