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Official Publication of the Georgia Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans
Commander's Report.
By Michael A. Mull
January/February 2015
Graverobbers Still Sought
It is time members of the Georgia Division know what happened at the
Executive Council Meeting that was to be held January 17th in Milledgeville at the conclusion of the annual Robert E. Lee Birthday Celebration. I
will refrain from making any judgment calls or inserting my personal opinions into this chronicle of what did or, as the case may be, did not happen at
the gathering.
I arrived at the Old State Capitol Building in Milledgeville around
10:15 on the morning of the event. At that time I received a telephone call
from Lt. Commander (South) to call Don Shelton, a member of the National organization’s General Executive Committee and the chairman of that
group’s Disciplinary Committee which had been deliberating the case of
suspended Georgia Division Commander Ray McBerry on two specifications of conduct unbecoming a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, one count of committing an act repugnant to the Constitution of the
Sons of Confederate Veterans and one count of neglect of duty.
I did call Compatriot Shelton who told me that Ray McBerry had
been found guilty of the two specifications of conduct unbecoming, guilty
of acts repugnant to the Constitution of the organization and not guilty of
the neglect of duty charge. He offered to send via e-mail to my telephone a
brief summary of the Committee’s findings in order that I might have them
before going into the scheduled Executive Council meeting. Since my telephone was not set up to receive e-mail communications, I suggested he
send the summary to the telephone belonging to Michael Sorrell, a member
of my camp who attended the EC meeting with me. Compatriot Shelton
did so and the e-mail communication was received and available for use.
Ray McBerry’s punishment outlined in the summary was continued
suspension through the 2016 Georgia Division Convention and a requirement that he make a sincere apology to the GEC and other parties affected
by his actions and the apology must fit the criteria as determined by the
Disciplinary Committee.
While walking to the entrance to the Old Capitol [Cont. Page 3]
By Mark Davis - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Lewis Walker, the sheriff of
Crawford County, west of Macon.
“That grave has been out there for
148
years.”
The Georgia Division of the
Sons of Confederate Veterans has
offered $1,000 for information
leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever disturbed the site.
“You’ve got to be really
desperate to do something like
that,” said SCV member Tim Pilgrim.
Pretty stupid, too. Disturbing a
grave is a felony. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is helping
local
authorities.
Investigators need the help, said
Walker. “It’s been tough, I’ll tell
you that,” the sheriff said. “We’ve
had some calls, but nothing that
has led us to make an arrest.”
The grave desecration hits home
with the SCV, which honors the
memory of those who fought in
the War Between the States. Nichols, according to organization re[See
Page
3,
Robbers]
Authorities are searching for the
ghoul, or ghouls, who recently dug
up the grave of a Confederate soldier. The objects of the digging:
buttons, buckles or other Civil
War
artifacts.
Deputies in Crawford County
got a call in mid-December that a
grave at Old Bethel Methodist
Church Cemetery had been dug
up. They discovered the desecrated grave site of 2nd Lt. James A.
Nichols, late of the 57th Regiment
of the Georgia Infantry. His remains had lain undisturbed since
1866.
Investigators noted the sifted
soil, as if a screen had been used to
search for what lay underneath the
old tombstone. Local legend said
Nichols had been buried in his
uniform. Deputies deduced that
whoever defiled the grave was
looking for the metal remains of
that uniform — buttons, buckles,
maybe
a
sword.
“It’s very disrespectful,” said
118th GEORGIA DIVISION CONVENTION/REUNION
JUNE 12th & 13th, 2015
The Reunion will be held at Nash Farm Battlefield
100 Babbs Mill Rd. Hampton, Georgia 30228
Host Camp: Col. Charles T. Zachry #108
See Registration form on Page……. 7
The Charge
NON PROFIT ORG
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
Permit # 80002
to the Georgia Division
"o you, Sons of Confederate Veterans, we will commit the
T
vindication of the cause for which we fought. To your strength
will be given the defense of the Confederate soldier's good name,
the guardianship of his history, the emulation of his virtues, the
perpetuation of those principles which he loved and which you
love also, and those ideals which made him glorious and which
you also cherish. Remember it is your duty to see that the true
history of the South is presented to future generations.
Inside this issue:
DIVISION NEWS
1 - 7
COLOR PHOTOS
2,13,16
& 27
REUNION FORMS
7, 12
LT. COMMANDERS & 5,8– 10
BRIG. REPORTS
LEE, S HARPSBURG
4
18 — 23
Page 2
The Georgia Confederate
January/February 2015
Above: Scenes from the memorial service at the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Griswoldville. The Jarrell Plantation Historic Site, the 16th Georgia Volunteer Infantry, Co. G, "The
Jackson Rifles", The Camp of the Unknown Soldier Camp #2218, Clinton, GA and The Brig.
Gen. Edward Dorr Tracey Jr. Camp #18, Macon, GA commemorated the 150th Anniversary of
the Battle of Griswoldville Nov. 22, 2014, the actual anniversary date of the Battle.
Guest speaker was Pastor John Weaver of Fitzgerald, GA.
At Left: The
Cannonball
House historic
site of Macon,
GA held its
fourth annual
performance of
Candlelight Apparitions on the
evening of November 15,
2014.
At Left: Earl Colvin, Wayne
Dobson and James Thompson, all
members of The Camp of the Unknown Soldier, # 2218 of Old Clinton, GA, Jones County, GA enjoyed
giving Ms. Wanda Pope's 5th Grade
Monroe County, GA students a November 11 tour of the site of the
town of Griswoldville and the bat-
Above: L to R General Howell Cobb (portrayed by
Alan Richards of the Cochran Logan E. Bleckley SCV
Camp #1998), General William Hardee (portrayed by
Earl Colvin of The Camp of the Unknown Soldier #
2218), General Gustavus Smith (portrayed by Wayne
Dobson of The Camp of the Unknown Soldier # 2218),
Governor Joseph Brown (portrayed by Ian McMullen of
The Old Capitol Camp/Milledgeville) and General Richard Taylor (portrayed by J.C. Nobles, Commander of
The Camp of the Unknown Soldier # 2218).
January/February 2015
The Georgia Confederate
Commander's Report,continued from page 1
Building I saw Division Judge Advocate Dan Coleman and shared the email communications with him. Dan took a few notes and we walked into
the building together.
Judge Advocate Coleman convened the program shortly after 11 a.m.
and the audience heard a very informative talk on the exploits of Gen. Lee at
the Battle of Sharpsburg (Antietam). At the conclusion of the address, most
participants went outside for a musket and cannon salute to the memory of
Robert E. Lee. Those wishing to attend the scheduled EC meeting came
back inside around 12:30 p.m. for the start of the meeting.
Once the crowd had been seated, Ray McBerry went to the podium,
announced he was the legally elected commander of the Georgia Division,
was reassuming that position and refused to relinquish the podium in order
for me to convene the meeting. Judge Advocate Coleman informed him
there was no way under the Division By-laws for him to reassume the leadership of the Division and he had no authority to impose his will to take
charge of the meeting.
Despite repeated requests from Judge Advocate Coleman, Lt. Commander (South) John Carroll and me for him to relinquish the podium in
order for the meeting to be called to order, McBerry continued to claim he
was the rightful commander of the Division, ignoring the order of suspension imposed on him by the General Executive Council. I don’t believe
McBerry was privy to the summary of the findings of the Disciplinary Committee which I only received a couple of hours before this chain of events.
An attorney representing McBerry had given me a letter from him
(the lawyer) attempting to cite legal precedents claiming McBerry was the
proper commander of the Georgia Division. This letter was also read by Lt.
Commanders Carroll and Autrey, neither of which put much stock in it as
did I.
After much wrangling, McBerry did permit Adjutant Tim Pilgrim to
call the roll of the members of the Executive Council to determine if there
was a quorum present for official action to be taken. After a quorum was
established, a motion was offered to adjourn and was immediately seconded. The motion was approved. All then left the meeting room.
[Robbers, Continued from Page 1]
cords, was in the thick of it.
At the war’s outbreak, in 1861,
he enlisted in Company F, 2nd
Regiment, 1st Brigade of the
Georgia State Troops — at the
time, part of the Georgia Militia.
In 1862, when his company became part of the 57th Regiment,
fellow soldiers elected him 2nd
lieutenant. He fought in Tennessee, Kentucky and Mississippi,
where he participated in the defense
of
Vicksburg.
In Mississippi, Union soldiers
captured Nichols, who eventually
rejoined the 57th in a prisoner
exchange. In 1864, Nichols
fought his former captors between Chattanooga and Atlanta
as Union Gen. William T. Sherman pushed deeper into the Confederacy.
Nichols lived a year after the
war’s end in 1865, succumbing to
chronic diarrhea contracted during the fighting. He was buried in
a wooded graveyard and, said
some, he was laid to rest in his
uniform.
The buttons and buckles that
adorned Civil War uniforms fetch
big prices, especially the harderto-find items worn by Southern
soldiers. A brass button in good
shape can fetch more than $300;
a buckle in similar condition
commands thousands. Artifacts,
even those dug up, are collectible.
Authorities, meanwhile, are
searching for Nichols’ descendants. They’re also hoping someone will let them know if tarnished buttons or buckles from a
Civil War uniform come up for
sale. Tom Stevens, the SCV commander for the region that includes Crawford County, shares
that hope. The organization plans
to hold a memorial service at
Nichols’ grave later this year.
Anyone with information
about the crime is asked to call
the Crawford Sheriff’s Office at
478-836-3116
Page 3
Obituary
Albert Sydney Johnson III
[B/G T.R.R. Cobb, SCV Camp]
Albert Sydney Johnson III
died on December 30, 2014.
Born in Clarkston, DeKalb
County, Georgia, Sydney was
preceded in death by his parents, Albert Sydney Johnson II
and Dorothy Louise Hudson
Johnson, and son Brian Thomas Johnson. A resident of
Oconee County since 1970,
Sydney received his BS from
the University of Georgia and
his MS and PhD from Auburn
University in Wildlife and
Fisheries. He was a Wildlife
Biologist for Alabama Game
and Fish from 1962-1963. He
taught Zoology and Wildlife
Biology at Auburn University
from 1963-1968. In 1968 he
moved to the University of
Georgia, School of Forest Resources to teach and direct
graduate students in Wildlife
Management until his retirement in 1995. Sydney served a
term as president of the Southeastern Section of The Wildlife
Society and authored or coauthored over 50 publications
on wildlife habitat management. Sydney received numerous professional awards in the
field of wildlife and is remembered fondly by his students for
his field trips, plant identification ability and his soft-spoken,
gentlemanly ways. He is remembered as being a man of
integrity and was a role model
to many throughout his lifetime.
Sydney was a Veteran, having served in the U.S. Navy
during the Korean War. He was
a member of the Bishop Baptist
Church, a life member of The
Wildlife Society, T.R.R. Cobb
Camp 97 Sons of Confederate
Veterans, and the Military Order of the Stars and Bars, and a
member of the Athens Chapter
Sons of the American Revolution, Athens Historical Society,
Oconee County Historical Society, Clarke-Oconee Genealogical Society, and other historical groups. His love of history, in all areas of his life, is
well
known.
Services are being arranged
by Lord and Stephens West.
Visitation will be from 5:007:00pm on Friday, January 2
and funeral services will be
held at 2:00pm on Saturday,
January 3 at The Chapel, Lord
and Stephens West, followed
by burial in the Bishop Cemetery,
Bishop,
GA.
Pallbearers will be Geoffrey
Adams, Tommy Benton, David
Hardigree, Tommy Hewell,
Marvin Poe, and Bill Rockwell,
members of T.R.R. Cobb Camp
97 Sons of Confederate Veterans and honorary pallbearers
will be the remaining members.
Sydney passed away after a
short battle with lymphoma at
the age of 81, surrounded by
loved ones in his home. Survivors include his wife of 55
years, Nedra Tyler Johnson of
Bishop; daughters Dorothy
Johnson Callaway (Brett) of
Hendersonville, NC; Linda
Johnson Fleming (Calvin) of
Clarke County GA; and Merry
Johnson Maxey (Paul) of Bishop, GA; grandchildren Jennifer
Fleming, Jessie Callaway, Leah
Callaway, Tyler Maxey, Spencer Maxey, and Tucker Maxey
and a number of cousins, nieces
and
nephews.
In lieu of flowers, memorials
may be made to the T.R.R.
Cobb Camp 97 Sons of Confederate Veterans PO Box 144
Watkinsville, GA 30677, to
Bishop Baptist Church PO Box
10 Bishop GA 30621, or to
Halcyon Hospice 1071 Founders Blvd. Ste. D Athens GA
30606.
DEADLINE MARCH/APRIL ISSUE 2015
APRIL 5th
The Georgia Confederate
I have a goal to get the Georgia Confederate into the hands of our
readers during the month that is printed on the issue. Your help in
meeting this change in deadline will go a long way towards making
this dream a reality. The USPS took 22 days to deliver my last issue.
Editor
Page 4
The Georgia Confederate
Sons of Confederate Veterans
Georgia Division Officers
DIVISION COMMANDER [Acting]
MIKE MULL
366 Savannah Avenue
Statesboro, GA 30458
[email protected]
Hm: 912-314-0350 cell: 912-618-3613
7TH BRIGADE COMMANDER
TOM LAVENDER
388 Louisiana Road, Jesup, Ga. 31546
tomlav@comcast,net
912-385-2345
LT. COMMANDER - North
PHILIP J. AUTREY
416 Candler Street, NE
Atlanta, Ga. 30307-2036
[email protected]
404-659-2314
8TH BRIGADE COMMANDER
CHARLIE PARKS
236 Roberts Road, Moultrie, Ga. 31788
[email protected]
229-324-3584
LT. COMMANDER - South
JOHN B. CARROLL III
P.O. Box 126
Americus, GA 31709
[email protected]
229-924-8751
DIVISION ADJUTANT
TIM PILGRIM
20 Old Fuller Mill Road NE
Marietta, GA 30067-4126
[email protected]
404-456-3393
DIVISION JUDGE ADVOCATE
& SPOKESMAN
DAN COLEMAN
8735 Jenkins Rd, Winston, GA 30187
[email protected]
770-265-7910
PAST DIVISION COMMANDER
A. JACK BRIDWELL
P.O. Box 1213, Moultrie, GA 31776
[email protected]
1ST BRIGADE COMMANDER
DAVID CORDELL
309 McAfee Road, Rossville, Ga. 30741
[email protected]
423-227-4816
2ND BRIGADE COMMANDER
KARL AVERA HAUN
133 River Chase Drive,
Woodstock, GA 30188
[email protected]
Hm: 678-395-8031
3RD BRIGADE COMMANDER
STEVEN SATTERFIELD
7882 Jefferson Road, Athens, Ga. 30607
[email protected]
706-549-8098, Cell: 706-207-1363
4TH BRIGADE COMMANDER
THOMAS STEVENS
509 Wesleyan Circle, Macon, Ga. 31210
[email protected]
478-477-7468
5TH BRIGADE COMMANDER
THOMAS MILLER
326 Longwood Drive,
Statesboro, Ga. 30461
[email protected]
912-536-5775
6TH BRIGADE COMMANDER
DON NEWMAN
128 W. Deerfield Road
Bloomingdale, Ga. 31302
[email protected]
912-748-7387
9TH BRIGADE COMMANDER
JOHN A. FISHER III
P.O. Box 1184
Bainbridge, GA 39818-1042
[email protected]
229-246-9739
10TH BRIGADE COMMANDER
AL MEDCALF
122 Medcalf Road, Barnesville, GA 30204
[email protected]
770-358-4986
11TH BRIGADE COMMANDER
CURTIS CLIFTON HAMRICK
210 Shiloh Church Road
Waco, Ga. 30182-2125
[email protected]
404-782-2493
12TH BRIGADE COMMANDER
RHETT COLEMAN
864 Williamsburg Court,
Mableton, GA. 30126
[email protected]
Cell: 404-697-4388
13TH BRIGADE COMMANDER
STEVEN W. CAMP
499 Bell Road, Conyers, Ga. 30094
[email protected]
Hm:(770) 760-8200 Cell (770) 480-3879
DIVISION CHIEF-OF-STAFF
JONATHAN TILL
250 Wendy Way
Douglasville, GA 30134-4440
[email protected]
770-653-7419
DIVISION CHAPLIN
EMORY FENNELL
558 Barbara Ave., Swainsboro, GA30401
[email protected]
478-494-3641
DIVISION HISTORIAN
MARK POLLARD
[email protected]
770-898-6662
COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER
STEVEN SCROGGINS
[email protected]
478-718-1405
EDITOR GEORGIA CONFEDERATE
ALLISON PERRY
4300 S. US Hwy. 301
Jesup, Ga. 31546
[email protected]
912-585-9144
January/February 2015
North / Middle /
Southeast Georgia
Hu Daughtry
The Dixie Guards ,
Camp # 1942
P. O. Box 406, Metter, Ga.
30439
[email protected],
912 687-6153
Recruitment/
Genealogy Officers
☜ ☜ ☜
Need help finding
your ancestor?
