He Put His Name On Arkansas

Albert Pike: Almost Forgotten Son Of Arkansas

By Fred Pfister

uring the night of June 11 last year, flash flood waters rolled down the Little Missouri River into the secluded Albert Pike Campground in the wilderness of the Ouachita National Forest in Arkansas, sweeping 19 campers to their deaths. People were naturally more concerned with the deaths of neighbors and loved ones than the man who was the namesake of the campground. But the man who has some dozen namesakes in Arkansas, including the Albert Pike Highway between Hot Springs and Colorado Springs, Colo., who commanded the Native American forces at the Battle of Pea Ridge and became the only Confederate general to have a public sculpture in Washington, D.C., who wrote the Masonic treatise Morals and Dogma, a codified guide, philosophy, and history, is little known today to most people. However, Albert Pike, a giant in 19th century history, politics, and culture, is making something of a comeback in the public consciousness, thanks to Dan Browns thriller about Masonic Washington in The Lost Symbol. Revered by Masons, Albert Pikes most famous quotation is What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains, and is immortal. It is inscribed near Pikes bust in the House of the Temple in Washington. In Dan Browns The Lost Symbol, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon pauses for an instant to take note of this bust and quotation on his way up the stairs to save Peter Solomon. Making him seem even more the giant of his time was Pikes size, both vertical and horizontal. He was said to be three or four inches over 6 feet and easily weighed in at 300 pounds. That towering presence was topped by a massive head, with long, flowing locks and a thick beardjet black in his youth and white in his old age. Add intellect to his imposing figure, and ambition to his character, and it is easy to see
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Pike had a commanding appearance with long, flowing locks and a thick beard. Both were jet black in his youth and snow white in his old age, as in the photo by Matthew Brady, taken in 1865. why he became an important figure. Pike was a lawyer who played a major role in the development of the early courts of Arkansas, took an active role in the states politics prior to the Civil War, and was a central figure in the development of Masonry in the state and later became a national leader of that organization. During the Civil War, he commanded the Confederacys Indian Territory, raising troops there and exercising field command of them in the Battle of Pea Ridge. He also was a talented poet and writer. Albert Pike was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 29, 1809, the son of a cobbler. He received an education that provided him with a background in classical and contemporary literature. He was fluent in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek, and he passed the Harvard entry examination when he was sixteen. He was unable to pay the tuition at Harvard, however, and began to teach. In schools where students were often as old as their teacher, his size and intellect made him a figure students didnt dare try to run off. Pike left Massachusetts in 1831 for Santa Fe, which was part of Mexico. During the excursion his horse broke and ran, forcing Pike to walk the remaining 500 miles. From Santa Fe, he joined an expedition into the lands around the headwaters of the Arkansas and Red rivers. After traveling about 1,300 miles (650 on foot), he walked into Fort Smith with nothing but the education bookended between his

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(photo: Matthew Brady)

(photo: Wikipedia)

In 1944 and 1953, special Acts of the United States Congress allowed the remains of Albert Pike and, later, John Henry Cowles, to be placed in vaults in the House of the Temple. Memorial busts of Pike and Cowles, each on a marble pedestal, were added at that time. (photo: courtesy of Phoenixmasonry Masonic Museum and Library) ears. He taught in rural schools around Fort Smith for a short time. His literary skills, however, soon involved him in Arkansas politics and attracted the attention of Charles Bertrand, owner of the Whig Partys Arkansas Advocate, who invited Pike to Little Rock to work as the papers editor. Pike accepted the job and moved to the capital city. In addition to editing the newspaper, Pike secured additional work in Little Rock as a legislative clerk. He married Mary Ann Hamilton on October 10, 1834, who bore him 11 children. She brought to the marriage considerable financial resources, and she helped Pike purchase an interest in the Advocate from Charles Bertram in 1834. The next year, he became its sole proprietor. Pike studied law while editing the newspaper, ultimately passing the Arkansas Bar exam in either 1836 or 1837. In the latter year, he sold the newspaper and devoted his time to the law. As a lawyer, Pike was known for his good speaking voice and his sharp intellect. It was also said he had a good singing voice, and he played the violin. With these personal assets, Pike developed a lucrative law practice, but his clients also included many of the tribes in Indian Territory. Among his clients at this time were the Creek and Choctaw, whom he represented in a case against the U.S. government that secured payment for lands taken in the Treaty of Fort Jackson in 1814. Pike learned several Native American dialects while working as their attorney. In 1842, he published the Arkansas Form Book, a tool for lawyers providing models for the different

