"I have held up a light in the obscurity of Philosophy, which will be seen centuries after I am dead. It will be seen amidst the erection of Tombs, Theatres, Foundations, Temples, Orders and Fraternities for nobility and obedience — the establishment of good laws as an example to the World. For I am not raising a Capitol or Pyramid to the Pride of men, but laying a foundation in the human understanding for a holy Temple after he model of the World. For my memory I leave it to Men's charitable speeches, to foreign Nations and the next Ages, and to my own Country after some Time has elapsed." -- Francis Bacon, Advancement of Learning (1605), Bk II.

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Join me to explore the hidden tenets of arranged alignments of architecture and art. Structures as diverse as the Great Pyramid, Baalbek, The Tower of the Winds, Hagia Sopia, Basilica San Vitale, The Dome of the Rock, St. Peter's Square, Gisors, The Newport Tower, Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest, and the Georgia Guidestones all may have a common origin.

Three reproductions of the Tower of the Winds in England help to display how this age old value is viewed through time. Along the way many legends and myths associated with the Holy Grail and other relics are examined.

Treasure myths such as the Oak Island Legend and The Beale Treasure Legend may have a common origin and hidden meaning. The tale of The Bruton Parish Church Vault (a.k.a. "Bacon's Vault) may also be a copy of an already existent mystery at Stirling Castle.

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St. Paul's Chapel, 911 and the Mysteries of North America


Chapter 2: St. Paul’s Chapel and Pierre L’Enfant. The Mystery of the Montgomery Memorial.

The story of the development of New York City is a true American Tale. Elements of many different colonial powers contributed to its origins and history. The Dutch and English held control of the area that would become New York City in the early stages of colonial settlement in New England and the other colonies. New York was for a short time the Capitol of the United States of America prior to the capitol being moved finally to Washington District of Columbia.

Since the tragic events of September, 11, 2001 many have examined the possible hidden history or occult overtones associated with this disaster. One of the structures that has been discussed in biblical prophecy by some is St. Paul’s Chapel just to the east of the World Trade Center Towers that collapsed on that day. Regardless of the truth of how these events unfolded it is clear that the Trinity district of Manhattan, New York City had already been steeped in Masonic and Royal mythology and lore in ways that few understand. Part of this value had to do with what may considered “hidden” messages left in some of the structures that were valued at this time. Is it possible that someone had created a “New Jerusalem” or “New Atlantis” out of the rubble of this tragedy?

Rabbi Jonathan Cahn links the survival of St. Paul’s on September eleventh to a chain of events that matches the prophecies of Isaiah. A lone Sycamore Tree is said to have spared the Chapel from destruction on that day by blocking the fall of debris from the collapsing buildings. The remains of the tree have now been made into a bronzed memorial that also reflects the telling of this prophecy by Isaiah. Amazingly the same Sycamore Tree seems to be referred to in the Bob Marley song “Time will Tell” where the “song of freedom tree….Sycamore Tree” is mentioned. It appears Marley was also referring to the Prophecies of Isaiah when this song was written.

We will examine here how St. Paul’s Chapel fits into an architectural scheme of places in early America that both tell a story of their own and represent a valued point on the earth from which to measure. St. Paul’s has some interesting geographic associations with other colonial era structures that have already been identified by this author as having been important to a specific caste of movers and shakers in Colonial and early American times. Other structures such as the Newport Tower, The Powder Magazine in Williamsburg, Monticello, Poplar Forest, and most of all the strange street plan of Washington D.C. seem to beckon one to use their powers of interpretation, art appreciation, and history to interpret correctly.

The history of St. Paul’s itself reveals many links to important figures in American history that have family ties to the premier Jacobite and Scottish families that actually in a large way created the United States or helped to fund its creation in hand with others who held different views. At this time many likely felt they should band together with those of a different view of the new Republic in order to break the chain of colonial domination that had been enacted by the Hanoverian and Parliamentarian factions of England at that time. It was not only George I that wanted to keep control of the colonies but the English Parliament also voted to continue to control and tax the colonies. Within the English Parliament and political system were many who did sympathize with the Exiled Stewart Kings of England in tandem with the goals of the colonies in forming a new Republic.

Many who held this view of a Republic in the colonies were adhering to a kind of “New Atlantis” or “New Jerusalem” concept that had been defined by Sir Francis Bacon in many of his writings including his work “The New Atlantis.”

In our examination of St. Paul’s we will see distinct historical and familial links to many other strange questions that seem to have been presented to the public such as Oak Island and even the famous mystery of Rennes le Chateau in France. True to form the story of St. Paul’s includes alternating English and French influences just as the story of Oak Island does. The phenomena of St. Paul’s may have also spawned other contrived grail quest legends and mysteries meant to foster a uniquely American view of spirituality in association with the Republican ideal in early America. Along the way a cadre of American artists and writes attempted to forge an American mythology and identity that extended beyond the old world values of those that had first occupied North America while displacing the Native population.