Call Hu, now.
SCV OFFERS $1,000 REWARD
(MACON - Jan 8, 2015) Authorities are one step closer to finding
those responsible for vandalizing and desecrating a grave in Crawford
County, Georgia back in mid-December. The Georgia Division of the Sons
of Confederate Veterans has helped to provide valuable information to authorities about the veteran who was buried in the grave and has also posted a
$1,000 reward leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators.
Sheriff Lewis Walker of Crawford County confirmed that the grave
which was dug up was that of Confederate veteran James A. Nichols. The
grave is located in the Old Bethel Methodist Church Cemetery on Causey
Road; and the GBI has now been brought in to continue the investigation. The Confederate veteran status of the deceased has led authorities to
suspect that a search for historical artifacts may have been the motivation for
the desecration.
James Nichols originally enlisted in Company F, 2nd Regiment, 1st Brigade of the Georgia State Troops -- part of the Georgia state militia -- in
1861 where he was elected to serve as second lieutenant until the unit became Company F, 57th Regiment of the Georgia Infantry in May of 1862;
at that time, Nichols was again elected by the men of his company to serve
as second lieutenant. Nichols served honourably with this unit in Tennessee
and Kentucky and, eventually, in Mississippi as part of T.H. Taylor's Brigade. Nichols was present during the defense of Vicksburg and was ultimately captured during the siege; he was later involved in a prisoner exchange and subsequently rejoined the 57th Georgia Infantry for the valiant
effort to stop Sherman's marauding invaders at many places between Chattanooga and Atlanta in 1864. Lt. Nichols died about a year after the war, suffering the terrible effects of illness that the contracted during the War.
Grave desecration is a felony criminal offense in Georgia, whether or not
artifacts were taken; and anyone with knowledge of the crime who do not
volunteer their information to authorities before the initial arrest is made
may also be arrested as accessories. The Crawford County Sheriff's office
and GBI are urging anyone who believes they have information about this
crime to contact them immediately; they can do so by calling the sheriff's
office at 478.836.3116. The reward offered by the Sons of Confederate Veterans is intended to encourage citizens who might initially be apprehensive
about taking the time to get involved. Georgia SCV Brigade Commander
Thomas Stevens had this to say, "The desecration of any grave is inexcusable, but desecrating the grave of a veteran who put his life on the line for the
people of Georgia is vile and revolting. We believe that it is likely that
someone else may know something about this crime by now, and we are
hoping that their goodness and sense of morality will lead them to contact
the authorities."
For more information about the Sons of Confederate Veterans or any of
this year's planned events to commemorate the Sesquicentennial of the War,
contact the Georgia SCV at 404-456-3393 or online at
www.GeorgiaSCV.org
END RELEASE
* Permission to reprint this release is granted.
January/February 2015
The Georgia Confederate
Division Adjutant’s Report
Lt. Commander North’s Report
The camps in December 2014 were all having their Christmas dinners and
parties. In January 2015 all the camps were having their Lee/Jackson dinners. Some camps had elections and new officers were installed at these dinners.
Upcoming in June, the Division will have its 2015 Reunion. Every camp
should have as many members attend as is possible. Let’s look forward to a
memorable 2015 Division Reunion.
On the Division business level, very little has taken place. In midJanuary, EC members convened in Milledgeville, but no official business
meeting took place. This was wholly due to the actions of Ray McBerry.
Although McBerry had previously and voluntarily stepped down as Commander of the Georgia Division, he proceeded to seize the podium and force
his way back into his role as Division Commander. Therefore, no Division
business was conducted during this 3-hour long session. It is my hope that
the EC will be able to conduct its regular business at the March 2015 meeting in Macon.
Philip Autrey
Lt. Commander North
Lt. Commander South’s Report
NO REPORT RECEIVED
1st BRIGADE REPORT……………..
General Nathan Bedford Forrest SCV Camp 469 Rome, Georgia
Our regular meetings are held on the first Thursday of each month at 7:00
PM in the Oostanaula Room of the Rome-Floyd County Library at 205 Riverside Parkway in Rome, Georgia. Members are expected, and visitors are
always welcome.
Chattooga County Camp 507
Chattooga County Senior Center, Summerville, Georgia
Last Thursday of each month at 7:00 p.m
John B. Gordon Camp 599 Meets every third Tuesday at 7pm
Senior Center Lafayette, Georgia
Capt. Max Van Den Corput's Battery Camp 669
Meets the first Tuesday of the month at Creek side Restaurant
23 Cedartown St SW, Cave Spring, Georgia 30124
Stiles/Akin Camp 670
The Camp's Monthly Meeting is on the Third Tuesday of the Month at 7:00
PM. Held at 101 North Erwin Street at the Art Center Building the public is
welcome
Gen. Joseph E. Johnston SCV Camp 671
Dalton Georgia
Commander Sam Jones
We meet the 3rd Thursday of each month at 7:30 PM at the historic Crown
Gardens and Archives which is located at 715 Chattanooga Avenue in Dalton, GA. If you would like to join or just visit you're always welcome to attend.
State of Dade Camp 707
Commander Robert Alan Daniels
Camp meets every third Tuesday at Randy’s Restaurant in Trenton
Gen. Stand Watie Camp # 915 PO Box 626 Calhoun, Georgia 30703
COMMANDER R. Stan Chambers
Camp meets the second Thursday of the month at 7pm
[ Brigade Reports, Continued Page 8]
Page 5
Gentlemen,
I want to assure you that in spite of all the madness that has taken place
from this unfortunate situation that has been compelled upon our Division,
there is still stability with the daily operations of getting the business of
this Division completed. Our rosters and accounts are up-to-date. We have
filed our 990 annual non-profit tax return, the annual audit with the Department of Revenue was completed and we are receiving our tag funds.
We have registered our annual corporation status with the Secretary of
State. We are sending out monthly press releases. All our tag fund projects have been completed. The Division web-site is up-dated and on-line
www.gascv.org. We completed the 2014 / 1864 Sesquicentennial radio
history segments and the Georgia Confederate publication hasn’t missed
an issue.
But I feel that the leadership of both our Division and SCV National has
failed our membership from poor judgment and by taking unwarranted
actions without giving the men of this Division the opportunity for their
voices to be heard and the opportunity to manage our affairs internally.
Nevertheless, it has diverted us substantially from serving our membership, a duty that you have elected us to do. For that, I sincerely apologize
to all of you and hope that we can get back on sound ground soon and earn
your trust and confidence back.
On to business. It’s prorating season again and I have to admit, between
Division and National’s prorating policies it does get a bit confusing. But,
prorating dues for new and reinstating members is definitely the best option, if they can afford the extra cost. The benefit is that prorating covers
the remaining dues for this fiscal year (July 31, 2015) and 2016 fiscal year
dues as well (till July 31, 2016).
Here are some reminders on how the prorating process works:
Georgia Division Dues: PRORATED
$18 for new members, joining during Feb, March or April.
$21 for members reinstating membership during Feb, March or April.
$15 for new members, joining during May, June or July.
$18 for members reinstating their membership during May, June or July.
SCV National Dues: PRORATED
$50 for SCV National prorated dues for new and reinstating members joining during Feb, March or April.
$42.50 for SCV National prorated dues for new and reinstating members
joining during May, June or July.
If you all ever need any clarifications with prorating dues always
feel free to call or e-mail me anytime.
I will be assisting the Col. Charles T. Zachry Camp #108 and Camp
Commander Tony Pilgrim with the 118th Annual Georgia Division Reunion this year, being held at the Nash Farm Battlefield. The registration and
delegate forms are included in this issue and are downloadable on the Division web-site at www.gascv,org. Be sure and mail the completed registration form and check back to my address. With two Pilgrims on the job
what could go wrong?
We still need to grow the Georgia Division e-mail discussion group,
which is open to all our members and the Georgia Division e-mail News
group for Camp Officers only. The News group isn’t a discussion group
it’s for official notifications and announcements.
If you want to join either of these groups just send me an e-mail at [email protected] and I’ll send you back and invite to join the group.
At Your Service, Timothy F. Pilgrim
Georgia Division Adjutant
Page 6
The Georgia Confederate
Division EC Meeting Report: 1.17.15
Old Capitol, Milledgeville
Following the Robert E. Lee birthday celebration in Milledgeville on Saturday, January
17th, the Georgia Division gathered for a scheduled Executive Council meeting. But, nothing
happened. Well, that’s not true, something did
happen. The Georgia Division Executive
Council decided to do nothing, in a nonmeeting.
Elected Division Commander [EDC]
Ray McBerry called the Georgia Division Executive Council [EC] meeting to order and
asked for a roll call. Before the roll call could
begin, Judge Advocate [JA] Dan Coleman approached the podium and appropriated the microphone. For at least an hour, JA Coleman
informed the group of Georgia Division SCV
members [There were at least as many non-EC
members present as EC members] concerning
the By-Laws, Section 13 which states in part
that once an election by the EC to replace an
EDC has occurred, it remains in effect until the
next Division reunion when another election is
to take place.
The point of disagreement apparently
comes down to JA Coleman’s understanding of
EDC McBerry’s statement acknowledging the
GEC suspension, “step down.” According to
McBerry, he meant temporarily until the suspension was either lifted or expired. As of the
17th, the suspension had expired and charges
had been brought. EDC McBerry asserted he
had not resigned. JA Coleman interpreted
Georgia Division
Scheduled EC Meetings:
2015
March 28th:
Ole Times Buffet
Macon, GA
June 13th:
Nash Farm
Unless announced otherwise,
Georgia Division EC meetings
are open to members and guests.
McBerry’s statement to mean he had resigned,
which would make Section 13 in effect.
EDC McBerry was allowed to speak by
JA Coleman and made his position as Elected
Division Commander. With several comments
from the floor including a report from Acting
Lt. Division Commander South [ALDCS] John
Carroll that the General Executive Council
[GEC] Disciplinary Committee had met on
January 15th and issued a ruling on the charges
against EDC McBerry. ALDCS Carroll read
the eMail communication which stated:
Summary Report Disciplinary Committee
Sons of Confederate Veterans; Deliberations
January 15th, 2014; In the matter of Ray
McBerry; Count number 1: conduct unbecoming Specification number 1: guilty; Specification number 2: guilty; Count number 2: act repugnant to the Constitution : guilty; Count
number 3: neglect of duty: not guilty. Punishment: Punishment is multi faceted. Full details
will be in the full report. However, compatriot
McBerry is suspended from holding the office
of Georgia Division Commander.
Several members voiced concerns over
the actions of the GEC, JA Coleman reiterated
his explanation of the law, and general disagreement was expressed by many in attendance.
After much more discussion, JA Coleman
called the EC to the front, and made a final address, explaining that the law is the law. Although he did not appreciate the actions of
many at the national and Division level, “The
law is the law,” JA Coleman said. Coleman
asserted that any EC member disregarding the
law would be held accountable. Adjutant Pilgrim confirmed a quorum was present, and by
a unanimous vote, the EC decided to not hold
an EC meeting at Milledgeville on the 17th.
Incidentally, someone called for law enforcement presence. It’s the first time I have
seen a policeman present inside the Old Capital
since we moved the Lee Birthday event from
Atlanta. Although I have never felt threatened
while in Milledgeville, I guess you can’t be too
careful what with Al Qaeda and ISIS around
these days.
The Georgia Confederate
DEADLINE
MARCH/APRIL ISSUE
APRIL 5th
January/February 2015
Subsequent communications from the
GEC to the Georgia Division EC have indicated that the eMail communication sent to Acting Division Commander [ADC] Mull as read
by ALDCS Carroll on the 17th has been verified and the information cannot be reported on
by any of the EC members who received the
communication. ADC Mull has indicated:
Members of the Georgia Division Executive
Council.
Attached is the report of the Disciplinary Committee of the General Executive Council, Sons
of Confederate Veterans, I received this morning from Don Shelton, chair of said committee. With it came specific instructions as to
whom it will be shared.
This report is not to be made public, not to
be provided to any media, and not to be posted openly on the internet. It is a document
internal to the Sons of Confederate Veterans
ONLY. If you choose to share it with camp
commanders within your respective brigades,
please admonish them regarding those instructions AND DEMAND THAT THEY ALSO
COMPLY. I will let you know of any further
developments.
Michael A. Mull
(acting)
Division Commander
As of this writing [January 29, 2015], as
EDC McBerry indicated on the 17th, according
to the SCV Constitution, he has 30 days to answer the charges of the Disciplinary Committee once he receives a copy by registered mail.
Editor .al perry.
January/February 2015
The Georgia Confederate
SEE DELEGATE FORM PAGE 12
Page 7
The Battle at Nash Farm
A correspondent of the Griffin
Georgia Rebel newspaper reported on
the action at Lovejoy’s on Macon and
Western Railroad and the gallantry of
Lieutenant George B. Young, son of
Mr. William H. Young of Columbus,
Ga.
The enemy charged in columns of
regiments and it is strange they did
not kill or capture every man of
Ross’s Brigade. The horse-holders,
seeing the charge ran off and Ross’
men fought both for their lives and
their horses. They formed behind
fences and as the enemy would pass
them, they gave them the contents of
their guns and six-shooters. It was in
this charge that the old belching 12pounder under Lieutenant George B.
Young from Columbus, Ga., did noble and effective work. As a column
would charge down on him, he would
open so wide a break in it that it
would pass him without running over
his gun. He fired rapidly, turning his
gun in three or four directions. The
enemy made desperate attempts to
take it, and twice General Ross sent
word to Lieutenant Young that he had
better leave his gun and try and save
his men. His reply was, “Not while I
have a shot left!” Then General Ross
took thirty men and went up to the
piece and said “Well, Young, if you
are determined to stay with your gun,
we will stay with you.” And they did
stay there ‘til they had fired every
round of ammunition he had. Next to
the last round, a double charge of
grape, cracked the gun but it did not
frighten them from firing the last shot.
General Ross says, “Lieutenant
Young is one of the coolest and bravest men I ever saw under fire. Every
one of his men stood by the piece. He
lost one killed and five wounded. I
regret I have not their names as men
who fell acting so bravely should not
be forgotten.” {This article was in the
Daily Sun, Columbus, Georgia, 28
August 1864 pages 2/3.}
Directions: Nash Farm Battlefield
From Atlanta, GA
Take I-75 south from Atlanta to Exit 221, Jonesboro Road (the second
Jonesboro Rd located in Henry County). -Turn off the Highway and go west
approximately 6 miles. Nash Farm will be on your left. Parking is on Babbs
Mill Road which runs directly beside the Farm.
118th Reunion
Georgia Division
Sons of Confederate Veterans
1896 ~ 2015
From Macon, GA
From Macon, GA go north on I-75. Turn off the Highway at exit 221 and
go west approximately 6 miles. Nash Farm will be on your left. Parking is
on Babbs Mill Road which runs directly beside the Farm.
