What did this secret society have to do with lost Civil War gold?
Al Dykstra and the team visit a Freemason temple in Washington D.C. The temple is officially known as the Home of The Supreme Council, 33°, Ancient & Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Southern Jurisdiction, Washington D.C., U.S.A. They meet with Ocram Elias.
Ocram Elias is considered one of Washington D.C.'s most respected residents. He is also one of the nation's most high-ranking freemasons having achieved the 33rd degree the fraternity's highest level in 2001. Since then he has served as the head of several masonic lodges and even as grandmaster of masons for the District of Columbia.
As grandmaster, Ocram Elias oversees all masonic lodges in the jurisdiction. In the temple (the Home of The Supreme Council, 33°, Ancient & Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Southern Jurisdiction, Washington D.C., U.S.A) itself, everything was figured right down to the nth degree and all of the features have a reason. It really puts in perspective the size of this effort. There was a lot of power with the masons back in the day.
Ocram Elias explains the Freemason traditions. 'Every mason would take his oath. An oath that has to do with duty and obligation duties are things that others expect of you an obligation is self-taken. It's free will masonry can never tell a person to take an oath against his religious belief, his political affiliation, or the allegiance that he or she owes to their country.'
Ocram Elias then goes on to explain the struggles of the Freemason society during the Civil War. 'Masons were on both sides, families were split, you had generals on both sides who are masons but freemasonry would never tell you you need to be with one side or another.'
During the four years of the Civil War the United States was more bitterly divided than at any other time in its history because battle lines were often drawn state by state as well as by ideology. Members of the same family often found themselves fighting each other. However, despite the fact that many freemasons found themselves on different sides of the conflict their strong bonds of fraternal brotherhood often trump their loyalties to country. (S2E7)