St. Paul’s is located at 209 Broadway in lower Manhattan Island in New York City. Note from a numerological point of view 2+0+9=11. This string of numbers matches other important interpretive information we will examine later in this story. It is strange that these numbers coincide with the date of the destruction of the World Trade Centers on 9/11. St. Paul’s was built on land donated by Queen Anne of Great Britain. St. Paul’s does include a small centrally located octagonal tower that is topped by a replica of the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates (335 B.C.) This theme or use of classical monuments and even the sculptors of them in transmitting allegorical or hidden information is a common theme throughout history. St. Paul’s of the Trinity district of Manhattan is no exception. Here at this small simple chapel one of the greatest moments of United States History occurred and this was not on 9/12/01.

Famous American founding father Alexander Hamilton drilled the troops of “The Hearts of Oak” Military Militia on the grounds of the chapel early in the war. Hamilton would later command the artillery division that would defend New York City from the British. His involvement here at this significant piece of talismanic American architecture echoes his direct family relation from the past George Hamilton Earl of Orkney’s involvement in the creation of the octagonal Powder Magazine in Colonial Williamsburg.

At that time the personnel that made up the Hearts of Oak were all Kings College students. Kings College would later be known as Columbia University thus reflecting some of the mythical or folklore views of the new country. It is no coincidence that this institution of learning gained the same name as Washington District of Columbia and Columbia South Carolina. The image of the Goddess Columbia and that name’s association with the Columba or dove of peace is a potent symbol through different ages of Catholic belief in Scotland and Ireland and is also associated by some with Saint Columba.

Most importantly George Washington along with the other present members of Congress attended services at St. Paul’s on the first inauguration day of any American President on April, 30, 1779. At this time Washington literally consecrated the creation of the country of the United States of America. This small chapel was indeed in many citizens eyes the point on earth where the United States was actually born. Washington had a personal pew at the chapel and it is marked by a period painting of the Great Seal of the United States. Washington’s pew was indeed adjacent to the pew of early New York Governor Clinton.  This painting of the Great Seal is one of the earliest representations of the new design that had recently been decided upon.

Washington’s association with this structure in light of the later events of September eleventh is intriguing and adds to the mysterious overtones of both that day and the creation of the new country. George Washington had also of course come from Virginia and had studied at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg where the octagonal Powder Magazine was located. Again this structure had been erected by colonial Lt. Governor of Virginia Alexander Spotswood under the auspices of Governor George Hamilton the Earl of Orkney. George Hamilton represents an direct relation to Alexander Hamilton of the “Hearts of Oak.”

Amazingly an arc on the globe created using the north to south orientation of St. Paul’s chapel leads directly to the octagonal Powder Magazine in Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia. In past works we have examined the octagonal Powder Magazine for its directional values and had seen how it was associated with the Hudson’s Bay Company also of the Hamilton/Douglas family of Scottish gentry. This is an amazing association that likely was planned and extends far beyond the probability of a chance association given our previous studies of the use of the Axis Mundi in colonial era architecture.

Above: The orientation with regard to true north of St. Paul’s Cathedral may be used to create an arc on the globe that transects the East Coast of the United States leading to or intersecting with the Powder Magazine in Colonial Williamsburg. See next two images below.


It is possible that St. Paul’s Cathedral was planned to point the way to the Powder Magazine in Colonial Williamsburg which had been built in 1714 significantly prior to the construction of the Chapel in 1766. This may also mean that Broadway also points in this direction. As we will see as this saga develops there are specific aspects of the development of St. Paul’s Chapel that may also back up this assumption.

In particular, two of the monuments located at St. Paul’s tell a story of the amazing association this structure may hold to European mysteries such as Rennes le Chateau and the “Man in Mountain” mythology of Charlemagne and possibly Constantine himself. The influence of the Hamilton’s and Montgomery’s of Scotland may be obvious in both the creation of the new country but also in their roles as Jacobite supporters of the exiled royalty of England and Scotland the Stewart family. The Stewart family’s involvement here though peripheral may have served as the primary impetus for the installation of a “mystery” at St. Paul’s that involves American concepts in tandem with the country’s Jacobite origins. As prominent Scottish families the Hamilton’s and Douglas’ also had many direct associations with relatives and associates in France. The nobility of Scotland has always held close ties with the French people with a Douglas even holding the French title of the Duke of Tourraine at one point. This tradition also includes the French origins of Marie of Guise and her daughter Mary Queen of Scots education at the St. Clare Monastery near Paris.

The story of the Montgomery Monument at St. Paul’s will link us back to France and Rennes le Chateau while also establishing a mysterious chain of events in the young United States that may contribute to the American overtones of many mysteries in Europe where this influence has never been considered. This simple yet elegant monument will link us to the intelligence gathering activities of two patriots that in large part defined the intelligence gathering capabilities of the United States in their struggle for independence and also during the early years of the country.

General Richard Montgomery was one of the greatest fallen heroes of the American Revolution. Later famous English General Montgomery of World War Two fame was from the same family that always held a grand military tradition. Richard Montgomery was no exception and led the invasion of Quebec during the Revolution at which he lost his life. Even before the Revolutionary War was over Congress had agreed to build a monument to General Montgomery thus becoming the first monument ever commissioned for construction by the United States of America. General Montgomery had earned in death a very large appreciation and distinction among the founders of the United States. He would be the first American Patriot to be immortalized in the United States of America.

