Sons of Union
Veterans of the Civil War
Initiation Ritual
1926
Opening Ceremonies
The
hour of opening having arrived and a quorum being present, the Commander will
assume his station and give one rap with the gavel *.
COMMANDER:
The officers will assume their respective stations.
The
Commander will fill such vacancies among the officers as he may desire by
appointment pro tem.
COMMANDER:
Guide, you will ascertain if the Guards are at their respective posts and in
possession of the proper pass-word and countersign. Color Bearer, you will
arrange the Altar.
*.
COLOR
BEARER: Sir, your orders have
been obeyed.
GUIDE:
Sir, on due inspection, I find the Guards at their respective posts and in
possession of the proper password and countersign.
COMMANDER:
Honored Veterans: We welcome your presence here, and by our bonds of loyalty, we
ask you never to reveal any of the business or work of the Camp which you may
witness. By your act of remaining, we construe it that you accept this
obligation.
COMMANDER:
Guide, you will make the rounds of the Camp and ascertain if all are entitled to
remain. If there is a large attendance the Color Bearer
may assist the Guide.
The
Guide will communicate the password and countersign to the Commander, and will
then proceed from the Commanders left around the Camp room receiving the
password and countersign from each member of the Order. Should there be any
Veterans of the War of the Rebellion present, the Guide will pass them way,
simply saluting them. In case a Brother is without the password and countersign,
the Guide will stop, salute the Commander and say:
GUIDE:
Commander, I find Brother
without the password and countersign.
The
Commander will summon the Brother to his station, communicate to him the
password and countersign. The Guide having made the rounds of the Camp,
distributing the Ode Cards at the same time, salutes the Commander from the rear
of the Altar and when recognized, says:
GUIDE:
Sir, on due inspection I find all are entitled to remain.
COMMANDER:
You may assume your place.
COMMANDER:
Senior Vice Commander, you will instruct the Guard to secure the door and admit
no one into the Camp until it is duly opened, and you are instructed to do so.
SENIOR
VICE COMMANDER: Sir, your
orders shall be obeyed.
COMMANDER:
Brothers, upon what principles is our Order founded and what duties do we
inculcate?
CAMP,
in unison: Fraternity, Charity
and Loyalty.
COMMANDER:
Patriotic Instructor, what color does your station represent?
PATRIOTIC
INSTRUCTOR: Red, denoting
patriotism, strength and courage.
COMMANDER:
Senior Vice Commander, what color does your station represent?
SENIOR
VICE COMMANDER: White, denoting
charity and purity.
COMMANDER:
Junior Vice Commander, what color does your station represent?
JUNIOR
VICE COMMANDER:Blue, denoting fraternity and faithfulness.
COMMANDER:
Guide, what is the color of the Commander's station?
GUIDE:
The flag of our country, theUnion
of the red, white and blue, for the preservation of which we have all pledged
our lives.
COMMANDER,
***: The Chaplain will invoke
the Divine blessing.
Opening Prayer
CHAPLAIN:
Our Heavenly Father, the High and Mighty Ruler of the Universe, who dost from
Thy throne look down upon the government of men, most heartily do we beseech
Thee with Thy favor to bless our native land and to preserve in purity and
integrity its free institutions for all coming time.
Bless our Order.
Grant that it may long exist, and that it may continue to be an instrument of
great good to all. Give us willing hands and ready hearts properly to carry out
its principles and objects. Keep green in our minds the memory of those both
living and dead, who sacrificed so much that the life of the Nation might be
preserved, and deal with them in all things with Thy special mercy.
Give us Thy aid in
conducting the business for which we are here assembled, and so endow us that
Charity and Justice, Peace and Harmony shall ever remain and abide with us.
Amen.
CAMP,
in unison: Amen.
COMMANDER:
Attention.
Opening Hymn
God bless our native
land!
