It had been seen upon experiment that the Golden Circle had been
successful beyond the most sanguine expectations of its instigators, and
as the necessity of Northern revolution to insure the certain success of
the Confederacy daily became more apparent to the rebels, both North and
South, the Order of the American Knights was inaugurated--the executioner
of that fell purpose. Its sun arose to its meridian with the suddenness of
a meteor, doomed to flash across the canopy and burst in scattering atoms.

The Order of American Knights was erected upon the dissolved fragments of
the Order of the Knights of the Golden Circle, which Order, in name, was
abandoned for the additional reason that the suspicions of the Government
had begun to be aroused as to the character of its movements. At the time
of the extinction of the Golden Circle, its members were at once inducted
into the Order of American Knights, so that this Order obtained much
primary advantage, in point of numerical strength, over its predecessor,
for the Golden Circle had already insidiously crept into the very hearts
of several Northern cities and states. The American Knights being composed
in the outset wholly of men who from experience had discovered whatever
defectiveness may have been chargeable upon the Golden Circle, it was
sought in the new Order to remedy the evils of the old Order.

With this in view, looking over the former and later phases of the Golden
Circle as it had existed in the North and South, respectively, it was
agreed to give the new Order still another capacity, and what was called
the military branch or department was added, the incendiary capacity of
the old Order being merged into this new military department.

We have seen that there had been in the North an Order mainly of
educational capacity, contemplating revolution so soon as the public mind
could be put in readiness for such an event, but now for the first time we