Kate Cumming, A Report on "Kate", the Journal of a Confederate Nurse (part 3)

Kate Cumming:  Confederate Nurse 

(A report by Dana Casey Jones to the Prattville Dragoons SCV Camp 1524 2/14/2019)

Nursing duties were very broad, and their sufferings were personally sacrificial, and included such as:

--Writing letters for the soldiers, reading letters to the soldiers, reading scriptures and praying over them, reading them their last rights and comforting the dying, often simply holding their hand as they passed.

--Cooking, feeding the sick, making home brewed medicines and poultices, pulverizing charcoal which they used to control bleeding, administering medicines and whiskey, cleaning, washing clothing and bedsheets and bandages, gathering firewood and keeping the stove burning.

--Foraging and begging or bartering for food, milk, water and any other needed supplies; knitting of socks and sewing homespun from raw cotton, and many hours were spent making bandages, cutting them and rolling them.  They also begged for simple necessities such as forks, spoons, knives, and cotton to make mattresses for the soldiers.

--their hardships were:  lack of sleep, sleeping on the floors or boxes, heat exhaustion or extreme cold, hunger, insect infestation, their own illnesses, sheer exhaustion, constant packing and rebuilding as the hospitals migrated, mental and emotional stress, loss of their own loved ones and friends

--costs of simple items- $50.00 for a pair of boots, $2.00 for a pair of socks and $5 for stockings.  Rare luxuries she listed was coffee, sugar, tea, milk, meat

I cannot do justice to her original creative writings, so I thought it best to read some excerpts from the book so you can imagine what it was like to have actually lived through those tragic years.  I want to start with what she penned in her introduction as it sheds light on her motives for wanting her journal published:

“The southerner may learn a lesson from the superhuman endurance of the glorious dead and mutilated living who so nobly did their duty in their country's hour of peril. And the northerner, I trust, when he has brought in review before him, the wrongs of every kind inflicted on us, will cry, Enough!  They have suffered enough!  Let their wounds now be healed instead of opening them afresh.  I have another motive in view.   At the present moment, there are men on trial for ill-treating northern prisoners. This is to me the grossest injustice we have yet suffered.  I would stake my life on the truth of everything which I have related, as an eye-witness, in the following pages.  I have used the simplest language, as truth needs no embellishment.  May I not hope that what I have related in regard to the manner in which I saw prisoners treated, will soften the hearts of the northerners toward the men now undergoing their trial, and make them look a little more to themselves? We begged, time and again, for an exchange, but none was granted. WE starved THEIR prisoners!? But WHO laid waste our corn and wheat fields? And did not we ALL starve?  Have the southern men who were in northern prisons no tales to tell?— of being frozen in their beds, and seeing their comrades freeze to death for want of proper clothing?  Is there no (Henry) Wirz for us to bring to trial? But I must stop; the old feeling comes back; these things are hard to bear. People of the North-- the southerners, have their faults, (but) cruelty is not one of them. If your prisoners suffered, it was from force of circumstances, and not with design.”

She spoke of Lincoln as an evil despot ruler throughout her book.  In 1864 she stated, “ Lincoln has again refused to exchange prisoners. I do think this is the cruelest act of which he is guilty, not only to us, but his own men.  He is fully aware that we can scarcely get enough of the necessaries of life to feed our own men, and how can he expect us to feed his?  Human lives are nothing to him; all the prisoners we have may die of starvation, and I do not expect they would cost him a thought, as all he has to do is to issue a call for so many more thousands to be offered up on his altars of sacrifice.  How long will the people of the North submit to this Moloch?  He knows that every one of our men is of value to us, for we have no the dregs of the earth to draw from; but our every man is a patriot, battling for all that is dear to him.”

