Tour of the Historic Ellerslie Home in Millbrook AL

"Ellerslie," Circa 1818 in Millbrook Alabama, will be the site of some history lessons and story telling April 30th, and open to the public.

The event is hosted by Jeanne Hall and the Elmore/Autauga News from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturday April 30th.  Light refreshments will be served.

Rarely open to the public, it is an excellent opportunity to see the area's first home, built circa 1818 by Revolutionary War veteran and Georgia Congressman Bolling Hall. All are welcome for a free tour of the house, grounds, and cemetery.  There will be a reenactor honor guard posted in the cemetery where eight Confederate veterans are buried.

The home is located at 2650 Edgewood Rd, coming from Main Street, just before Lanark Road. 

Living History at Confederate Memorial Park

Prattville Dragoons Conduct Cemetery Workday

A hard working crew of dedicated Dragoons cleaned up two local cemeteries Saturday morning April 23rd. After months of hard work in 2014 and 2015 to reclaim Indian Hill from nature, this clean up lasted only about 2 hours and it was practically sparkling when work was finished. A great showing of ten compatriots from Camp 1524 made short work of cutting back the spring grass and undergrowth at Indian Hill Cemetery using weed whackers, mowers, swing blades and rakes. Members participating included James and Larry Spears, Skip Ward, Bill Myrick, Wayne Sutherland, Allen Herrod, Philip Edwards, Tom Crowley, Harold Grooms and Stuart Waldo.  

A caravan of workers then travelled the short distance to Autaugaville where clean up began of a smaller cemetery where some Confederate veterans are interred. This cemetery is across from Mount Zion Baptist Church in a wooded bluff across County Road 45 off Hwy-14.  This cemetery has a number of graves from the Hall family and contains two Confederate veterans graves, Pvt Samuel Jones and Capt Green Thompson (a doctor), Company G, 6th Alabama Infantry and Dr. The spring undergrowth at this cemetery was very dense and as there was a gathering at the church across the road, the workers used just hand tools instead of power tools to keep any noise down.  Great progress was made by Grooms, Herrod and Waldo who stayed despite the church traffic to work on this project.  The veterans and other persons buried at these two cemeteries now have a respectable final resting place and it is our duty to maintain them as well as the Robinson Springs cemetery for which Camp 1524 are Sons of Confederate Veterans Guardians. 

Indian Hill Work Crew

Autaugaville Work Crew After Clearing

Autaugaville Cemetery Before

Autaugaville Cemetery Before

Autaugaville Cemetery Before

Confederate Memorial Day Programs Announced for Monday April 25th - All Inviited

Monday, April 25 is Confederate Memorial Day holiday in Alabama. There are two wonderful ceremonies scheduled for that day and we need as many Dragoons, friends, and neighbors to attend both if possible. Everyone in the community is invited.  The first ceremony is at the Confederate Memorial Monument on the state capitol grounds which the UDC is sponsoring at 10:00am. The SCV will have a presence at the ceremony with color guard and greeters. The speaker will be the Reverend Von McQueen of Selma. This is always a superb memorial occasion which will certainly be enjoyable. Bob Miller will play the bagpipes as part of this event as well as the following event in Prattville Monday evening. 

The second ceremony that day will be the  Camp 1524 commemoration at the Dragoon monuments at the Prattville Primary School property on Washington St. at 6:00 pm. This will be a terrific concert featuring three performances by Bob Miller on bagpipes, a reenactor Campfire Band, and gospel songs by Chaplain Tom Snowden. The reenactors will also providde a color guard and the presentation of a wreath to honor the memory of the Dragoons who met at this spot to ride to defend their country in 1861. Local political office holders are also invited to attend. Bring your folding chair to sit down and enjoy some great musical talent. 

We need excellent participation at our local Confederate Memorial Day ceremonies! Our support of this event will show our neighbors and communities how much we love our Confederate ancestors.  Alll Confederate compatriots are invited - these are not just camp events but public celebrations. Please make a special effort to attend and bring people with you including family and friends.  If we all come and bring just one guest, we would have a tremendous crowd to celebrate Confederate Memorial Day for 2016!

Prattville Dragoons Spring Picnic

The Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 1524 annual picnic was held yesterday at Confederate Memorial Park in Mountain Creek AL and was a huge success. Approximately 55 members and guests attended and enjoyed good fellowship, excellent food and superb entertainment. The first thing that morning, as is customary at the spring picnic, battle flags were placed at every grave in the two park cemeteries.  Some 23 members and guests participated in placing the flags  It was a beautiful sight, the Battle Flags waving in the breeze across the cemeteries. One of the attached pictures shows a portion of Cemetery #2 that was flagged. 