Firm may she ever
stand,
Through storm and
night;
When the wild
tempests rave,
Ruler of wind and
wave,
Do Thou our country
save,
By Thy great might.
COMMANDER:
Color Bearer, you will present the colors. Brothers, we will now give the pledge
of allegiance.
CAMP,
in unison: I pledge allegiance
to the Flag of the
COMMANDER:
By virtue of the power and authority in me vested, I now declare
Camp No.
Department of Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, duly open for the
transaction of such business, as may legally and properly come before it. Senior
Vice Commander, the Camp is duly open; you will direct the Inner Guard to admit
all brothers and visitors qualified and entitled to enter.
COMMANDER:
*.
SENIOR
VICE COMMANDER: Guard, you will
admit all brothers and visitors entitled to enter.
All
such in waiting will be admitted. This being done the Order of Business will be
taken up and proceeded without delay.
Order of Business for
the Camp
1.
Opening of Camp.
2.
Roll-call of Officers.
3.
Reading of minutes.
4.
Does any brother know of a sick veteran, or a veteran's family in distress?
5.
Does any brother know of a sick brother, or a brother's family in distress?
6.
Report of visiting committee.
7.
Reports of investigating committees.
8.
Balloting for candidates.
COMMANDER:
Brothers, we are about to ballot for ... whose application has just been read.
Those in favor of his election will deposit a white ball and those opposed a
black ball.
You will proceed to
vote.
9.
10.
Commander will instruct the Guide to ascertain and report if any candidates are
in waiting.
11.
Initiation of candidates.
12.
Recess. Payment of dues is in order, at this time.
13.
Reports of committees.
14.
15.
Unfinished business.
16.
New business.
17.
Good of the Order. Has the Patriotic Instructor anything to offer?
18.
Report of treasurer.
19.
Closing ceremonies.
Initiation
GUIDE:
Commander, I find
names in waiting, who has (or have)
paid the required initiation fee and been duly elected.
COMMANDER:
Guide, you will prepare the candidate(s) escort him (them) to the Camp room and
present him (them) at the Altar.
To
prepare the candidate the Guide will place in his left hand a small flag. If
there is more than one candidate an escort will be designated for each. Before
the obligation the Guide and escorts will relieve the candidate of the small
flag.
GUIDE:
Commander, the candidate(s) are at the Altar and I await your further
instructions.
COMMANDER:
Guide, you will conduct the candidate(s) once around the Camp room and to the
station of the Patriotic Instructor from whom he (they) will receive a lesson in
patriotism.
GUIDE:
Patriotic Instructor, by direction of the Commander I introduce to you this
(these) candidate(s) for instruction in Patriotism.
PATRIOTIC
INSTRUCTOR: The fall of
Guide, conduct the
candidate (s) to the Junior Vice Commander's station where he (they) will be
instructed in Fraternity.
GUIDE:
Junior Vice Commander, by direction of the Patriotic Instructor I present this
(these) candidate(s) for instruction in Fraternity.
JUNIOR
VIOE COMMANDER: Fraternity
creates a bond that makes mankind akin. The golden chain of fraternal love,
links together in strong embrace, the membership of any organization.
The Order of Sons of
Union Veterans of the Civil War is bound by ties of more than common strength.
Eligibility to its ranks is based on the patriotism and love of country
displayed by our fathers in the hour of the Nation's greatest peril─a
title that comes to us as a sacred and most precious heritage. We are organized,
to preserve the memory of the men who enlisted in the defense of their country's
honor and unity; to perpetuate and inculcate the principles for which they
offered their lives, and to guard the results which they secured by their
services and sacrifices.
Inspired by the
spirit of fraternity that characterized the comradeship of the men who fought
for the holy cause of justice and humanity, our pledge and purpose is to stand
together, elbow to elbow, shoulder to shoulder, as stood the line of Union Blue.
In fraternity we greet you, asking, expecting in return from you the same degree
of fidelity which we so gladly give.
