The above audio comes from a court transcript from the trial of 5 Indiana men charged with being members of the Knights of the Golden Circle, a Copperhead secret society.
The Knights and the Sons
Although they certainly didn't like the Union, most Copperheads didn't want to go so far as to overthrow the Northern government! However, the secret society called The Sons of Liberty--also known as the Knights of the Golden Circle--were "extremist" Copperheads: they were so opposed to the Civil War, they didn't trust the Lincoln administration to end it, so they wanted to implement their own government to do so themselves.
The Sons of Liberty even went as far as to support the Confederacy. They gave supplies to the Southern army, protested the Northern draft, and encouraged soldiers to desert and abandon the Union Army.
At first, this society was called the Knights of the Golden Circle. These Copperheads took the medieval thing so far that each local branch of their society was called a "castle"--clever, right? Its first "castle" was established in Cincinnati in 1854 by George W. L. Bickley, and over 110,000 Ohioans would go on to join the society by the end of the Civil War.
The Knights showed hints of being pro-slavery from the start. For example, "castles" were created in Texas to try to colonize North Mexico to include it as a pro-slave territory in the United States!
Below: the seal of the Bickley. Note Bickley's name in the center, surrounded by the society's ideals: "Legion," "Power," "American," and "Union", dated 1858.
The Sons of Liberty even went as far as to support the Confederacy. They gave supplies to the Southern army, protested the Northern draft, and encouraged soldiers to desert and abandon the Union Army.
At first, this society was called the Knights of the Golden Circle. These Copperheads took the medieval thing so far that each local branch of their society was called a "castle"--clever, right? Its first "castle" was established in Cincinnati in 1854 by George W. L. Bickley, and over 110,000 Ohioans would go on to join the society by the end of the Civil War.
The Knights showed hints of being pro-slavery from the start. For example, "castles" were created in Texas to try to colonize North Mexico to include it as a pro-slave territory in the United States!
Below: the seal of the Bickley. Note Bickley's name in the center, surrounded by the society's ideals: "Legion," "Power," "American," and "Union", dated 1858.
In 1863, the Knights renamed themselves the Order of American Knights—to associate themselves with their motherland, America—and then again in 1864 as the Sons of Liberty—a play on the Revolutionary War band of patriots by the same name.
The Sons of Liberty were gradually disbanded as the Civil War ended and the Union achieved more and more victories on the battlefield. However, they were linked to two of the Civil War's most infamous acts: The New York Draft Riots, and both of the Camp Douglas Conspiracies.
The Sons of Liberty were gradually disbanded as the Civil War ended and the Union achieved more and more victories on the battlefield. However, they were linked to two of the Civil War's most infamous acts: The New York Draft Riots, and both of the Camp Douglas Conspiracies.
Find out more about Civil War secret societies!
If you want a great summary on the Knights of the Golden Circle:
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/vbk01
If you would like to read the entire court transcript for the trial of the 5 men from Indiana charged with being members of the Order of American Knights:
http://ehistory.osu.edu/osu/sources/recordView.cfm?Content=121/0007
If you would like to read a journal entry from a man 45 years after the Civil War who lived in the same county as many members of the Knights of the Golden Circle and the Sons of Liberty:
http://iavanburen.org/JAKeckPapers/Keck-SonsOfLiberty.html
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/vbk01
If you would like to read the entire court transcript for the trial of the 5 men from Indiana charged with being members of the Order of American Knights:
http://ehistory.osu.edu/osu/sources/recordView.cfm?Content=121/0007
If you would like to read a journal entry from a man 45 years after the Civil War who lived in the same county as many members of the Knights of the Golden Circle and the Sons of Liberty:
http://iavanburen.org/JAKeckPapers/Keck-SonsOfLiberty.html