HISTORY
Brothers Behind
Enemy Lines
At the turn of the 19th century,
thousands of POWs held fast to their
Masonic bonds, even in captivity
by Cason Lane
War usually divides people, but sometimes it brings them together. Indeed, during the period
known as the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars, ranging roughly from
1792 to 1815, thousands of French and British soldiers were captured and held as prisoners of
war. Many of these POWs were Masons, and, in spite of their circumstances, they established
lodges in captivity.
The Masonic bond even transcended
enemy lines. Despite a deep-seated
rivalry between France and Britain that
had lasted more than a century, brothers
amidst the POW lodges befriended their
enemies, and some even received special
treatment from their captors in the craft.
French prisoners in
England
According to the 1900 book “French
Prisoners’ Lodges” by Brother John
T. Thorp, at least 120,000 members of
the French army were held prisoner in
England during the turn of the 19th
century. The officers among them had a
special option: If they signed an agreement
that they would not communicate with
their home country or try to escape, they
were granted the freedom to live in one of
about 50 “parole towns” in England.