Page 8
The Georgia Confederate
land, GA at 7:30 p.m.
[ Brigade Reports, Continued from Page 5]
Lt.Col. William M. Luffman Camp 938 CHATSWORTH
Cmdr. MITCHELL DALE PARKER
January/February 2015
GA
Colonel Joseph McConnell Camp 1859
Ringgold Georgia
Commander Johnny Sparks
The camp finished a project replacing gating around some confederate
graves in one of the city cemeteries
PVT John Ingraham Camp 1977 in Chickamauga Georgia
Commander Charles Roark
Meets the third Saturday 11 AM at Greg’s restaurant in Chickamauga,
Georgia 11 AM
The camp is continuing fundraising activities to raise funds for a new soldier’s monument in the city of Chickamuaga and have raised over twenty
four thousand dollars of a projected cost of fifty thousand dollars to complete this long overdue project.
Gen. Patrick R. Cleburne camp 2209
Ringgold Georgia
Commander Mike Patterson and camp meets the first Monday of each
month at 6pm
The camp is currently working on restoring gating around a confederate
grave in Anderson cemetery which was damaged by a tornado.
First Brigade Commander David Cordell
[email protected]
423-227-4816
First Brigade Chaplain James Fletcher
SCV Camp #707
[email protected]
2nd BRIGADE REPORT…………….
Rabun Gap Riflemen, Camp 1929, Clayton, GA
Meeting time is 2nd Monday each month at 7 p.m. at the E.M.A. Rescue Building on Syrup City Road in Tiger, GA
Contact email: [email protected]
Camp website: http://freepages.military.rootsweb.com/~hemlockhill
David W. Payne Camp 1633, Blairsville, GA
Meets 2nd Thursday each month (except December) at 7 p.m. in the
Community Room of the United Community Bank on GA 515 in
Blairsville.
Contact email: [email protected]
Camp website: http://camp1633.scv.org/
Contact phone: 706-745-5243
Cherokee Legion, Camp 914, Canton, GA
Meets every 3rd Saturday morning. Locations vary; check the camp
website for the most up to date information.
Contact email: [email protected]
Camp website: www.cherokeelegion.org
Contact phone: 678-395-8031
Colonel Hiram Parks Bell Camp 1642, Cumming, GA
Meetings are held, rain or shine, on the fourth Monday of each month. The
meetings are held at the Bell Research Center, 101 School St inside the Old Cumming Schoolhouse. Meetings usually last about 2 hours. Meetings start at 7 PM
with plenty of time for fellowship before and after.
Camp website: http://www.scv1642.com/
Contact email: [email protected]
52nd Georgia SCV Camp 1418, Cleveland, GA
We meet on the third Thursday of each month at the Public Library in Cleve-
Concord Rangers Camp 2135, Dawsonville, GA
Camp website: http://www.scvcamp2135.com/scv/index.php?SessID=23567
27th Georgia Regiment, Camp 1404, Gainesville, GA
We meet the second Thursday of every month at 7:00 p.m. at the Historic
Piedmont Hotel, 827 Maple Street, in downtown Gainesville.
Contact email: [email protected]
Camp website: http://scv1404.tripod.com/
The Blue Ridge Rifles, Camp 1860, Dahlonega, GA
We meet the 1st Wednesday of every month at 7:30 p.m. at the Community
House, 111 Park Street North, 2 blocks N. or town square.
Contact email - [email protected]
Camp website: http://scvcamp1860.tripod.com/scvcamp1860/
Habersham Guard, Camp 716, Clarkesville, GA
The camp meets the 3rd Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. at the
Clarkesville Library.
Facebook
page:
Sons of Confederate Veterans (Habersham Guard Camp 716).
Gilmer Light Guards, Camp 89, Ellijay, GA
Meeting every 3rd Monday at the Bobcat Den at 7:00 p.m. with fellowship at
6:30 p.m.
Bobby Bradford, Commander
Leo Baker, Lt. Commander
Second Brigade, Georgia Division
Contact phone: 678-395-8031
Contact email: [email protected]
Note: Updates/changes/corrections to the Camp information shown
above should be forwarded to me at [email protected]. Camps with
newsworthy items and/or photos for inclusion in the Georgia Confederate should
send them directly to Al Perry at the following email: [email protected].
Karl Haun, Commander, Second Brigade
Georgia Division
3rd BRIGADE REPORT ……………...
NO REPORT RECEIVED FROM THIS BRIGADE
4th BRIGADE REPORT……………..
NO REPORT RECEIVED FROM THIS BRIGADE
5th BRIGADE REPORT……………..
Brigadier General Edward Porter Alexander Camp 158
Brigadier General E. Porter Alexander Camp 158 in Augusta meets at
7:00 pm on the second Thursday of every month (except July) at the historic Sconyers Bar-B-Que Restaurant (since 1956) at 2250 Sconyers Way.
The restaurant's owner, Mr. Larry Sconyers, a true Southern gentleman,
continues to proudly fly our '56 Georgia flag. Pictures of General Robert
E. Lee and General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson are displayed in his
restaurant.
The Camp held their annual Lee-Jackson banquet on January 24th,
with SCV Commander-in-Chief Kelly Barrow being the keynote speaker.
CiC Barrow installed the new officers for their upcoming two year term:
Commander: Dr. John Baxley, 1st Lt. Cmdr.: Nick Posey, 2nd Lt Cmdr.:
David Armour, Adjutant/Treasurer: Nick Posey, Quartermaster: Joe Winstead, Chaplain/Color Sgt.: Ben Creech Newsletter Editor: Dr. Arnold
Huskins, and Surgeon: Dr. Ed Johnson.
[ Brigade Reports, Continued Page 9]
January/February 2015
The Georgia Confederate
[ Brigade Reports, Continued from Page 8]
Brigadier General John C. Carter Camp 207
Meets on the last Monday of each month at the Burke County Library in
Waynesboro at 6:30 p.m.
The men of the Brigadier General John C. Carter Camp 207 held
their annual Lee-Jackson Banquet on Saturday, January 17th. 5th Brigade
Commander Thomas Miller was their guest speaker, and spoke on the topic
of "The Faith of Generals Lee and Jackson".
Black Creek Volunteers Camp 549
Meets on the third Tuesday of each month at Wall's Diner in Sylvania. Dinner is at 6:30 p.m., with the meeting to follow at 7:00 p.m.
Ogeechee Rifles Camp 941
Meets on the third Thursday of each month at RJ's Seafood and
Steaks in Statesboro. Dinner is at 6:30 p.m., with the meeting starting at
7:00 p.m.
The Ogeechee Rifles held their annual Lee-Jackson banquet on Saturday, January 24th will special guest singers "Three Fold Chord", who put
on a beautiful a cappella performance. That evening, Jake Stalcup was announced as the Camp's 2015 Confederate of the Year. Jake, who had
bravely been battling cancer, was in attendance to accept his award.
While we celebrate Jake's work with the SCV and Mechanized Cavalry, we also mourn Jake's passing, which happened on February 11th.
Jake spent a lot of the last year of his life traveling with his brothers in the
Mechanized Cavalry to sites and events all along the eastern seaboard. He
was a loyal compatriot, friend, and the kind of guy who would go out of his
way to speak to you, and will truly be missed. Please keep his family and
friends in your thoughts and prayers.
General Ambrose Wright Camp 1914
Meets on the fourth Tuesday of the month at the Side Track Grill in
Martinez. Dinner is at 6:00 p.m., with the meeting starting at 7:00 p.m.
The men of the General Ambrose Wright Camp are pleased to announce their newly elected officers for 2015: Camp Commander - Brett
McGuire, Camp Adjutant - Alan Anderson, Camp Chaplain - Chuck Ikerd,
Color Sgt. - Kevin Wren
Dixie Guards Camp 1942
Meets on the first Thursday of each month at Bevrick's Restaurant in
Metter. Dinner is at 6:30 p.m., with the meeting starting at 7:00 p.m.
The officers and men of The Metter Camp (The Dixie Guards) held
their annual Generals' Banquet on the evening of Thursday, February
5th. Georgia Division Commander Mike Mull was the featured orator.
Daughtry presented awards to Paul Harmon (of the Ogeechee Rifles
Camp in Statesboro), his wife, Susan, and Division Commander Mike Mull
(also of the Ogeechee Rifles) for meritorious service rendered above and
beyond the call of duty.
Buckhead/Fort Lawton Camp 2102
Meets on the third Friday of each month at Magnolia Springs State
Park outside of Millen. The Camp meeting starts at 7:30 p.m., with dinner
being served around 7:00 p.m.
Be sure to give us a "Like" on Facebook at https://
www.facebook.com/5thbrigadegascv for news and updates from the 5th
Brigade!
The 6th Brigade has established a website, check us out at
www.georgiadivision6thbrigade.org
A speakers list has been sent to every camp in our Brigade. Commanders report to using it to get good quality speakers for our meetings.
6th BRIGADE REPORT……………..
#93 Bartow Camp
Meeting the 3rd Tuesday 7:00 pm The Exchange on Waters Ave.
[Brigade Reports, Continued Page 10]
Page 9
Reenactment: March 21 and 22 Features H. L. Hunley Exhibit
The traveling exhibit of the H.
L. Hunley Confederate submarine will be featured at the 16th
Annual “Battles at Manassas”
reenactment on March 21 and 22
at “Fort Wallace-Wood” in
Tattnall County. The Tattnall
Invincibles Camp, Sons of Confederate Veterans, host of the
reenactment, is pleased that they
will have this full size reproduction of the famous H. L. Hunley
submarine available for viewing
by all who attend.
The H. L. Hunley was the first
submarine to sink an enemy ship.
During the War Between the
States, Confederate inventor
Horace Lawson Hunley came up
with the idea of converting a
steam boiler into a submarine.
After his submarine was completed in Mobile, Alabama, it
was moved by rail to Charleston,
South Carolina, where it was expected to help break the Union
blockade.
Unfortunately, it sank twice
during trials in the Charleston
harbor, costing the lives of two
different crews, the second including its inventor, H. L. Hunley. In 1864, a third crew in the
submarine used a 90-pound
charge of powder on a pole to
sink a Federal steam ship, the
USS Housatonic at the entrance
to the harbor.
The Hunley never returned to
port and her fate was unknown
for 131 years, but in 1995, she
was found and raised. All members of that third crew were still
in their places in the submarine
and many artifacts reported to
have been on the submarine
when it was lost were, in fact,
still there. The crew members
were subsequently buried in
Charleston in a ceremony that
drew thousands.
The original Hunley is still
undergoing restoration work in
Charleston, but this reproduction,
complete with a large cutaway,
was built in memory of Mr. H. L.
Hunley and of all others who
have served our country.
In addition to the Hunley exhibit, reenactment battles will get
underway each day at 2:00 p.m.
to determine who will control the
earthen and timber fort. The
Tattnall Invincibles expect more
than 450 authentically dressed
and armed reenactors to be involved in the battles to defend or
capture the fort. In addition, a
number of civilians dressed in
period clothing will be among
the observers of the battles. Cannons, muskets, flags and accessories will accurately represent the
1861-1865 period. Confederate
and Union campsites which are
equipped with camp gear authentic to the period will be open for
visits by the public.
Judging to select the Most
Authentic Union Soldier and the
Most Authentic Confederate Soldier will be held. There will also
be an artillery competition for the
best crew, a mortar competition
with live fire on the target, and a
musket rapid-fire competition.
Vendors will offer food and a
variety of period merchandise
and a drawing will be held for a
Marlin 336 lever-action rifle with
a scope.
“Fort Wallace-Wood” is located just off U. S. Highway 280
between Reidsville and Claxton.
The entrance to the fort will be
marked with signs and flags beside the highway.
The gates will open each day
at 9:00 a.m., and activities will
continue until 5:00 p.m. on Saturday and until 3:00 p.m. on
Sunday. The Tattnall Invincibles
are able to hold the gate fee at
previous levels. Admission remains at $5.00, with children under 11 admitted free.
For more
information,
contact
Tommy
Wallace at
912-5576649.
Page 10
The Georgia Confederate
[Brigade Reports, Continued from Page 9]
Cmdr. Joe Dawson [email protected]
Adj. Howard Williams [email protected]
January/February 2015
10th BRIGADE REPORT……………..
NO REPORT RECEIVED FROM THIS BRIGADE
#154 Tattnall Invincibles Camp
Meeting 4th Tuesday 7:00 PM Alexander Hotel Reidsville GA
Cmdr. Tom Hutto [email protected]
Adj. Dale Saylor [email protected]
11th BRIGADE REPORT……………..
#918 Appling Grays Camp
Meeting 4th Monday 7:00 PM B&F Restaurant Baxley GA
Cmdr. Herman Williams [email protected]
Adj. Bill Bowers [email protected]
12th BRIGADE REPORT ……………...
#932 Gen. Robert Toombs Camp
Meeting 1st Tuesday 7:00 PM Captains Table Vidalia GA
Cmdr. Georgia King [email protected]
Adj. Bob Whitaker [email protected]
#1386 McLeod-Moring Camp
Meeting 3rd Tuesday 7:00 New China Swainsboro GA
Cmdr. Danny Greenway [email protected]
Adj. Nick Kraus [email protected]
#1657 Savannah Militia Camp
Meeting 2ed Tuesday 7:00 PM Western Sizzling Pooler GA
Cmdr. Don Newman [email protected]
Adj. Jack Wray [email protected]
#1901 Ebenezer Rifles Camp
Meeting 3rd Tuesday 7:00 Ephesus Church 226 Goshen Rd Rincon GA
Cmdr. Steve Thomas [email protected]
Adj. Charlie Watson [email protected]
#1919 Gen. Anderson Camp
Meeting 3rd Thursday 7:00 Capt. Joe’s Midway GA
Cmdr. Jim Shurling [email protected]
Adj. Rusty Powell [email protected]
# 2073 Camp Davis
Meeting 1st Tuesday 7:00 Old Effingham Historic Site
Cmdr. Gil Zeigler [email protected]
Adj. Jimmy Rahn [email protected]
#2164 Montgomery Sharpshooters Camp
Meeting 1st Thursday 7:00 City Center Mt Vernon GA
Cmdr. Rooney Kea [email protected]
#2600 Immortal Six Hundred Camp
Meeting 2ed Thursday 6:30 PM Richmond Hill GA
Cmdr. William Hagan [email protected]
Adj. Al Perry [email protected]
7th BRIGADE REPORT……………..
NO REPORT RECEIVED FROM THIS BRIGADE
8th BRIGADE REPORT……………..
NO REPORT RECEIVED FROM THIS BRIGADE
9th BRIGADE REPORT ……………………...
NO REPORT RECEIVED FROM THIS BRIGADE
NO REPORT RECEIVED FROM THIS BRIGADE
NO REPORT RECEIVED FROM THIS BRIGADE
13th BRIGADE REPORT ……………………...
NO REPORT RECEIVED FROM THIS BRIGADE
Haralson Invincibles Camp 673
In a span of ONLY 28 DAYS, the Haralson Invincibles Camp 673
have received coverage for our ongoing efforts to publically honor our
Confederate Heritage and History in 4 different Newspapers and one
area Radio Station in 2 States !
Starting with the December 26th edition of Alabama's Anniston Star,
the story of Confederate Major General Patrick Cleburne was also carried in the January 1st copy of the Cleburne News. These articles provided over 100,000 readers with local and national Confederate history
provided by Artist Janet Baber and Commander Bearden.
Then The Haralson Gateway Beacon and Tallapoosa Journal shared
with their 25,000+ readers information about General Robert E Lee and
General Thomas Stonewall Jackson and the proclamation issued by the
Haralson County Board of Commissioners to our Camp members - 2nd
Lt Cmdr Nathan Forrister, 1st Lt Cmdr James & wife Pam Tolbert. Our
great friend behind the WGMI 1440 AM Radio Station golden microphone Jerry Segal also shared these stories and continues to share information about our Camp and the SCV as a whole.