kinds of motions to be filed in the states courts. His reputation as an attorney also secured him the appointment of receiver for the failed Arkansas State Bank in 1840. As receiver, he attempted to collect the debts owed to that institution, and the fees he received for this work were lucrative and secured his fortune, allowing him to build the Greek Revival mansion at 411 East 7th Street in Little Rock on 12 lots he purchased in 1839 from Chester Ashley, a prominent lawyer and land speculator who later became a U.S. senator. An ambitious man who desired to become a public figure, Pike joined others in 1845 in supporting actions against Mexico, in what became the Mexican War. He helped raise the Little Rock Guards, a company incorporated into the Arkansas cavalry regiment of Colonel Archibald Yell, and served as its captain. Pike concluded early on that the senior officers of his regiment were incompetent, and he shared his observations with the people back in Arkansas through letters to the newspapers. After the Battle of Buena Vista, he leveled particularly harsh criticism against Lieutenant Colonel John Selden Roane, who had assumed command after Yell was mortally wounded. After a particularly vitriolic letter by Pike in the Arkansas Gazette, Roane demanded that Pike apologize or give him satisfaction. Pike refused to apologize, and the two fought a duel near Fort Smith on a sand bar in the Arkansas River. In the exchange of fire, neither hit his antagonist, and the two were persuaded to halt the duel, with honor now satisfied. Roane later became governor of Arkansas from 1849 to 1852 and served as a Brigadier General in the Confederate Army. After returning from Mexico, Pike reestablished

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The log building in which Albert Pike was reputed to have taught in 1832. It now stands on the courthouse lawn at Van Buren. It has been said that Pike found Freemasonry in a log cabin and left it in a temple.

