The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, also known by its acronym MOLLUS or simply as the Loyal Legion, is a United States patriotic order, organized April 15, 1865, by officers of the army, navy, and marine corps of the United States who had aided in maintaining the honor, integrity, and supremacy of the national movement, for the purpose of cherishing the memories and associations of the war waged in defense of the unity and indivisibility of the Republic; strengthening the ties of fraternal fellowship and sympathy formed by companionship in arms; for the relief of the widows and children of dead companions of the order, and for the advancement of the general welfare of the soldiers and sailors of the United States. [1] The modern organization is composed of descendants of these officers.
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Origins
Following the assassination of President Lincoln in 1865, rumors 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. Many people at first gave credence to these rumors, including three of the officers assigned to the honor guard for Lincoln's body as it was transported to Springfield, Illinois, for burial. To demonstrate their loyalty, these officers decided to form a "Legion" modeled on the post-Revolutionary War Society of the Cincinnati. The Legion was organized largely during the same meetings that planned Lincoln's funeral, culminating in a meeting on May 31, 1865, in Philadelphia's Independence Hall at which the name was chosen, and a mass meeting of Philadelphia war veterans on April 20. The society was composed of three classes:
- officers who had fought in the army, navy, or marine corps of the United States in the suppression of the Rebellion or of enlisted men who had so served and were subsequently commissioned to the regular forces of the United States.
- Members of the second class were elected from among the eldest male descendants of those eligible for the first class.
- The third class consisted of distinguished civilians who rendered faithful and conspicuous service to the Union during the Civil War. No new elections to this class have taken place since 1890. [2]
The order grew rapidly and had members (called "Companions") in almost every state except those of the former Confederacy. At its height at the very end of the 19th century, the order had over 8,000 Civil War veterans as members, including nearly all notable general and flag officers and several future presidents—Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman, Philip H. Sheridan, George B. McClellan, Rutherford B. Hayes, Chester A. Arthur, Benjamin Harrison, and William McKinley, among others. The Order's fame was great enough to inspire John Philip Sousa to compose the Loyal Legion March in its honor in 1890. As the Civil War veterans aged and died, the Order opened hereditary membership to male descendants of the original members. Today, the Order serves more as an hereditary society than as a functioning military order.
Prominent original companions
U.S. Presidents
United States Army
- William Tecumseh Sherman
- Philip H. Sheridan
- John M. Schofield
- Winfield Scott Hancock
- George B. McClellan
- Nelson A. Miles
- David McM. Gregg
- George Armstrong Custer
