![]() The Commandery in Chief was established on 21 October 1885 with authority over the 14 state commanderies then in existence. The Loyal Legion grew rapidly in the late 19th century and had Companions in every Northern state, and also in many of the states that had once formed the Confederacy. ![]() By the law of the Order, no new elections to this class were made after 1890. The Third Class comprised distinguished civilians who had rendered faithful and conspicuous service to the Union during the Civil War.As the former officers died off, and the Order became composed entirely of descendants, the Second Class of Companions was discontinued.) (The use of the Rule of Primogeniture was abolished in 1905 for both the First and Second classes of membership, opening membership to all male lineal descendants, and later changes opened membership to male lineal descendants of siblings of eligible officers. “Companions of the Second Class” were the eldest direct male lineal descendants of living Original Companions or of living individuals who were eligible for membership in the First Class.Officers who had fought in the Army, Navy, or Marine Corps of the United States in the suppression of the Rebellion, or enlisted men who had so served and were subsequently commissioned in the regular forces of the United States, constituted 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.”.Originally, the Order was composed of three classes of members: The Loyal Legion was organised largely during the same meetings that planned Lincoln’s funeral (as well as during a mass meeting of Philadelphia war veterans on 20 April), culminating in a meeting on, in Independence Hall in Philadelphia, at which the name was chosen. To demonstrate their loyalty, they decided to form a “Legion” modelled on the Revolutionary War Society of the Cincinnati. Many people at first gave credence to these rumours, including three of the officers assigned to the honour guard for Lincoln’s body as it was transported to Springfield, Illinois, for burial these three men, Brevet Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Brown Wylie Mitchell, Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Ellwood Zell, and Captain Peter Dirck Keyser, are considered the founders of the Order. ![]() Originsįollowing the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865, rumours spread that the act had been part of a wider conspiracy to overthrow the legally constituted government of the United States by assassinating its chief men. A female auxiliary, Dames of the Loyal Legion of the United States (DOLLUS), was formed in 1899 and accepted as an affiliate in 1915. The modern organisation is composed of men who are direct descendants, nephews or first cousins of these officers (hereditary members), and also other men who share the ideals of the Order (Associate members), who collectively are considered “Companions”. As the original officers died off, the veterans organization became an hereditary society. ![]() The founding members stated their purpose as the cherishing of the memories and associations of the war waged in defence of the unity and indivisibility of the Republic the strengthening of the ties of fraternal fellowship and sympathy formed by companionship in arms the relief of the widows and children of dead companions of the order and the advancement of the general welfare of the soldiers and sailors of the United States. The Loyal Legion was formed by in response to rumours from Washington of a conspiracy to destroy the Federal government by assassination of its leaders, in the immediate aftermath of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. The original membership was composed of members of the Army, Navy, or Marine Corps of the United States, who had served during the American Civil War as commissioned officers in Federal service, or who had served and thereafter been commissioned, and who thereby “had aided in maintaining the honour, integrity, and supremacy of the national movement” during the Civil War. The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or simply the Loyal Legion is a United States patriotic order, organised 15 April 1865, by three veteran officers of the Army.
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