Congress allotted 300 pounds sterling towards the creation of a monument fitting the service of such a great patriot. Benjamin Franklin himself commissioned famous French Sculptor Jean Jacques Caffieri to sculpt a fitting memorial to the General. Originally this piece had been intended to be included at Philadelphia’s Independence Hall which was technically the first capitol of the United States.  Later when it was decided to make New York the capitol it was decreed that this memorial should be included at St. Paul’s chapel in New York where Washington had also consecrated the young country for the first time.

The Montgomery Memorial was indeed created by Caffieri in France and included a very rare form of variegated and pinkish colored marble from the Pyrenees Mountain region of southern France. This is also the region of Basque country, The Great Cyclic Cross of Hendaye, and the famous mystery of Rennes le Chateau. Interestingly Thomas Jefferson also purchased a bust of Benjamin Franklin from Caffieri at a later date that is still on display at Monticello. Jefferson was quite the appreciator of classic forms of art. His collection also included a painting by Rivera (Ribera) of Mary Magdalene Repentant pictured with the inclusion of her contemplating a human skull.

Here via Caffieri we see the influence of our French Allies of the Revolution assisting Franklin and Jefferson in memorializing their fallen comrade in way that had been done for thousands of years. Montgomery would be given a lasting and prominent memorial that would assure his name and actions were never forgotten. Or is there more to the story?

As it turns out another prominent Frenchman would also contribute a great deal to the decoration and hidden themes of St. Paul’s Cathedral. None other than the famous architect of the streets of Washington D.C. Pierre L’Enfant took part in the redecoration of St. Paul’s after the war. His contributions to St Paul’s reflected the decorative concepts seen at many chapels in France that have Masonic overtones. To understand this in more detail we must return to the story of the Montgomery Memorial in order to place the overall hidden context of St. Paul’s Chapel correctly.

Beyond the fact that the Montgomery Memorial was created by a French Artist whose work is reflective of the French view of the notion of Republic with all its ancient and classic themes represented it is clear that some degree of intentionally applied mystery and intrigue accompanied the story of the monument from its time of creation to its final installation at St. Paul’s nearly ten years after the end of the American Revolution. Upon completion of the sculpture it is said Caffieri had its separate pieces all sealed in lead caskets in order to be shipped to the United States. This is a very elaborate form of packaging for stonework that may raise some red flags in our story to this point. Is it possible that other items had also been included in these lead lined caskets? Why seal stonework that is fairly durable in such containers? Was it because the American’s considered it an important first symbol of their victory in the revolution or was Caffieri sending other talismanic items that were more fragile than the large stone segments of the monument as well?

Surely even if a ship sank with such pieces of statue they could possibly be recovered with little damage even without a “lead lined casket” protecting them. To an individual familiar with these concepts the shipping of this memorial may have introduced many strange objects and themes to the colonies and future country for the first time. In addition, this mystery would also suggest that Jacobite Englishmen had also been aware of and supported the efforts of the French. In the end this all may tie into the development of “Scottish Masonry” in France that was intimately associated with the exiled Stewarts and their efforts to forge a new country in the colonies.

Other aspects of the saga of the Montgomery Memorial also indicate that this object was the subject of the geographic mysteries we have studied in the past.

The saga of the memorial includes it being stored unbeknownst to Benjamin Franklin (supposedly) in Edenton North Carolina. Edenton is very near the famous “Lost Colony” of Roanoke near the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Edenton was one of the few places said to have been left accessible at that time due to a British blockade of all shipping on the East Coast. It is said that this is the reason this strange memorial was stored in Edenton. At this point all of our lead lined caskets containing portions of the monument laid in Edenton until they were found after the war. Edenton also holds the distinction of being the first capitol of North Carolina.

Two other strange parts to this story may be pertinent later. First of all the sculpture was shipped via a British ship to Edenton! Records indicate from Franklin’s own hand that this sculpture was shipped via an English ship that was associated with missionaries in Labrador. Franklin even expresses thoughts that the memorial would be returned to the Colonies if it was captured by the English. It is possible that this was the only shipping method available at that time. Most of the east coast was blockaded by the British navy at this time thus making it an especially perilous voyage for any French merchantman or ship of war. Franklin’s ties to this “missionary vessel” may have been associated with any American intelligence gathering that was in operation at that time. This may have also included many families in the Maritime region including Nova Scotia that were loyal to the Colonial cause against the British.

These Nova Scotians who were loyal to the Colonies during the revolutionary war had been brought to Nova Scotia by the English after General Lawrence had expelled the French Acadians (Arcadians) from the Maritime region of Canada. This included family members of of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Edgar Allan Poe. During the war many of these Nova Scotians fought on the side of the Colonies in Maine and some even became members of the Society of the Cincinnati after the war. This dynamic including Americans in Nova Scotia associated with the Society of the Cincinnati may have contributed to the mythology of the famous Oak Island Treasure later.

