Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States , also known by its acronym MOLLUS or simply as the Loyal Legion , is a United States patriotic order , organized April 15 , 1865 , by officers of the Army , Navy , or Marine Corps of the United States who " had aided in maintaining the honor , integrity , and supremacy of the national movement " during the American Civil War . They stated as their purpose the cherishing the memories and associations of the war waged in defense of the unity and indivisibility of the Republic ; the strengthening of the ties of fraternal fellowship and sympathy formed by companionship in arms ; the relief of the widows and children of dead companions of the order ; and the advancement of the general welfare of the soldiers and sailors of the United States . The modern organization is generally composed of descendants of these officers ( hereditary members ) , and non - officer descendants who share the ideals of the Order ( associate members ) . Origins . Following the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln on April 14 , 1865 , rumors spread that the act had been part of a wider conspiracy to overthrow the legally constituted government of the United States by assassinating its chief men . Many people at first gave credence to these rumors , including three of the officers assigned to the honor guard for Lincoln ' s body as it was transported to Springfield , Illinois , for burial ; these three men , Brevet Lt . Col . Samuel Brown Wylie Mitchell , Lt . Col . Thomas Ellwood Zell , and Captain Peter Dirk Keyser , are considered the founders of the Order . To demonstrate their loyalty , they decided to form a " Legion " modeled on the post - Revolutionary War Society of the Cincinnati . The Legion was organized largely during the same meetings that planned Lincoln ' s funeral ( as well as during a mass meeting of Philadelphia war veterans on April 20 ) , culminating in a meeting on May 31 , 1865 , in Independence Hall in Philadelphia , at which the name was chosen . The society was composed of three classes of members : The order grew rapidly and had members ( called " Companions " ) in almost every state except those of the former Confederacy . At its height at the very end of the 19th Century , the order had more than 8 , 000 Civil War veterans as active members , including nearly all notable general and flag officers and several future presidents : Ulysses S . Grant , William T . Sherman , Philip H . Sheridan , George B . McClellan , Rutherford B . Hayes , Chester A . Arthur , Benjamin Harrison , and William McKinley , among others . The Order ' s fame was great enough to inspire John Philip Sousa to compose the " Loyal Legion March " in its honor in 1890 . As the Civil War veterans aged and died , the Order opened hereditary membership to male descendants of the original members . Today , the Order serves more as an hereditary society ( descendants of eligible officers ) than as a functioning military order . There are now four categories of membership : Hereditary , Junior , Associate , and Honorary . Many Original Companions of MOLLUS were also members of the Grand Army of the Republic ( the " GAR " ) , just as many current Hereditary Companions of MOLLUS are also members of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War , the legal heir to the GAR . Organizationally , the Loyal Legion is composed of a National Commandery - in - Chief and individual state Commanderies . There are currently 19 Commanderies and two Provisional Commanderies . Current national officers include Commander - in - Chief Jeffry Burden of Virginia ; Senior Vice - Commander - in - Chief Waldron Post of New York , and Junior Vice - Commander - in - Chief James Simmons of Texas . Each year , the Loyal Legion commemorates President Lincoln ' s birthday with a wreath - laying ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington , D . C . In 2009 , MOLLUS helped coordinate an extended tribute with the help of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission to celebrate the two - hundredth anniversary of Lincoln ' s birthday . The Loyal Legion is the third oldest hereditary military society in the United States after the Society of the Cincinnati and the Aztec Club of 1847 . Prominent Companions . Presidents of the United States . Note - Presidents Andrew Johnson and James Garfield were both Union officers during the Civil War , and were thus eligible for membership in MOLLUS , but did not join the Order . 3rd Class Companions . From 1865 to 1890 a limited number of civilians who contributed outstanding service to the Union during the wars were elected into MOLLUS as 3rd Class Companions .