Guide, you will
present the candidate(s) to the Senior Vice Commander for instruction in
Charity.
GUIDE:
Senior Vice Commander, I am directed by the Junior Vice Commander to present
this (these) candidate(s) for instruction in Charity.
SENIOR
VICE COMMANDER: Charity is one
of the most Important principles inculcated by the Sons of Union Veterans of the
Civil War. A charity which comes as quietly as the dew of heaven, comforting and
making glad the hearts it touches and animating the giver with nobler thoughts
and unselfish aims. We ofttimes have with us comrades or brothers whose strength
is not sufficient, who may be overtaken by misfortune or who are brought to
distress by any of the condition^ which may affect humanity. Let them lean upon
our shoulders, share with us our portion and draw from us inspiration to hope
and happiness. How often did the Union soldiers divide their last morsel of food
and drink from the same canteen. Sick in camp or wounded in battle, they knew
that the kind and loving hearts of their comrades were joined to brave and
willing hands, the fevered brow was cooled, the parched lips were moistened and
the last moments of the dying, were made blessed by the love born of their
comradeship and seasoned in the conflict of battle. But our charity should go
still further. It should be as broad as the blue vault of heaven itself .and as
vast as the mind of mankind can conceive.
It should be that
great charity that makes all a fraternal whole, overlooking the faults and
failings of each other. That grand broad charity expressed by
Guide, you will
conduct the candidate(s) to the Commander's station for instruction in Loyalty.
GUIDE:
Commander, I am directed by the Senior Vice Commander to present this (these)
candidate(s) for instruction in Loyalty.
COMMANDER:
Loyalty as exemplified by the Grand Army of the Republic, the Union soldier or
sailor of the War of the Rebellion, should ever stir our hearts to greater love
of country. The men who wore the Union Blue constituted the Grandest Army that
ever marched beneath one flag. Their sacrifices have no parallel, and we, their
flesh and blood, would be recreant sons of noble sires should we fail to revere
their sacred memories. As the sun is the center of the solar system around which
the earth and all other units of the system revolve and from which they receive
light and heat and life, so the Grand Army of the Republic is the central
luminary of the affiliated patriotic societies; from it our own and all the
allied orders originated; from it they daily receive the warmth of patriotism
and the radiance of loyalty. As the earth in its daily revolutions turns
successively every land and nation to the face of the sun, the light of that
great orb falls on no organization having as noble an origin or as worthy a
history as the Grand Army of the Republic.
Grand Army of the
Republic! That name ripens and enriches with age. Its honors multiply with the
years of the nation. Its beneficent influence pervades all public life. It is
the Standard of comparison for all heroic and loyal endeavor. States and cities
have builded for it memorial halls and imposing monuments. The nation guards and
cares for the final resting places of its loyal dead and remembers those who
perished at sea. Poets, artists, sculptors and historians have made lavish use
of the beauties of art and literature to record and preserve their fame.
The most beautiful
service performed by the members of the Grand Army of the Republic is the
placing of flowers upon the graves of their departed Comrades. When the last
Veteran has joined his Comrades on the other shore, we, their sons, will, on
each Memorial Day, strew the mounds beneath which rest their mortal forms with
the flowers that grew in the soil they preserved to freedom. The proper
observance of that day and its sacred memories, you are admonished to remember.
COMMANDER:
Guide, you will conduct the candidate(s) to the Altar where he (they) will
receive the obligation from the Chaplain.
The
Guide presents the candidate(s) at the Altar and relieves him (them) of the
flag. The Color Bearer having conveyed the Camp colors to the right side of the
candidate(s). The Chaplain proceeds to the Altar. The Commander gives three raps
(***) with the gavel.