Prattville Dragoons SCV Camp 1524 at the Millbrook Mardi Gras Festival and Parade

As the members of the Millbrook Revelers are proud to proclaim, The Millbrook Mardi Gras Parade is the largest parade north of Mobile. That was proven again on Saturday 23 February as Camp 1524 let the Good Times Roll with a booth at the festival and a fine entry in the parade. We gave away Hundreds of mini Battle Flags, SCV coins, and a mountain of candy were given away during the parade as thousands lined Main Street in Millbrook.  More mini-Battle flags and posters were handed out at the camp's booth at the festival at Millbrook's Village Green Park and many flags, bandanas, tags, totes and other camp stores were sold to booth visitors making it a very successful day.  We were very well received by parade spectators and visitors to our booth. We heard many compliments including, “We appreciate what y’all are doing” and “ I have got to have a flag!” It was definitely an upbeat occasion. 

The Revelers who host the Millbrook Mardi Gras have always welcomed the Dragoons as participants and this day was no exception.  Thanks go out to the event organizers for their hospitality and our compliments to them for such excellent organization of a large festive happening.

In the photos below are Dragoons Karl Wade, Bill Myrick and Stuart Waldo who all set up the booth early on Saturday morning.  Karl Wade, Dale Boyles and Douglas Beir Butler helped man the booth pretty much all day while other Dragoons stopped by to help.  Members of the Alabama Division Mechanized Cavalry 1-D again participated with the Dragoons and one photo shows members  arriving at the parade line up area on their motorcycles. The Mech Cav members were Dragoon Don Owens, Brian Anderson, Lt. Michael Adkins and Corporal Tim Hobbs. The Dragoon entry included Larry Miller's red truck which had the Dragoons' new Mardi Gras banner affixed across the front, the Mardi Gras purple Charger of Commander Waldo with the SCV logo on the front tag and small Confederate flags flying off the passenger windows as well as a number of men who walked the parade route. Additional parade participants with the Dragoons shown in the group photo included 1st Lt. Commander Harold Grooms, John Dennis and his grandson Sean, Conner Lee and his brother Nick, Larry Spears, Bill Myrick, and Wayne Sutherland (as well as the Mechanized Cavalry riders previously mentioned). 

Kate Cumming, A Report on "Kate", the Journal of a Confederate Nurse (part 2)

Kate Cumming:  Confederate Nurse 

(A report by Dana Casey Jones to the Prattville Dragoons SCV Camp 1524 2/14/2019)

Kate was born in Edinburg Scotland in 1835.   As a note, this date is from the Library of Congress, but Kate’s obituary printed in the Mobile and Birmingham newspapers gave her death date of June 5, 1909 and her age of 80 which would have made her birth year 1828 or 29. Her family migrated to Montreal as a child and then on to Mobile where they made their permanent home.   This was during a time when Mobile was prospering as the second largest cotton port in the States.  Kate grew up very conscious of her Scottish background but took on the Southerner role will fervor.  She wrote of the conflict between the North and the South, as similar to the Scotland’s constant struggle with England for her freedom.  She was passionate about Southern rights because of that background.  In my opinion, she was very much a celebrated Rebel.

When the war broke out, Kate was ill so she could not leave Mobile for several months.  Although, she did volunteer to make necessary items for the soldiers.  The next spring of 62, she left on April the 7^th, with a few other women headed to Okolona, MS then Corinth.  She earned her way to matron nurse, or superintendent of nursing in the Army of Tennessee and served faithfully until the very end.  Her places of service consisted of:  Chattanooga, Montgomery, West Point, Atlanta, Dalton, Selma, Kingston, Rome, Newnan, Ringgold, Marietta, Opelika, Columbus, and Gainseville, AL. 

The reason why there are so many cities where she served is indicative of the uniqueness of the Confederate hospital history. 

Remember that most officials believed that the war would be over within a few months.  When this proved to be false, the CSA rushed to pattern their hospital system after what was known from the USA.