As always please be sure to send thanks to the reporters and news
editors/directors for providing this coverage as a service to our ancestors and our Camp efforts, and let's keep our own great work for the
Cause while we continue LIVING THE CHARGE !!!
Camp Commander Billy Bearden portrays Patrick Cleburne
January/February 2015
The Georgia Confederate
ern
gentleman
Marker will clarify story of
Sherman’s march to sea
Robert E. Lee Role Model For American Youth and leader exby James W. King
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower believed that Confederate General Robert E. Lee should
be a Role Model for American
youth and they should emulate
his qualities.
Robert Edward Lee was born
January 19, 1807 to Revolutionary War hero Henry "Light Horse
Harry" Lee III and Anne Carter
Lee at Stratford Hall in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He
attended the United States Military Academy at West Point
where he graduated 2nd in the
class of 1829 without a single
demerit. Lee served in the U.S.
Army for nearly 32 years.
At the beginning of the War
Between the States (Civil War)
he was offered command of the
U.S. Army by Abraham Lincoln.
He knew that Lincoln's invasion
of the Southern States was unconstitutional, illegal, immoral, and
criminal. He had to make a
choice to either defend the Constitution or the Union. He made
the correct decision to defend the
Constitution.
Robert E. Lee assumed command of the Confederate Army of
Northern Virginia on June 1,1862
and the command of all 3 Confederate Armies in early 1865.
After the collapse of the nation,
Confederate States of America,
he told his soldiers, "Go Home
And Be Good Americans.” He
accepted the position of President
of Washington College in Lexington, Virginia. At a time when
he desperately needed money a
Northern Insurance Company
offered him $50,000 for the use
of his name. He declined saying
"my name and heritage is about
all I have left and it is not for
sale". Robert Edward Lee died on
October 12, 1870.
No finer example of a South-
ists whose positive impact was
so great during and after the war.
His superb character as a Christian gentleman stood out in his
life as a man, husband, father,
citizen, soldier, and a leader.
These qualities greatly impressed
many notable men.
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill stated that "Lee
was one of the noblest Americans
that ever lived and that his noble
presence and gentle kindly manner were sustained by Christian
faith and an exalted character.”
U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt described General Robert E.
Lee as "the very greatest of all the
great captains that the English
speaking peoples have brought
forth".
War-era Georgia Senator Benjamin Harvey Hill eloquently expressed a lasting Lee tribute: "He
possessed every virtue of other
great commanders without their
vices. He was a foe without hate;
a friend without treachery; a victor without oppression, and a victim without murmuring. He was a
public officer without vices; a
private citizen without reproach; a
Christian without hypocrisy and a
man without guile. He was a Caesar without his ambition; Frederick without his tyranny; Napoleon
without his selfishness; and
Washington without his reward.
He was obedient to authority as a
servant, and loyal in authority as
a true King. He was gentle as a
woman in life; modest and pure
as a virgin in thought; watchful as
a Roman Vital in duty; submissive to law as Socrates; and grand
in battle as Achilles"
On Aug.1,1960 Dr. Leon Scott
of New York wrote U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower a
letter stating, " At the Republican
Convention you said that you
have the pictures of 4 great
DEADLINE MARCH/APRIL ISSUE 2015
APRIL 5th
The Georgia Confederate
I have a goal to get the Georgia Confederate into the hands of our
readers during the month that is printed on the issue. Your help in
meeting this change in deadline will go a long way towards making
this dream a reality. The USPS took 22 days to deliver my last issue.
Editor
Page 11
Americans on your office wall
and one is Robert E. Lee. Please
explain why you hold him in such
high esteem.” Eisenhower's response, written on White House
letterhead on August 9, 1960
reads as follows:
“Dear Dr. Scott,
Respecting your August 1
inquiry calling attention to my
often expressed admiration for
General Robert E. Lee, I would
say, first, that we need to understand that at the time of the War
Between the States the issue of
Secession had remained unresolved for more than 70 years.
Lee was, in my estimation, one of
the supremely gifted men produced by our nation. He believed
in the Constitutional validity of
the Confederate cause. From deep
conviction I simply say this, a
nation of men of Lee's caliber
would be unconquerable in spirit
and soul. Indeed to the degree
that present day American youth
will strive to emulate his rare
qualities, we in our own time of
danger in a divided world will be
strengthened and our love of freedom sustained. Such are the reasons I proudly display the picture
of this great American on my office wall.”
Sincerely, Dwight D. Eisenhower
Article written by James W.
King--Commander SCV Camp
141 Lt. Col. Thomas M. NelsonNelson's Rangers Albany Georgia.
Contact
him
at
[email protected]
Can you find any factual
misrepresentations in the article printed to the right?
Wonder why the “Georgia
Historical Society” would
embellish Sherman’s behavior while visiting Georgia?
See page 12.
Editor ☞
BY WALTER C. JONES
Morris News Service
ATLANTA — A new monument
commemorates the start, 150 years ago
this week, of a powerful army’s sweep
across Georgia, bringing liberation to
slaves and devastation to the families of
rebel soldiers. The Georgia Historical
Society is to unveil its latest monument
today in a small ceremony on the
grounds of the Carter Presidential Library, a quiet, tree-studded sanctuary
that was the site of Union Gen. William
T. Sherman’s departure from Atlanta
along a nearby road. Sherman had
seized that city after a series of summer
battles and then systematically destroyed
its factories, banks and railroads to prevent their continued use in support of the
Confederate army. His next destination
would be Savannah, but Southerners
didn’t know that at the time because he
divided his troops and sent some toward
Macon and others toward the munitions
factories in Augusta to hide his true target. Cities along the way that resisted
were destroyed as Atlanta had been.
Those that surrendered were
spared. The campaign would become
the subject of songs, family tales, history
books and military instruction. Modern
commanders would copy it in the bombings of Dresden, Tokyo, Hiroshima and
Hanoi for its demoralizing effect on civilians. “What scholars have discovered is that the families along the route
of the march, and those who feared they
were along the route of the march, wrote
to their husbands and said ‘come home,’
” said Todd Groce, the president of the
Historical Society. The resulting flood of
desertions crippled the crumbling rebel
army. After 3½ years of fighting and a
half-million casualties with no resolution, Sherman was intent on erasing the
civilian will to continue the war, Groce
said. The Savannah-based historical
society wanted to erect the monument to
summarize the war’s next phase after the
Battle of Atlanta and set the record
straight about Sherman’s motivations.
He ordered that only the highest commanders could put a home to the torch,
and he did not condone rape or murder. “There is a general misconception
by the public that Sherman’s march was
a 20th-century style of scorched-earth
(campaign), that every house was
burned down, and that there were murders along the way, but that is not borne
out by the historical evidence,” Groce
said. Nevertheless, the society has received e-mails and comments from a
few people who interpret history differently. The ceremony is to include David Stanhope, the deputy director for the
Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and
Museum, and Charlie Crawford, the
president of the Georgia Battlefields
Association. Carter has also been invited
to attend.
Subject: New Historical Marker
Page 12
The Georgia Confederate
January/February, 2015
Why did you join the SCV?
For many years our Southern history has been under attack and the subject of revisionists efforts to justify the
atrocities that have been leveled
against our people for over 150 years
by the secularists who gained total political control of this Country through
force of arms when reason failed them.
Even some of our own people have
flushed part of our Charge that had
been in use for over 50 years down the
drain because it wasn’t quoted in the
minutes of the 1906 UCV Reunion.
Many of our people are more interested in the political aspects of the SCV
than preserving and teaching the “true
history of the South” to future generations.
Folks, look at what we are doing.
We SAY we all believe in honouring
our ancestors, then we pick fights
amongst ourselves to satisfy some personal agenda, the net result is fracturing the ranks and sapping the energy
from our Cause.
Where will you stand? Will you
stand for the true history of the Confederacy and our people; or will you
wage a political pogram to maintain
power within the organization? It is
time we all ask ourselves these questions. As my favorite cartoon character Pogo said back in the 60s, “We
have met the enemy, and he are US.”
~Editor
See partial reply to Director Todd Groce in reference
to the Sherman Hysterical
Marker sponsored by the
Georgia Historical Society.
☟
Dear Mr. Groce,
Since you are the president and CEO
of the Georgia Historical Society, I am
contacting you today regarding a matter
of grave concern to myself, and I am certain, to a number of others. I have been a
member of the GHS for some years now
and have the Society’s app on my phone.
When I opened it several days ago and
read the wording of the new markers to
be dedicated in the coming weeks, I was
appalled when I read the text of the tablet
entitled “The March to the Sea,” which is
to be dedicated near the Carter Center on
November 12th. No words are sufficient
to describe the disgust and revulsion that
I felt after reading the wording that is to
be presented to the public as historical
fact. As a reader of primary and secondary source material all of my life on this
period of history, and specifically of the
Civil War in Georgia, I was stunned to
read two assertions on the marker that are
patently and demonstrably false.
The sentence that reads “After destroying Atlanta’s industrial and business
(but not residential) districts, Sherman’s
62,500 men marched over 250 miles,
reaching Savannah in mid-December.”
The fact is that the city of Atlanta was
shelled indiscriminately, destroying many
private homes. The misleading nature of
that assertion pales in comparison to the
indefensible sentence that follows, containing a falsehood that could only have
been authored by someone totally unfamiliar with the subject matter, or by a
person with a specific intent to deceive.
The sentence reads “Contrary to popular
myth, Sherman’s troops primarily destroyed only property used for waging
war-railroads, train depots, factories, cot-
ton gins, and warehouses.” It is abundantly clear that whoever wrote this sentence
seems to be attempting to eliminate any
sympathy for the untold numbers of civilians in the path of Sherman’s armies who
saw their homes and barns burned and
their valuables stolen by significant numbers of Union soldiers who constituted
nothing more than a vengeance seeking,
uncontrollable mob. Is it possible that the
author of this marker and those who
signed off on this wording are ignorant of
all the extant source material that proves
the blatant lie in this sentence? I think
not.
The “Official Records of the Union
and Confederate Armies in the War of
the Rebellion” is replete with many first
person accounts from Union officers and
soldiers who observed the continual acts
of arson, theft and rape, and were so dis-
gusted that they feared God would take
retribution upon them.
My question to you is this: who is
responsible for writing the wording on
this marker and how many others must
sign off on the final product? I read the
personnel bios on the GHS website and
have a pretty good idea who may be responsible for this obvious agenda driven
revisionism. If the text on this “historical”
marker is what currently passes for acceptable scholarship at the Georgia Historical Society, I would want nothing
further to do with your organization.
I am copying a few others with whom
I am acquainted (and some who I am not)
in the hope that they will be equally appalled that the imprimatur of the Georgia
Historical Society has been placed on a
marker that displays such a callous disregard for historical fact.
January/February, 2015
The Georgia Confederate
Page 13
Robert E. Lee celebration at Milledgeville……..
On January 17th, the Georgia Division gathered
to honour the man from Old Virginia, General Lee.
The annual celebration begins with the march down
Main Street, beginning at the Old Governor’s mansion. As the celebrants come together in the Old
Capital legislative chamber, the program is capped
off with an appropriate discourse on some aspect of
Lee’s life. This year’s featured speaker was Past Division Judge Advocate Martin K. O’Toole. His topic:
Sharpsburg. [See page 20]
Directly following the festivities in the legislative
chamber, a full military salute with muskets and artillery completed the celebration.
"You cannot barter manhood for peace." ~Robert E. Lee
Page 14
The Georgia Confederate
EVENTS CALENDAR
January/February, 2015
HIGHWAY CAMP FLAGS IN GEORGIA:
Sons of Confederate veterans: Georgia division
I-75
Ringgold, 80’/ 20X30’ Real Georgia
APRIL, 2015: Confederate Heritage and History Month.
APRIL 12: Dedication: Twiggs County, Confederate monument
MAY 1 ~ 3: Old Clinton War Days; Battles of Sunshine Church
and Griswoldville
JUNE 13, 2015: GEORGIA DIVISION 118TH ANNUAL REUNION, Hosted by the Col. Charles T. Zachry Camp # 108; McDonough,
GA [ See Page 7 ]
I-16
near Hwy. 221, 55’/ 10X15 Battle flag
JUNE 21 ~ 27, 2015: Annual Sam Davis Youth Camp; WOW Camp,
Thaxton, VA. Applications available at www.scv.org.
Hwy.
80 near Stilson, 55’/ 10X15 ’56 GA
Hwy.
82 near Waycross, 60’/ 10X15’ Battle flag
Hwy
91S, Newton 30’ lighted/ 5X8 Bonny Blue, 1-3
Nationals
If your Camp has a flag pole and would like to be recognized on this list, send the information to:
Editor, Georgia Confederate
NOTE: IF YOU WANT AN EVENT LISTED ON THE GEORGIA DIVISION CALENDAR, PLEASE SEND YOUR INFORMATION TO [email protected] or [email protected]
[email protected]
GEORGIA DIVISION’S
FLAGS ACROSS GEORGIA
FLAGPOLE LOCATIONS:
I-85
North near exit 173, 60’/ 10X15 Real Georgia
Interstate
20 and Wheeler Rd. Augusta, 50’/10X15 Battle
flag
Oh, I wish I was in the Land of Cotton,
Old times there are not forgotten.
Look Away! Look Away! Look Away!
Dixie Land.
In Dixie Land where I was born,
Early on a frosty morn’.
Look Away! Look Away!
Look Away! Dixie Land.
I wish I was in Dixie, Hooray! Hooray!
In Dixie Land I’ll take my stand,
To live and die in Dixie!
Away! Away! Away, down South in Dixie!
Away! Away! Away, down South in Dixie!
REMEMBER,
IT IS YOUR DUTY TO
SEE THAT THE TRUE
HISTORY OF THE
SOUTH IS PRESENTED
TO FUTURE
GENERATIONS.
I-95
near mile marker 65, 60’/ 10X15 Real Georgia
I-75
at exit 71, Tift County 120’/ 30X50 Battle flag
Hwy
520 (Jefferson Davis Hwy) Weston, 70’/ 10X15 Battle flag
I-75
and Battlefield Pkwy Ringgold, GA 50’/10’X15’ Battle
flag
I-75
Ringgold, Ga, 80’/ 20X30’ Real Georgia
I-16
near Hwy. 221, 55’/ 10X15 Battle flag
Hwy.
82 near Waycross, 60’/ 10X15’ Battle flag
Hwy.
19 near Albany, 60’/ 10X15’ Battle flag
DEADLINE MARCH/APRIL ISSUE 2015
APRIL 5th
The Georgia Confederate
The Georgia Division’s Sesquicentennial
Radio Segments are now on air.
Listen for them on radio stations:
Augusta WNRR
Douglas WOKA ("Dixie Country")
Gainesville WDUN
Griffin WEKS ("The Bear")
Tifton WOBB
They will be aired on different stations next quarter. All the radio segments can be heard and downloaded on the Division’s web-site at
www.gascv.org
January/February, 2015
December 12, 2014
The Georgia Confederate
Source:
SCV Telegraph
S. Waite Rawls III
Co-Chief Executive Officer
The American Civil War Museum
490 Tredegar Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219
Dear Mr. Rawls:
Thank you for your letter of December 5, 2014. As a twenty year Army officer I will get straight to
the heart of the matter.
First, I have been a member of the Museum of the Confederacy (MOC) for as long as I can recall.
Like all true Southerners, I was attracted to the MOC because it reflected the point of view of the
Southern Confederacy for which my direct ancestors fought to establish. Indeed, over the years, I
have encouraged many family members and friends to either join the MOC or to support the MOC. I
can name four people that joined as a result of my efforts.
