This is the tale of the Knights of the Golden Circle, a pro-slavery, semi-secret, and paramilitary society in the 1850s and early 1860s that aimed to conquer a vast territorial sphere comprising much of the Caribbean world, centered on Havana, and used filibustering in an attempt to realize that immense dream of a tropical empire built on slavery.
In it, Will and Clossington explore the history, foundation, and structure of the Knights of the Golden Horseshoe. We discuss its roots in earlier filibustering expeditions in Florida, Texas, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Cuba, including the famous campaigns of Narciso López and William Walker. Further, we discuss the life and career of George Bickley, the lifelong huckster and founder of the KGC, who built the organization through lodges called “castles”, secretive rituals, and surprisingly serious political connections in the highest levels of the American government. We then discuss how his foibles caused disaster when the Knights of the Golden Circle tried to invade Mexico.
Finally, we discuss the history of the Knights of the Golden Circle in the American Civil War period, during which KGC members supported secession, challenged Republican policy as Northern Copperheads, and helped form the local Confederate units that served as the foundation for much of the early Confederate Army.
Follow Clossington:
X: @Chossingstone1
URL: https://substack.com/ @Clossington
Substack: Clossington
Recommended further reading: Knights of the Golden Circle: Secret Empire, Southern Secession, Civil War by David Keehn. You can support this show at no cost to yourself by using my Amazon associates link to get it here: https://amzn.to/4dQfLo3
Chapters
0:00 Who Were the Knights of the Golden Circle?
3:45 The Organization and Goals of the Knights of the Golden Circle
11:40 Filibustering in American History, from Taking the Floridas to William Walker
19:01 George Bickley and Narciso López: The Cuban and Mexican Schemes
29:35 George Bickley: The Man Who Built the Knights of the Golden Circle
35:33 The Grand Strategy of Bickley’s KGC
43:36 Why the Filibusters Failed
46:17 President Buchanan, Jefferson Davis, and Why American Elites Took It Seriously
49:54 The Role of the Knights of the Golden Circle in the Civil War
58:26 The KGC Falls Apart
1:01:40 The Legacy Of the KGC, and Further Reading