Within the first year, the South realized that as the North invaded our territory, the hospital system would have to be almost entirely mobilized.  Dr. Stout was instrumental in the birth of this feat and Kate mentions him periodically throughout her book.  Samuel Hollingsworth Stout (1822-1903) was born in Nashville, Tennessee.  At the age of 13 he entered the University of Tennessee where he received his medical degree in 1842.  He practiced medicine in Nashville for one year. He then became a prosperous farmer in Giles County, Tennessee.  At the outbreak of the War he entered Confederate service and rose rapidly to responsible positions in the medical department. He became the Surgeon and Medical Director of Hospitals for the Army of Tennessee and was chiefly responsible for mobilization of hospitals. He is known as a true medical pioneer.  He was instrumental in making use of women as nurses in the army.  He created a system of bartering and foraging for food and supplies to make his patients more comfortable.  He purchased a printing press to print blank forms for hospital use which also saved the army thousands in funds that could be better used for his wounded soldiers.  He designed architecturally efficient hospital units that promoted the most efficient and comfortable quarters for the ill.  His most innovative creation was the mobile hospital units that stretched for a hundred miles before Sherman’s March to the Sea.  Kate Cumming was continuously on the move with these units.

It was the mobility of the hospitals that kept them in existence at all.  The CSA medical inspector, E. Covey, said of the mobilized units:

“Ever since I began my tour of inspection, the hospitals of this department have been in a migratory state, and I have been fully able to appreciate both the trial of the medical officer and the hardships of the sick soldier; both of which have been trying in the extreme.  The entire line of hospitals on the Atlanta Rd., from Augustus to West Point, has been abandoned.  Of course, all the points North of this road have been rendered useless to us either by occupation of the enemy or their proximity to his lines.  This has necessitated the still greater scattering of, the already too much scattered hospitals, and squatting them in little towns, where every available house, from a common grocery, to the town church, has been taken for their purposes; and in most instances, buildings so taken have been entirely unfit for the treatment of the sick and wounded.”

By October 1, 1864, all hospitals were ordered to Columbus Georgia, two weeks later they were moved to Opelika.  They continued to move about until the last official order of the medical department was given to the Army of Tennessee issued from Atlanta on April 27^th, 1865. 

President Davis himself paid tribute to the efficiency of this hospital system when he stated, “The only department that was not demoralized was the Hospital department which was well in hand and doing efficient service until the end of the war.”

Throughout Kate’s journal she gives great details to names and units she served.  Some of which are:  Ketchum’s Battery, organized in Mobile in 1861, Fowler’s, Lumsden’s and Tarrant’s batteries; Alabama infantry units—3^rd, 4^th, 21^st, 22^nd, 24^th, 29^th, 32^nd, 36^th, and 38^th.  She also mentions units from other Confederate States.

Kate Cumming, A Report on "Kate", the Journal of a Confederate Nurse

Kate Cumming:  Confederate Nurse 

(A report by Dana Casey Jones to the Prattville Dragoons SCV Camp 1524 2/14/2019)

The War of Northern Aggression was responsible for the birth of the nursing profession in America.  Before those dark days, nursing of the ill was done mostly at home and by wives, sisters, or daughters.  Attendants of physicians were usually males, as it was frowned upon for women of gentility to participate in such duties as it would expose them to unfamiliar men.  But, with the onset of the War, and the mass casualties that needed care, women began to play important roles on both sides of the conflict.  Without a doubt there is a lot more information to be found about the women who served in the Union army, but numbers are published that reflect there were between 2,000 to 5,000 on each side.  Union hospital documents show there was 21,000 women on the official hospital payroll of the Federals.  The numbers are vastly different for the Confederates simply because so many official documents were destroyed during the Union invasion.  Those numbers also do not reflect the many female volunteers that came forth to sacrifice their time and resources to minister health to the sick and wounded.

Official nursing status was granted by Congress in 1862.  Records show that a matron nurse might be paid $12.00 a month whereas the lesser paid attendants may only make $6.00 a month and served as laundresses and cooks.  And oftentimes, this money was used to buy food and materials for the sick and dying patients that the nurses cared for.  One account of a CSA surgeon told that his entire paycheck was spent tending to his patients as the Confederates were so desperate for supplies.