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his law practice and promoted the construction of a transcontinental railroad from New Orleans to the Pacific coast. He moved to New Orleans in 1853 to further his railroad activities, although he also continued to practice law. He translated French legal volumes into English while preparing to pass the bar exam for Louisiana. Pike had a great facility with languages. He read Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. He had learned various Native American dialects in his legal work with the tribes in Indian Territory. He was reputed to read, write, and speak 16 languages. Pike had become a Freemason in 1850, in part because of his political ambitions. In 1853, the Arkansas Freemasons established the library of the Grand Lodge of Arkansas with Albert Pike as chairman. It is the second-oldest library in the state. In 1859, they opened St. Johns College in Little Rock and educated many of the states leaders. In the decade after the war, Freemasonry was reestablished slowly in every section of Arkansas. By the end of the nineteenth century, there were 12,522 Masons in 442 lodges, and Albert Pike was the best known Mason in Arkansas. In the years following the Mexican War, the developing sectional crisis brought on by the issue of slavery became a concern of Pikes. He was a Whig, but the Whig Party repeatedly refused to address the slavery issue. That failure and Pikes own antiCatholicism led him to join the Know-Nothing Party upon its creation. In 1856, he attended the new partys national convention. It was equally reluctant to adopt a strong pro-slavery platform, and he joined other Southern delegates in walking out of the convention. Pike believed in the idea of states rights and considered secession constitutional. He philosophically supported secession, demonstrating his position in 1861 when he published a pamphlet titled State or Province, Bond or Free? When secession and war came, the Confederate War Department appointed him a brigadier general in the Confederate army in August 1861 and assigned him to the Department of the Indian Territory because of his experiences there and his knowledge of their languages. Pike assisted the tribes that supported the Confederacy in raising regiments. He believed that these units would be critical to protecting the territory from Union incursions, but his belief that the Indian units should be kept in Indian Territory brought him into early conflict with his superiors. One of those superiors was General Earl Van Dorn, one of the Confederacys most promising general officers early in the Civil War. He proved to be a disappointment and died, not at the hands of the enemy but at those of a jealous husband, in 1863. But early in 1862 he had been sent to command in Arkansas in
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The temple replaced the old brick one in which Pike lived while in Washington. It was designed by noted architect John Russell Pope, who modeled it after the tomb of Mausolus at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The building was dedicated on October 18, 1915. order to get Ben McCulloch and Sterling Price to cooperate. In the spring of 1862, Van Doren ordered Pike to bring his 2,500 Indian troops into northwestern Arkansas. Despite his opposition to the move, Pike obeyed, and his Indian force of about 900 men joined Confederate forces in northwest Arkansas. On March 78, 1862, they participated in the Battle of Pea Ridge, led by Pike. Pike evidently failed to keep his force engaged with the enemy or in check. Charges circulated widely that the men had stopped their advance to take scalps. After the battle, Pike and his men returned to Indian Territory. Opposition to Confederate policy over Indian Territory would continue to be a source of conflict between Pike and his superiors. Unhappy with Pike, in the summer of 1862, General Thomas C. Hindman, who had replaced Van Dorn as commander of Confederate forces in Arkansas, attempted to extend his authority over Indian Territory. Pike responded by issuing a circular that refused to surrender control and charged Hindman with trying to replace constitutional government with despotism. Their dispute went to Confederate authorities at Richmond, who decided in favor of Hindman, and Pike was reprimanded. On July 12, Pike resigned from his position in protest and retired near Greasy Cove along the Little Missouri River in Montgomery County. The Albert Pike Campground was later established on the spot. At the end of the Civil War, Pike moved to New York City, then for a short time to Canada. After re-

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In this eleven-foot bronze statue, erected in 1901, Pike is presented in civilian dress as a Masonic leader, not as a Confederate General. He carries a copy of Morals and Dogma in his left hand. The granite pedestal below him contains a bronze lady in Greek dress who sits on one level of the pedestal and holds the banner of the Scottish Rite. In 1977 the monument was relocated to its present site between the Department of Labor building and the Municipal Building, between 3rd and 4th Streets, on D Street, NW. Pikes statue is the only Confederate officer represented among the outdoor Civil War statuary of Washington. (photo: courtesy of Phoenixmasonry Masonic Museum and Library) ceiving amnesty from President Andrew Johnson on August 30, 1865, he returned for a time to Arkansas and resumed the practice of law. In 1867, he moved to Memphis and entered a new law partnership with General Charles W. Adams. He also edited the Memphis Appeal. He may have become involved in the organization of the Ku Klux Klan at this time, although this is not certain. He moved to Washington, DC in 1870, engaged in politics and edited The Patriot, a Democratic newspaper. He also practiced law in partnership with Robert W. Johnson, former U.S. senator, until 1880.