As part of the picnic program, before dinner, we had the honor of swearing in Brother Terry Fitzpatrick for membership. A picture is attached showing him being sworn in by Chaplain Tom Snowden. Terry’s story is very unique….he has been a member for some three years but has never met us since his residence is in Honolulu, Hawaii. Terry was visiting his sister and brother in law, Linda and Ron Davis, who are UDC and SCV members, respectively. Terry was excited to meet his Dragoon brothers at long last, enjoyed the event and made a special donation to the camp to continue camp community events and initiatives. 

Past Brigade Commander Bill Myrick swore in the Dragoons Camp officers for the 2016-2017 year. Commander Waldo offered a welcome to all in attendance and presented a short message on the struggle against public objection to our Cause and message of Southern heritage and history education.  Of course the main event was enjoying the picnic dinner.  Food lines were set up offering tasty side dishes provided by members and the Dixie butt chopped pork generously provided by two stalwart camp members, Skip Ward and Bill Hamner.  Good sweet tea and lots of delicious desserts accompanied.  Folks ate under the trees at the picnic tables and folding tables Compatriot Jeff Potts brought for the event. 

Entertainment included Chaplain Snowden with two guests singing old gospel songs which was very fitting as the venue for the picnic this year was the chapel at Confederate Memorial Park. Colby Carlock played his guitar and sang period songs as everyone finished eating.  Superb picking and a great voice.  Commander Waldo showed off a framed Battle Flag which flew on the dome of the South Carolina state capitol building, a gift from a friend whose certificate of authenticity was included behind the framed glass. A beautiful hardcover book on the WBTS was provided by Comm Ofc Larry Spears for auction and a set of CDs of World War II era patriotic songs was provided by Commander Waldo for auction with proceeds for the camp treasury.  Compatriot Fitzpatrick won the book and Quartermaster Bill Myrick won the CD collection.  1st Lt Grooms also provided some toy animal ducks for doorprizes which are always popular.  

April is Confederate History and Heritage Month

When the union was formed around the US constitution in 1788, the premise of that union was that, as James Madison said in Federalist 39, “Each State, in ratifying the Constitution, is considered as a sovereign body, independent of all others, and only to be bound by its own voluntary act.” Had the case been otherwise, not a single State would have ratified the constitution.

The right to secede from the union was understood by all concerned, and in fact was made a condition of ratification by three States (Rhode Island, New York and Virginia) who asserted that they reserved the right to "reassume" all delegated powers should the new government "become perverted to their injury or oppression".

By 1860 it was evident that opponents of the constitution such as George Mason, Patrick Henry and Richard Henry Lee had been proven correct in their assertions that it was in error to enter into union under a "central" government with people from other regions "whose manners and customs so greatly differed from ours".

When the Southern States began seceding in late 1860 and early 1861, they were simply exercising what the Declaration of Independence had recognized as a God-given right- the right to part ways and form a new government of their own choosing. Abraham L:incoln, acting the part of George III, undertook to crush this right and in so doing to destroy the very fabric that American governance was built on. Philosophically, "America" has never recovered from his victory.

The Southern soldiers who voluntarily offered their own lives in defense of their rights, families, homes and the well being of their posterity should be celebrated, remembered and honored rather than maligned as they so often are today. If the colonials of 1776 are regarded as "patriots", then so must these men also be regarded as the same. They fought nobly, honorably and for a just cause- the cause of independence from tyrannical government.

April is Confederate History Month. The men pictured below are my 3rd Great Grandfathers, Private Joseph Hinson of Company D, 6th Florida Infantry, and Private William G. Smith, Company H, 51st Georgia Infantry. I am immensely proud of these men, of their Cause and of their blood now flowing through my veins, and the veins of my sons. In all of American history there is no greater example of valor, heroism and patriotism than was displayed by the men in Gray who offered all that they had in defense of Dixie.

Deo Vindice,

Carl Jones 
2nd Lt. Commander
Alabama Division, SCV

Upcoming Events for Confederate Compatriots

J.C.C. Saunders Lecture Series – University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Saturday April 2^nd

Dragoons Spring Picnic – Confederate Memorial Park, Marbury AL, Saturday April 16^th 9am

SCV Camp 692 Meeting – Al Arnold, speaking, author of “Robert E. Lee’s Orderly, A Modern Black Man’s Confederate Journey” at 2:30 p.m., Sunday April 24^th at the Montgomery City-County Public Library, 245 High St, on the second floor.