Towards the beginning of the war, more men than women were still in the roles of nursing.  As the war raged on, officials realized that most of the able-bodied men were needed to man the trenches.   And, the wounded in the hospitals, actually responded better to women who nursed them.  That is probably due to the homesickness felt by the weary soldiers who were accustomed to being cared for by their mothers and their wives.  This paved the way for the popularity of women nursing after the war.  80 years later, the first nursing schools in America were opened and patterned after England’s, Florence Nightingale’s philosophical thinking.  All the students were women and most all were white. 

When I looked up the top ten known nurses from the War Between the States, listed were 2 Confederates and 8 Union, one of those being black.  That is why my focus tonight is on the journal writings of Kate Cumming, a Confederate nurse who resided in Mobile.  She truly deserves the spot light for one of the greatest nurses in history.  I was visiting the Montgomery Archives book store one day and came across this book.  As a nurse it caught my attention and I purchased it. As I began to read it, I was soon captivated, and I quickly read the entire book.  Reasons why:

Very detailed and accurate historical accounts of the war times

Lists names of soldiers, and their units and gives details about where they are located

Tells of places that I am familiar with like Montgomery, Mobile, Selma, Opelika, etc.

Written from a Christian perspective of a fine Southern lady of Scottish origin

Very personal and scholarly writing

Gives personal accounts behind the lines of a raging war

Provides details of early medical practices and the conditions of the soldiers, surgeons, and citizens.

This book is edited by Richard Harwell Barksdale and published by the LSU press originally in 1959 with the 8^th printing in 2012.  Kate published her journal in 1866 while all the details were fresh on her mind; which gives the work a note of accuracy.  Barksdale speaks highly of Kate:

“Kate Cumming was a lady.  Hardships and menial work, the disapproval of friends and family were her lot as a matron in the Confederate hospitals.  But work, nor strain, nor the consciousness of disapproval could divert her from the life she conceived as her duty (reminds me of General Lee).  As much as any soldier, she contributed to the cause of the Confederacy. In risking the disdain of those who needed to prove themselves ladies by refraining from hard or unpleasant tasks she proved herself the finest kind of lady”.

Oconee County SC Stumphouse Mountain Tunnel and Issaqueena Falls

The author and his children had the opportunity to visit the upstate of South Carolina on a cold and rainy February weekend.  What better way to spend an afternoon then to visit one each of Oconee County's historical and natural treasures which happen to be located within a few hundred yards of each other.  The Stumphouse Mountain tunnel was one of a series of tunnels which were attempted and partly constructed thru the foothills northwest of Walhalla SC in the 1850s to accommodate a railroad meant to link Charleston to the country's Midwest.  The South Carolina legislature withdrew funds for construction just before the War Between the States but some consideration was made to finish the project by the Confederate government for wartime strategic logistics but, the tunnel remained unused until almost one hundred years later when Clemson University used the tunnel for aging their famous blue cheese, taking advantage of the cool constant temperatures afforded by the tunnel deep within the mountain.  A short walk away is Issaqueena Falls which is a beautiful cascading 200 foot falls with short hiking trails to observation decks at the top as well as steep trails down to the pools and rocky stream at  the bottom of the falls.  The rain and steep rugged terrain made for a slippery trail but good exercise and an adventure for the author's young son.  On the cold February day, the warmer water cascading down the rocks made almost a light fog hanging over the falls.  Enjoyable outing in a beautiful setting in the foothills of upstate South Carolina near historic Walhalla. 

