THE KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE IN TEXAS

An independent scholar explores a secret 19th-century group in this nonfiction book.

“Rumors and mythology have always surrounded” the Knights of the Golden Circle, writes Farmer in this well-researched history that methodically separates fact from fiction. Founded in 1854 by some of Texas’ most powerful enslavers and landowners, the organization envisioned the state as the epicenter of a slave empire whose territories extended into Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. Placing the KGC within a larger historical context, the author notes that the seeds of the organization can be found “at the very beginning of the colonization of North America,” as enslavers coalesced power and influence in French, Dutch, British, and Spanish colonies, from New Amsterdam to New Orleans. Enslavers and early American political leaders like George Washington were also attracted to secretive groups like the Free Masons and the Society of Cincinnati, a clandestine society headed by Washington until his death. Moreover, the KGC, the author argues, flourished in the heated, conspiratorial climate of the 1850s, fomenting divisive rhetoric about Northern abolitionists, securing armaments for an impending civil war, and even playing a behind-the-scenes role in the attack at Fort Sumter. From its embrace of slavery and civil war to genocidal plans to rid Texas of Native Americans, the KGC thrived on violence. The author of two previous books on Texas history, Farmer has a firm command of the complex network of powerful politicians and landowners at play in KGC plots. Like most organized criminal operations, the KGC had a hierarchical structure that served to “isolate and protect its true leadership from prosecution.” Despite this research obstacle, the author bases his account on archival and primary source material left behind by KGC members. The book also has a firm grasp of the relevant historical literature on Texas as well as the Civil War, and is backed by an impressive body of endnotes. But at almost 400 pages, the volume is at times a bit unwieldy and could have used tightening.

A grounded, rigorous study of a violent, clandestine organization.