Historian's Report - June 2025

A Mason’s Final Charge: Dr. Joseph Warren in June 1775

Commemorating the 250th Anniversary of the Death of Dr. Joseph Warren

Brothers,

We have begun a tradition that each June we honor Dr. Joseph Warren in the month of his martyrdom, with a commemorative talk.

This year holds special significance.  We gather in this cherished hall not merely to remember a name—but to relive a legacy. Two hundred and fifty years ago this very month, a physician, a patriot, and a Freemason made the conscious decision to risk—and ultimately give—everything for the cause of liberty.

His name, of course, was Dr. Joseph Warren.

It was June of 1775. Boston simmered under siege. The smoke of Lexington and Concord still lingered in the air. And amidst the turmoil, it was Warren—already beloved as both healer and herald of liberty—who rose to a new height of responsibility.

On June 14th, he was elected President of the Third Provincial Congress of Massachusetts. In those final weeks of his life, he coordinated colonial resistance, dispatched communications to Congress in Philadelphia, and solidified an intelligence network that had already proven critical in April—when patriots, through riders and whispers, successfully tracked British troop movements and warned the countryside.

That spy network—organized, in part, through Masonic connections—represented the quiet, coordinated resistance of free men. And it worked.

Then, on June 16th, Dr. Warren was appointed a Major General of the Massachusetts militia. His name was spoken with awe, even by his enemies. Yet titles did not tempt him. When word reached him the next morning that the British were advancing, he took up his sword, left Boston, and made his way not to safety—but to Breed’s Hill.

There, he found men weary, undersupplied, digging with bare hands in rocky earth, fortifying a hill that would become a crucible of courage.

At the rail fence, he met General Israel Putnam. David Putnam later recorded their conversation in a memoir published decades later. When Putnam offered Warren command, the doctor-turned-soldier refused.

“I am here only as a volunteer,” Warren said. “I know nothing of your dispositions; nor will I interfere with them. Tell me where I can be most useful.”

And with those words, he walked through the British cannon fire—toward the redoubt—toward Colonel Prescott’s men—toward the place of greatest peril.

What followed we know too well. Three British assaults. Twice repelled. Ammunition nearly gone. The redoubt breached.

Dr. Warren, calm and resolute, chose to remain behind to defend the retreat. He stood, sword drawn, eyes unafraid. He was shot through the head by a British officer who recognized him. 

Let us now take a moment of silence in remembrance of Dr. Joseph Warren—a brother who laid down his life not for fame, but for fraternity, for freedom, and for the future of a nation yet unborn.

His body was desecrated, buried in a mass grave. It would be ten months before his remains were recovered by Paul Revere, who identified him by the silver dental work he had crafted for Warren years earlier.

Brothers—what is a Mason’s highest charge, if not this?

To know that our lives are not measured by title or comfort, but by service. Warren’s life, and death, are the ultimate fulfillment of that charge. He did not ask where he could lead. He asked where he could serve. He did not seek the safest post. He asked for the most useful one.

That is the spirit upon which this lodge was founded.

And so tonight, on the 250th anniversary of his heroic death… in the lead-up to the 250th anniversary of the United States itself… and in celebration of the 170th year since the chartering of Warren Lodge No. 10… I would like to present this gift:

A large canvas-printed photograph of this building—our lodge—lit by the Oregon sun, grounded in history, and named for a man whose name will never fade.

May it hang here as a reminder to all who enter: that to be a Mason is to serve a higher light, and to live—as Warren did—with courage, with conviction, and with brotherly love.

As a brief but very interesting postscript, in 1912, a Masonic order was formed, to, in part, "instill into the minds of each generation the sacrifices of our Masonic forefathers in forming our great republic."  This was the Order of the Sword of Bunker Hill" (http://www.swordofbunkerhill.org/), an organization that confers the degree "Order of the Sword".  More than 129 local orders have been established across the country, but none in the Oregon Jurisdiction.  I have started a dialogue with the Most Honorable Grand Commander in Chief Larry Mersberg on how the order might get established in the Oregon jurisdiction.  If anyone is interested in joining me on that journey please let me know.  

Thank you.