SCV Camp 1524 Prattville Dragoons February Meeting on Valentine's Day

               The Dragoons celebrated Valentine’s Day with a wonderful camp meeting complete with red roses, heart-shaped centerpieces on linen tablecloths and, a fine meal capped with strawberry shortcake.   A change of venue was required when the prior place stopped serving dinner to accommodate the camp meeting time so the Masonic Lodge in downtown Prattville graciously offered their meeting space which provided ample seating even arranged with more intimate round tables.  There were over thirty in attendance and many enjoyed the food which was setup and provided by the camp including chicken tenders, a variety of croissant sandwiches, potato and pasta salads, and fruit and vegetable trays.  A few ate their strawberry shortcakes first though.  1^st Lt Grooms brought roses which were distributed to all the ladies in attendance during the first portion of the meeting. 

A slideshow of photos of compatriot Bill Gill was displayed throughout the meeting time as a remembrance of his passing and that his funeral was actually coincident the same day.  Bill was remembered also in Chaplain Snowden’s opening and closing prayers.  Commander Waldo read the SCV Charge and made the announcements including all the upcoming events including the Millbrook Mardi Gras parade and festival and the Division Brigade Flag Days coming up in March.  The Indian Hill plans were highlighted including cleanup and historical sign dedication, the Southern Victory Campaign and the camp’s donation to that initiative as well as to the Wetumpka Police Department for tornado relief. 

Mrs. Dana Casey Jones then made her presentation about the War from the diary of Confederate nurse Kate Cumming who published a book based on her personal notes from her diary.  Kate was a Scottish immigrant who settled in Mobile and embraced the South and the Confederacy.  A pioneering nurse who worked tirelessly throughout the War caring for wounded soldiers, she kept detailed notes of her experiences and also her opinions as to the truth and importance of the Cause relating this back to her Scottish heritage of a struggle for sovereignty from British rule. Dana’s passion for the subject being a nurse as well as strong Confederate herself was quite evident.  It was an inspiring topic and message for an outstanding Valentine’s camp meeting. 

Prattville Dragoons Announce February 2019 Camp Meeting

February Camp Meeting

The camp meeting for February will be held on Valentine’s Day, Thursday February 14^th at 6:45pm at Jim’s Restaurant on Hwy 31 in Prattville.  Everyone is encouraged to bring their spouse or significant other to make this a special Ladies Night for Valentine’s Day.  We will have a very special speaker, Mrs. Dana Casey Jones who will be talking about the War from the diary of a Confederate nurse who published a book based on her personal notes from her diary.  Come early to enjoy some fellowship and Chaplain Snowden’s slideshow.  Jim’s has a full menu of delicious southern cookin’ with nightly specials sure to make a memorable Valentine’s dinner.  

SCV I-65 Flag Lowered To Half Staff In Memory Of Compatriot Bill Gill

Per order of  Sons of Confederate Veterans Alabama Division Commander Carl Jones, the I-65 Battle Flag was lowered to half staff Friday morning February 8th in memory of Dragoon Bill Gill who was Chairman of the I-65 Flag Committee. His grandson and fellow Dragoon, Connor Lee, was given the honor of initially lowering the flag. Dragoons Don Owens and Larry Spears assisted Connor. These three compatriots are shown in a photo below along with a photo showing the flag at half staff. 

Bill Gill was a dedicated Southern Heritage advocate who never met a stranger. His legacy will live on indefinitely.  Brother Bill exhibited a great loyalty and devotion to the Cause and was a friend to his compatriots in the Wigfall Grays Camp 1560 (TN) and the Prattville Dragoons Camp 1524 (AL) where he maintained his SCV memberships.

Prattville Dragoons Chaplain's Column for February 2019

A Debt Paid in Full

     Colossians 2:13-14

Mankind has a debt problem. In the physical world, our desire for a higher standard of living and more stuff has led to burdensome credit card balances and unwieldy mortgage payments. The weight of what we owe can cause restless nights and the feeling that we’re trapped. We long for someone to rescue us from the mess we have made.

However, material indebtedness isn’t our biggest problem; our sin debt is. All of us were born with a flesh nature that prompts us to rebel against the Lord. Our rebelliousness is an affront to His holy nature, incurring a debt that we owe to Him. Until this penalty is paid, we are under God’s righteous judgment and remain spiritually separated from Him (Eph. 2:1-2). The trouble is, we are unable to pay what’s due. No amount of good works, self-sacrifice, or religious devotion will lessen what we owe.