The other amazing fact left out in the saga of the Montgomery Memorial involves the urn that sits atop the pillar on the piece we see in front of St. Paul’s Chapel today. After the war when the fate of the memorial was finally decided the urn and its packaging were nowhere to be found. The urn is missing! The one we see included on the sculpture today is a replacement that was obtained after it was discerned that the original was no longer present with the rest of the sculpture when it was finally located in Edenton. This in itself is intriguing in that the representation of an urn in a cenotaph may suggest that there are remains within it. If there were other relics or talismanic objects sent with the memorial from France what better place to hide them than in the ritual urn as included in the design of the sculpture?

Above we saw how the structure of St. Paul’s Chapel itself points the way to the Powder Magazine in Colonial Williamsburg. The Powder Magazine is a structure that I have supposed operated in the tradition of Constantine and Charlemagne as an Axis Mundi based on the Tower of the Winds of Athens. The octagonal form of the Powder Magazine actually points to places on the globe that had significance to its builder thus establishing a real physical or spiritual domain. This may have been exactly what George Hamilton was doing when the Powder Magazine was built under his authority as Virginia Governor in 1714. This is also coincidentally the year just prior to the first Jacobite uprising in 1715. Many of the refugees from this conflict would immigrate to Scandinavia and the Colonies thus forming pockets of Jacobite sympathizers in both regions. 

Given all of these mysterious associations it is no surprise then that the southern orientation of the octagonal Powder Magazine in Colonial Williamsburg can be used to form an arc on the globe that transects directly to Edenton North Carolina. This entire geographic scheme suggests that someone had even used the octagon of the Powder Magazine to hide an item they knew was going to be installed at a structure that in turn “pointed to” the Powder Magazine in Colonial Williamsburg. Is it possible that the memorial was stored in Edenton so that someone could discern its location using the octagonal form of the Powder Magazine in Williamsburg? It is even possible that the location of Edenton had originally been decided due to this geographic association.

If this is more than a coincidence this scheme may indicate that there was something more to the Montgomery Memorial than is being told in the standard story. This object had been hidden using an age old method that had been applied in the past to biblical relics and mysterious treasure quests left by fallen kings. Was some sort of geographic ritual being carried out that involved the monument itself or any other associated items that had been shipped in these strange lead lined caskets? Even so there is absolutely no recorded evidence beyond the missing urn from the sculpture that anything is not as the story states in the historical record. Still it does make one wonder.

Among the other information revealed here is the fact that an almost intentionally contrived mystery had been applied to this memorial using geographic points on the earth at which structures had been built to indicate a solution to the mystery. Each of these points on earth played a significant role in American colonial and revolutionary war history. If not a solution, then this may have at least represented a way to find this object after the fog of war had lifted at a later date. It is said that Franklin did not know the location of this memorial sealed in lead caskets until several years after the war when it was finally installed at St. Paul’s in the Trinity neighborhood of Manhattan now known as Tribeca.

Also intriguing is this object’s origins in France where such mysteries had already been valued in the form of the “Man in the Mountain” mythology of Charlemagne that used the octagonal Aachen Cathedral in the same way. Evidence revealed in my last few books also displays how Constantine may have used his octagons in a similar manner and may have even clandestinely built the Dome of the Rock himself. There may be an unspoken of mystery similar to what Charlemagne had valued in association with the missing remains of Constantine who may have actually been entombed beneath the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Later many aspects of the famous Rennes le Chateau mystery would echo similar concepts including allusions to the Temple Treasure that once may have been controlled by Constantine.


An arc on the globe plotted at the angle of the north to south orientation of the Powder Magazine in Colonial Williamsburg “points to” Edenton North Carolina. Remember; From the previous photos we saw how the orientation of St. Paul’s “points to” the Powder Magazine in Williamsburg.

One of the places in Edenton where the memorial may have been stored during this time was in St. Paul’s Chapel there! St. Paul’s may have been a prime choice for Governor Hewes or whomever decided on a place to store the monument during at this time. There is an additional Episcopalian Church in Edenton built in 1736 named St. Paul’s. If the geographic association of St. Paul’s in New York City and the Powder Magazine is a grand coincidence, then this phenomena is about to get that much more unbelievable.

The north to south orientation of St. Paul’s Church in Edenton North Carolina may be used to form an arc on the globe that transects directly to the Powder Magazine in Colonial Williamsburg. These two structures actually point to one another on the globe! Again the Powder Magazine was built somewhat prior to St. Paul’s in Edenton making this a distinct possibility. Given the other association with another St. Paul’s in the saga of the Montgomery Memorial this is almost too much to believe. It is starting to appears as if this group of patriots had used a technique they may have learned in association with old world traditions such as the mysteries of the “Man in the Mountain” of Charlemagne and possibly the many quest legends associated with The Holy Grail, Temple Treasure, and other biblical relics. The angular association between the Powder Magazine and St. Paul’s Church in Edenton also matches the north to south orientation of the original street plan of Williamsburg. This association may have marked the spatial relationship of two early colonial capitols and may have been known of during the Revolutionary War era.


