As early as 1865, the Hobart Chi Phis learned of the existence of a separate order in the South when a member of Hobart happened upon a Chi Phi from the University of North Carolina, J. R. D. Shepard, in New York City. As a result, correspondence was exchanged between the two Orders with the Northern Order represented by William Johnson, Wofford 1865, and Hobart members H.C. Hutchings, 1866, and William Sutphen. George Maverick, University of Virginia 1867, and University of North Carolina members Andrew Burton, 1867, and F. H. Busbee, 1868, represented the Southern Order. The courtship was clearly one-sided on the part of the North. Their first overtures eventually were rebuffed by a crippled South which could not summon the spirit of brotherhood.
The exchange of letters began with one from Johnson to Burton on January 11, 1866, as a follow-up to the meeting with J. R. D. Shepard: "I received a communication advising me to write you and determine whether it is for the best interests of our fraternities to unite in our cause, a noble one as it is, since we unbeknown to each other have adopted the same cognomen. I think we are most assuredly in the right way to truth, fame, and justice...If you will name a day sooner or later, I will call a convention of our fraternity, and if you will do the same, we will meet your delegates in New York City or Philadelphia or Princeton on the day we mutually agree upon."
Hutchings to Burton on March 11, 1866: "Having just received an account of your correspondence with Mr. Johnson of the Sigma chapter of Chi Phi, I hasten to write in reference to the union, and undoubtedly it would be for the benefit of both....Would give us strength and brothers in the South while it would likewise benefit you in the same way at the North. Make both societies more honored and respected by the world and numerous other advantages.... Please to give me the same report of your club as I have of ours and what are your desires in reference to a union...."
On March 28, 1866, Hutchings in response to Burton’s reply: "....As to your insistence upon having the head chapter, this is a matter of a great deal of importance and honor....You speak of this alliance as being of great advantage to my fraternity because it would give us a reputation in the South. This is true in some respects, but it is a matter of far less importance than you seem to think....You can not but admit that the Northern Colleges are superior to the Southern....As for the badge, we need have very little trouble for there is very little difference between them...."
Sometime in March or April 1866, Hutchings to Busbee: " I received your communication a few days ago and shall endeavor to answer you clearly, plainly, and satisfactorily. You ask if there are any supporters in the principles of [Charles] Sumner...Satan & Co. Bitter invectives are weak arguments. I could hurl the same against Jeff Davis and his followers but I would not....P.S. We believe in politics having nothing to do with the fraternity."
Johnson to Burton on May 16, 1866: "I write you once more whether or not your Fraternity has come to any definite decision upon the union of our Fraternities. Please write and let me know as soon as possible...."
Two years later... Sutphen to members of the Chi Phi Fraternity at the University of Virginia on September 15, 1868: "Will you be pleased to name from your chapter some one who will enter into correspondence with me for the purpose of considering the policy of effecting a permanent union between the respective branches of the Chi Phi Fraternity of which we are members?....Trusting that you may deem such correspondence advisable and fully convince myself that it will be productive of real benefits to all concerned...."
Maverick’s reply to Sutphen on September 24, 1868, at last laid bare the harsh reality of Southern wounds: "I make haste to answer your communication....I do not write officially for I am the only member of Delta Chapter now at the University (of Virginia). The session will begin on the first of October when I shall present the matter before the club and action will no doubt be soon taken – but I expect negative action. I have heard several members of the club express themselves to the effect that they did not desire to extend the fraternity any farther northward than what are called the southern states. As far as I am concerned I am much obliged to you for the offer, bearing as it does on its face reconciliation, but I am not prepared for as intimate a union as that which you propose, for to speak candidly there would not exist between us but a hollow friendship and ‘there would not be much love lost’ in either direction.... In fact do you think that the time has arrived when we can extend the hand not only of friendship but also of love and confidence and esteem? May be not. And besides there would be an inconsistency in the union when we are yet mourning for the loss of our gallant and beloved dead....Politics – the existence of a bitter party spirit – is enough at present to keep us separate – but let us know, sir, that the time will soon come when perfect confidence may be restored...and there will be a more flattering prospect for our union...."
The time for "perfect confidence" was not far off. By 1870, there was more frequent and promising contact between North and South as the Northern Order had established two chapters south of the Mason-Dixon line, one at Wofford College in South Carolina, the other at Washington and Lee in Virginia. Communication between the two Orders resumed and warmed as a result of the "cross-cultural" exposure, particularly at Washington and Lee.
J. W. Taylor, 1872, wrote from Washington and Lee on February 20, 1871: "We are anxious for the union because we know it will be the life of the fraternity. The Southern Order is by far the best in the South." By that time, the Northern Order had appointed a committee to investigate made up of Hobart alumni William Sutphen, Charles Hendryx, and John Burt, Jr., 1859; Llewellyn Wanner, Franklin & Marshall 1864; and Graham Taylor, Rutgers 1870.
The committee appointed by the Southern Order was chaired by Peter Meldrim. Serving with him was Alexander Pratt Adams, University of Georgia 1869, and Thomas G. Watkins, University of Virginia 1871; there were two other members whose names are lost. Since Northern and Southern committees were unable to meet within the given time frame, the interim power rested at the University of Virginia, the "Grand Chapter." Virginia appointed Meade Haskins, 1872, as chairman and Thomas G. Watkins, 1871, Franklin Pierce Brent, 1872, Thornton Sampson, 1872, and Nelson Dame, 1871, as committee members.
There were considerable obstacles to overcome, largely cultural. The Southern Order represented a pure confederacy of chapters, loosely bound and proud of their independence. In fact, central authority was an abstract notion to Southern chapters, which had organized only three conventions in their history. On the other hand, the Northern Order was a close-knit organization with a strong central power.
