The Freemasons in Washington
The only Confederate general with an outdoor statue in Washington, Pike was the Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite for more than three decades. His 1871 book, Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, is a staple of Masonic literature.
Italian sculptor Gaetano Trentanove's 11-foot bronze statue of the Masonic leader holding a copy of Morals and Dogma was completed in 1901. Pike stands atop a pedestal that also depicts a bronze woman holding the flag of the Scottish Rite. The statue stands in Washington's Judiciary Square and was paid for and erected by the Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite.
The statue is one of the more controversial pieces of art in the nation's capital. Protesters who say that Pike was a chief founder of the Ku Klux Klan in Arkansas have held many rallies nearby over the years. In the 1990s, Lyndon LaRouche and his supporters frequently held protests, trying to get the statue removed from Judiciary Square.
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