Sir Knight

I stumbled into exploring the world of Freemasonry somewhat by accident. My aunt mentioned that her grandfather had been a Knight Templer. I found this baffling because the only Knights Templar I knew of were the militant medieval order disbanded by the pope in 1312. Soon after, while researching one of my great-great-grandfathers, I learned that he was also a Knight Templar, which cemented my interest in learning about the organization. I came to understand that the modern Knights Templar exist as a somewhat separate organization within Freemasonry. The Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (aka the Shriners) is another such organization.

Clothes brush owned by Frank W. Barnhart. The Henderson-Ames Company, in various incarnations, was a major producer of fraternal organization uniforms and regalia from 1866 to 1965. Photo by author.

Freemasonry has its origins in the medieval guild of stonemasons. Guilds were central to medieval trades but lost prominence with the Enlightenment and the rise of capitalism in the 17th century. By the early 18th century, the Masons had become what they are today, a fraternal organization dedicated to self-improvement, philanthropic work, and brotherhood with no requirement that members be actual stonemasons. There is no historical evidence for a connection between the Masons and the original Knights Templar, but a variety of narratives have been embraced by Masons—and conspiracy theorists—since the 18th century. The gist of these stories is that the original Knights Templar, seeking to escape the pope’s wrath, went underground and attached themselves to the stonemason’s guild, with their secrets and rituals then influencing those of the masons (Dafoe 2008). 

Once a Mason has achieved the status of Master (3rd degree) within his Lodge, he can join an “appendant body” that offers further degrees and orders. The 33rd Masonic degree made famous by novelist Dan Brown, for example, is the highest degree within Scottish Rite Masonry. Within York (or American) Rite Masonry, the Order of the Knights Templar is open to those who have achieved certain of the rite’s degrees and are Christians. [1] Masonic Knights Templar have their own local and state organizations, called commanderies rather than lodges, and their own national hierarchy, with all commanderies under the authority of the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar (de Hoyos 2014). The Knights Templar today still use a similar, albeit less ornate, uniform and virtually identical regalia to what I have seen in family photos (McBride 2005).  They also still refer to one another as “Sir Knight.”

Knights Templar regalia owned by Frank W. Barnhart. At left is the hilt of the ceremonial sword carried by all Sir Knights; at center, the Knights Templar badge, worn on the sword baldric across the chest; and at right, a badge for the Marietta, Ohio, Knights Templar Commandery. Photo by author.

Freemasonry came to America with colonists from Great Britain. We know, for example, that Benjamin Franklin became a Mason in 1730. Masons were so common among American colonial elites that reading a list of them sounds like a history lesson. George Washington and many of his generals were Masons as were a number of signers of the Declaration of Independence (Clawson 1989). The Knights Templar have been in America for a long time, too. The first Knight Templar in America was inducted in 1769. The second was Paul Revere (Dafoe 2008).

Despite all the Masonic founding fathers, the early 19th century was not a good time for Masons in America. Masons were perceived by many as elitist, conspiratorial, and anti-Christian. There was even a short-lived anti-masonic political party. By mid-century, though, this animosity had faded as abolitionism, sectionalism, and anti-immigrant sentiment took precedence in the public mind (Dumenil 1984; Clawson 1989; Dafoe 2008). In contrast, the late 19th and early 20th centuries have been described as “the golden age of fraternalism” in the United States (Clawson 1989; McBride 2005). Both the creation of and membership in fraternal organizations soared during this era. Some 5.4 million American men belonged to fraternal organizations in 1897, representing around 20% of adult males in the country, and the Masons, together with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, were the largest and best-known (Harwood 1897).

Scholars point to a range of factors to explain the popularity of fraternal organizations during this era, including the spread of industrialization and urbanization in the United States, which led to increased social isolation; the Victorian emphasis on separate spheres for the sexes, which made the exclusively male fraternities an appealing option; and the pleasures of wearing fancy outfits and engaging in ritual activities (Dumenil 1984; Clawson 1989; McBride 2005). The camaraderie of groups like the Masons and the considerable support, both social and financial, they lent to members in need were a significant draw (Harwood 1897; Dumenil 1984). The prestige of being a Mason, and especially a Knight Templar, was of great social value—provided you were a white, native-born male with sufficient funds to pay the initiation fees and dues and purchase the uniform and regalia required (Clawson 1989).

It was within the context of this golden age of fraternalism that my great-great-grandfather John S. Loud became a Knight Templar. I don’t know when he joined the Masons or reached the rank of Knight Templar, but by 1880, he was both High Priest of the Santa Fe Chapter of the Royal Arch Masons and Eminent Commander of the Sante Fe Knights Templar Commandery. In March 1897, while he was at Ft. Washakie in Wyoming, the Army Navy Journal reported:

Capt, Loud was present at the late meeting of the “Mystic Shriners” at Cheyenne, and has been lately elected as Eminent Commander of “Hugh de Payen” Commandery, Knight Templar, at Landon, Wyo. [2] He has been P.E.C. [Past Eminent Commander] of the same Masonic order for many years past, and we understand the Captain is one the highest Masons now in the army (“Personal” 1897).