So God, in His great mercy, sent His Son to rescue us. Jesus Christ left heaven and all of its glory so He could come to earth to live and die for us (Phil. 2:6-7). Although the cost to our Savior was enormous, He willingly paid the price we owed. He took our sins upon Himself, bore them to the cross, and discharged our debt in full. Hallelujah!

When we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior, His atoning work is credited to our account. We become children of God and co-heirs with Christ as we’re changed from debtors to inheritors. (See 1 Peter 1:3-4.) Let the knowledge of His sacrifice on the cross permeate every aspect of your life—your thinking, attitude, and choices.

Please remember all those that are on our prayer list.

Stephen Dill Lee Institute February 2019

Prattville Dragoons Tyrone Crowley and Sam Reid attended the S.D. Lee Institute program in Birmingham AL on Saturday February 2nd.  The following is Tyrone's summary of the presentations.

Report on 2019 S D Lee Symposium

               The Stephen Dill Lee Institute of the National Sons of Confederate Veterans held its 2019 Symposium , with the theme "Reconstruction and the Reconstruction of Southern History".  The event was held at the Birmingham Marriott Hotel, just off Highway 280 in Birmingham.  National Commander Paul Gramling Jr. and National Lt. Commander Larry McCluney were in attendance, as were Past National Commanders Tom Strain, Chris Sullivan (chairman of the event), and Charles E. McMichael, guest speaker for the evening banquet.  Dragoon Historian Sam Reid attended the event with his wife Terri; also attending was Dragoon Tyrone Crowley.

Speakers were:

1      Charles E. "Chuck" McMichael

Past Commander McMichael began by saying he was proud to be the son of a Confederate and is proud to consider himself a Southern Confederate even in this day and age.  His main point was that the period known as "Reconstruction" was not reconstruction at all but "Destruction and Reconstruction" as stated in the title of a book written in 1879 by Confederate General Richard Taylor.  Commander McMichael went on to say that today not only our culture but Western Civilization itself is suffering "reconstruction" under the awful influence of the Neo-Marxist powers attempting to rule the world, who want to get rid of our traditional culture and traditional American culture, the main target being Christianity.  Commander McMichael recommended reading George Orwell's Animal Farm as a good description of what's going on today.

2      Tom Hiter

Reverend Doctor Tom Hiter is a clergyman from Kentucky, with deep roots there, and wore his Episcopalian collar as evidence of his pride in being a Christian clergyman.  Reverend Hiter urged us to study and understand better the SCV Charge, and detailed it out for us.  He criticized John Dewey and other socialist educators who, beginning in the late 19th century, socialized our school system so as to produce generations of Americans who saw their central government as all-powerful and their country as "indivisible".  This was all accomplished with the support of the socialistic National Education Association, founded in Philadelphia in 1857 and today the largest labor union and special-interest group in this country.  He said the key words in The Charge are "vindication of the Cause":  to defend the truth of what the Confederate soldier fought for--liberty.  He ended by saying the English Civil War, the American Revolution, and the War Between the States were all three fought to gain and protect the liberty of free men.

3      Alabama Division Commander Carl Jones

Commander Jones began by saying that Reconstruction actually was applied to the entire country, since the Northern states gave up their sovereignty, by choice, in 1861 and the Southern ones in 1865, by force; it was then that the Old Republic died.  His main point was that at least two distinct cultures entered into the Union in 1789--Northern and Southern--and that at that time all states agreed on the principle of secession (some Northern states considered it during the War of 1812) but Northern states were duped by Lincoln into opposing it in 1861. 

4      Walter D. "Donnie" Kennedy

Donnie Kennedy needs no introduction, due to his and brother Ronnie's having written several books in defense of the Cause, the most popular being The South Was Right, published back in the 1990s.  If you want a synopsis and clear defense of the various reasons The South Was Right, read that book.  Compatriot Kennedy urged all present to visit  and use the website www.MakeDixieGreatAgain.com and to join the Confederate Legion, both of which were listed in a brochure he handed out.  You can see what's in the brochure by visiting the website.