It is noted that Benjamin Franklin displayed an unusual interest in finding the Montgomery Monument after the war and wrote many letters as part of his search for its whereabouts prior to it being found in Edenton and shipped to New York City to be installed at St. Paul’s Chapel. St. Paul’s place in United States history as being where George Washington was first inaugurated subsequently consecrating the new country in the eyes of god served as a fitting location for the final destination for Montgomery’s Memorial. Eventually his remains would be returned from Quebec and interred in a crypt beneath the monument. Thousands of people a day walk past this simple yet elegant monument never suspecting the true history that is revealed in its creation.

Obviously someone was aware of the location of the memorial and its associated lead lined caskets. Again it is very odd that this memorial was shipped via an English ship during this time of war. Is it also possible that it had been hidden in a place that may have become suspect no matter who won the conflict? It is clear that individuals from both sides of the war whether they be French/American or English were capable of using geography and the globe to decipher the hidden location of such an important object. Alternately this same kind of information was used to hide the memorial.

As part of earlier mysteries in history many of these quests, possibly using a structure as a clue or place from which to measure had included biblical relics and concepts to be understood by the initiate in order to solve the mystery.  A similar quest may have been arranged by Charlemagne leading to the truth or folklore of at least three subsequent Holy Roman Emperors opening his vault and removing mysterious objects including the Coronation Gospels. Even if these stories were complex folklore they still may have been created for reason and purpose.

It is also highly possible that both Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson had been initiated into these mysteries either while in France or as some point in their early education in the colonies. It is clear that Jefferson may have been made aware of these connections by being initiated into this concept via the octagonal Powder Magazine in Williamsburg which was present during his tenure as a student at the College of William and Mary. George Washington and James Madison may have also been subjected to the very same initiation or course of study that Jefferson had undertaken. All three men had included land surveying as part of their studies at William and Mary. These men’s knowledge of the use of the Powder Magazine as a place from which to measure using its geometric shape with regard to true north seems to have contributed to the way the Montgomery Memorial was hidden until after the war. Jefferson would also carry on the tradtion of the Powder Magazine in his design of Monticello, Poplar Forest, and Barboursville Mansion.

Had a mystery been created in association with St. Paul’s Chapel in New York, The Powder Magazine, St. Paul’s Church Edenton, and the Montgomery Memorial? If one were writing a novel at this point it would indeed make a good story. Somewhere in the gray area between truth and imagination something very fantastic is become unraveled that leads one to the True History of the United States. The entire saga reads like a plot from a fantastic historical novel. Strange monuments, historical churches, modern disasters, and the suggestion that something had been brought to the new country and hidden using the age old tenets of the “Man in the Mountain” mythology as used by Charlemagne in association with his octagon at Aachen. In addition, it appears that one of the lead lined caskets is missing and has never been found. A mystery lover’s dream or contrived initiatory quest?

Here at this point we are led to the involvement of Pierre L’Enfant the man responsible for the design of the plan of Washington D.C. that has intrigued and confounded so many people since it was designed. In turn L’Enfant displays all of the Society of the Cincinnati connections we have seen at play in other similar historical mysteries. L’Enfant’s use of the traditions of European landscaping in the realm of famous seventeenth century Freemason, Architect, and Bacon associate Inigo Jones is apparent in his plan for the city that in turn suggests many geometric and conceptual shapes and arrays of architecture. Reams of material had been written speculating as to the true nature of the arrangement of Washington D.C. It is fitting that L’Enfant’s grave at Arlington National Cemetery overlooks the city and also includes a portion of his famous plan on the included cenotaph.


Since New York City was the first Capitol of the United States it is no surprise that L’Enfant had a hand in the refurbishment and redesign of St. Paul’s Chapel in New York at the time of the post war installation of the Montgomery Monument. Here again is a figure who is heavily associated with geographic mysteries in America lending a hand to a building of great talismanic and symbolic importance to the country at large. Surprisingly a legacy that is little discussed by the public at large whether they be historians, patriots, or blissfully ignorant of any such phenomena.

Pierre L’Enfant the author and inspiration for reams of speculation and countless books supposing a purpose and intent to the design of the plan of Washington D.C. is directly involved in a geographic mystery involving St. Paul’s Chapel, The Powder Magazine in Williamsburg, St. Paul’s Edenton North Carolina, and several strange lead lined caskets that held the pieces of the sculpture. Something is up with this. Here we will see how French sources influence early esoteric beliefs in the United States in opposition to similar lore valued by British sources.

After it had been erected on the east porch of St. Paul’s Chapel the Montgomery Memorial’s reverse side was visible from inside the chapel and it was decided that this was somewhat unsightly. In response L’Enfant was charged with redesigning the interior of the Chapel to hide this unsightly feature. L’Enfant created a large wooden sculpture he termed a “Shekinah” or “Glory” to cover this area of the altar of St. Paul’s. Amazingly his motif and design of many elements of St. Paul’s reflects the sensibilities of specific chapels in France that were created under the auspices of French Freemason’s including the Chapels in Sare and Hendaye France associated with the d’Abbadie family and the Great Cyclic Cross of Henday.  The personal family chapel of Antoine d’Abbadie known as Abbadia also resembles how L’Enfant had arranged and decorated St. Paul’s Chapel after the war.

