Our First Annual Banquet was a HUGE success!

Thank you to those who attended and especially to those who made such a wonderful evening possible!             
The South Carolina Masonic Research Society presents

                            Freemasonry & The Civil War

                                  A Banquet & Symposium

Masonic author Michael Halleran will be the keynote speaker at the South Carolina Masonic Research Society's First Annual Banquet and Symposium to be held on  April 22, 2011 at 7 o'clock PM at the Omar Shrine Temple in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.

 Well known as the editor of “Brother Brother’s Journal” as published by the Scottish Rite Journal, Halleran is a freelance writer and a practicing attorney in the Flint Hills of East-Central Kansas. In addition, he is a lecturer at Emporia State University, and the author of The Better Angels of Our Nature; Freemasonry in the American Civil War (University of Alabama Press, 2010), the first scholarly look at Masonry’s role in the U.S. Civil War.  Released in March 2010, Better Angels has received praise from both Masonic and Non-Masonic reviewers:

    Michael Halleran has set a new, high standard for scholarship on Freemasonry in the Civil War. His stories are compelling, the research is impeccable, and his analysis gives fresh insights on the “mystic tie” of the fraternity.  – S. Brent Morris, Ph.D., 33° Managing Editor, Scottish Rite Journal.

    The Better Angels of Our Nature accomplishes what few books about Freemasons are able to do: it explores the legends and long-told tall tales of the fraternity in an academic  fashion, with both dispassionate analysis of the facts, and an obvious passion for the subject.  – Christopher L. Hodapp, Editor, Journal of the Masonic Society.

     [Halleran] knows the sources thoroughly and exploits them in a masterly fashion. What he produced has certainly exceeded its predecessors and Better Angels of Our Nature is  surely the best volume available on wartime freemasonry, and one I would recommend to anyone interested in the subject.  – Mark Lause, Ph.D., University of Cincinnati, in Civil War Book Review.

We will have Brother Hallaren’s books on hand for purchase and he will be happy to inscribe them for you after the symposium.

Also joining us will be Wayne Sirmon—an educator and scholar from Mobile, Alabama—who will be speaking in the dress and character John Fretwell (Grand Master of Texas, 1868) on the construction and testing of Confederate submarines as well as the development of torpedo mines.  Brother Wayne will then discuss the discovery of the H.L. Hunley Submarine and the events leading up to the conduct of the funeral of the crew and the  Masonic burial of Lt. George Dixon in Charleston in 2004.

This is an event that you do not want to miss!  Please make plans to join us for an evening of fun, food, and fellowship as we explore this most fascinating subject.  This event is open to the general public—Mason and non-Mason alike.  Please join us! 

  
Seating is limited is for this event – please reserve your seat today!  

 TICKETS are only $25.00 Each and includes your meal!  
This event is OPEN to the GENERAL PUBLIC!
Requested Attire: Formal, Semi-Formal, or Period Attire.

For additional information, please contact JOSHUA BOWERS by telephone at 843.599.5219, or by email at joshuabowersmm@yahoo.com.

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