In the vast ocean of political correctness associated with the causes and meaning of the War, the
MOC alone stood tall and erect as a beacon of historical truth and Southern pride. Because the MOC
was not afraid to tell our story or to buckle to critics of the Southern perspective, it made me very
proud to be a Southerner. The MOC told about our Southern story and our Southern story alone. It
was more than a collection of our relics, it was sacred ground. That is why the MOC was founded
(yes I do realize that the name MOC was not the original name). Indeed, it is a fact that the founders
did not intend to tell the Union side or preserve the Union relics!
Second, as an informed member of the MOC (and the Sons of Confederate Veterans) I heard many
rumors about what might be in store for the MOC (from the first scares about changing the name).
Nevertheless, I remained objective and continued my membership even in the face of the shocking
news delivered last year that by 2015, the Museum of the Confederacy would be no more.
Third, fearing for the worst - that the MOC would be drowned in the aforementioned ocean of political correctness - this past summer I took my two boys to the MOC to instill in them the same sense
of pride for our Southern heritage that the founders of the MOC intended. Of course, I also wanted
them to experience the MOC before it was swept away.
I was also curious to see for myself what would become of our Southern relics and our perspective of
the War. Thus, we also went to the museum on Tredegar Street. What a contrast! In the best light, the
so-called "new" civil war museum is like all the other "civil war" museums in the nation - a false
brief for the "evil Southerner" and the "righteous Northerner." This message is not only overt but
subliminal. Indeed, the so-called new logo says it all. The silhouette of the Southern soldier (red is
the general color for the conservative South) is superimposed by a black civilian that is then superimposed by a Northern female civilian (blue is the general color for the North)! This is not a museum
about the Confederacy.
Fourth, your letter misses the point. While, the SCV may have gotten some of the timing, location,
and terminology issues wrong, they hit the nail on the head. You are in fact presiding over the dismantling of the MOC and the replacement will not be dedicated to the Confederacy. Thus, I view
your complaints that you are being misrepresented by the SCV as akin to arranging the deck chairs
on the Titanic.
Finally, I note that my membership card reads: "The Museum of the Confederacy" expiration
6/3/2015. With the singular determination of the Confederate blood that runs in my veins, I will do
all I can to restore the MOC (yes I contributed to the SCV legal fund and recruited others as well) or
if that is not possible, to help build another Confederate history museum that remains true to its mandate. Thus, when the MOC is gone, I will obviously no longer be a member. In addition, I will encourage all those that I know that were members of the MOC to do the same.
Without reservation, I strongly urge you to restore our Confederate museum and to turn back from
the edge.
Signed
Jeffrey F. Addicott
Lt. Colonel (US Army, ret)
Distinguished Professor of Law
Director, Center for Terrorism Law
Saint Mary's University
San Antonio, Texas
Page 15
Georgia Division
Scheduled EC Meetings:
2015
March 28th: Ole Times Buffet
Macon, GA
June 13th: Nash Farm
Unless announced otherwise, Georgia Division
EC meetings are open to members and guests.
Breathes there the man…..
Breathes there the man, with soul so dead,
Who never to himself hath said,
This is my own, my native land!
Whose heart hath ne’er within him burn’d,
As home his footsteps he hath turn’d,
From wandering on a foreign strand!
If such there breathe, go, mark him well,
For him no Minstrels raptures swell,
High though his titles, proud his name,
Boundless his wealth as wish can claim,
Despite those titles, power, and pelf,
The wretch concentered all in self,
Living , shall forfeit fair renown,
And, doubly dying, shall go down,
To the vile dust, from whence he sprung,
Unwept, unhonoured, and unsung.
Sir Walter Scott
ATTENTION!
THE GEORGIA CONFEDERATE NEEDS YOUR
CAMP ARTICLES AND PHOTOS.
THE NEXT DEADLINE DATE TO SUBMIT
YOUR CAMP ARTICLES AND PHOTOS FOR
THE MARCH/APRIL ISSUE IS: APRIL 5, 2015.
PLEASE SEND TO: [email protected]
Page 16
The Georgia Confederate
January/February, 2015
Award recipients from the Dixie Guards Camp's
General Banquet for service to the Camp above and
beyond the call of duty. Above (L to R) Adjutant
Paul Harmon of The Ogeechee Rifles Camp in
Statesboro, Susan T. Daughtry, Commander Mull
(back row) Hu Daughtry, Commander of The Dixie
Guards.
Twiggs County Confederate monument completed.
Above: 5th Brigade Commander Thomas
Miller speaks on the topic of "The Faith of
Generals Lee and Jackson" at the Lee-Jackson
Banquet held by the Brigadier General John
C. Carter Camp of Waynesboro, GA on January 17, 2015.
ABOVE LEFT: 5th Brigade Commander
Thomas Miller, his wife, Tara, and children,
Hayden, Lauren, and Robert at the Battle of
Charleston reenactment on January 30,
2015. Also present at the reenactment from
the 5th Brigade was Ogeechee Rifle's member Eddie Cockman and his wife, Judy.
RIGHT: Past Commander Mike Sorrell [L]
of the Ogeechee Rifles Camp 941 presents the
Confederate of the Year 2015 award to Jake
Stalcup[R]. Jake was recognized for his work
within the Camp and with the Mechanized
Cavalry at the Camp's Lee-Jackson banquet on
January 24, 2015. Unfortunately, Jake lost his
long battle with cancer on February 11, 2015 just two and a half weeks after receiving the
award. He will be sorely missed by the men of
the Ogeechee Rifles and those who were fortunate enough to have known him.
LEFT: Three members of the musical ensemble,
"Simple Heritage" . From left to right Ethan
Bloodworth, Charles Whitehead and Wayne Dobson (all members of Camp 2218). Not pictured is
group member Brenda Dobson.
BELOW: Sentry: Brick Lee Nelson (Camp
2218) Candlelight Apparitions; November,
2014; Macon, GA~ Cannonball House
“I have to admit - I was absolutely fascinated during
Candlelight Apparitions at the Cannonball House. I
learned so much about the history of Macon, particularly
the role it played during the War. If you missed this event,
you truly missed a fantastic evening. I have to say - I do
love where I work, and the people who volunteer and work
there go above and beyond. Excellent work!”
Nicole Thurston, Executive Director, Cannonball House
January/February, 2015
The Georgia Confederate
CONFEDERATE MONUMENT FINDS ITS WAY TO COURTHOUSE GROUNDS
(MACON - Jan 2, 2015) It
was 1911 when a monument was
to be placed in Twiggs County; a
place of prominence had been
decided upon - the grounds of the
County Court House. As the story goes, there was a disagreement
about placing it on the courthouse grounds.
When the monument arrived
by rail, in Jeffersonville, according to some of the local residents
it did not belong on the grounds
of the courthouse. After much
refusal to place it there, it was
eventually unloaded and sat at
the Depot for some time before
being placed "in a field" across
the railroad tracks. The local
newspaper printed, on at least
two occasions, that there would
be a "Dedication of the Confederate Monument," but it was never formally dedicated. Many efforts over the years have been
tried. In 2003 a group of SCV the
members led by Russ Huffman
and Tommy Fountain sought to
petition the Twiggs County
Commissioners at their regular
meeting of Tuesday, August 5,
2003. The Commission never
took action on the request.
The monument remained in
the same location for one hundred and three years. Initially,
there were no businesses encroaching on the site, but over
time, the monument was vandalized, the rifle was broken and
weeds grew in the cracks between the stones.
Forward to March, 2014. The
4th Brigade Commander of the
Sons of Confederate Veterans,
Kim Beck, voiced his concern
about the monument being so
very close to Highway 80. In
April, plans were put in motion
to apply for funds for the moving
of the monument to be paid by
the Georgia Division, Sons of
Confederate Veterans' Tag Fund
with the United Daughters of the
Confederacy's Sidney Lanier
Chapter finding the remaining
ten percent required.
The UDC considered the
monument to be "an orphan
monument" since there isn't an
UDC chapter or SCV camp in
Jeffersonville. The Sidney Lanier
Chapter UDC agreed to being
"the leaders" of the project with
the assistance from two local
SCV camps - the Tracy Camp
#18 and the Camp of the Unknown Soldier.
Mr. Beck presented the request for Tag Funds on behalf of
all the interested parties and at
the 2014 Georgia Division SCV
Reunion it was approved and
funded.
Jeff Ellis of Clark Memorial
was contacted and told that funding had been approved. However, getting permission to move
the monument was not an easy
task. Judy Wall Smith accepted
the job of speaking to local officials regarding moving the monument. Several local residents
offered parcels of their land to
place it, but the locations were
not prominently located. Each
time, supporters just knew we
had THE PLACE. But it could
not be that simple.
Beginning in August, Mrs.
Smith began calling land owners
and asking about a prominent
place for relocation - everyone
who was contacted had the same
answer, "It needs to be on the
Court House grounds". Easily
said, but not easily accomplished,
until someone stepped forward to
help could get the proposal on
the Agenda of the County Commissioners meetings.
Mr. William "Bill" Hamrick
arranged to have his name and
that of Mrs. Smith placed on the
agenda of the November 4th
2014 Commission meeting at the
Court House at 4pm. After sitting through the usual items of
business, Mr. Hamrick got up
and addressed the Commissioners and introduced Judy Smith.
Mrs. Smith explained to the commissioners that the UDC and the
SCV had the money to move and
restore the monument, and that
both groups, along with much of
the local population wanted it to
be placed on the 1911 intended
spot, the Court House grounds.
There were five commissioners.
After the initial vote, it was 3 to 2
to allow the move to the Court
House grounds - then the discussion, back and forth - why it
should and should not be on public property. But the final vote
was passed by a 3 to 2 vote in
favor.
On November 18th at 7:30
pm during the commissioners
meeting, the area next to "the
longest serving Sheriff in Georgia or the Nation" Mr. Earl
Hamrick's monument was proposed as the final location for the
monument. Again the vote was 3
in favor and 2 no votes. But it
passed; and on Monday, November 24th, a start date was decided
upon. On December 8th, the
foundation was dug and the coping from the monument was removed and placed at the new
site. Due to the cooler weather, it
took a few more days for the
concrete to cure before the monument could be moved.
Finally, on Thursday, November 18th, the Twiggs County
Confederate Monument was
moved to the grounds of the
County Court House after waiting since 1911. The Macon Telegraph, PBS, and others were
present. Photos were taken by
the Telegraph supporters each
time a section of the monument
was moved, placed on the truck,
and taken to the area to be
placed. It took seven hours from
dismantling to relocation on the
ground where it was intended.
After 103 years, the Twiggs
County Confederate Monument
now sits on the Courthouse
grounds where it was intended
originally. The Georgia Division
of the Sons of Confederate Veterans recognizes the mutual efforts of the Georgia United
Daughters of the Confederacy
and Mrs. Judy Smith in helping
to complete this long overdue
project to honour the brave Confederate veterans from Twiggs
County. Many thanks, too, to
Mrs. Smith for her authoring
most of the account recorded in
this release.
For more information about
the Sons of Confederate Veterans
or any of this year's planned
events to commemorate the Sesquicentennial of the War, contact
the Georgia SCV at 404-4563393 or online at
www.GeorgiaSCV.org
END RELEASE
* Permission to
reprint this release
is granted.
Page 17
Page 18
The Georgia Confederate
today for reasons
which I trust will become obvious.
by Martin K. O’Toole
When Joseph E
Johnston was woundDelivered January 17, 2015; Lee Celebration; Milledgeville
ed on the Peninsula at
Who is a hero? Often, what a society
the Battle of Seven Pines in 1862 few would
thinks about heroes and heroic behavior says
have guessed that the promotion of Robert
more about that society than it does about the
Edward Lee to take his place would have revhero.
olutionized the Confederate cause.
Lee’s ancestry is well enough known to
merit only passing reference at this moment.
We are here today to remember one of
He came from a long lineage of leaders of
the South’s great heroes: Robert Edward Lee.
Virginia including some of the wealthiest settlers. His own father was a Lieut. Gen. of the
I doubt not that we are the only group in
Continental Army and instrumental in victory
Baldwin County commemorating this great
in the American Southland. “Light Horse”
man at this time of the year. Once Lee was
Harry Lee was chosen to give the funeral oravenerated - not merely in the South but in the
tion upon the death of George Washington.
American nation as a whole and indeed,
His eulogy: “First in war, first in peace, and
across the entire planet.
first in the hearts of his countrymen,” remains
But, our masters tell us that the modern
part of the American historical memory.
America and the modern World must needs
But Lee was not a promoted because of
have new heroes. The old ones are to be swept
his fine heritage. His father was unlucky in
from the pages of history or, if remembered at
business and wound up in debtor’s prison.
all, to be remembered only with a hiss or a
“Light Horse Harry” was badly beaten during
byword. Whether or not that will become true
the war of 1812 by a mob and eventually left
will be dependent upon people like those of us
the United States. Young Robert was basically
in this room here today. For the fate of the
raised in a single-parent household where
reputation of Lee is dependent upon people
money was an unusual commodity.
like us. There are those working tirelessly to
Lee famously attended West Point
make our heroes disappear into what is grandwhere
he had a brilliant career graduating with
ly styled “the dustbin of history.”
no demerits. His career in the Mexican War
The ancient Greeks – and Thomas Jefbrought him promotion after promotion. Gen.
ferson said that we, at heart, are all Greeks –
Winfield Scott was said to admire him to the
believed that so long as the name was remempoint of idolatry and once wrote that the govbered that the soul of that person did not die. It
ernment should ensure Robert E Lee’s life for
was only when the person became completely
$5 million.
forgotten that their soul also perished.
Lee was strongly attached to the RepubSuch pagan traditions hold within them a
lic which his father helped construct and
kernel of truth. For while Lee did not act seekwhich he defended against Mexicans and Coing external approval, he would not want his
manches. Once his native state chose to leave
behavior represented as other than what it
the Union, he followed.
was: the behavior of a Christian and Southern
When placed in overall command of the
gentleman.
Army
of Northern Virginia, Lee stunned the
And it is for those very virtues that he is
nation and the world by reversing the balance
assaulted today.
on the Peninsula and whipping the Yankees
In keeping with past commemorations
time and time again. As the days began to
here, I will focus today on the Battle of
shorten following the second drubbing of the
Sharpsburg - one of the most significant of the
Federal army at Manassas, Lee began to cast
War for Southern Independence. The Battle
about for a way to shorten the war.
stills stands as the bloodiest day in American
Virginia had been the primary battleground.
history. When the armies of the North and
Its people in the northern section of the state
South clashed along a small creek near the
had endured privations from the passage of
Potomac River approximately 22,500 soldiers
the armies. Lee was an aggressive general
fell, were wounded or captured or missing. If
and believed that the ultimate end of any pureyou want a point of comparison, it’s estimated
ly defensive posture would be defeat. He dethere were about 9000 casualties among the
termined to take the battle to the enemy in orAmericans, Canadians and British at D-Day
der to give the civilian population a respite,
on June 6, 1944. About half of those casualties
discourage the northern population (with an
were American.
election coming on) and possibly fight and
There were great consequences arising
win a Napoleonic battle of annihilation. Lee
out of the Battle of Sharpsburg. I hope, in my
had become convinced that the Army of
discussion of the character of Lee, to be able
Northern Virginia was virtually invincible
to shine a new light on some of the aspects of
against the rotation of incompetent generalthat battle which do not get much attention
ship and the demoralized rank-and-file of the
January/February 2015
The Character of Robert E. Lee at Sharpsburg
Army
of
the
Potomac.
The mountain ridges would shield his exact
course from prying eyes. Therefore, Lee
would embark on the ambitious plan by splitting his forces ultimately into five units.
Thus the Maryland campaign began.
The Potomac was crossed and the North was
horrified.
Now The Army of Northern Virginia
was anything but fresh after the battles and
marches of the 1862 campaigns thus far. Men
had lost their footwear and the uniforms were
in shreds. The hard, paved roads of Maryland
were destructive of the ragged brogans and
even harder on bare feet. Supplies of food
were inadequate. It was hoped that provisions
could be purchased from Marylanders - Lee
strictly forbade looting and pillaging. Maryland was to be liberated, not conquered.
