A Shrine Beach Parade

In this photograph from the collection of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, a line of men in bathing costumes and swim caps march across the beach in Atlantic City, New Jersey. This unusual sight was photographed on the morning of July 13, 1904, when the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine hosted their annual meeting in the resort city.

This two-day event was the thirtieth annual gathering since the founding of the order in 1873. Thousands of Shriners and their families traveled to the Jersey shore and participated in a variety of activities and programs. According to the Annual Proceedings of the AAONMS, this session hosted 276 representatives from eighty-nine temples throughout the United States. During the meeting, the secretary of the group, called the Imperial Recorder, reported a net membership gain of 8,545 in 1904, and a total national membership of 87,727.

In addition to business meetings and evening parties, members of the AAONMS took part in an activity for which their group later became renowned–parades. The 1904 Annual Session, or meeting, opened with a parade that differed from the norm. A Shrine unit called the Arab Patrol, hailing from Moslem Temple in Detroit, Michigan, took part in a beach parade at 10:00 AM on Wednesday, July 13.

Accompanied by the first regiment band of Michigan and a bugle corps of twenty-nine men, they “marched from the Grand Atlantic Hotel in bathing suits to the beach between Young's Pier and the Steel Pier, and plunged into the ocean,” according to the Camden, New Jersey Morning Post. The front page of the local paper, the Atlantic City Daily Press, clarified that the men were dressed in “bathing suits, specially prepared for the occasion” and called the whole affair “one of the most unique and picturesque incidents of the gathering of the Shriners here.”

Camera operators of various sorts took advantage of the picturesque quality of the plunge. Alfred Camille Abadie (1878-1950) of Thomas Edison’s company Edison Films captured this beach parade on a 35mm motion picture camera. Per Edison’s September 1904 advertising circular, the 2.5-minute film showed “the entire body drilling on the beach and entering the surf” and could be purchased for $21.75.

This photo is one of two of this parade in the museum’s collection. Both are marked on the back: “Fred Hess, Photographer, 2506 Arctic Avenue, Atlantic City, NJ.” Hess (1858-1932) was a commercial photographer in Atlantic City from around 1893 until his death. Hess’ home studio was located about a mile from the spot where he took the beach parade photos.

This beach parade photograph–in addition to being a surprising and captivating image–depicts the details of a unique and intriguing event. It also provides information about Atlantic City, the AAONMS, and commercial photography and cinematography in the early 1900s.

---

Further Reading:

• 1900 map of Atlantic City

Heavy Impact: British Cannonball Fired in Lexington on April 19, 1775

Cannonball (fired in retreat from Lexington), ca. 1775. Gift of Harvey B. Leggee, 75.34a.

Its surface is pitted and its usefulness long gone, but this six-pound iron ball tells an intriguing story of the first military battle of the Revolutionary War and its effect on the town of Lexington, Massachusetts.

According to an accompanying plaque, this cannonball was “fired in 1775 by ‘British regulars’ under command of Captain Earl Perry [sic] during their retreat from Lexington Green.” On April 19th of that year, the first battle of the Revolutionary War was fought in Lexington, now the home of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library.

Tensions had been high between Massachusetts citizens and the British government–represented by its royal troops–since the soldiers had landed in Boston in 1769. This friction had already led to such events as the 1769 Lexington Spinning Protest, the 1770 Boston Massacre, and the 1773 Lexington Tea Burning and Boston Tea Party.

These tensions and other events led to an armed conflict between Lexington’s Training Band and British troops on April 19, 1775. A contingent of British soldiers headquartered in Boston were deployed on an overnight mission to retrieve stolen cannon and ammunition hidden in Concord. After a short engagement at dawn in which eight Lexington men were killed and ten wounded, the British troops continued to Concord where they found themselves in a pitched battle at the Old North Bridge with militia members from Concord and surrounding towns. Eventually, the order to retreat was given and the British soldiers began a long and harrowing march back to Boston.

Local militias reengaged British troops many times along the route back–now called “Battle Road"–but the fighting took a different tone as the troops marched back through Lexington. By this time, relief troops from Boston had positioned two six-pound cannon at a rise east of the town center to provide covering fire for the soldiers on foot.