John S. Loud in Knight Templar uniform. c1888. His shoulder boards indicate his status as a Past Eminent Commander. Loud family photo.

After his retirement from the army, John Loud was actively involved with the Knights Templar through the Columbia Commandery in Washington, DC. His name appears frequently in the “Among the Fraternities” column of the Washington Evening Star and the “Echoes from the Lodge Room” column of the Washington Times during the early years of the 1900s. He participated in reviews of the Knights Templar by Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. In this regular event, which originated in 1872 (Ruli 2023), all five local commanderies drilled on the Ellipse before marching onto the White House grounds for review by the president, accompanied by several bands and a contingent of mounted police. As a Past Eminent Commander, John rode in the carriages that proceeded the marchers (“Sir Knights” 1900; “Review” 1902). When he died in 1909, he was buried in Arlington National Cemetery with not only military honors but also a Masonic ceremony conducted by the Knights Templar.

“Funeral of Col. Loud.” May 31,1909. Washington Evening Star. Page 9.

My great-grandfather Frank W. Barnhart was also a Masonic Knight Templar but at a very different time and place. It’s clear from his photo that Frank joined the Knights Templar as a young man, but it wouldn’t have been before 1905. Twenty-one was generally the minimum age at which a man could become a Mason, and Frank was born in 1884.

Unlike John Loud, Frank’s name doesn’t appear in the newspapers for the cities where he lived, suggesting that he did not serve as an officer of the organization. I can only speculate about his involvement with the Knights Templar, but I feel confident that he attended the 1916 state conclave in Clarksburg, West Virginia, where he lived at the time. This event attracted some 3,000 Sir Knights from across the state and culminated in a grand street parade (“Knights Templar” 1916). He probably also participated in the Masonic funeral of his uncle, also a Knight Templar and Clarksburg resident, later that year (“Barnhart Funeral” 1916). Later in life, living in Longview, Texas, he likely attended the usual round of meetings, banquets, and funerals associated with most fraternal organizations as well as the annual sunrise Easter service that rotated among various local churches.

Frank W. Barnhart in Knight Templar uniform. c1910. Barnhart family photo.

By the time Frank passed away in 1959, the Knights Templar, like American fraternalism more broadly, was in decline. Masonic membership, as a percentage of the eligible population, reached its peak during the 1920s. The Great Depression and World War II led to drops in membership while the enormous increases in membership during the 1920s lessened Masonic organizations’ social status. Perhaps most importantly, the ideals of morality and brotherhood that had resonated so strongly in earlier decades came to seem quaint in a modern world of science and technology (Dumenil 1984). That is not to say that these organizations disappeared. Freemasonry, and the Knights Templar, still exist today and remain important to their members, particularly in more rural areas. But the day when watching Sir Knights parade on the Ellipse, or on Main Street, was a major civic event are long gone.

[1] Membership in the Masons requires belief in a Supreme Being but is not limited only to Christians.

[2] Hugues de Payens was the first Grand Master of the medieval Knights Templar.

Knights Templar on parade. 1910. Marietta, Ohio. Photo postcard, publisher unknown.

Works Cited

“Barnhart Funeral Services Tonight.” September 22, 1916. Clarksburg, WV, Daily Telegram. Page 17.

Clawson, Mary Ann. 1989. Constructing Brotherhood: Class, Gender, and Fraternalism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Dafoe, Stephen. 2008. The Compasses and the Cross. Surrey, England: Lewis Masonic.

De Hoyos, Arturo. 2014. “Masonic Rites and Systems.” Handbook of Freemasonry. Ed. Henrik Bogdan and Jan A.M. Snoek. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. Pages 355–77.

Dumenil, Lynn. 1984. Freemasonry and American Culture 1880-1930. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Harwood, W. S. 1897. “Secret Societies in America.” The North American Review 164 (486): 617-24

“Knights Templar of the State Take City and Hold Big Parade.” May 17, 1916. Clarksburg, WV, Daily Telegram. Page 1.

McBride, Harriett W. 2005. “The Golden Age of Fraternalism: 1870-1910.” Heredom: The Transactions of The Scottish Rite Research Society 13: 1-31.

“Personal.” United States Army and Navy Journal and Gazette of the Regular and Volunteer Forces. 13 March 1897, p. 502.

“Review of Sir Knights.” May 27, 1902. Washington Post. Page 2.

Ruli, B. Chris. September 2023. “Knights of the Ellipse.” Knight Templar.

“Sir Knights in Parade.” October 12, 1900. Washington Post. Page 11.