General George McClellan replaced the
hapless Pope (who, after defeat at Second Manassas, was replaced on September 12th). Pope
was dispatched west to aggravate Indians for
the rest of the War.
McClellan was far from Lincoln’s favorite.
He was hostile to Lincoln and his administration but there probably was not a better general in the North to rebuild a shattered army.
Lee’s plan was bold as befit the man and
his confidence in his gray-clad crusaders. But
plans can come unraveled and the protection
of the South Mountains could not conceal
what came forcibly to McClellan’s attention
when Special Order 191 - the infamous lost
order - was handed to him on September 13th
(an unlucky 13 for many a Southerner).
From this moment McClellan knew Lee’s
entire plan and the potentially fatal division of
his forces. A new McClellan emerged: decisive, upbeat and almost triumphant. He boasted [Continued next page: Sharpsburg]
January/February 2015
[Cont. Sharpsburg] to his superiors that Lee
would be “severely punished.”
Fortunately for the Southerners, the crowing in Federal headquarters was overheard by
a pro-Confederate Marylander who rode to
the Confederate lines and relayed to Lee his
peril. The Confederates attempted to hold the
line at the Catoctin Mountains - but the numbers were too great. A more determined stand
was made at the passes of the South Mountain
but the Federal numbers were not to be denied, only delayed. Lee ordered his scattered
forces to a little town called Sharpsburg.
What we see demonstrated in Lee now was
his moral courage to confront great odds. He
was unwilling to abandon his invasion plans
without a trial of arms. Even though his troops
were tired, poorly supplied and his plans were
known, Lee was determined to risk a great
deal in order to potentially gain a great deal.
In this he was the exact opposite of his foe and
his actions would affect and influence George
McClellan.
Lee issued a blizzard of orders and was
able to begin his concentration in Sharpsburg.
With his training as an engineer, Lee sited his
thin line of troops as best he could. The position was less than perfect; indeed with the Potomac River to his back it had the potential for
catastrophe in the event of a reverse.
But, Lee had positioned himself so there
was a good interior road running parallel to
the Confederate main line of resistance with
both flanks protected to some extent by the
Potomac River. The Federals would have to
crack the line, not turn it.
And Lee had another ally on his side:
Abraham
Lincoln.
I will divert from the standard histories at
this point to make some observations concerning Lee’s opponent, George McClellan. Lee
and Longstreet both expressed admiration for
McClellan. Lee said he was the best Federal
general that he opposed. Longstreet said that
McClellan improved every time he was on the
field. Of course, Sharpsburg will be his last
day as a commander on the battlefield. Yet the
history books treated him very shabbily. Why
is this?
I will give you my explanation later in this
address. But I do want you to keep in mind at
this point that George McClellan has Abraham Lincoln’s personally picked spy riding
around on the battlefield: Allan Pinkerton.
Pinkerton, an ardent abolitionist and Republican, had been Lincoln’s spymaster and scored
some successes. However, he had always
overestimated the strength of the Confederate
forces. On the battlefield at Sharpsburg,
McClellan was told that he was facing
125,000 Confederates. McClellan’s strength
was at least 75,000. Most put it in excess of
85,000. McClellan outnumbers Lee when he
first arrives on the battlefield by about 4 to 1.
Later, that advantage shrinks to 3 to 1 and finally to about 2 to 1 as Lee was able to bring
The Georgia Confederate
his forces up to about 39,000. While McClellan may have Lee’s battle plan, he also thinks
that he is attacking a force larger than his own.
Any sensible commander would not run headlong into the enemy under these circumstances. And Lee is certainly not behaving like a
man who thinks he is about to be driven into
the Potomac River. Consequently, the Federal
chief takes about a day carefully surveying the
lines as best he can before the assault begins
on the morning of September 17– a mere five
days after resuming command of the Army of
the Potomac.
I will not go into great detail over the actual battle itself. Basically it begins on the Confederate left – compass North – with massive
blows delivered first by “Fighting Joe” Hooker‘s troops followed up by General Mansfield’s and General Sumner’s commands.
Three corps fell sequentially on the Confederate left commanded by Jackson and ably supported in counterattack by the incomparable
Texans commanded by John Bell Hood. The
massive losses on the north total nearly 7000
Federals with two Corps Commanders down.
Hooker had been wounded and Mansfield was
dying. The Confederates had basically held
the line although at enormous cost. Hood’s
men suffered about 60% casualties. But the
Federals had enough. Jackson looked over the
field and said “God has been very kind to us
this day.” Indeed he had. Catastrophe had
been narrowly averted.
The next blow fell on the Confederate center. Here D. H. Hill’s men, reinforced by Anderson, stood off two divisions of Sumner’s
corps. Sumner still had more than 12,000 men
to oppose Hill’s 7000 (even after Anderson’s
reinforcements arrived). The Southrons were
doing well from a sunken lane until an error in
command caused part of the sunken lane to be
abandoned. It was promptly filled by Federals
who eagerly enfiladed the trapped Confederates, wreaking havoc. Everyone has probably
seen the horrific photographs taken after the
battle by Alexander Gardner and exhibited by
Matthew Brady of our gallant men laid out in
rows where they fell. This threatened the collapse of the Confederate center. If the center
fell, the Union thrust could divide the Confederate Army and result in the destruction of the
entire Army of Northern Virginia.
But Lee had been shifting men from the
right and Longstreet concentrated what little
artillery the Confederates had in the area to
help suppress the Federals. The Confederate
artillerists drew the attention of the Federal
guns and they were “severely punished” as
well.
In the end, Longstreet had his staff manning cannons while he gave fire direction in
his carpet slippers, calmly pointing out targets
with an unlit cigar. At pretty much the same
time D. H. Hill decided that even an abortive
counterattack would delay the feared Federal
breakthrough. Picking up a musket, he asked
Page 19
the straggling men with him to counterattack.
200 of them did. They were beaten back
quickly but Hill was convinced that it helped
cool the ardor of the Federals.
Things calmed down again. The center was
secure.
Now it was the turn of the Confederate
right. Lee had been stripping the right
piecemeal to deal with emergencies on the
left and center. Now there were no reserves
left. 13,000 Federals under Ambrose Burnside massed across the creek. Burnside sent
regiment after regiment forward against a
small force commanded by Georgia’s own
Robert Augustus Toombs. It is estimated
that Toombs may have had only 400 Georgians under his command to withstand the
attack. Nevertheless, supported part of the
time by two batteries of artillery and the
Palmetto Sharpshooters, the Georgians
stacked up blue coats like cordwood. Eventually, even the Federals figured out that
crossing the bridge was not the only way to
get across the creek. Toombs’s position was
flanked (he was far in advance of the rest of
the Confederate line) and he withdrew in good
order. There was very little support behind
him but fortunately the Yankees had no ammunition. Burnside decided rather than resupply the assault troops they would stand aside
and fresh troops would cross and continue the
attack. This gave Toombs an opportunity to
resupply his own troops and have some of his
missing men that had been detailed elsewhere
rejoin him. Nevertheless, the odds were heavily against the Georgians. As Toombs gave the
order to advance, suddenly, to his right, appeared reinforcements marching hard from
Harpers Ferry: A. P. Hill’s men had arrived.
The Federals were struck twice in the front
and the flank and tumbled back almost to the
original starting position. The day was pretty
much over. The line had held by the narrowest of margins all along the Confederate line.
The next day Jackson and Lee both reconnoitered to see whether or not a counterattack
could be mounted against McClellan. Lee reluctantly concluded there was no opportunity.
His men were spent and the terrain was not
favorable. The Federals were too well positioned. Their scouting evidently had not gone
unnoticed. McClellan, fearing Lee’s counter-
stroke, concentrated his artillery to the
center so that they could command more
of the field and be moved as needed.
Lee’s counter-stroke, concentrated his artillery to the center so that they could command more of the field and be moved as needed.
During the battle McClellan suggested to
General Sumner and General Franklin that
they could assault the Confederate center. Had
they done so, the day would’ve been theirs.
But Sumner told McClellan and Franklin that
his command, Banks’ command and Hooker’s
[Continued
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Page 20
[Cont. Sharpsburg] command were “all cut
up and demoralized. Tell him General Franklin has the only organized command on this
part of the field!” McClellan silently observed
the carnage in front of him and decided that all
that could be done was to hold the little terrain that they had won. He turned his horse
and rode back to his command post.
Another officer, Brig. Gen. Sykes of Fitz
John Porter’s corps later suggested that his
brigade coupled with Porter’s other division
and one from Franklin would cut the Confederate center in two.
McClellan looked to Porter for his response. Porter slowly shook his head and responded “Remember, general, I command the
last reserve of the last Army of the Republic.”
Given the information provided by Lincoln’s
agent, Pinkerton, McClellan folded up his telescope and reluctantly declined to accept
Sykes’ suggestion. Recall that McClellan was
operating under the information that he was
outnumbered by Lee.
Now the combat was a stalemate. Lee had
won the psychological battle over McClellan.
Lee stood his ground the entire next day inviting another attack. Interestingly enough, by
this time some of the stragglers had come up.
Warm food was being issued - for the first
time in three days to some of the troops.
While they had taken a drubbing, the Confederates felt they had given more than they had
taken. Morale was much higher amongst
those in grey than their opponents in blue.
That evening, since McClellan was not
inclined to attack and Lee could only foresee supplies and reinforcements arriving for
McClellan. (Washington was teaming with
fresh troops which Halleck was too terrified
to release lest invisible Confederate hordes
storm the parapets and sack the Capital.)
There was no reason to continue to stand;
moving would permit Lee to return to his favored strategy: battles of maneuver.
That night Lee began to slip away back to
Virginia. The Federals followed, crossed the
Potomac the next evening. Come daylight,
Jackson and Hill booted them back across the
river with heavy losses. There would be no
more close pursuit.
What do we learn about Lee in this bloody
engagement?
I think in many respects it shows Lee at his
absolute best. Lee’s strategic vision in entering Maryland was certainly correct given the
conditions in northern Virginia. His dispersal
of his army into five segments in the face of a
numerically superior foe is often questioned.
However, it was only dangerous because of
the freak fortune that delivered Special Order
191 into the hands of McClellan. One cannot
base plans on the concept that your enemy
will be delivered such a gift. But Lee was able
to overcome this horrible event by his timely
movements of his separated forces.
Tactically, on the battlefield at Sharpsburg
The Georgia Confederate
Lee dropped his accustomed role as commanding general of delegating the actions to
his subordinates. Instead, it was Lee who
flawlessly moved reinforcements at precisely
the right moment to staunch every breakthrough that threatened the Confederate line.
Walker, McCall, R. H. Anderson, and finally
A. P. Hill were all dispatched to the tactical
spot where they were most needed. This was
made possible by Lee’s deliberate stationing
of his lines with a road running the length
of
his
position.
Douglas Southall Freeman put it this way:
“In a word, Sharpsburg was the first major
battle that Lee had completely directed, and if
he had ever believed, deep in his own heart,
that his ability as a tactician was less than his
skill as a strategist, Sharpsburg must have given him new confidence. For that action remains a model in the full employment of a
small force for a defensive battle on the inner
line.”
What about the butcher’s bill? The Confederates “sustained a total of 13,609 casualties during the whole Maryland operation. The
Federals lost in killed, wounded and prisoners,
including the Harpers Ferry and Martinsburg
garrisons, 27,767.”
As Freeman pointed out, a commander
who kills, captures or wounds enemies numbering 50% of his strength in 13 days is usually not charged with failure. Add to this the 73
artillery pieces and 13,000 small arms which
were captured at Harpers Ferry. The 11,000
prisoners taken at Harpers Ferry and Martinsburg were duly exchanged with the Federals.
That alone nearly made up for all casualties
sustained in the entire campaign. Of course,
many (likely most) of the wounded would be
returning to duty.
Another point seldom made is that the reports after the battle did not reflect backbiting
among the Confederate commanders as had
been the case after the Seven Days. Lee was
forging an Army. It was an army that would
cooperate, fight together and trust each other.
If Lee made any mistake in the Maryland
campaign, it would have to be counted as
overestimating the endurance of his soldiers.
They were simply dog tired, shoeless and underfed. It’s estimated that the Army of Northern Virginia was approximately 53,000 strong
just before entering Maryland. Without any
substantial battle losses Lee was only able to
count on less than 40,000 men on the battlefield. “My army is ruined by straggling.”
The lesson was learned and until the final
days in the spring of 1865 the Confederate
Army never again was pressed so badly that
many good men simply could not keep up.
Why then do the remarkable accomplishments of Lee, Jackson and the Army of Northern Virginia seldom get mentioned? It certainly appears to be a watershed event for the
forging, under the toughest conditions, of as
fine a fighting instrument as has ever been
January/February 2015
recorded.
I have been moving towards a theory about
this battle. One biography of Alexander Hamilton Stephens commented that whenever he
had a theory it would come popping out almost right away. So in the spirit of the Vice
President of the Confederacy here is the theory for your consideration:
Sharpsburg is called a turning point because of the Emancipation Proclamation.
(How many “turning points” does this War
have anyway? Gettysburg? Vicksburg? The
Wilderness?) All manner of statements are
made - without much support that I can see about the importance of the Proclamation.
Therefore, the battle had to be a significant
Federal victory. Truth be told, Lincoln didn’t
think it was that much of a victory because he
sacked McClellan when he let the Army of
Northern Virginia get away. But it was
enough of a victory for the Emancipation
Proclamation to come out of his desk drawer
and be exposed to the world.
And therefore historians want to couple the
Emancipation Proclamation to the battlefield
result.
But consider these facts: Once the Emancipation Proclamation was issued there was a
general stiffening of resistance in the South.
You can pick this up in biographies of all the
southern leaders. Comments were made that
this proves that Lincoln was a tyrant who
would legislate without congressional approval against an institution that was deemed constitutional. In more than one account you will
find Confederate soldiers and statesmen referring to the Proclamation as proof of the centralizing power they were fighting against.
If you go back to the Centennial of the War
For Southern Independence the establishment
historian was Bruce Catton. In his book, The
Terrible Swift Sword, he refers to the discontent that this created throughout the Union
Army. Most Union soldiers were not abolitionists. They were not interested in fighting a
war to end slavery; they thought they were
fighting to preserve the Union. A more recent
book by William Marvel, Lincoln’s Darkest
Year: the War in 1862, makes this point as
well. Union officers and enlisted men who
attempted to resign from the ranks after the
Proclamation were jailed by the liberty-loving
North.
Additionally, we are told by lots of mainstream authors that the Emancipation Proclamation put an end to any English intervention.
I’m simply not that sure of this argument and
suggest that this argument may require more
research. For example, the Union Minister
to the Court of St. James (what we would
call now the ambassador to Great Britain)
Mr. Charles Francis Adams, always said
that Great Britain would do what benefitted
Great Britain regardless of any moral questions. Some say that the masses of workers
[Continued next page: Sharpsburg]
January/February 2015
[Cont. Sharpsburg] in Birmingham would
not have tolerated entry into the war on behalf of slavery. But England was by no
means a democracy with its pocket boroughs (until 1867) and a
limited franchise. Workers in the cotton mills of England were very unlikely to be heard in the
halls of Westminster if the ruling classes of
Great Britain thought they were benefitted
by intervention on behalf of the Confederacy. I submit that it was battlefield failure
more than the Emancipation Proclamation
that kept England and France on the sidelines.
So because Sharpsburg is enmeshed in the
Emancipation Proclamation myth the value of
the excursion into Maryland in preparing the
Army of Northern Virginia for the subsequent
invasion in 1863 is understated. Glossed over
is the unhappiness of the North in both the
Army and the civilian population concerning
the Proclamation. The Republicans did not do
well in the elections of 1862. Take a look at
the election returns.
Let’s take a larger look at Lee’s character.
Today all conversations must revolve about
Blacks. So let’s open up with Lee on slavery.