L’Enfant’s design included the tetragrammaton in Hebrew situated in an equilateral triangle with thirteen rays projecting from the triangle. The tetragrammaton is the unspoken name of god in this case written in Hebrew. This motif is repeated at other places in the chapel and matches the same designs in Hendaye and Sare (Sara) France associated with the d’Abbadies. The “Light of Glory Altarpiece” as it is known also includes a rendering of the ten commandments in what appears to be black Marble. This too is a potent symbol for both the ten commandments and the mythical stories of black stones that often were situated in an omphalos at the center of an axis mundi. This may also infer that a belief existed that the remains of the original ten commandments were present in the long lost Ark of the Covenant that is also valued symbolically by Freemason’s.

The d’Abbadie’s are a very powerful French family that may have descended from the lay Abbots that served as the instructors in the schools that Charlemagne set up for his family and close associates. Both the early Governor of French Arcadia and last governor of Louisiana were d’Abbadie’s. The legacy of the Great Cross of Hendaye does include its use as an axis mundi or place from which to measure. There are even many clues and hints that Thomas Jefferson was aware of the Great Cross of Hendaye. It is clear that he associated with many people who were later associated with Ethiopian explorer Antoine d’Abbadie such as Dominique Cassini and other personnel from the Paris Observatory.

Jefferson actually corresponded with Cassini as how to establish a prime meridian using some of the newer nautical clocks that had been developed. In turn a letter exists from Cassini to Ben Franklin asking him to admit his son in law to the Society of the Cincinnati as he had served as a French officer in the American Revolution. We will see through time Society of the Cincinnati members being mentioned or involved in many “mysteries” form Oak Island, the Newport Tower, Beale Treasure, and now St. Paul’s Chapel. Pierre L’Enfant was also a member of the Society of the Cincinnati. St. Paul’s through many different eras of American History had been anointed a place of great talismanic and symbolic importance. Had it also had an initiatory quest applied to it that in turn told one of all the different aspects of its origins including the Montgomery Monument?

It is possible that the Freedom Tower that took the place of the twin World Trade Center Towers is meant to be a representation of the Dome of the Rock in a scheme or plan that illustrates the concept of a “New Jerusalem.” The plan of the Freedom Tower reveals that it is a sort of twisted octagon as it rises from street level. At various altitudes in its height a perfect equilateral octagon is formed. These octagons serve to point directly to St. Paul’s Chapel only a short distance away to the southeast. In turn the orientation of St. Paul’s creates an arc that extends to the Freedom Tower and the north side of its octagonal form. This layout would mimic the plan of the Temple Mount we see today that illustrates how the Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa Mousque align with each other. If Constantine had built an octagon where the Dome of the Rock is today then it would have aligned with the Church of St. Mary Justinian built by Justinian I in the sixth century now known as the Al Aqsa Mosque. All of the “New Jerusalems” in the world may be a copy of the plan of the Temple Mount we see thee today. The first “New Jerusalem” may have been Ravenna Italy whose history in turn sheds light on many of the Arcadian overtones of the modern Rennes le Chateau Mystery.

Though the line extending from St. Paul’s to the Freedom Tower does not match the octagon of the Tower it does intersect with the building and is very close to being a perfect match. It may be that the form and position of the Freedom Tower dictated that this area had been designated a “New Jerusalem” long ago and that this plan of arranged architecture was only able to occur after the destruction of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. It may also be that the Twin Towers served the same symbolic purpose in this representation of the New Jerusalem and this is why they were attacked on that day (possibly). Many feel that the Twin Towers were representative of the pillars of Boaz and Jachin and their Enochian overtones. No matter the reasons for the attacks of September eleventh it appears someone had responded by building a New Jerusalem to replace the array that had been there previously.

In past works we have examined the geographic and spatial relationships of some important monuments in New York City that help to define its New Jerusalem status. These monuments include Cleopatra’s Needle, an Egyptian obelisk in Central Park, and its surrounding octagonal Plaza. If one extends or plots an arc on the globe from Cleopatra’s Needle to the hexagonal Jewish American Museum in south Manhattan this arc passes the site of the Freedom Tower and matches the angle of the octagon hidden in its plan. This arc also matches the position and direction of sixth avenue or “The Avenue of the Americas” which serves as one of the major corporate business districts of New York City. Amazingly this angle is measured at 209 degrees true north from Cleopatra’s Needle to the Jewish American Museum. The arc also matches both the facet of the Freedom Tower’s octagon and the hexagonal form of the Jewish Museum. The Jewish Museum “points back” to the Freedom Tower and Cleopatra’s Needle. This array may include a crossing element similar to a medieval church extending from the U.N. facility to the U.S.S. Intrepid Museum on the Hudson to the west.

It is amazing that the angular association between Cleopatra’s Needle, the Freedom Tower, and Jewish American Museum is 209 degrees thus matching the same numerology present in the address of St. Paul’s Chapel as 209 Broadway. 2+0+9=11. 209 Broadway “points to” the Freedom Tower which appears as a diamond or rotated square from plan view after its completion. This diamond shape of the Freedom Tower is also oriented at the same 209 degree angle as the association from Cleopatra’s Needle to the Jewish American Museum.