Indian Hill and Robinson Springs Cemetery Workday – April 23^rd 8am

Confederate Memorial Day – UDC sponsored event at state capital in the morning, Dragoons wreath laying at the Dragoons memorial at the primary school on Washington St in Prattville April 25^th at 6pm

Living History Encampment – Confederate Memorial Park Friday- Satrurday April 29-30^th

Prattville Cityfest – Dragoons' booth on Main Street, Prattville May 14th starting at 9am til 5pm

Prattville Dragoons Chaplain's Column for April 2016

The Purpose of Life

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 3:15-18

     Have you ever asked the question, why are we here on earth? This question crosses everybody’s mind at some point. Unscriptural theories of evolution suggest that we are merely taking up space and will return to nothingness when we die. Cultural propaganda says that we choose our own destiny—in other words, we can live for any cause we choose. But that is absolutely untrue! The Lord has placed you on earth to fulfill His purpose.

     Our God has a unique plan for each one of us, but He means for us all to share one goal: to be conformed into the image of Jesus Christ. The process of perfecting our moral, spiritual, and physical selves begins here on earth and is finished in heaven. Much of the work the Lord does in our earthly lives centers on our character. He shows us how to be as loving, kind, and peaceful as Jesus.

     One would think that being like Jesus must require a lot of effort. But the truth is, we are not called to work at it. The Holy Spirit indwells the believer and then lives the life of Christ through him or her. Christians have the responsibility to be submissive to His guidance. That means we respond to every circumstance and event with this question: "How can we use this so that each of us will look more like Jesus?"

     You see our sovereign Lord is behind everything that happens to us—either He directly instigates the situation or He allows it to take place. Both trials and triumphs are engineered to fulfill God’s great purpose for each of us: crafting a life that reflects His love and glory to the world.

      Let’s not forget to pray for all the people on our prayer list.

Dragoon Visits Memphis' Forrest Park

Prattville Dragoon Danny Smyth took a trip to Memphis, Tennessee to see the famous General Nathan Bedford Forrest statue. Here are a couple of pictures of this impressive statue.  Forrest was moved to this site in 1905 and is buried under the statue.  Nathan Bedford Forrest was born in Tennessee and had business ventures there and specifically in Memphis before and after the War for Southern Independence including President of the Selma (AL) based Marion and Memphis Railroad. 

Prattville Dragoons Commander's Column for April 2016

The White Male Role Model 150 Years Later

My wife and I have started to make a point of watching some television shows together to enjoy scheduled time together and provide another common interest to discuss. I typically watch just sports, news or movies.  Kerri likes to watch television series though and sometimes binge watches entire seasons of shows in a matter of days or weeks using streaming services.  She suggested a new (to us) series that might be mutually interesting, Fox’s “The Last Man on Earth” knowing that I kinda like the sci-fi premise and comedies so, the two together sounded promising.  We made it thru something like a half dozen episodes before I started complaining that I didn’t like any of the characters; Kerri watched a few more on her own and reported today that she is through with it.  

Our electronic billboard ads for this Confederate History and Heritage month feature General Robert E. Lee, perhaps one of the finest leaders our nation has ever produced.  Loved and respected by his soldiers and fellow citizens of Virginia, the Confederate States of America as well as the United States of America. Certainly a timeless role model of a courageous, honorable, brilliant, distinguished Christian man of character which we all should strive to emulate.  Today, Hollywood provides us Phil Miller, the Caucasian lead for “The Last Man on Earth”. Phil embodies the polar opposite of Robert E. Lee as the bumbling, lying, conniving, inept, immoral, blasphemous drunkard.  The other characters thru the first few episodes are women whose characters while flawed demonstrate much more admirable qualities of industriousness and temperament.  The final straw for which Kerri provided a spoiler to save me from the effort and consternation of watching any more episodes was the arrival of the object of desire for all the female characters, a special ops trained, talented engineer, savior of an Adonis, a black character also named Phil Miller, whose coincidental naming served to accentuate the marked contrast to our original last man on Earth.  Don’t waste your time on this television.