C'HAPLAIN:
You are now at the Altar of the Order of Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War
for obligation, and I assure you that in taking this obligation it will not
conflict with any duty you may owe your God, your country, or yourself. If you
are willing to proceed, you will grasp the Standard of the flag with your right
hand, placing your left hand upon the Bible, say,
"I,"
pronounce your name and repeat after me: I,
, in the presence of the Great
Creator | and the witnessing members of this Camp, | hereby voluntarily and
solemnly | pledge myself to support and defend | the government of the United
States of America, | to offer my life | if need be | to preserve the flag | from
being lowered in defeat; | to always observe the day | set aside by the Grand
Army of the Republic | as Memorial (Decoration) Day, | sacred to the memory of
the Union Soldiers and Sailors of 1861 to 1865 | and do all in my power | to
persuade others to do the same; | to be faithful in all the duties of
citizenship, | to be obedient to, the law of the land, | to obey the
Constitution and Regulations of this Order, | and actively to promote its
objects and interests | always and everywhere. | So help me God.
Chaplain
returns to his station. Camp sings.
Our Father's God, to
Thee,
Author of
To Thee we sing.
Long may our land be
bright,
With Freedom's holy
light,
Protect us 'with Thy
might,
Great God our King.
Commander
seats the Camp (One rap *). Guide conducts the candidate(s) to the Commander's
station. The Commander instructs the candidate(s) as follows:
COMMANDER:
My Brother(s), in seeking admission into this, or any other Camp of Sons of
Union Veterans of the Civil War, you will approach the outer door and give any
alarm. The door will be opened by the Outer Guard to whom you will communicate
in a whisper the current password which is
. This will admit you into the
ante-room. You will then approach the inner door and give an alarm of three
raps. You will then communicate in a whisper the current countersign which is
to the Inner Guard. You will then be admitted to the Camp room. You will
approach the Altar and salute the Commander and being recognized you will
proceed to your seat. The password and countersign is changed every six months
and you can receive it only from the Commander and when in good standing.
In seeking admission
into any Camp of which you are not a member, in addition to the foregoing, you
will give your name and number of your Camp and the office you hold in the
Order, if any.
The Flag.
With the obligation
you have taken upon yourself, comes your full membership in our honored Order.
If deep in your heart there lives the love of freedom, and of patriotic devotion
to the principles and institutions for which your father fought, then no
personal danger, no selfish consideration, can quench that love and make you
prove recreant or disloyal to that flag.
And what of this flag
you 'have borne through our ceremonies! There are no words that can picture its
transcendent glory. It had its birth amid the thunders of battle, while fathers,
sons and brothers fought, and mothers, wives, daughters and sweethearts
prayed─for freedom. The crimson of those stripes was caught from the best
blood that was ever poured on Freedom's altar. The prayers of the purest souls
that ever faced the Great White Throne are woven into its bars of gleaming
white. Its field of blue is a fragment of heaven itself, wherein are set God's
glittering stars of eternal hope for man.
Born of the conflict
for our national freedom, that flag has maintained in every hour of its history
its one grand idea of liberty. It witnessed the sufferings and the triumphs of a
patriot army; under it rode
Later on, it dipped
down into the darkness of treason's mad attempt, and plunged into the
volley─smoke and deadly clash, to save our blood-boughtUnion
and to banish the crime of slavery in our fair land. Now almost obscured by the
clouds of defeat, now gleaming brightly in victory, it flashed along the crimson
crests of
This glorious banner
has been the harbinger of liberty and of material and spiritual progress, not to
our land alone, but to the oppressed and unfortunate of every race and clime.
Its splendor is reflected in the lives and the love of millions from other
lands, who 'here have found those blessings of freedom and happiness which were
denied them by the countries of their birth. O'er tropic seas and polar wastes
it has been borne by its gallant sons─to ports of the Orient and to far
off islands of the Pacific─and everywhere its inspiring folds are hailed
as the symbol of freedom, enlightenment and civilization for all mankind. To
its eagles are the
terror of tyranny and its stars the hope of all free peoples throughout the
earth.