5      Loy Mauch

Mr. Mauch stressed that we all need to study the Founding Documents:  the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Federalist Papers, to name the important ones.  He described how Lincoln and Seward deceived Confederate commissioners seeking a peaceful solution to differences between the Confederate and U. S. governments prior to the firing on Fort Sumter.  Another main point was that Americans are not only uneducated, they are miseducated by an educational system under the control of Neo-Marxists.  He ended by stating that the Fourteenth Amendment, never legally ratified by a sufficient number of states, destroyed the Constitution, and that "Reconstruction" continues, 150 years later.

6      Philip Leigh

Mr. Leigh is the author of a number of books, including Lee's Lost Dispatch and Southern Reconstruction.  Using facts from his book on Reconstruction, Mr. Leigh offered many interesting facts and observations, among which are Southern characteristics of clannishness and love for their ancestors.  Other interesting facts were that it took the South a century to recover from the War and Reconstruction, i.e. to get back to a level of wealth something like it enjoyed in 1860, when Mississippi was the wealthiest state in the Union.  He made the point that Republicans, to maintain their hold on the United States government, had to give voting rights to blacks, regardless of their qualifications for same, while at the same time excluding whites, American Indians, and Asians from voting.  With the end of Reconstruction in 1876, whites regained their right to vote, but Asians and American Indians had to wait till the 20th century to be able to vote. Mr. Leigh also made the point that Reconstruction was aimed strictly at the South.  While blacks gained the right to vote in the South, they continued to be prohibited the vote in several Northern states.  Another interesting fact offered was that when the Southern states rejoined the Union after the War, they had to pay taxes to pay for pensions for Union veterans (in the 1890s 40% of the national budget) and to pay off the debt created by the United States government during the War.  Finally, there were discriminatory freight rates put into place during Reconstruction that lasted until the 1930s, whereby it cost more to ship by rail in the South than in the North.

This was another interesting and educational day, thanks to the Stephen Dill Lee Institute.  We can all be grateful for the lessons offered by these leaders and scholars.

Submitted by D. T. Crowley, 3 February 2019

Prattville Dragoons Commander's Column for February 2019

The SCV’s Southern Victory Campaign – Vindicating the Cause

Donnie Kennedy presented the new SCV Southern Victory Campaign – Vindicating the Cause to those attending the recent Army of Tennessee workshop.  These are my notes which all in the camp should consider and act upon.  He asked everyone what was the Cause?  This is something we should all be able to articulate.  The Cause was a struggle for liberty, freedom and, independence…same as our colonial ancestors fought for in the preceding 18th century. Just fifty years ago our country honored our Confederate heroes with Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy speaking of the great Confederate leaders, with US postage stamps commemorating the Confederate generals, with the Confederate flag on the cover of Sports Illustrated with Ole Miss majorettes, and with troops flying the Confederate Battle flag in theatres during World War II and the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. 

But today we are experiencing a Southern cultural genocide despite 84% polled in favor of leaving Confederate monuments in place (Aug 2018), 88% of whites and 47% of blacks in Louisiana polling to keep the Confederate monuments in New Orleans in place (Sept 2018) and, even the left leaning CNN showing a 2017 poll that 57% support keeping Confederate monuments.  We have failed to convert public opinion and support into political pressure.  We have assumed that the public’s 70% support translates but we have failed to recognize the War is not over and they wish to exterminate us as a people.  Our enemies are secular, humanist, post-modern, neo-Marxists detesting European Christian values.  This did not start with Obama and Hillary.  This has been ongoing since before the War for Southern Independence.  I would add that it has accelerated with the decline in education especially in history and social studies – how can we expect the young people who attack our monuments to appreciate and honor the historical significance of Confederate monuments when they don’t recognize the parallels between the colonial founders and the Confederate struggle for independence and when they don’t understand and appreciate the perils of a multicultural humanist progressive socialist culture and instead embrace it.

