Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. Commandery of the State of Massachusetts, collector.

The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS) was founded as a veterans' organization for Union officers of the American Civil War. It later opened its membership to descendants of Union officers, and is still active today.

MOLLUS was established on 1865 April 15 after the death of President Abraham Lincoln. Three Union Army officers met in Philadelphia to discuss the rumors from Washington of a conspiracy to destroy the Federal government by assassination of its leaders. The officers decided to form an organization that could help thwart future threats to the national government. A mass meeting of Philadelphia veterans was held on 1865 April 20, to pledge renewed allegiance to the Union and to plan for participation in the funeral arrangements for the President. The Philadelphia officers, who served as an honor guard for President Lincoln's funeral cortege, met again after the funeral was over to establish a permanent organization of officers and former officers patterned after the Society of Cincinnati established after the Revolutionary War. The name they chose, the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, first appeared in a notice calling a meeting on 1865 May 31, at Philadelphia's Independence Hall.

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