In short the entire array of architecture including the fallen Twin Towers and New Freedom Tower represent a New Jerusalem in a metaphorical sense. It is even fitting that the Twin Towers fell in this story in that the Temple in Jerusalem was also destroyed and rebuilt many times. Indeed, this is what the prophecy of Isaiah is speaking of in its telling. The Temple was destroyed but we will rebuild with dressed stone. The concept of the New Jerusalem in turn has great symbolic importance to not only Jewish Americans but their Jacobite and Gnostic oriented Masonic brothers and Sisters. Again the specter of Bob Marley looms via his song “Cornerstone.”

Finally, this arrangement of planned architecture includes a geographic association with the Egyptian Obelisk at the center of St. Peter’s Square of the Vatican. The octagonal plaza surrounding Cleopatra’s Needle in Central Park may be used to form an arc on the globe that extends to the Egyptian Obelisk at the center of St. Peter’s Square. The Heliopolitan Obelisk of St. Peter’s in turn functions as a classic example of an Axis Mundi with its included surrounding “Windrose” markers. All of these plans in effect mimic the true function of the original Tower of the Winds in Athens.

In this understanding we may note that Pierre L’Enfant, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson had been taught these concepts more from a French point of view. Any mystery associated with the altar of L’Enfant and Montgomery Monument at St. Paul’s would naturally reflect a French point of view in presenting any information that may help one to discern the truth about this talismanic scheme. In the end all of this may be to compel one to examine the facts and heritage being displayed in this famous place in order to understand this hard to decipher historical conundrum. All of this explains why St. Paul’s interior resembles in many ways the interior of a Masonic lodge and is decorated in a similar fashion to other chapels in France used for the same purpose. This may also lead us to the assumption that many researchers forget how the French controlled the region where the famous Oak Island “Treasure” is said to exist.

In the end none of this really sheds anymore light on the truth of September eleventh, two thousand and one. It does reflect the story from the old testament in which the Old Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem was destroyed with the Jews being cast into exile in Babylonia. The “Second Temple” now occupies this valued point on the earth with St. Paul’s occupying the position of the Al Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount.

Al Aqsa was originally built by Justinian I and was named the Church of St. Mary Justinian. This fact among many others covered in other work points to the hidden conclusion that Constantine had once built an octagonal structure where the Dome of the Rock stands today and that Justinian II had manipulated even this newer octagon into existence. This ancient intrigue and hidden scheme on the part of Roman and Byzantine rulers may reflect some of the motivations and reasons for this ordered plan of talismanic architecture in Manhattan and why it was attacked on 9/11.


 This story in total may be broken down into terms we can understand if we consider that St. Paul’s may have served as a Masonic Hall in addition to its ecclesiastical functions. The motif added by L’Enfant would foreshadow many of the themes that would later be said to also be visible in the street plan of Washington D.C. Many of the figures involved in the decision to place the memorial at St. Paul’s in New York City were indeed members of the Society of the Cincinnati including Montgomery’s brother in law Livingston who played a major role in the placement of the monument. The fact that St. Paul’s “points to” the Powder Magazine may have been the real reason this place was both used during the war as a meeting place, why the monument was placed there later, and why in the end it survived the terrorist attacks of September eleventh. Both St. Paul’s Chapel and the Powder Magazine in Williamsburg are associated with George Washington.

So where does this leave us with the nine lead lined caskets and the memorial was shipped in? What of the seven copies of his bust Franklin had commissioned from Caffieri the artist who had designed the memorial? We do know that Thomas Jefferson came into possession of one of these busts but the whereabouts of the remaining six are unknown. The saga of the Montgomery Memorial both before and after the war also supports the notion that the location of St. Paul’s was predetermined and may have always served as the place the monument was supposed to have been placed. When viewed from afar the entire scheme seems planned and contrived and centers in many ways on the octagonal Powder Magazine in Colonial Williamsburg that was built long before St. Paul’s Chapel was even thought of.

If one were to let one’s imagination run wild we could imagine a wide range of relics or valued objects that could have been sent inside these lead caskets that contained the memorial. Here is a direct and documented example of a strange shipment coming from France to the United States during the war in which an older array of talismanic architecture may have been used to establish a ritual as well leave an easy way to decipher the whereabouts of the memorial should it have been lost in the fog of war. Franklin showed an unusual amount of interest in making sure this monument was erected as well as its safety and security in the time prior to it being sent to St. Paul’s Chapel. There is more to this story that is begging to be uncovered.

One solution to this mystery may involve the first governor of North Carolina. Edenton was the first capitol of North Carolina. Today the center of the town is marked by the old courthouse that includes a memorial to early governor Joseph Hewes. Hewes also served as first secretary of the Navy and supplied many of the ships used in the Revolutionary War from his own shipping concerns. This may also add information as to why somehow the Montgomery Memorial was created in France yet shipped via and English ship to Edenton. Mr. Hewes and his shipping connections may have made this much easier than anyone would suspect during this era. In short Hewes may have had inside connections in England at that time that sympathized with the America cause. Hewes is also one of the first signers of the Declaration of Independence. He is a very well respected and significant first American Patriot.

