BG, CSA PIKE Albert

BG, CSA PIKE Albert[1]

Male 1809 - 1891  (81 years)

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  • Name PIKE Albert 
    Prefix BG, CSA 
    Birth 29 Dec 1809  Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  [2
    Gender Male 
    _UID 672C1AC2D809435DAC12D6E45DD38E113720 
    Death 2 Apr 1891  Washington, District of Columbia Find all individuals with events at this location  [2
    Address:
    Scottish Rite Temple 
    • (OBIT:

      The Washington Post
      Sunday, October 22, 1905
      During General Pike's last illness he repeatedly expressed a desire to his associated in the Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite that no stone or monument should be erected over his grave and that is the reason why there is no marker of any kind in Oak Hill Cemetery to indicate the last resting place of a very distinguished citizen.

      The Atlanta Constitution April 11, 1891
      General Pike's Funeral
      No Display of Any Sort
      The Services at the Church
      Washington, April 10. The funeral of the late Albert Pike, Grand Commander for the Southern Jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite Order of Masonry took place in this city today and at the request of the dead man was marked by simplicity and an absence of display of any sort. The services were held in the Ascension Episcopal Church and Masons of all degrees were present in large numbers, but by special request none of them wore the regalia of the order with the exception of an armed escort from the Scottish Rite consistory which acted as a guard of honor at the funeral.

      Rev. Dr. Elliott, rector of the church read the ritual prescribed by the church and a Masonic choir sang Nearer My God to Thee and Abide With Me after which the remains were taken to Oak Hill Cemetery in this city for interment.

      The honorary pallbearers were: Senator Dolph of Oregon; Rev. Dr. Bullock, Henry L. Palmer, Sovereign Grand Commander of the Northern Jurisdiction Scottish Rite; General James W. Denver, James A. Henry and Frederick Kramer of Little Rock, Arkansas; Ashton S. White and active members of the Supreme Council of the Southern Jurisdiction now in the city and active pallbearers: Arthur St. Clair of Denver; Frank Armstrong, Thomas Lanigan, Major John S. Duffy, ex-Senator Fowler of Tennessee; Major Robert A. Howard, Representative Clifton R. Breckinridge and Judge L.H. Mangum. )
    Burial Aft 2 Apr 1891  Washington, District of Columbia Find all individuals with events at this location  [2
    Address:
    House of the Temple 
    • (originally buried in Oak Hill cemetery.)
    Albert Pike, BG, CSA
    Albert Pike, BG, CSA
    Notes 
    • Confederate Brigadier General.

      In 1831 he left Massachusetts and ventured west where he joined a party of trappers and hunters on expeditions that led him to Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico before settling in Fort Smith, Arkansas in 1834.

      In Arkansas he became a teacher, editor and owner of a newspaper as well as a successful lawyer. He was an advocate for the Native American Indians and helped garner a three million dollar settlement for the Choctaw Indians from the US Senate. With the outbreak of the Mexican War he joined the cause, commanding a troop of volunteer cavalry that was credited for its honorable performance at the Battle of Buena Vista. After the war he assumed his law practice. In 1849 he was admitted, along with Abraham Lincoln, to practice before the US Supreme Court.

      Although he was born and raised in Massachusetts and was against both slavery and secession he was unwilling to support the Union cause and joined the Confederate Army, being commissioned a brigadier general on November 21, 1861.

      At the start of the Civil War he assisted General Ben McCulloch in formulating alliances with American Indian tribes. After being commissioned brigadier general he led a brigade of Native Americans at the Battle of Pea Ridge. His charges did not perform well and allegations made regarding his troops' conduct forced him to resign his commission, be arrested and be briefly imprisoned in Texas. Distrusted and held in contempt by many Southerners and considered a traitor by many Northerners he spent several years after the war as a wanderer. He lived in New York in 1865 but fled to Canada after being accused of inciting an Indian revolt. President Andrew Johnson pardoned him in August of 1865 and he returned to Arkansas where he was charged with treason. After vindicating himself he moved to Memphis, Tennessee to practice law and edit a newspaper before settling in Washington DC where he continued his practice and edited The Patriot.

      Although he lived a wild and colorful life as a frontiersman and soldier he may be best known for his writings. He was an avid reader who loved the classics and became proficient in Hebrew, Greek, Latin and French. During his lifetime this complex and controversial man wrote Prose Sketches and Poetry Written in the Western Country (reportedly the first published work dealing with the area west of Arkansas), Hymns to God and Other Poems, Lyrics and Love Songs, Maxims of the Roman Law and Some of the Ancient French Law, as Expounded and Applied in Doctrine and Jurisprudence and Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. He first joined the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in 1840 then had in the interim joined a Masonic Lodge and become extremely active in the affairs of the organization, being elected Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite's Southern Jurisdiction in 1859. He remained Sovereign Grand Commander for the remainder of his life (a total of thirty-two years), devoting a large amount of his time to developing the rituals of the order and achieving the 33rd degree. Notably, he published a book called Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry in 1871, of which there were several subsequent editions.

      Pike is still regarded in America as an eminent and influential Freemason, primarily only in the Scottish Rite Southern Jurisdiction.

      Pike died in Washington, D.C., aged 81, and was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery (against his wishes—he had left instructions for his body to be cremated). In 1944, his remains were moved to the House of the Temple, headquarters of the Southern Jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite.
    Person ID I101916  Noyes Family Genealogy
    Last Modified 7 Jul 2013 

    Father PIKE Benjamin,   b. 23 May 1780, Rowley, Essex, Massachusetts, United States Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 14 Apr 1833, Newbury, Essex, Massachusetts, United States Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 52 years) 
    Mother ANDREWS Sarah,   b. 23 Jan 1786, Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts, United States Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1858 (Age 71 years) 
    Marriage 3 May 1808  Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  [3
    Family ID F30940  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family HAMILTON Mary Ann   d. 14 Apr 1876 
    Marriage 1834  [4
    Family ID F40887  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 23 Feb 2024 

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsDeath - Address:
    Scottish Rite Temple - 2 Apr 1891 - Washington, District of Columbia
    Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsBurial - Address:
    House of the Temple - Aft 2 Apr 1891 - Washington, District of Columbia
    Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 

  • Photos
    Albert Pike, BG, CSA
    Albert Pike, BG, CSA
    Albert Pike statue
    Albert Pike statue
    Intersection of Third and D Streets, N.W.; Washington, D.C.

  • Sources 
    1. [S2692] Internet-Wikipedia, Albert Pike.

    2. [S3808] Internet-Find A Grave, Find A Grave Memorial #11051 [Burl Kennedy] 8/23/2000.

    3. [S4584] Book-Pike-Albert Pike A Biography, p.10.

    4. [S3808] Internet-Find A Grave, Find A Grave Memorial #7522436.