We recently were able to purchase a large cache of material preserved in the family of George W. Mowers. Mowers (1844-1895) of Fayetteville, PA, did two stints in the Union army: six months in the 21^st PA Cavalry from July 15, 1863, through February 1864, and four months from late February to late June 1865 in the 87^th PA Infantry. He saved a few of his own things from his service, but assembled a significant collection of Gettysburg artifacts, spending his entire life in Fayetteville, just west of the battlefield. Mowers worked in his father’s wagon shop on the small family farm along the Chambersburg Pike, just east of Chambersburg, and was active in veterans’ groups and his local G.A.R. post. It is no surprise that he was a member of a fraternal organization as well.

The Knights of the Golden Eagle were formed in Baltimore in 1872 and acted as mutual aid society for members who were unemployed or seeking jobs. Lodges were called “castles” and members were ranked in three degrees: pilgrim, knight and crusader. By the 1900s they were concentrated in Pennsylvania and by 1920 their headquarters were in Philadelphia.

The sword has a round bone grip with an eagle perched on the pommel and cast in the langet of the crossguard, which has cast and chased floral motifs on the upward-curved quillons. The initials “KGE” appear in a cartouche at the center of the quillon block. The reverse langet is shield-shaped, with a blank cartouche on a dimpled background. The blade is plain, diamond in cross section, with a simple maker or dealer’s name etched at the ricasso. The blade is good, with no pitting, bright mixed with gray spots overall and some brown areas near the hilt. The scabbard shows an even purplish-blue with just light wear. It is fitting with two carrying rings at the throat and both suspension chains are in place. The chains are the “ladder style” and still have their belt loops at top, which are shaped like shields with knight’s armor under a wide crown on the exterior and a loop on the reverse for a waist belt to pass through.

There were many fraternal organizations and secret societies in nineteenth-century America. Their role in society is interesting and their regalia and artifacts are a colorful collecting field.  [sr]

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