The North Carolina Mason

November/December 2016 The North Carolina Mason Page 3 By Ric Carter DUNN — e 20 th Masonic Dis- trict held a special outdoor Master Ma- son Degree at Averasboro Battlefield on October 15. In honor of the 1865 Battle of Averasboro, they conducted the degree in Civil War costume. Past the fields, in an open dell by a wooded rill, they set a rustic lodge. e static of history is hard to ignore when walking the same ground where men lived and died in the throes of battle. While the predominant uniform color of the day was gray, at least a cou- ple of blue uniforms and caps were seen among the Brothers on hand. Mem- bers of Angier 686 opened the lodge for raising Justin Mainusch before the event and dispensed with labor which was later resumed on the field under bright blue skies. e 20 th Masonic District created a Battlefield Degree team for the oc- casion. e first section of the degree was mastered by Dennis Brooks of Siler City 403, with Senior Warden Wal- ter Akin (Neil S. Stewart 556), Junior Warden Dean Wilkins (Palmyra 147), Secretary Johnny Kelly (Buffalo 172), Senior Deacon Bill Minard (Sanford 151), Junior Deacon Roy King (Angier 686), Stewards Orin Taylor (Wake For- est 282) and Ron Burgess (Angier 686), Tyler John Cosgrove (686), and Chap- lain Paul Kelly (Sanford 151). In the second section, Grand Mas- ter Bryant Webster took over as King Solomon. Also on the team were Senior Grand Warden Brinson Hunter, Senior Deacon Bill Minard (Sanford 151), Ruf- fians Ben Brown (Mount Vernon 143), Butch Adams (Angier 686), and Resson Faircloth (686), Fellow Crafts Bill Mi- nard (151), Frank Long (Lilington 302) and Christopher Nance (Buffalo 172). Sanford 151's Paul Kelly did the lecture. Tickets to the event included lunch and a chance at a reproduction period Richmond Arsenal Rifle. e drawing for the rifle was held after the degree and lecture were complete. You had to be present to win. e degree took place on the bat- tlefield where on March 15–16, 1865, Confederate forces under the leadership of General William J. Hardee executed a delaying action on Sherman's north- ward march. Hardee's forces succeeded in holding up the Northern march long enough for General Joseph E. Johnston to concentrate 25,000 troops in Ben- tonville to surprise Sherman's Four- teenth Corps. In the Averasboro skirmish, South- ern troops suffered about 500 casualties while the Union lost nearly 700. It was Civil War degree celebrated near Dunn the first serious check on Sherman's Army movement since it left Atlanta. Some of the Confederate dead are bur- ied in nearby Chicora Cemetery. e Averasboro Museum was open for the event. e Averasboro Battleground De- gree raised $2,460 for the Masonic Home for Children in Oxford. e District also made a donation to the Averasboro Battlefield Commission. Twentieth Masonic District Deputy Grand Master Terry Byrd organized the historic degree and was director of production. ey plan to make this an annual event and one you should cer- tainly see. e 2017 edition is set for Saturday, October 21, 2017. The gathering for the degree in Averasboro was held on the historic battlefield. The candidate is being prepared in the tent at right. This is the view of the obligation from behind the master's station. GM Webster and the Doc talking. Some blue, no fighting, on site Ric Car ter photos

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