Then, when armed and
arrogant autocracy combined to extend its inhuman and barbarous rule over the
people of the world,America, inspired by the immortal example ofLafayette, sent two millions of her sons under the Star Spangled Banner to battle forLiberty
's cause on the war-torn fields ofFrance
andFlanders
. And there, and on the high seas, righteous victory attended our heroic
soldiers and sailors, until they returned with our beloved banner resplendent
with new honors, adding to the imperishable glory won by our fathers under
Abraham Lincoln, in the War for theUnion. No flag that floats today, on earth, holds out so brave a hope for all
mankind, or sheds such radiant light upon the path of human life.
Let us then entwine
each thread of the glorious fabric of our country's flag around our hearts, and
catching the spirit that breathes upon us from the battles and the victories of
America's sons, let us resolve that now and forever we will stand for that flag
and the principles and institutions it symbolizes.
It has waved over our
cradles:─let us make the high resolve that, unchanged and unstained as it
came from the hands of our fathers, it shall wave over our graves.
Presentation of Badge
Commander
places badge in hand of the candidate so that he can study it during the
explanation of its meaning.
COMMANDER:
I now present you with the insignia of our Order. The inscription, "Sons of
Union Veterans of the Civil War," reminds us of our high estate and of our
duty to our country.
We are the Sons of
Union Veterans. May we prove ourselves worthy of this title. The ribbon is a
union of red, white and blue, the colors of our country's flag: The red
signifies the unstinted streams of blood, shed that the blessings of a free
government might be our heritage, and that our own blood is pledged to preserve
that which we so gladly have received: The blue tells us of that true faith and
allegiance which our fathers held to their country and to each other, and
exhorts us to be ever mindful of their example: The white speaks of that peace
which with honor may our country ever enjoy.
The motto,
"Preserved by the grace of God," reminds us that without the
over-ruling hand of an all-wise
Like the eagle, may
we be quick to discover our country's needs, strong in its defense, and swift to
carry out the objects of our Order.
Commander
pins badge on left breast of new member.
May you wear this
badge long and proudly, and may it ever be as a guiding star to you, in the
discharge of your duties in private life and as a Son of a Union Veteran.
COMMANDER:
Officers and Brothers, I take pleasure in introducing Brother(s), bound to us
by the sacred ties of Fraternity, Charity and Loyalty. Let us give him (them) a
brotherly welcome.
CAMP,
in unison: Welcome in
Fraternity, welcome in Charity, welcome in .Loyalty.
COMMANDER:
Guide, you will conduct the Brother(a) to the Secretary's desk to sign the
Constitution and Regulations and By-Laws.
The Camp will take a
short recess during which the Senior Vice Commander will be in charge.
The
time being up, the Commander at the expiration of the recess, will call the Camp
to order, and the regular order of business will proceed.
Closing Ceremonies
COMMANDER:
There being no further business to come before the Camp, we will proceed to
close.
He
will give three raps *** with the gavel: all will rise, and he will say:
COMMANDER:
You will give attention while the Chaplain asks the blessing of God on our
deliberations.
Closing Prayer
CHAPLAIN:
Our Father in Heaven, we pray
Thee to deal with the events of this evening as may seem well and fitting in Thy
sight. Answer the honest petitions and desires of each one of us as may be most
expedient for us. Preserve us in health, strength and integrity while Thou
keepest us here, and when our mission on earth is ended, take us to a better
world. Amen.
All
will respond and say: Amen.
COMMANDER:
Officers and Brothers: We are now about to leave this Camp and return to our
respective homes. Let us all endeavor so to regulate our conduct that the honor
and credit of our Order may be fully sustained. In conclusion, permit me to
thank you for your attendance and for the assistance you have rendered in
conducting the business of the Camp.
Color Bearer, you
will attend the Altar.
I now declare
Camp No.
Department of
Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, duly
closed until next meeting. *.
The
Color Bearer will remain at his post until the Camp is closed before executing
this order.