This bombardment led to cannonballs smashing through both the Lexington meetinghouse on the Green and one of the houses west of the Green on Harrington Road. According to SRMML’s records, the museum's cannonball was excavated in 1956–181 years after the battle–by local Mason Harold L. Worth (1909-1993) from the “south side of Merriam Hill.” This ball was found within the range of the British cannon that day. The location of the find supports the message on the cannonball’s plaque–that it was fired by British soldiers.

Cannonball (fired in retreat from Lexington), ca. 1775. Gift of Harvey B. Leggee, 75.34a.

To confirm this information, SRMML staff measured the cannonball. The British were using six-pound field pieces that day and a six-pound cannonball is usually around 3.58 inches in diameter. As you can see on the right, this cannonball is 3.52 inches, which is within the expected range for historical examples. Using historical accounts, maps, and munitions specifications, we feel confident that this cannonball was fired during the conflict between Massachusetts citizens and British soldiers.

The cannon and troops are long gone, but the town of Lexington is still deeply tied to the events of April 19, 1775. Its landscape and people were profoundly marked by the attack. Evidence of that impact remains in the military detritus left behind. It is also on display in the reenactments and commemorations of the battle held annually in Lexington. See the links below for more Revolutionary War items in the museum’s collection!

---

More Revolutionary War items at SRMML:

• “In Provincial Congress, Concord, April 15, 1775”
• "To all the Friends of American Liberty": The 1775 Lexington Alarm Letter
• Muster Roll, 1775 September 12
• Report from Fort No. 2 (Dorchester Heights), 1776 November 19
• Officer's commission issued to Abel Chapin, 1781 July 1
• Discharge certificate, 1783 June 8

425 Horses and Thousands of Knights Templar

In an exhibition on view here at the National Heritage Museum, The Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts: Celebrating 275 Years of Brotherhood, there's a section devoted to the 26th Triennial Conclave of the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar of the United States that was held in Boston from August 27-30, 1895, featuring many objects related to (or created expressly for) this meeting of Knights Templar.

You might be thinking, "What's the big deal? Did anyone in Boston even notice this Conclave?" In fact, it was a huge event. Just read the NY Times account of the parade held on August 27, 1895 where they report that "Boston has seldom, if ever, been so elaborately decorated. Practically every building along the line of the march, besides many of the side streets, is clothed in color, with appropriate mottoes and Masonic emblems, intertwined with streamers and bunting."

Interested in learning a bit more about this event, I checked to see what we have in the library's collection. Not surprisingly, we have a few different publications that were published expressly for (and about) the 1895 Triennial Conclave. The Report of the Triennial Committee is perhaps one of the richest. It's the official report of all of the various activities that took place over those three days.

Here are just a couple of interesting excerpts, which, I think, give a flavor of the events:

Committee on Horses and Horse Equipments: "By careful canvassing and advertising the Committee were able to provide 425 horses suitable for the purposes of parade..."

Committee on Receptions: "One of the earliest arrivals was that of the California Commandery, which was enthusiastically hailed by the large throng which awaited its coming at the Union Station. They were cordially welcomed by the Committee, and the ladies conducted to carriages. The Commandery having mounted their horses were escorted to their headquarters by Boston Commandery, 360 strong, receiving a continual ovation along the line of the route."

Committee on Music: "The majority of the visiting commanderies, however, brought their best local bands with them...One hundred thirty-seven bands, besides numerous drum corps, were distributed throughout the line [of the parade]."

But perhaps photographs of the event, two of which can be seen here, give the best sense of what it was like to be there. The top photo above shows a crowd of parade-watchers on Washington St., waiting for the parade to pass by; the bottom photo shows the staff of the Chief Marshall as the parade passes through Copley Square. The photos seen here are from:

Report of the Triennial Committee of the Grand Commandery of Knights Templars of Massachusetts and Rhode Island for the 26th Triennial Conclave of the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar of the United States, held in Boston, Mass., August 27th-30th, 1895. [Privately printed, 1895].
Call number: 17.973 .U58

But if you really want to see photos, we've got a 500-page book (both too big and too fragile to scan), that goes a long way in documenting the events:

Mason, William A., ed. Photographic Souvenir: Grand Encampment of Knights Templar, 26th Triennial Conclave, held at Boston, Mass., Aug. 26-31, 1895. Boston : A.A. Rothenberg and Co., 1895.
Call number: 17.973 .U58 1895

Additionally, we have a number of postcards related to the 1895 Boston Conclave in our Duncan collection of postcards (MM 025) in the Archives.