Albert Pike

Albert Pike: Almost Forgotten Son Of Arkansas  By Fred Pfister 

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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 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 Arkansas Highway between Hot Springs and Colorado Springs, Colo., who commanded commande d 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, philosophy, and history history,, is little known today to most people. However,, Albert Pike, a giant in 19th century hisHowever tory, politics, and culture, is making something of a comeback in the public consciousness, thanks to Dan Brown’ss thriller about Masonic Washington Brown’ Washington in The  Lost Symbol. Revered by Masons, Albert Pike’s Pike’s 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  Pike’s bust in the House of the Temple in Washington. In Dan Brown’s 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 Pike’s 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 beard—jet black in his youth and white in his old age. Add intellect to his imposing imposing figure, and ambition to his character, and it is easy to see The OZARKS MOUNTAINEER • MAY/JUNE 2011

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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 developme nt of the early courts of Arkansas Arkansas,, took an active role in the state’s 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 Confederacy’s 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 didn’t 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 Red rivers. After traveling about about 1,300 miles (650 on foot), he walked into Fort Smith with nothing but the education bookended between his 49

 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 Party’s Arkansas Advocate, who invited Pike to Little Rock to work as the paper’s 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 50

kinds of motions to be filed in the state’s courts. His reputation as an attorney also secured him the ap pointment 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 com pany 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

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. The OZARKS MOUNTAINEER • MAY/JUNE 2011

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 state’s 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 Pike’s. He was a Whig,  but the Whig Party repeatedly refused to address the slavery issue. That failure and Pike’s own antiCatholicism led him to join the Know-Nothing Party upon its creation. In 1856, he attended the new  party’s 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 state’s 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 Confederacy’s 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 The OZARKS MOUNTAINEER • MAY/JUNE 2011

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 7–8, 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 re51

 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. Pike’s 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 news paper. He also practiced law in partnership with Robert W. Johnson, former U.S. senator, until 1880. 52

After he ceased practicing law, Pike’s 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 Blackwood’s Edinburgh  Magazine and local newspapers, and Edgar Allan Poe  praised him as America’s 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   Pike’s 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 Cemetery—against 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 nation’s 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. The OZARKS MOUNTAINEER • MAY/JUNE 2011

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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 nation’s capital, make possible, and seemingly credible, the fiction thriller of Dan Brown’s 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 Pike’s 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 Brown’s book has given to the early history of  our nation’s capital and its architecture, producing a veritable flood of keys, “explanatories,” and histories about Washington, DC’s 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 biogra phies and historical fiction.

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 Hos pital 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 wasn’t 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

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“Shriners”: Another Set Of Masons 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 The OZARKS MOUNTAINEER • MAY/JUNE 2011

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