George Washington’s Generals & Freemasonry
The purpose of this webpage is to present information about which of the Generals in George Washington’s Continental Army were Freemasons.
Please feel free to contact me with information, suggestions, or corrections about the information on this site. You can contact me by clicking on my name: Paul M. Bessel
Generals of the Continental Army, under George Washington
|
Name |
State or Country |
Masonic Membership, if any |
| William Alexander | New Jersey | no supporting evidence that he was a Mason |
| Charles T. Armand | France | not a Mason |
| John Armstrong | Pennsylvania | not a Mason |
| Benedict Arnold | Connecticut | Major General, deserted to the enemy in 1780 and fought against the United States Affiliated with Hiram Lodge No. 1 in New Haven, Connecticut, 1765 – not clear where he became a Mason |
| George Clinton | New York | not a Mason |
| James Clinton | New York | Brigadier General, Brevet (honorary) Major General Member of Warren Lodge No. 17, New York |
| Thomas Conway | France | not a Mason |
| Elias Dayton | New Jersey | Brigadier General Member of Military Lodge No. 19, AYM, under Pennsylvania, 1780 |
| Prud’Homme DeBorre | France | not a Mason |
| Philip DeCoudray | France | not a Mason |
| Matthias A.R. DeFermoy | France | not a Mason |
| John P. DeHaas | Pennsylvania | not a Mason |
| John Baron DeKalb | Bavaria | no supporting evidence that he was a Mason |
| Frederick W. DeWoedtke | Prussia | not a Mason |
| Louis L. DuPortail | France | not a Mason |
| Joseph Frye | Massachusetts | Brigadier General Not clear where or when he became a Mason, but GL of Massachusetts lists him as being a Mason |
| Christopher Gadsden | South Carolina | not a Mason |
| Horatio Gates | Virginia | no supporting evidence that he was a Mason |
| Mordecai Gist | Maryland | Brigadier General Member of Lodge No. 16, Baltimore, 1775, later Grand Master of South Carolina 1791 |
| John Glover | Massachusetts | Brigadier General Charter Member of Philanthropic Lodge, 1760 |
| John Greaton | Massachusetts | Brigadier General Not clear where or when he became a Mason, but visited Masonic lodges, officer of Masters Lodge, Albany, 1779 |
| Nathanael Greene | Rhode Island | MSA (Masonic Service Association) says he was a mason, as do his descendants |
| Edward Hand | Pennsylvania | Brigadier General, later Major General Master of Military Lodge No. 19 |
| William Heath | Massachusetts | no supporting evidence that he was a Mason |
| James Hogun | North Carolina | Brigadier General, taken prisoner in Charleston 1780 and died in captivity 1781 Member of Royal Arch Lodge No. 3 in Philadelphia, 1779 |
| Robert Howe | North Carolina | no supporting evidence that he was a Mason |
| Isaac Huger | South Carolina | not a Mason |
| Jedediah Huntington | Connecticut | not a Mason |
| William Irvine | Pennsylvania | no supporting evidence that he was a Mason |
| Henry Knox | Massachusetts | Major General, later Commander in Chief of the Army and later Secretary of War Not clear where or when he became a Mason, but he visited Masonic Lodges and Grand Lodges |
| Marquis de LaFayette | France | Major General (last surviving General of the Revolutionary War when he died in 1834) No documentary evidence shows where or when he became a Mason, but he said he was, presented himself, and was universally accepted as a Mason, visited numerous Masonic lodges |
| Ebenezer Learned | Massachusetts | not a Mason |
| Charles Lee | Virginia | not a Mason |
| Andrew Lewis | Virginia | not a Mason |
| Benjamin Lincoln | Massachusetts | Major General, later Secretary of War Became a Mason in Lodge of St. Andrew, Boston, 1781, and attended Grand Lodge meetings |
| Alexander McDougall | New York | not a Mason |
| Lachlan McIntosh | Georgia | not a Mason |
| William Maxwell | New Jersey | Brigadier General Member of Military Lodge No. 19, AYM, under Pennsylvania warrant |
| Hugh Mercer | Virginia | Brigadier General, died of wounds at Princeton, 1777 Became a Mason in Fredericksburg Lodge No. 4, 1767, later Master of that Lodge |
| Thomas Mifflin | Pennsylvania | not a Mason |
| Richard Montgomery | New York | Promoted to Major General just before he was killed in Quebec in 1775 Presumed to have been a member of Lodge of Unity, No. 18, under Irish Registry in the 17th Regiment of Foot – he was accepted by his contemporaries as being a Freemason |