In 1856 Lee wrote: “In this enlightened
age, there are few I believe, but what will
acknowledge, that slavery as an institution, is
a moral & political evil in any Country. It is
useless to expatiate on its disadvantages. I
think it however a greater evil to the white
man than to the black race, & while my feelings are strongly enlisted in behalf of the latter, my sympathies are more strong for the
former. The blacks are immeasurably better
off here than in Africa, morally, socially &
physically. The painful discipline they are undergoing, is necessary for their instruction as a
race, & I hope will prepare & lead them to
better things. How long their subjugation may
be necessary is known & ordered by a wise
Merciful Providence.”
Such sentiments would today be condemned as “paternalism.”
Permit me to comment briefly on what
“paternalism” means. We often forget that
paternalism meant that Southerners treated
their slaves as if they were children. That is,
they would undertake actions thought to be in
the slaves’ best interests - as well as the masters. It was thought to be good for all concerned. Southerners often referred to their
slaves as “servants” or “our people” or “our
family.” Parents normally do not hate their
children. But they don’t let the children govern the household. Lee thought that at some
time in the future, with proper training this
relationship may change. But he did not see
either social or political equality on the horizon any time soon. After the war, he repeated
these opinions, even when called to testify
before the Radical Reconstruction Congress.
Talk about talking truth to power.
Well, paternalism - with its implication of
The Georgia Confederate
a family connectedness - has been banished
from the South and the nation today. You
may judge yourself of the social successes
which have followed. These opinions are the
ones upon which Lee and other Southerners
are pilloried today. They are the departure
points of any modern discussion of our ancestors. The balance of their lives is to account for nothing. Everything is to be
viewed through the prism of today’s fashionable opinions on race.
This has been frankly admitted by no less a
person than the establishment’s big name historian James McPherson of Princeton.
McPherson was quoted as saying: “The kind
of romanticized sympathy-with-the-underdog
attitude to the Confederacy has been increasingly outweighed by the recognition that what
the Confederacy was fighting for was a society based on slavery. And what the North was
fighting for, if not initially and always enthusiastically, was a society moving toward biracial democracy.” Let me add that McPherson
would have been shot by many Yankee regiments - particularly non-New England ones if he were to tell them that they were fighting
for a “biracial democracy.” Most Northerners
were under the impression that they were
fighting for the preservation of the Union.
Many expressly disavowed abolition as a war
aim.
What about the balance of Lee’s life?
Tom Watson Brown was fond of saying
“Show me a Yankee, and I will show you a
thief in uniform.” Lee demanded of his troops
total discipline. Looting was sternly dealt
with. Looters and criminals would have to
wear a color other than grey or butternut when
Lee was in the field.
At Sharpsburg Lee found a Confederate
carrying a pig. Recall that some of the troops
hadn’t eaten a meal in three days. Lee ordered the man conducted to Jackson with orders to shoot him. Instead, Jackson placed the
man in the area of greatest peril with the
promise that if he survived, he would be pardoned. He did survive and thus we heard
about
this
episode.
Lee proved that a moral man can prosecute
a moral war. This was a lesson lost on his
opponents who drifted into greater and greater
criminal behavior when it became more and
more evident that the South would lose its
struggle for liberty.
Contrast Lee’s conduct with that of Sheridan, Sherman, Pope, Custer, and others. We
should make particular mention of Colonel
John Basil Turchin, whose Athens, Alabama
crimes received the subsequent endorsement
of Stanton and Lincoln.
Lee has been occasionally lashed in public.
At the beginning of the last century, Virginia
nominated Lee to represent the Old Dominion
state in Statuary Hall of the old House building. Some might call the choice in today’s
charming language, “controversial.”
Page 21
As an aside, you might take note that our
masters today use neuro-linguistic programing
to express their subtle desires and conduct
your response. “Controversial,” for example
is a branding word almost always used to let
the masses know that the item under discussion is a “bad.” Destructive, left-of center
proposals are almost never described as
“controversial.”
One example of the depravity of Lee’s
character was given at a Union League
Speech - the name of the group kind of gives
it away, doesn’t it? - by Senator Weldon D.
Heyburn of Idaho. Heyburn, who was all of
13 and living in Pennsylvania when the war
drew to a close, moved to Idaho and there became the great figure we all recognize today.
By the way, he is NOT in the Statuary Hall.
Heyburn had dedicated himself to elaborately studying the career of Lee and found
that Lee had drawn pay for three days as a
federal Colonel after accepting a commission
from the Confederacy (I think he meant the
State of Virginia). “That,” thundered the immortal Senator, “is the man whom we are
asked to accept as a hero and a soldier.”
And thus we have the word of a man
whom I doubt any of you have heard of before.
Another great social commentator, one F.
B. Sanborn also carefully studied Lee’s career
and offered this observation. Lee was recalled
to his oath to the United States at Appomattox
just as Simon Peter was when the cock
crowed. He contrasted Lee unfavorably with
the loyalty of another Virginian: George
Washington. Sanborn, a transcendentalist and
member of the Secret Six who funded John
Brown evidently did not recognize that Washington was probably not well thought of in
England during the American Revolution in
respect to his earlier oath to support the British crown.
But, Washington won; Lee did not.
Sanborn, fearful of being called an insurrectionist himself, had to flee the country to
Canada after the failure of the John Brown
revolt until the coast was clear. So maybe he
does know something about rebellion after all.
But we must admit that Lee did not envision
the massacre of the Northern population the
way Brown and, by extension, the highly moral Sanborn, did for Southerners.
Henry Adams, son of Ambassador Charles
Francis Adams, suggested that Lee deserved
hanging, because he was a good man. Most
bad things, Adams mused, were done by good
men. I presume that it takes bad men to do
good things in the Adams’ world view. That
certainly would explain a lot about the Federal
conduct of the war.
But criticism of Lee has come along a
great deal further as our society has become
ever
more
enlightened.
The current thought in the academy is that
[Continued
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Page 22
[Cont. Sharpsburg] Lee shouldn’t have fought
so hard or aggressively. It cost the Confederates too much in casualties. (Actually, what
they are saying is that Lee shouldn’t have
fought at all.) So we hear a mutually contradictory critique of Lee: he was too aggressive
and cost the Confederacy too much in casualties and yet he extended
the war.
But the earlier criticisms of Grant and other federal generals are now more muted. General-in-Chief Halleck went so far as to say that
putting certain generals in charge of Union
troops was akin to murder.
Numbers were certainly in favor of the
North. A few will suffice to recall the disparity of the struggle. The North had 22 million
in population against 6 million whites and 3.5
million slaves residing in the Southland. 92%
of the manufacturing - encouraged by the tariffs - lay in the North. The North had well
over twice as much rail mileage and generally
better quality and more to a standard gauge
than the South did. With the war, Northern
railroading improved while the South decayed
to the point that rail lines were being torn up if
they were thought less important to rebuild
other, more vital, lines.
But numbers are not everything.
The Greeks won victory at Marathon. The
American colonies had defeated the powerful
British Empire in the lifetimes of the grandparents of the Confederates. Napoleon had
humbled foe after foe while outnumbered.
But most importantly, Lee fought because
he thought honor called on him to defend his
family, his home, his new nation from the tender mercies of John Brown’s little helpers
who were invading his country. He fought for
independence and liberty. He did not fight
because victory was guaranteed. He fought
because it was the right thing to do once the
South was invaded.
To paraphrase Lee, the Confederacy’s biggest mistake was in the making its poorest
leaders into generals. The best leaders all became journalists (and today, historians) who
could clearly see all the errors of the generals
and were happy to point them out - after the
fact in the quiet of their study, far from the
raging battlefield.
What life lessons does Lee leave for us?
Lee’s commentaries are filled with his
deep and abiding Christian faith. Almost everything is permeated with his love of God and
his desire to find his will and do it.
Lee always embraced self-denial and sacrifice.
Lee loved his family, his people and his
country. He saw secession as a terrible, but
necessary step. After the war, Lee is frequently quoted as advising acceptance of the result
and living with it as best we can. He was convinced that the lunacy of the war would pass.
And it did. Reconstruction ended and home
rule was restored although Lee would not live
to see the end of it. I don’t think he visualized
The Georgia Confederate
that the Reconstruction would return with a
vengeance over a century later.
Now let us return to the “challenge of conscience.” If the best sermon is a life welllived, who had lived a better one in the American story than Lee?
Scandal recedes from him in shame. He
was an exemplary man in every aspect of life.
By comparison, America today is a different, far different nation than even during the
Reconstruction
period.
Good sense would tell us that we hold
closest to that which is closest to us. These
are the natural objects of our affection. We
should love our families, then friends and
neighbors and expand outwards to the state,
nation and world.
The modern idiot savant turns all on its
head. They love the world and are troubled
by Pastun palace putsches. They are seldom
troubled by the lonely, elderly woman living
down the street from them unless she is possessed of some suitable exotic quality such as
being illegally in the United States. They love
the world, but hate their nation.
Gilbert and Sullivan put it well in The Mikado when the Lord High Executioner put on
his list:
... the idiot who praises, with enthusiastic
tone,
All centuries but this, and every country
but his own...
When it comes to the greatest shibboleth of
the 21st Century - the race question - there can
be no doubt. Our race is the worst to ever exist. The Confederacy is the worst manifestation of white supremacy to defile this continent. You will be interested to know, no
doubt, that a recent scholarly work has decided that Southerners of the early 20th Century
were even worse than the Nazis. I am sure
that death camps will be discovered in Mississippi in a few more decades.
Let us compare Lee with the late Rev. Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Nobel Peace Prize
Laureate and Slain Civil Rights Leader. Let
us consider the great man’s (indeed, Professor
Newt Gingrich has called him the greatest
Georgian and the Greatest American) character accomplishments.
1. Plagiarized his doctoral thesis;
2. Plagiarized his famed speeches such as “I
have a Dream;”
3. Suspected of dipping into SCLC moneys
for his own use;
4. Cheated on his wife;
5. Beat up prostitutes - including one on his
last night on earth according to Ralph David
Abernathy;
6. Privately called himself a socialist; and
7. Apparently desired the victory of the Viet
Cong and North Vietnamese over the United
States and the Republic of South Viet Nam.
(Those who accuse Lee or Jackson of betray-
January/February, 2015
ing the United States seem to have a real fervor for the anti-war movement as well.)
8. King’s seminary and university papers
show he denied the virgin birth, the physical
resurrection of Christ and thought the Old
Testament filled with errors. Yet he held himself out as a Christian minister.
Is it any wonder that his FBI files must be
sealed?
But King has a holiday; Lee is to be consigned to the “ashbin of history.” Why?
How does King’s character compare to
Lee’s?
As McPherson said, King leads us down
the road to biracial democracy. Whatever that
is. Nothing else about the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Slain Civil Rights Leader really matters.
So the high personal character of Lee
shrinks to nothing by comparison to his wicked failure to embrace the politics of John
Brown and late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr., Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Slain Civil Rights Leader
Race trumps all. Being correct - at least
politically - on civil rights absolves you of all
other faults. Being wrong on civil rights blots
out any virtue.
What should be our role in present day
America?
Even if you are repelled by the racial attitudes of the 1860s - which of course, were the
almost unanimous opinion of Southerners and
the overwhelming majority of Northerners of
the time - there can be no doubt that on any
other basis Lee was one of the most admirable
men to ever live.
So what about today? What should be our
role in present day America?
The America Lee suggested all Southerners support after the war has vanished. It has
been revised, reinterpreted and re-written until
it is no longer recognizable.
It will not be long before we will be told
that Washington and his men froze at Valley
Forge to ensure gay marriage or free abortion
on demand.
Maybe we should rethink secession.
But against predator drones, surveillance,
electronic warfare and the Leviathan state,
actual political secession seems impossible.
Well,
almost
certainly
impossible.
A different secession is called for.
We need to consider a secession of the
mind.
Solzhenitsyn, the famed Russian author
and survivor of the Gulags, discussed the dilemma decent Russians faced under our kindly ally, Uncle Joe Stalin. “Internal Exile” was
a term used to describe persons who became
“unpersons” or “non-Soviet citizens” under
the Communist system and were deported to
Siberia. Solzhenitsyn suggested that an indi[Continued
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January/February, 2015
[Cont. Sharpsburg] vidual, even under the
pressures of the State, could go into an internal exile of a different sort: an exile of the
mind.
Simply remove yourself from the contaminated present and remain true to eternal values
internally. Conform as far as your conscience
can permit. But retain your own honesty, decency and dignity, associate with like-minded
persons and await better days. Unlike many,
Solzhenitsyn was able to outlast the Soviet
state and experience freedom.
British author Evelyn Waugh discussed the
same concept in the West. He called it
“Abjuring the Realm.” His definition was:
“To make an interior act of renunciation and
to become a stranger in the world; to watch
one’s fellow countrymen as one used to watch
foreigners, curious of their habits, patient of
their absurdities, indifferent to their animosities – that is the secret of happiness in this century…..”
I would suggest that we discard those corrupt practices in modern America and within
our own communities while eschewing the
madness that surrounds us. Do not become a
part of their modern “culture.”
Both Solzhenitsyn and Waugh stress the
INTERIOR nature of this renunciation. It
takes place within each and everyone of us.
You needn’t be obnoxious. Just don’t go
along.
The answer Nancy Reagan preferred is applicable here: ‘Just say “No.”’
Even in the Gilded Age of Reconstruction
America you could see the “produce-andconsume” American of today emerging.
Money is everything. “Getting it” anyway
you can is the answer.
So, if you deny money to the creatures that
set the standards of America today, you really
do hurt them where they feel it most. Do not
purchase anything from them. Avoid socializing with them. Cut them, insofar as you humanly can, out of your lives. Don’t listen to
their music ; don’t buy their books and movies; don’t associate with them.
Our individual lives are rather short. You
younger people will have the chance to stand
over the coffins of most of us here today.
When each of us arrives at that terminal destination, what will Greed have given you?
Lee would point us to those eternal values:
God, Family, Friends, Neighbors, Nation pretty much in that order. They would not barter these values for mere material gain. Not
that there is anything wrong with materialism
if you don’t compromise the eternal in its acquisition. Remember, it is the love of money,
not money itself, which is the root of all evil.
Anna Jackson, the General’s widow turned
down numerous offers of remarriage following the war. She finally explained that she
would prefer to be the widow of Stonewall
Jackson than the wife of any man living.
The Georgia Confederate
Similarly, General Lee was offered many
positions with banks, railroads, Yankee patent
medicine companies and other enterprises
which would have relieved him from any financial worries. And, it may be added, paid a
good deal more than three days of a Federal
Colonel’s salary that so worried old what’s his
name....
Lee said that he refused to trade on his
men’s
blood.
By comparison, the children of the late Nobel Peace Prize Winner and slain Civil Rights
Leader Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. work
desperately to monetize family bibles, Nobel
Prizes, images and words in a desperate effort
to avoid working for a living.
No, our ancestors could see beyond the
glitter of a fancy casket.
They could see and sense the heroic and
make that heroic a part of their lives. By doing so, they became heroes themselves whether aristocrats like Lee or simple small
farmers’ stock like Jackson or a plain private
soldier such as Lawson Henderson Hope who
served under both Lee and Jackson.
Their virtues are within us all. They are
human virtues. But today they are being buried under the slag and filth of modern life.
Lee would challenge you to mine those
golden precepts and venerate them. Live a
real life - not phony existence with its fancy
bangles and toys.
Modern America has become the land of
the Living Dead. Maybe that is why zombie
movies are so popular today. People shuffle
through life as if they were brain dead. They
are unwilling to confront real issues - partly
because they do understand that our ruling
junta will punish those who dissent from their
religious beliefs. And “Diversity” is the chief
idol before which they prostrate themselves.
This Moloch demands the literal sacrifice of
children, for example, by condemning them to
be parked in virtual holding cells called public
schools so long as the right melanin quotas are
achieved. These are public schools which are
not visited by our rulers except in armored
limousines surrounded by armed guards.
