All works on Joseph Warren note his involvement in Freemasonry but fail to recognize the probable planning of Warren and others for him to ultimately obtain the title and position of Most Worshipful Grand Master of North America. Freemasonry became a distinguished fraternal organization in eighteenth century Europe and America and was an intrinsic part of colonial society. It promoted not only social connections but acts of charity as well as spiritual and moral ideals.
Warren’s initial involvement, beginning in 1761, was noncommittal and quickly became nonexistent. Yet, with the political turmoil of the 1765 Stamp Act, Warren is suddenly active in St. Andrew’s Masonic Lodge and quickly rises to grand master. (St. Andrew’s was an “Ancient” lodge established under Scottish Freemasonry. St. John’s, also in Boston was a “Modern” lodge established under British Freemasonry. Ancient lodges adhered to the teachings of Christianity. Modern lodges leaned more to the teachings of the Enlightenment and humanism. Ancients and moderns would merge in 1813.)
In 1768 Warren sought a Commission from the Earl of Dalhousie, Grand Master of Masons in Scotland to appoint him Grand Master of Masons in Boston and within one hundred miles of the same. He sought another Commission in 1771, from the Earl of Dumfries, then Grand Master of Scotland. This Commission was dated March 3, 1772, and extended Warren’s Jurisdiction to the entire Continent of America. What if any impact would this title have in Warren’s goals pertaining to the pre-revolutionary years?
Warren and Paul Revere achieved the degrees available in Freemasonry at the time: the Royal Arch and Knight Templar. Only three Americans, all from St. Andrew’s Lodge held the Knight Templar degree in 1775: Joseph Warren, Paul Revere, and William Davies. Warren carried the title of Most Worshipful Grand Master in North America, which would indicate that his name and title were known and respected in Scottish appointed lodges throughout the colonies—if this was not the case, then why did he seek this specific title? He carried this title when 4,000 British troops occupied Boston. Many of the British officers would have been Freemasons. Warren and Revere’s attainment of the Royal Arch and Knight Templar degrees would have put them on equal footing within Freemasonry with any officer who had attained these degrees. Warren’s position as Most Worshipful Grand Master of North America set him above all Masonic brothers of Scottish lodges and granted him respect and protection from Masonic brothers who were British officers, from both Scottish (Ancient) and British (Modern) lodges.
In 1775, Warren was the most prominent Patriot leader in Massachusetts. Arrest warrants for him, Hancock, and Samuel Adams were known to be in the possession of British military governor Thomas Gage. Hancock and Adams fled Boston to elude arrest. Warren not only remained in Boston, but he also continued to meet with Gage on a regular basis to discuss the problems between the townspeople and soldiers. Though Warren’s name and acts against the Crown were well-known by King George III and members of Parliament, he fearlessly volunteered to undertake a mission to Great Britain. When every prominent Patriot leader escaped Boston fearing imminent action by the British troops, Warren stayed. He sent Paul Revere on his famous ride to notify the militia to meet the British in the first battle. Even after sending Revere on his way, Warren remained until the morning of April 19. He then left Boston, on a public ferry, unmolested. Then, in a proclamation by General Thomas Gage on June 12, 1775, amnesty is promised—in the name of the king—to all but Samuel Adams and John Hancock, “Whose offences are of too flagitious a nature to admit of any other consideration than that of condign punishment.” And Warren’s offences as president of the “illegal” Massachusetts Provincial Congress; chairman of the Committee of Safety; deployment of militia to confront the British in Lexington and Concord; and assumed command of the Provincial Army were not “of too flagitious a nature to admit of any other consideration that that of condign punishment”?
Why might historians have overlooked Warren’s impactful position as a Freemason? The fact that Freemasonry was a secretive society with ritualistic practices prompted opposition. By the end of the 18th century conspiracy theories began. These became intensified by American politics in the early 19th century (Jeffersonian Republicans were anti-mason). Though Freemasonry continued on despite these setbacks, it did not regain the prominence it had in the mid-18th century in America.
Picture: Liberty’s Martyr: The Story of Dr. Joseph Warren (soon to be released)
Picture: Masonic Royal Arch apron thought to have belonged to Joseph Warren (courtesy of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts)
Picture: Replica of Warren’s Royal Arch apron (Bunker Hill Museum)
