The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or simply the Loyal Legion is a United States patriotic order organized on April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the U.S. Army. The original membership was composed of commissioned officers of the Army, U.S. Navy, or U.S. Marine Corps who served during the American Civil War, or who had served and thereafter been commissioned and who thereby "had aided in maintaining the honor, integrity, and supremacy of the national movement" during the Civil War.
The Loyal Legion was formed in response to rumors from Washington of a conspiracy to incapacitate the United States government by the assassination of its leaders in the immediate aftermath of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. The founding members stated their purpose as cherishing the memories and associations of the war waged in defense of the unity and indivisibility of the Republic; the strengthening of the ties of fraternal fellowship and sympathy formed by companionship in arms; the relief of the widows and children of dead companions of the order; and the advancement of the general welfare of the soldiers and sailors of the United States. The veterans' organization became a hereditary society after the original officers died off. The modern organization is composed of men who are direct descendants, nephews, or first cousins of these officers (hereditary members), and also other men who share the ideals of the Order (Associate members), who collectively are considered "Companions". A female auxiliary, Dames of the Loyal Legion of the United States (DOLLUS), was formed in 1899 and accepted as an affiliate in 1915.
Origins
Following the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865, rumors spread that the act had been part of a broader conspiracy to overthrow the legally constituted government of the United States by assassinating its chief men. Many people at first gave credence to these rumors, including three of the officers assigned to the honor guard for Lincoln's body as it was transported to Springfield, Illinois, for burial; these three men, Brevet Lt. Col. Samuel Brown Wylie Mitchell, Lt. Col. Thomas Ellwood Zell, and Captain Peter Dirck Keyser, are considered the founders of the Order. To demonstrate their loyalty, they decided to form a "Legion" modeled on the Revolutionary War Society of the Cincinnati. The Loyal Legion was organized mainly during the same meetings that planned Lincoln's funeral and during a mass meeting of Philadelphia war veterans on April 20, culminating in a meeting on May 31, 1865, in Independence Hall in Philadelphia, at which the name was chosen.
The Order initially was composed of three classes of members: Officers who had fought in the Army, Navy, or Marine Corps of the United States in the suppression of the Rebellion, or enlisted men who had so served and were subsequently commissioned in the regular forces of the United States, constituted the "Original Companions of the First Class." The eldest direct male lineal descendants of deceased Original Companions or eligible officers could be admitted as "Hereditary Companions of the First Class." "Companions of the Second Class" were the eldest direct male lineal descendants of living Original Companions or of living individuals who were eligible for membership in the First Class. (NOTE: The use of the Rule of Primogeniture was abolished in 1905 for both the First and Second classes of membership, opening membership to all male lineal descendants, and later changes opened membership to male lineal descendants of siblings of eligible officers (i.e., a nephew relationship), and in 2021, to male lineal descendants of an aunt or uncle of eligible officers (i.e., a first-cousin relationship.) The Second Class of Companions was discontinued as the former officers died off and the Order became composed entirely of descendants.) The Third Class comprised distinguished civilians who had rendered faithful and conspicuous service to the Union during the Civil War. By the law of the Order, no new elections to this class were made after 1890.
Later history
The Loyal Legion grew rapidly in the late 19th century and had Companions in every Northern state and many of the states that had once formed the Confederacy. The Commandery in Chief was established on October 21, 1885, with authority over the 14 state commanderies. Previously, the Pennsylvania Commandery functioned as the "first among equals" of the commanderies as it was both the oldest and largest.