| James Moore | North Carolina | not a Mason |
| Daniel Morgan | Virginia | no supporting evidence that he was a Mason |
| William Moultrie | South Carolina | no supporting evidence that he was a Mason |
| Peter Muhlenberg | Virginia | Brigadier General, Brevet (honorary) Major General Member of Royal Arch Lodge No. 3, Philadelphia, 1779 |
| Francis Nash | North Carolina | not a Mason |
| John Nixon | Massachusetts | Brigadier General Not clear where or when he became a Mason, but he visited Masonic lodges and was considered a Mason by his contemporaries |
| Samuel H. Parsons | Connecticut | Major General Became a Mason in American Union Lodge, 1776 – Master of that lodge 1779 and of St. john’s Lodge No. 2, Middletown, Conn., in 1783 |
| John Paterson | Massachusetts | Brigadier General, Brevet (honorary) Major General Charter member of Berkshire No. 5 Lodge in Stockbridge, 1777 |
| Enoch Poor | New Hampshire | no supporting evidence that he was a Mason |
| Casimir Pulaski | Poland | no supporting evidence that he was a Mason |
| Israel Putnam | Connecticut | One of the 1st 4 Major Generals appointed, and the only one to serve throughout the Revolutionary War Became a Mason at Crown Point in a military lodge in 1758, visited some Lodges, buried with Masonic honors in 1790 |
| Rufus Putnam | Massachusetts | Brigadier General Made a Mason in American Union Lodge, 1779, Master in 1794 |
| James Reed | New Hampshire | not a Mason |
| Arthur St. Clair | Pennsylvania | Major General, later President of the Continental Congress, 1787, and 1st Governor of Northwest Territory, 1789-1802 Petitioner for charter of Nova Caesarea Lodge No. 10 in Cincinnati, 1791, and Masonic monument erected over his grave |
| Philip Schuyler | New York | no supporting evidence that he was a Mason |
| Charles Scott | Virginia | not a Mason |
| William Smallwood | Maryland | no supporting evidence that he was a Mason |
| Joseph Spencer | Connecticut | not a Mason |
| John Stark | New Hampshire | Brigadier General, Brevet (honorary) Major General Made a Mason in Masters Lodge, Albany, 1778 |
| Adam Stephen | Virginia | not a Mason |
| Frederick W.A. von Steuben | Prussia | Major General Made a Mason in Germany, became a member of Trinity Lodge No. 10 (now 12) in N.Y., later affiliated with Holland Lodge No. 8 |
| Lord (Alexander) Stirling | New Jersey | no supporting evidence that he was a Mason |
| John Sullivan | New Hampshire | Major General, later Governor of N.H. Member of old St. John’s Lodge, Portsmouth, N.H., 1767, 1st Grand Master of New Hampshire, 1789-1790, resigned because of ill health in 1790 |
| Jethro Sumner | North Carolina | Brigadier General Held offices in Blandford Bute Lodge in N.C., 1766 |
| John Thomas | Massachusetts | not a Mason |
| William Thompson | Pennsylvania | Brigadier General Member of Royal Arch Lodge No. 3, Philadelphia, 1778 |
| James M. Varnum | Rhode Island | Brigadier General Not clear where or when he became a Mason, but he visited Masonic lodges and was accepted as a Mason, and buried with Masonic honors |
| Artemas Ward | Massachusetts | no supporting evidence that he was a Mason |
| George Washington | Virginia | Mason in the Lodge at Fredericksburgh (now Fredericksburg Lodge #4), Virginia, later appointed but did not actually serve as 1st Master of Alexandria Lodge #22 under its Virginia Charter, 1788-1789 |
| Anthony Wayne | Pennsylvania | no supporting evidence that he was a Mason |
| George Weedon | Virginia | Brigadier General Made a Mason in Port Royal Kilwinning Cross Lodge No. 2, 1757, affiliated with Fredericksburg Lodge No. 4, 1767 |
| Otho H. Williams | Maryland | Brigadier General Made a Mason in American Union Lodge, at Roxbury Massachusetts, 1776, later an officer in Maryland Lodge No. 27, 1780 |
| William Woodford | Virginia | Brigadier General Member of Fredericksburg Lodge No. 4 |
| David Wooster | Connecticut | Brigadier General, died of wounds 1777 Presumed to have been made a Mason in a military lodge in Louisbourg, Charter Master of Hiram Lodge No. 1 in New Haven, the 1st Lodge in Connecticut, 1750 |
| SUMMARY | 74 men were commissioned as Generals in the U.S. Continental Army from 1775 through 1783 33 (46%) were Freemasons |
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