The Spaniards held out against the Moors
for over 700 years. Eastern Europeans and
Russians refused to accept the soul-destroying
Bolshevism imposed upon them for over 70
years. Can Dixie survive prosperity? The auguries are not encouraging.
But the answer is in each and every one of
us.
We do not think that Christ lost because he
died on the cross.
Our ancestors had values. If we are to live
to the charge of Stephen D. Lee, we must drop
the negative life values governing this nation
and this popular culture, adopt the best attributes of our ancestors and conquer - Ourselves.
Victory is in ourselves and ourselves alone.
Remember the words:
Page 23
“To you, Sons of Confederate Veterans,
we will commit the vindication of the Cause
for which we fought.
“To your strength will be given the defense
of the Confederate soldier's good name, the
guardianship of his history, the emulation of
his virtues, the perpetuation of those principles
which he loved and which you love also, and
those ideals which made him glorious and
which you also cherish.”
Remember, it is your duty to see that the
true history of the South is presented to future
generations.
IF we fulfill the duty of Stephen D. Lee’s
charge, we can create a South without Borders: a Dixie of the Mind. We may embrace
all that is positive in the Southland’s history
and
learn
from
our
errors
Our ideals are powerful and eternal. That is
why they are hated. It is not impossible that if
enough Southrons do this, there may be LeeJackson services within earshot of the grave of
Thaddeus Stevens or even the Illinois Baboon
- Abraham Lincoln.
The future of the values of Lee are in each
and every one of us. It is our task to live to
the high goals set by those values.
Are you ready to abjure the realm? Are
you capable of a secession of the Mind?
By Martin K. O’Toole
***
Selected source materials for more reading
Catton, Bruce, Terrible Swift Sword, The Centennial History of the Civil War, Volume Two. Washington Square Press, New York, 1963.
Foote, Shelby, The Civil War, A Narrative: Fort
Sumter to Perryville. Random House, New York,
1958.
Freeman, Douglas Southall, R. E. Lee, A Biography. Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1934,
(Pulitzer Prize Edition)
Lee, Robert E., Jr., Recollections and Letters of
General Robert E. Lee. Smithmark Publishers, New
York, 1995
Thomas, Emory, Robert E. Lee (Norton, New
York: 1995) page
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Page 24
The Georgia Confederate
VaFlaggers: Lexington, VA
Lee/Jackson Celebration
Saturday morning [January 17, 2015], we
gathered at Stonewall Jackson cemetery for a
memorial service for General Jackson. Once
again, God smiled on the Confederates gathered to honor Lee & Jackson with beautiful
weather…sunny, breezy, and temperatures
near 50 degrees! A large crowd was on hand
for the service, and those in attendance paid
respects to the General through prayer, singing
hymns, and laying memorial wreaths.
Immediately following the service, we
formed up for a parade through Lexington. Our unit was led by Generals Lee and
Jackson, a Flagger color guard, and followed
by the largest group of flaggers we have ever
had attend the event including SCV, UDC,
OCR and Mechanized Cavalry members from
across the Commonwealth and the country! It
seemed to us that there were about twice as
many folks gathered to watch the parade as
there had been last year as well. It was truly a
glorious site, to see the parade stretched down
main street, and the street filled with flags and
supporters of Confederate heritage. Along the
route, we sang Dixie, handed out stick flags,
and received the support and well wishes of all
who had gathered.
At the end of the route, the parade took a
detour from its normal path. Instead of heading to Washington and Lee University, we
were directed the opposite way, and into the
municipal parking deck. At this point, we
turned and our entire unit headed over to
Letcher Ave., to make our way to VMI to pay
our respects to General Jackson before the Memorial Service, as has been our custom for the
past several years.
As most of you know, a group of 6 students who attend Washington and LEE university's school of law wrote a letter in April of
2014 to Washington & LEE officials (copy
attached) which demanded that the university
“hold itself responsible for the racist and dishonorable conduct of Robert E. Lee.”
Specifically, these agitators demanded
the following mandates be implemented,
threatening “civil disobedience” if the administration failed to comply tot their demands:
1) We demand that the University fully
recognize Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on the
undergraduate campus.
2) We demand the University stop allowing “Neo-Confederates” (i.e. SCV, UDC, reenactors) to march on campus with confederate
flags on Lee-Jackson Day and to stop allowing
these groups to hold programs in Lee Chapel.
3) We demand that the University remove all confederate flags from its property,
including those flags located within LEE Chapel.
4) We demand that the University issue
and official apology for the University’s participation in chattel slavery and a denunciation of
Robert E. Lee’s participation in slavery.
In July, W&L President Ruscio began the
systematic capitulation to these demands when
he stripped the replica memorial Army of
Northern Virginia Battle Flags from the chamber which holds the "Recumbent Lee" statue in
the LEE Chapel. Shortly thereafter, Confederate Flags were prohibited on the grounds, and
those wishing to visit the Chapel were not allowed to carry a Confederate flag and were
made to remove apparel that had a Confederate
flag on it. Recently, W&L officials announced
that classes would be canceled next school year
in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day,
and this year, the LEE Chapel was not available to the SCV and UDC for their annual LeeJackson Day memorial service, reportedly (and
conveniently) due to renovations.
Throughout the weekend, we had Flaggers stationed at Washington & Lee, and Campus Security was right there to make sure none
of “those flags” were allowed on the property. One of our flaggers, speaking of his conversation with one of the security officers, remarked, "I told him it was a sad day in America when the borders of W&L are more secure
than those of the United States."
As our group walked up Letcher Avenue
after the parade, we stopped for a photo, unveiling the 20' x 30' flag that will soon be
raised on I-81 in Lexington.
As the photo was being taken, W&L Se-
January/February, 2015
curity began to gather and notified us that the
university owns Letcher Avenue and allows
VMI to use it for access, but would not allow
us to use the road as long as we were carrying
“that” flag. We let them know that we assumed that the road and sidewalk were public,
and since we had already walked halfway up
the road, asked to simply be allowed to continue the remaining 100 yards or so to VMI. We
were refused and again told that if we wanted
access to Letcher Avenue, we would have to
leave our flags back down on the street.
At this point, those who still wanted to
make the trip to VMI, including our own Robert E. Lee, portrayed by an elderly Vietnam
Vet, were forced to walk back down Letcher
Ave, cross busy traffic twice, and climb a very
steep, difficult to navigate entrance, in order to
access the VMI parade grounds.
For those who were not keeping track,
this means that officials at Washington & Lee
have already capitulated to THREE of the
FOUR ludicrous demands made by the agitators, in effect giving full credence and
agreement to their assertion as to the “racist
and dishonorable conduct of Robert E.
Lee”.
SHAME ON WASHINGTON & LEE
UNIVERSITY FOR FORSAKING THE
HONOR, MEMORY AND LEGACY OF
ROBERT E LEE...AND SHAME ON THOSE
WHO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THE ADMINISTRATION AND THEIR COWARDLY ATTEMPTS TO APPEASE.
" bstacles may retard, but they cannot long
O
prevent the progress of a movement sanctified
by its justice, and sustained by a virtuous people."-President Jefferson Davis
Despite the obstacles presented, we made
it to VMI to pay our respects, although the hassle, delays, difficult hike, and lost time meant
that many did not make it back in time for the
Noon service at Lexington Presbyterian.
Grayson Jennings
Virginia Flaggers
P.O. Box 547
Sandston VA 23150
[email protected]
< Security guards rush to ensure an education did not break out at Washington &
Lee University.
January/February, 2015
The Georgia Confederate
“There was a man of the
Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
The same came to Jesus by
night, and said unto him,
Rabbi, we know that thou
art a teacher come from
God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except
God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see
the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man
be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his
mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I
say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit,
he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of
the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The
wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof,
but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is
every one that is born of the Spirit."
“ John 3:1-8).
In this scripture passage a Pharisee named Nicodemus
sought out Jesus to learn and understand about God's kingdom. He who knew the law forwards and backwards but did
not know he spoke with God. He did not know how to be born
again. In order to be born again you must be saved. This salvation comes from believing that Jesus came, lived, and died and
was resurrected to save us from our sins. Once this salvation is
given you can be born again. As with a natural birth, the baby
has nothing to do with being born. In spiritual birth we as believers have no control over it. For God is the one who controls
who is - and who is not born again. That being said, God is no
respecter of persons. It does not matter if you are rich or poor,
smart or dumb, old or young. God sees us and loves us. If God
did not love us He would not have sent Jesus Christ. Thank
You God for that Gift. Are you born Again?
Page 25
Confederate Navy Stories:
By the Men Who Lived Them
They were called pirates, war criminals and other unflattering things,
but the officers and men of the Confederate Navy will be remembered as daring sailors that were outnumber and outgunned. The
twenty navy stories in this book are told by the men who fought on
high seas, rivers and harbors. There are tales of daring exploits by a navy without a shipyard or a homeport.
Ross Glover collected accounts of naval
action by James D. Bulloch, Thomas J.
Page, John McIntosh Kell, W.C. Whittle,
Charles Read and others. This book is
chocked full stories about the invention of
harbor mines, called torpedoes; the 22year-old ship constuctor that built of the
most advance ironclads in the war, and a
raider chased but never caughtb by close
to thirty Union ships.
Robert D. Maffitt, great-grandson of Captain John Maffitt, commander of the CSS
Florida, said about Confederate Stories: “Ross Glover’s Confederate
Navy Stories by the Men Who Lived Them is a book history buffs will
enjoy for historical insight into a navy without a homeport or shipyard.
It tells of the War with the point of view from the Confederate Navy
officers and men, a point of view that is almost forgotten.
The Confederate States Navy was slightly more advance then the United States Navy and this book brings out some of the stories of that navy
under crisis period against a larger navy.
As my great grandfather, Captain John N. Maffitt, USN & CSN, who
gave a speech in Wilmington, NC that appeared in the NY Times, May
13th, 1879, talked about Confederate States Navy men you will get to
know in this newly released book. I’m very pleased to read stories of
American navy history in which my ancestor took part.
~ Chaplain Joel B. Whitehead, Jr. / "Jackson Rifles"
THE CAMP OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER 2218 of Old
Clinton, Jones County, Georgia, held its annual Lee-Jackson Banquet on Thursday evening, January 15 , 2015 at the 1st Baptist
Church in Gray, GA 31032. Our excellent guest speaker was
Georgia Division SCV Commander Ray McBerry. A group of
more than 60 attendees (which included representatives of 4 other
SCV Camps and at least 2 UDC Chapters (Lanier & Hardeman)
enjoyed a sumptuous meal provided by Scott Jackson and much
warm fellowship. Camp 2218 has been able to host a Lee-Jackson
Banquet every year of their existence and we are grateful for each
instance of tremendous support. Special thanks goes out to Camp
2218 Treasurer Al McGalliard for his devoted efforts. As previously announced the Camp is no longer meeting at FIREFLY S Restaurant, due to it’s closing at the end of 2014. We continue to seek
a Jones County location for our February meeting and will get
word out as soon as we can. Members of Camp
2218 (all of which were also 16th GA members)
marched in the parade and served as an Honor
Guard during the January 17 Robert E. Lee birthday celebration at the old Georgia Capitol in
Milledgeville.
To understand the American Civil War, mostly the navy section, you
must look at both sides and Ross Glover has given you the Confederate
Navy side. Although it is nonfiction, some of the Confederate Navy stories has more adventure and excitement than any fiction writer could
ever dream up.
Robert D. Maffitt, New Bern North Carolina
Cost of Book is $12.95 plus $3 shipping and handling. Pay with check
or Paypal.
Make checks out to:
Ross Glover
5284 Wyntercreek Dr.
Dunwoody, GA 30338
DEADLINE MARCH/APRIL ISSUE 2015
APRIL 5th
The Georgia Confederate
I have a goal to get the Georgia Confederate into the hands of our
readers during the month that is printed on the issue. Your help in
meeting this change in deadline will go a long way towards making
this dream a reality. The USPS took 22 days to deliver my last issue.
Editor
Page 26
The Georgia Confederate
January/February, 2015
Northern Tradition ~
Deny Any Part of Slavery
How many of this generation, North
or South, know, or will believe that as
late as November, 1861, Nathaniel Gordon, master of a New England slave
ship called the Erie, was convicted in
New York City of carrying on the slave
trade? (See Appleton.) Just think of it
and wonder! In 1861 our Northern
brethren made war upon us because we
enslaved the negroes we had bought
from them; but at the same time they
kept on bringing more from Africa and
begging us to buy them. How many
know that England, our mother country,
never emancipated her slaves until
1843, when twelve millions were set
free in the East Indies and one hundred
millions of dollars paid to their owners
by act of Parliament?...
I wish to impress it upon our boys
and girls so that they may be ready and
willing to defend their Southern ancestors from the baseless charge of suffering now for the sins of their fathers.
Source: Bill Arp from the Uncivil War
to Date, 1861-1903, by Bill Arp, 1902.
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Civil War Women's Riot
☞
On April 11, 1863 during the American Civil War, sixty-five Columbus
women armed with knives and pistols rallied at this site and marched down
Broad Street raiding the stores of speculators before police could restore order.
During the war many planters ignored the Confederate government's plea to
grow food crops and continued to focus on cotton production instead, which
was much more profitable but resulted in a food shortage that hit southern urban women particularly hard. Hoarding food and other commodities by speculating merchants made problems even worse. Women responded by staging
riots all across the South, including in every major city in Georgia.
Erected for the Civil War 150 commemoration by the Georgia Historical Society and the Georgia Department of Economic Development
January/February, 2015
The Georgia Confederate
L to R: 2nd Lt Cmdr Nathan Forrister; WGMI 1440 AM Radio Announcer Jerry Segal; 1st Lt Cmdr James & wife Pam Tolbert display Lee/
Jackson Proclamation issued by Haralson County Board of Commissioners to Haralson Invincibles Camp 673.
Above: The Camp of the Unknown Soldier 2218 held their Lee/Jackson Banquet
January 15th. Guest Speaker was Ray McBerry.
Battles at Manassas: 2014
March 21, 22 * 2015* See Page 9
L to R: Waiting for the yankees; Fort Wallace-Wood; The battles o’er.
Reenactment battles will get underway each day at 2:00 p.m. to determine who
will control the earthen and timber fort. The Tattnall Invincibles expect more than
450 authentically dressed and armed reenactors to be involved in the battles to defend or capture the fort.
Page 27
Former Commander-in-Chief Chris Sullivan administers the oath of office for
the new leadership team of the General Leonidas Polk Camp 1446 at the North
Georgia Lee-Jackson Banquet. Commander Sullivan spoke on "April 19, 1861:
The Most Important Day in the Life of Robert E. Lee."
From left to right: Adjutant Al Penchosky, 2nd Lt. Commander George
Burkett, 1st Lt. Commander David Sapp, Commander Garry Daniell and former
Commander-in-Chief Chris Sullivan.
The Camp of the Unknown Soldier 2218 gather at the Old Governor’s
Mansion for the march to the Old Capitol for the Robert E. Lee birthday
celebration, January 17th.
Page 28
The Georgia Confederate
January/February 2015
SUPPORT THE SONS OF
CONFEDERATE VETERANS AND
PROUDLY DISPLAY OUR
ORGANIZATION LOGO BY
OBTAINING A SCV SPECIALTY
LICENSE TAG.
REMEMBER,
IT IS YOUR DUTY TO SEE
THAT THE TRUE HISTORY OF THE SOUTH
IS PRESENTED TO FUTURE GENERATIONS.
DEADLINE MARCH/APRIL ISSUE 2015
APRIL 5th
The Georgia Confederate
The Georgia
Confederate
Official Publication of the
Georgia Division,
Sons of Confederate Veterans
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TIM PILGRIM,
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AL PERRY,
Editor, Georgia Confederate
JOE DAWSON
Commander Francis Bartow Camp
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