As is fitting of his status Hewes is the subject to a memorial cenotaph of his own situated in front of the courthouse in Edenton. This wonderful memorial is an upright rectangular structure that is elegant in its simplicity and style. This memorial is topped by a large decorative stone urn that does in fact appear to have been created from a different hue of marble than the rest of the brilliant white stone used in the rest of the piece. Is it possible that somehow this is the missing urn from the Montgomery Memorial? If so there could be no more fitting use for such a storied piece of art than to commemorate the accomplishments of this great American. Still the question remains; Is there anything of note hidden within this stone urn?

Is it possible that the urn atop the Hewes Monument in Edenton North Carolina is the missing Urn from the Montgomery Monument in New York City at St. Paul’s Chapel?

What had become of the Urn that was supposed to have originally been included on this piece? Did it contain anything or was it empty. Is it still lost somewhere in Edenton North Carolina or is it now hiding in plain sight somewhere else as part of the same mystery we see already? What would be in the urn if the French had decided to send something of talismanic importance to their brothers in arms in the Untied States? Had the fact that the memorial passed through English hands meant that they had ended up with the urn and its possible contents?

One almost obscure clue with regard to the origins of the Montgomery Monument may link us back to some of the more well known geographic mysteries of France including Rennes le Chateau and the Great Cyclic Cross of Hendaye.

In previous works we have discussed the possible involvement of the Cassini Family and others in the formation of a Republic in France. This may have also included François Arago famous for the bronze “Arago” medallions that grace the Paris Meridian in that city. Via these connections intimate knowledge of the mysteries of France as valued by the Royal class may have made their way to the Socitey of the Cincinnati who in turn used these concepts in a clandestine manner against their enemies of the time. This included both English and French Royal interests as well as those from the rest of Europe. If this information could be useful towards the establishment of a Republic anywhere in the world then the Society may have deemed it wise to use this information in this way. In short this age old tradition had always had intelligence services uses and this era was no exception.

It may be that American authors such as Poe, Cooper, Longfellow, and others who may have been associated with the Society of the Cincinnati had been privy to this information and had been instructed to craft stories and tales that may convey these concepts to initiates and novices alike. Metaphor in Allegory it seems had been used in the past as a way to communicate what may be considered “top secret” information. In this way the story of Rennes le Chateau may have been known of and intentionally distorted as an intelligence ploy by people like Poe, The Cassini’s, Arago, the d’Abbadie’s, Jefferson, Franklin, and even Alexander Von Humboldt.

These men’s involvement explains almost every “Mystery” in every country that fascinates the public. I ascribe this groups involvement to many modern views of the following conundrums:
Rennes le Chateau, Ravenna Italy, The hidden concept of Arcadia, Oak Island, Bacon’s Vault in Williamsburg, The Beale Treasure, The Newport Tower, The Westford Knight, the Archer Reliquary of Jamestown, and the Kensington Rune. All of these phenomena were either contrived or expanded upon by the Society of the Cincinnati and their cadre of artists and writers who supported the Republican ideal around the world.

When taking the above into consideration we may now even consider information that seems arcane and unimportant in terms of this type of interpretation. We have already noted the importance of the Paris Meridian in many aspects of this tradition and lore. The Paris Observatory marks the Paris Meridian but its grounds are oriented slightly west of true north thus creating an arc on the globe that leads directly to Montserrat Spain the said resting place of the holy grail itself. The Cassini’s simply did not make mistakes of this magnitude leading us to the conclusion that this was an intentional arrangement.

Fitting this scheme of appreciation for the Paris Meridian as it defines the mysteries of Arcadia; The Bear; or the Pole Star is Jean Jacques Caffieri the sculptor of the Montgomery Memorial that rests on the east porch of St. Paul’s Chapel in New York City. The quarry from which Caffieri obtained the rose marble that makes up the central pillar of the piece comes from the Languedoc region of France from a point on the Rose Meridian or Paris Meridian just 25 miles south of Rennes le Chateau at the base of Mt. Canigou. Given what we have learned to this point is it possible this is simply a coincidence? Here is a direct link between the region of mystery and intrigue that had been there since the time of the Visigothic Merovingian Kings who were indeed the descendants of the Byzantine rulers of Ravenna and Constantinople.

It is starting to look more and more as if my grand speculation from many years ago involving Jefferson having actually visited the direct environs of Rennes le Chateau is a distinct and real possibility. The same could be said about Benjamin Franklin and possibly James Madison. All of these men displayed these decidedly French Masonic values in many things they did including their intelligence gathering activities. Ultimately all of this would lead to the creation of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry in Charleston South Carolina in 1804. 


New Video coming soon on this subject that will show Google Earth images and video of all the associations noted here. Thank you. 


1 comment:

Joe Bill said...

Your research is always thorough, Cort. The tree of life and death, no doubt.