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Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, New York Commandery Records

Call Number

MS 2996

Dates

1853-1920, inclusive
; 1889-1913, bulk

Creator

Extent

4.17 Linear feet

Language of Materials

English .

Abstract

The records of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States consists primarily of routine correspondence to and from officers of the Legion. There are also a few interesting papers and artifacts from the Civil War.

Historical note

The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States is a patriotic veterans organization that was formed in the wake of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln on April 15, 1865.

It was founded in Philadelphia, by three Union officers attending a mass meeting of veterans in that city to plan for participation in the funeral arrangements for the President. These three officers -- Brevet Lt. Col. Samuel Brown Wylie Mitchell, Lt. Col. Thomas Ellwood Zell, and Captain Peter Dirck Keyser -- wanted to form an organization that could help thwart future threats to the national government. Their model was the Society of the Cincinnati, established after the Revolutionary War. The name they chose, the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), first appeared in a notice calling a meeting on May 31, 1865 at Independence Hall.

Other states soon formed their own MOLLUS commanderies, including the New York Commandery, which was instituted on January 17, 1866, with headquarters in New York City.

The organization originally consisted of three classes of members. Officers who fought in the US military during and after the American Civil War were known as the "Original Companions of the First Class." The eldest direct male lineal descendants of deceased Original Companions or deceased eligible officers could be admitted as "hereditary Companions of the First Class." Companions of the Second Class consists of descendants of living Original Companions or of living individuals eligible for First class membership. The third class was comprised of civilians who gave faithful and conspicuous service to the Union during the Civil War.

The organization still exists today, but now serves as a hereditary society (male descendants of eligible officers), rather than a functioning military order. Many Companions are nonetheless either military veterans or even on active military duty. Among other activities, Companions organize and participate in commemorative events, provide awards to deserving ROTC cadets, and assist with preservation efforts.

Organizationally, MOLLUS is composed of a National Commandery-in-Chief and individual state Commanderies. In 2016, there were 20 state Commanderies. States without their own Commandery are placed under the jurisdiction of an existing Commandery.

Since its inception, the MOLLUS membership has included nearly 12,000 Civil War officers. At its zenith, the organization counted practically every prominent officer among its ranks. Among them were Generals Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman;Lt. Generals Philip H. Sheridan, Nelson A. Miles and John M. Schofield;Major General Winfield Scott Hancock, George B. McClellan, Rutherford B.Hayes, George Armstrong Custer, David McMurtrie Gregg and Grenville M. Dodge;Admiral David G. Farragut; Rear Admirals Bancroft Gherardi and George W.Melville. In addition to Ulysses S. Grant and Rutherford B. Hayes, Original Companions Chester A. Arthur, Benjamin Harrison and William McKinley served as Presidents of the United States.

Arrangement note

The collection is arranged into the following three series: Series I, Correspondence; Series II, Financial Materials; Series III, Other materials.

Scope and Contents note

The Loyal Legion collection spans the period from 1861 to 1920 and contains correspondence, financial materials, membership records, and a few Civil War artifacts. The majority of the correspondence concerns routine matters such as memberhip, dues, in memoriam notices for deceased members, appointments, speakers, insignia orders, and similar types of internal issues.

Financial materials include account books, check books, and receipt books.

The collection also contains some interesting Civil War memorabilia, including a [blood-stained?] letter that passed across battle lines at Antietam, a piece of fabric from a Confederate spy balloon and a submarine cable used by the Confederates.

Access restrictions

Open to qualified researchers.

Photocopying undertaken by staff only. Limited to ten exposures of stable, unbound material per day. (Researchers may not accrue unused copy amounts from previous days.) Researchers on site may print out unlimited copies from microfilm reader-printer machines at per-exposure rates. See guidelines in Reading Room for details.

Materials are stored offsite and advance notice is required for use. Please contact manuscripts@nyhistory.org prior to your research visit to coordinate access. Keep in mind that it will take between two (2) and five (5) business days for collections to arrive, and you should plan your research accordingly.

Use restrictions

Permission to quote from this collection in a publication must be requested and granted in writing. Send permission requests, citing the name of the collection from which you wish to quote, to

Preferred Citation note

This collection should be cited as the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, New York Commandery Records, MS 2996, The New York Historical Society.

Location of Materials

Materials are stored offsite and advance notice is required for use. Please contact manuscripts@nyhistory.org prior to your research visit to coordinate access. Keep in mind that it will take between two (2) and five (5) business days for collections to arrive, and you should plan your research accordingly.

Collection processed by

Francis Gestosani

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 15:49:12 -0400.
Language: Description is in English

Repository

New-York Historical Society
New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West
New York, NY 10024