We are plagued with portrayals of flawed unlikeable white males as the stereotype for Hollywood shows today.  “Hamilton” is supposedly the hottest show on Broadway featuring a portrayal of our Founding Fathers as all of black ethnicity in a rap musical format.  If that doesn’t conjure up unseemly images sufficiently, Todd Starnes of Fox News reports, “The producers of “Hamilton” really did put out a casting call, “Seeking NON-WHITE men and women, ages 20s to 30s, for Broadway and upcoming Tours!” their casting notice read. The NON-WHITE part was in all caps.  (While) CBS 2 News in New York City reports that “Hamilton’s” casting notice for ‘NON-WHITE” performers may violate the city’s human rights law, NYC’s Commission on Human Rights declined to say if they were investigating and, producer Jeffrey Seller told CBS his casting call for NON-WHITE performers is on the up and up saying, “I stand by it and believe it to be legal.”” Starnes provided, “The actual casting call: “George Washington: Males & Females, 30-49, African American, Hispanic, Asian, South Asian, Native American, Middle Eastern, Southeast Asian/Pacific Islander, Ethnically Ambiguous/Mixed Race, African Descent. Non-White, tenor/baritone.” In other words, no white folks need apply.  After a bit of online outrage, the producers changed their minds and decided to open the auditions to the pigmentationally-challenged.”  The show’s producers continue unabated though their tasteless “discriminatory” and, by some online observers astute observation, racist agenda, “As the Daily News pointed out (casting) none of the lead roles by a Caucasian.” (“Hit Broadway show celebrates diversity by excluding whites”, by Todd Starnes, Published March 30, 2016, FoxNews.com)

The Sons of Confederate Veterans stands no doubt as an affront to this offensive, warped politically correct and mainstream media promoted and praised revisionist history.  The Prattville Dragoons would dare place a public proclamation on multiple billboards throughout our community espousing General Robert E. Lee as worthy of honor and remembrance in this season pronounced as Confederate History and Heritage Month.  We dare to study and teach the true history of the South and praise our Confederate ancestors, men of virtue and courage who bravely fought to continue and perpetuate the true constitutional republic envisioned by our actual Founding Fathers. We can only hope that “Hamilton” doesn’t ever come to the Prattville or Millbrook playhouses off-off-Broadway.  What version of our nation’s history, what leaders in our nation’s history would you care to teach and, what role model do you desire to uphold to your children and grandchildren?  Robert E. Lee or Phil Miller?  

SCV Commander in Chief Issues Proclamation for Confederate History and Heritage Month

WHEREAS: April is the month in which the Confederate States of America began and ended a four-year struggle for states’ rights, individual freedoms, local governmental control, and independence, which they knew to be right and just; and

WHEREAS: The Sons of Confederate Veterans, the direct heirs of the United Confederate Veterans, honor, observe, and celebrate the Confederate States of America, its history, those who served in its armed forces and government; and

WHEREAS: All those millions of its citizens of various races, ethnic groups and religions who contributed in sundry and myriad of ways to the Cause that they held so dear from its founding on February 4, 1861, in Montgomery, Alabama, until the CSS Shenandoah sailed into Liverpool, England and surrendered to Her Majesty’s Government on November 6, 1865; and

WHEREAS: It is important that the Sons of Confederate Veterans and those of Confederate descent reflect upon the Confederate States of America’s past to honor and respect the devotion of her Confederate leaders, soldiers, sailors, Marines and citizens; and

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Charles Kelly Barrow, Commander-in-Chief of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, do hereby proclaim the month of April, as:

NATIONAL CONFEDERATE HISTORY and HERITAGE MONTH and encouraged all Compatriots to celebrate their states' historically recognized and designated Confederate holidays; however, during the month of April, Compatriots are urged to participate in properly honoring the Confederate States armed forces, her elected and appointed officials, its citizens, and innovations by creating educational programs, ceremonies, and gatherings.


Deo Vindice!
Charles Kelly Barrow
Commander-in-Chief
Sons of Confederate Veterans
@scvcic

The J.C. C. Saunders Lecture Series at the University of Alabama

A message from Mrs. Anne Tidmore about the annual J.C.C. Saunders Lecture Series in Tuscaloosa on April 2 this year. You may want to consider attending this excellent presentation.

Every first Sat. in April, Paul Bryant, Jr. sponsors the J.C. C. Saunders Lecture Series at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.    

The J.C.C. Sanders Memorial Committee was established in 1996 to commemorate the brave cadets in the University of Alabama Corps of Cadets who fought during the War BTS and the 1865 attack on the University’s campus.  Brigadier General John Caldwell Calhoun Sanders, Class of 1861, became one of the “Boy Generals” of the Confederacy. (My great grandfather was also one of the cadets who left the University to fight for the Confederacy).

The lecture series is named for General Saunders. It is one day seminar with approximately 4 speakers who lecture on various topics regarding the War Between the States, the Confederacy and related subjects. A delicious (free)  lunch is provided, (usually barbeque),  compliments of Mr. Bryant. The time frame is  from around 10:00 to about 2:00. This year it is on April 2^nd. 

I went last year and it was a very fun and stimulating day. 

Another excellent reason for going is this: It is  very good to meet and talk with Paul Bryant Jr., as he has been such a supporter of the First White House and all things Confederate. 

It will be a wonderful day for all who attend, I promise you.