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After he ceased practicing law, Pikes real interest was the Masonic Lodge. As early as 1853, he also associated with the Scottish Rite of Masons and rose rapidly in the organization. In 1859, he was elected Grand Commander of the Supreme Council, Southern Jurisdiction of the United States, the administrative district for all parts of the country except for the fifteen states east of the Mississippi River and north of the Ohio, and held that post until his death. After the war, he devoted much of his time to rewriting the rituals of the Scottish Rite Masons. For years, his Morals and Dogma (1871), was distributed to members of the Rite and is still readily available. Over his career, he published numerous other works on the order, including Meaning of Masonry, Book of the Words, and The Point Within the Circle. As he aged, he also became interested in spiritualism, particularly Indian thought, and its relationship to Masonry. Late in life, he learned Sanskrit and translated various literary works written in that language. As a result of his work in this area, he published Indo-Aryan Deities and Worship as Contained in the Rig-Veda. As a young man, Pike began to write poetry and continued to do so for the rest of his life. When he was 23, he published his first poem, Hymns to the Gods. Subsequent poems appeared in contemporary literary journals such as Blackwoods Edinburgh Magazine and local newspapers, and Edgar Allan Poe praised him as Americas greatest classical poet. He later gathered many of his poems and republished them in Hymns to the Gods and Other Poems (1872). After his death these appeared again in Gen. Albert Pikes Poems (1900) and Lyrics and Love Songs (1916). Highly regarded in his day, his poetry is now mostly forgotten. Pike died in Washington, DC on April 2, 1891, aged 81, in the old brick Scottish Rite Temple where he had taken up residence in 1883. He was buried at Oak Hill Cemeteryagainst his wishes, as he had left instructions for his body to be cremated. On December 29, 1944, the anniversary of his birth, his body was removed from Oak Hill Cemetery and placed in a crypt in the new House of the Temple, headquarters of the Southern Jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite. Much has been written against Freemasonry by fundamentalist Christian sects, and a quick search of the Internet will reveal that Albert Pike is pictured by them as a demonic, Satanic prince and prophet, and a member of the shadowy Illuminati, intent on establishing a new world order. Of course some of the same sects revere the nations founding fathers, many of whom were also Masons Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, William Ellery, John Hancock, Joseph Hewes, William Hooper, Robert Paine, Richard Stockton, George Walton, and William Whipple.

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The Masons penchant for secrecy, their mystic rituals, and their long history, as well as their association and influence in the symbolism, design, and architecture of the nations capital, make possible, and seemingly credible, the fiction thriller of Dan Browns The Lost Symbol. Of course then, as now, Masons are open about their membership, being more of a society with secrets than a secret society. Just as today, Masons proudly acclaim their membership with bumper stickers, Pike, in his era, never hid his Mason membership. Albert Pikes passion, almost an obsession, as a poet, scholar, and Mason, was that all men should seek knowledge, or light. From that light came information and understanding. In a sense, Pike, a Renaissance man, was an extension of those figures of the 18th century Enlightenment. Perhaps the attention Browns book has given to the early history of our nations capital and its architecture, producing a veritable flood of keys, explanatories, and histories about Washington, DCs monuments and buildings, will also generate a new appreciation for the man who left his name on so many places in Arkansas. = Fred Pfister, Branson, Mo., is editor of The Ozarks Mountaineer and an avid reader of biographies and historical fiction. An appendant body of the Masons is the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, or Shriners. Like the Scottish Rite and York Rite, all Shriners are Masons, but not all Masons are Shriners. The Shriners first developed in 1870, and the very first chapter (Mecca Shriners) met in 1872. Today the Shriners have over 350,000 Nobles (members) attending 191 chapters in four different countries. The original intent of the Shriners was to give Masons a fraternity that focused on friendship and fun. While that intent is still the same today, in the 1920s a community focus was added in a big way, and in 1922, the first Shriners Hospital for Children was
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opened in Shreveport, La. Since then, 21 more hospitals were opened with a focus on orthopedic care, burn and spinal cord injury, and cleft lip-palate care. All of this care is delivered at absolutely no cost to the patient or their family. Recently, two Ozarkers (Aleena Havens, 8, and Alexia Havens, 5) became patients of the Shrine Hospital due to burn injuries sustained in a house fire on Jan. 15, 2011. The air transportation and medical attention till age 18 will be handled entirely by the Shriners. As if the treatment wasnt enough, on March 14 the girls were treated to a Circus performance night at the Abou Ben Adhem Shrine Center in Springfield, Mo. A flock of clowns (including Douglas Pitts), greeted the young ladies to a fun night of amazing circus performers and caring Shriners. To find out more about the Shriners please visit www.beashrinernow.com or call 813-281-8101. thanks to Douglas Pitts for Shriner information

(photo: museum of the Scottish Rite Consistory, Des Moines, Iowa)

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Shriners: Another Set Of Masons

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