Masons

[BettyO]

Yes! There is a report -- I have to find it where Mosby's men captured some Union cavalrymen; I think they were some of Custer's men. They were sentenced to be hanged and right before the sentence was carried out, one of the Federals gave the Masonic symbol for distress. One of Mosby's men, also a Mason, saw it and supposedly, let the man go. Mosby was outraged and swore at his soldier claiming that "Sir! I do NOT run a Masonic lodge! You do that again and you will swing with the rest!"

I'll have to find the reference -- I think it was in 1864. Likewise, General John Brown Gordon was a Mason -- so was Lew Powell's surviving brother, George.