However, the time was now ripe. Both sides persevered as the Northern and Southern Orders met in Washington D.C., on May 2, 1873. According to The Chi Phi Chronicles, "The proceedings of the committee were harmonious, and the action was unanimous, reporting back to their organizations the Articles of Union with a favorable endorsement." Typical of the cultural/organizational differences, the Northern Order promptly ratified the report at its special convention on October 9, 1873. However, the Southern Order was obliged to secure the ratification of each individual chapter. This delay was exacerbated by an internal dispute over Virginia’s appointment of a committee with plenary powers. (Emory refused to ratify the union until January 25, 1875, some six months after the fact.)
Negotiations continued. Despite the internal dissension, Virginia appointed a committee consisting of Meade Haskins, Thomas Gholson Watkins and William Cecil Dabney, 1866, "with full powers to act in conjunction with the similar committee from the Northern Order of the Chi Phi Fraternity in relation to the confirmation of the proposed union of the two Orders."
The committees finally met at the Willard Hotel in Washington D.C., on March 27, 1874, to complete their work. The second publication of the Chi Phi Quarterly, April 1874, indicates the union was clearly embraced and anticipates the first convention: "It will be a great occasion – none greater in the history of our order. The older members should be there to give our deliberations the result of their studies and experience, and to temper the spirits of the younger members. The active members should be there to drink deep from the fountainhead...What will be our future policy? When the Princeton and Hobart Orders were combined, the Hobart influence prevailed in the future councils. Her policy was aggressive, and it is in a very great measure due to her that the Northern Order has left so bright a page in the history of the order during the last decade...The Southern Order brings to the Northern Order a progressive spirit...We believe the action of the coming convention will be in unison with the progressive spirit..."
The union was ratified at the Willard Hotel on July 23, 1874. The Northern Order sent a large complement of delegates (with the exception of Kappa at Brown and Tau at Massachusetts Institute of Technology): Alpha (the New York alumni chapter); Beta at Muhlenberg; Delta at Rutgers; Zeta at Franklin & Marshall; Nu at Washington and Lee; Xi at Cornell; Rho at Lafayette; Sigma at Wofford; Upsilon at Hobart; Phi at Amherst; Chi at Ohio Wesleyan; Psi at Lehigh; and Omega at Dickinson.
The Southern Order was represented by Delta at the University of Virginia, Epsilon at Hampden-Sydney and Mu at Trinity. Those absent included: Eta at Georgia which was temporarily suspended due to anti-fraternity legislation; Kappa at Emory which still objected to Virginia’s assumption of plenary power; and Iota at Mercer which followed Kappa’s lead. Theta at Edinburgh, Lambda at Oglethorpe and Omicron at St. John’s College had ceased to exist while Pi at the Kentucky Military Institute simply failed to send a representative.
The convention promptly got down to business and elected William Frost Bishop, Hampden-Sydney 1872, as the first Grand Alpha, Jacob Butz Heller, Lafayette 1874, as the first Grand Gamma, and James Bishop, Rutgers 1870, as Grand Delta. They proceeded to change the old Hobart constitution to comply with the new union. Amendments covered the change in the name of the Fraternity (adopting the Southern appellation) and a provision for a "Grand Lodge" with delegate representation to replace the old Alpha chapter alumni role and to assume administrative powers between conventions.
Other action provided for chapter seals and the Great Seal of the Fraternity, modification of the Hobart badge to accommodate the Southern Order, authorization of a guard pin and finally the adoption of the Grand Lecture. The Grand Alpha, Brother Bishop, was forced to leave Washington early. William Sutphen presided and delivered the Grand Lecture and exemplified the Unwritten Law according to the ritual adopted.
After delegates from the North and South devoted a full day and most of the night to the business at hand, they recessed at midnight to the banquet hall for numerous toasts and convivial banter lasting well into the early morning. They ended their first convention with a trip to nearby Mt. Vernon. Dr. Theodore Appel opined in The Chi Phi Chronicles: "Of the delegates to the convention, Sutphen was definitely the leader of the Northern Order, as [Armistead Churchill] Gordon, Alpha 1875, was of the South. [George R.] VanDeWater, Cornell 1874, and [Jacob R.] Heller, Lafayette 1874, became Grand Alphas; [Millard Fillmore] Thompson, Dickinson 1871, was founder of the Chi Phi Quarterly; William Wilson, Upsilon 1871, became a Brigadier General during the World War [WWI]. The record made by these delegates in civil life was far beyond average and we feel that the men who met in Washington were a chosen lot...The work was well done, and the union completed, bringing into being on a broad foundation a new Fraternity – new, yet carrying in its very life all the inherent strength and vigor and traditions of the three original Orders."
The official record of the new United Order lists the following chapters (however, some chapters on both sides were already extinct or not functioning): Chi Phi Chapter (former Alpha Alumni of the Northern Order); Alpha at Virginia (formerly Delta); Beta at Muhlenberg; Gamma at Emory (formerly Kappa); Delta at Rutgers; Epsilon at Hampden-Sydney; Zeta at Franklin and Marshall; Eta at Georgia; Theta at Edinburgh; Iota at Mercer; Kappa at Brown; Lambda at Oglethorpe; Mu at Trinity; Nu at Washington and Lee; Xi at Cornell; Omicron at St. John’s; Pi at Kentucky Military Institute; Rho at Lafayette; Sigma at Wofford; Tau at Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Upsilon at Hobart; Phi at Amherst; Chi at Ohio Wesleyan; Psi at Lehigh; and Omega at Dickinson.
Brief History, The Princeton Order, The Hobart Order, The Southern Order, The Union Of The Hobart And Princeton Orders, The Union Of The Northern And Southern Orders, Post Union,