It was the largest, most successful subversive organization in American history (chapters 12, 28, 40). Tens of thousands were members. Interestingly, historians tend to ignore it, though the Order’s plans for a southern empire, a golden circle, were real (chapters 12, 25). The meeting at the Greenbrier resort in 1859 happened, and the rules booklet exists (chapter 12). The knights’ motto was simple: To maintain the Constitution as it is, and to restore the Union as it was. Their odd handshake and secret words of greeting are factual (chapter 12), but connecting the cross and circle to the
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