Looking at recent political maps you can readily see that Dixie is still One Nation Under God, a Bible Belt across the heartland.  But, our Southern heritage is the low hanging fruit that they attack when they aspire to control our entire country.  With constant media barrages, PC politicians grandstanding and militant attacks, a Dec 2018 poll showed a recent decline in support of Southern heritage.  We must counter and capitalize on public support quickly before it wanes.  The Southern Victory Campaign has been established to take this offensive.  MakeDixieGreatAgain.com has been created as a website apart from the SCV’s main website to present a public face for this Southern heritage movement.  The main page provides sections to view including: a Confederate Legion with membership to support the campaign, Radio Free Dixie to place radio advertisements to support efforts, The Rest of the Story with audio and video clip messages supporting the Cause, Operations and Tactics presenting productive initiatives, Local Support enumerating resources to use in the fight and, Commander’s Comments providing a monthly video from the SCV CiC, marching orders.   For instance, the https://www.makedixiegreatagain.com/operations-and-tactics.html link provides downloads for responses we are encouraged to make, contacting our US Congressmen to object to the taxpayer-funded biased slanderous Smithsonian article “The Cost of the Confederacy”.  This is an example of the objective of this Southern Victory Campaign, to channel the efforts of our 30,000 members to more effectively lobby our politicians, to promote Southern heritage with positive advertisements and. to provide a consistent message to the public. 

We need strategic and not tactical victories.  We need 3000 in the Confederate Legion, 1000 from each Army to defeat those Anti-Southern forces bent on a Southern cultural genocide.  The cost to join the Confederate Legion is $50/year and the Division has already appropriated funds supporting the Legion and camps can also support with memberships.  These funds will be used to finance a pro-south public relations campaign, to remind and encourage our political representatives that we want our votes to protect and promote Southern heritage and, to convert passive support to Southern heritage activism.  The strategic plan to be implemented seeks to recreate a South where the majority respect their Southern heritage and to force politicians to support our Cause, fearing us and those who support us more than say the NAACP and SPLC.  The campaign seeks to establish a Radio Free Dixie network of stations who support us and/or allow our advertisements to broadcast our message and, to establish an Internet Free Dixie network.  At the local level, the Campaign would provide communicate on and provide guidance to camps and coordinate national initiatives (such as the Smithsonian rebuttal). Locally, at the camp level, we need to encourage Confederate Legion membership and actively coordinate and act on national efforts/initiatives.  This Southern Victory campaign provides outstanding concrete actions for the SCV to engage in to stem the tide of the attacks against our heritage and to vindicate the Cause and we should all consider fully supporting with our time and resources. 

Upcoming Events for Confederate Compatriots

Upcoming Events

Ft.Blakely Monument Dedication – Saturday February 2^nd, 2pm in the Confederate Rest Cemetery in Point Clear AL

                                                                                                                                    followed at 6pm with a social and supper at the Gift Horse restaurant   in Foley AL

Stephen D Lee Institute – Saturday February 2^nd, 8am Birmingham Marriott

Prattville Dragoons February Camp Meeting – Thursday February 14^th at 6:45pm at Jim’s Restaurant, Prattville

Millbrook Mardi Gras Parade and Festival – Saturday February 23^rd  9am festival opens and 11am parade

SWC Brigade Flag Day – Saturday March 2^nd at Confederate Memorial Park

Battle of Cuba Station Reenactment and SWC Brigade Flag Day – Reenactment events 10am-4pm, Friday March 8^th - Sunday March 10^th (AL Division SWC Brigade Flag Day Sat. the 9^th) including memorial services, at Forrest Park, Spruce and Church Street, Gainesville AL

 Alabama Division Education Conference – Saturday April 6^th 10am-4pm, Grace Point Church Montgomery AL