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in honor of a Confederate general, they contacted congressmen and told them it would be a disgrace to the memories of all Union soldiers. When members of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), a fraternal organization of Union veterans, became aware of plans for a public memorial to be erected in Washington, D.C. While Trentanove was working on the commission, Masons lobbied members of Congress for public land in Washington, D.C., where the monument could be placed. Trentanove was an acquaintance of Pike and had recently received praise for his sculpture of Jacques Marquette housed in the National Statuary Hall Collection. The SCJC chose Italian-American artist Gaetano Trentanove to sculpt the memorial. However, a few years after his death, Masons began plans for a monument in the nation's capital. Pike once stated, "When I am dead, I wish my monument to be builded only in the hearts and memories of my brethren of the Ancient and Accepted Rite". Pike continued serving as SGC until he died in 1891. He rewrote and interpreted Masonic rituals and compiled the Southern Jurisdiction's first philosophical document, Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, an influential book in the organization. Pike had become a Mason in 1850 and quickly rose through its ranks, becoming the SGC in 1859. to practice law and continue serving as Sovereign Grand Commander (SGC) of the Washington-based Supreme Council, Southern Jurisdiction (SCJC), one of two jurisdictions in the Scottish Rite. Īround 1870, Pike moved to Washington, D.C.
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Following the war, Pike settled in Memphis, Tennessee, where it was rumored he became involved with the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), though no definitive evidence proves his relationship with the organization. Alleged atrocities committed by his troops include the scalping of captured enemy combatants.Ī few months after the battle, Pike resigned from the army and resumed practicing law. Pike assembled an Indian cavalry loyal to the Confederacy and led them in battle at Pea Ridge, where his poor leadership and inability to keep the cavalry engaged with the enemy was a contributing factor to the Confederates' loss. During the Civil War, Pike's knowledge of Native Americans led to him being commissioned a brigadier general in the Confederate Army. In the 1850s, Pike switched his allegiance to the Know Nothing Party due to the Whig Party's reluctance to embrace slavery and sided with the Confederacy when Southern states seceded from the United States in 1861. He served as a captain in the Mexican–American War and resumed his legal practice following the war. Pike later became a successful lawyer specializing in Native American claims against the U.S. His letters to local newspapers led to a job offer as an editor for the Arkansas Advocate, a newspaper in Little Rock affiliated with the Whig Party. There he began teaching again and continued to write poetry, a lifelong passion. The statue was toppled and burned by protesters in June 2020, as protests continued in response to the murder of George Floyd.Īlbert Pike (1809–1891) was a Massachusetts native who became a schoolteacher and frontiersman before settling in Arkansas. Though Pike was depicted as a Mason, not a soldier, the memorial often stirred controversy for decades.
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The Pike statue was the only outdoor sculpture in Washington, D.C. The memorial is owned and maintained by the National Park Service, a federal agency of the Interior Department. The memorial is one of 18 Civil War monuments in Washington, D.C., which were collectively listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The dedication ceremony in 1901 was attended by thousands of Masons who marched in a celebratory parade. sculptural landmark, the Daniel Webster Memorial. The memorial's two bronze figures were sculpted by Gaetano Trentanove, an Italian-American artist responsible for another Washington, D.C. The memorial, which now only includes the base and Goddess of Masonry sculpture, is sited near the corner of 3rd and D Streets NW in the Judiciary Square neighborhood. honoring Albert Pike (1809–1891), a senior officer of the Confederate States Army as well as a poet, lawyer, and influential figure in the Scottish Rite of freemasonry. The Albert Pike Memorial is a public artwork in Washington, D.C. 3rd and D Streets NW, Washington, D.C., United States