Prattville Dragoons Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 1524 Robinson Springs Cemetery Workday as part of SCV Guardian Program

On Saturday morning June 13th a number of members of the Dragoons Camp 1524 worked at Robinson Springs cemetery on Hwy 14 in Millbrook to mow and trim the grounds.  Compatriots Connor Lee along with his friend Brock, Quartermaster Bill Myrick, Adjutant Wayne Sutherland, Color Sgt John Dennis, Comms Ofc Beir Butler, along with Tyrone Crowley and James Spears made short order of the work finishing by 8:30 that morning to beat the summer heat.  The Dragoons maintain the grounds of a number of historic cemeteries as part of the Sons of Confederate Veterans Guardian Program.  Robinson Springs cemetery is the final resting place of a number of Confederate and US veterans and founders of the community that predates the present town of Millbrook.

Chaplains Column for SCV Camp 1524 for June 2020 - Memorials Being Defaced and Derided

I hope everyone is doing well and safe.

I am writing as I am seeing pictures of the United Daughters of the Confederacy headquarters in Richmond being burned down and our beloved memorials being defaced and derided nationwide under the pretense of protest.

As with any of you, I am filled with a sense of anger and rage.

But what does God call on us to do in a season of unrest and hurt in our heart?

First the Bible tells is to take a deep breath and “Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret – it leads only to evil.” (Psalm 37:8)

When we are wuick to anger and slow to forgive, God reminds us that you were forgiven of your sins and that He will “forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” (Hebrews 8:12)

Turn that anger in to something constructive as our ancestors did by rebuilding their homes and lives during the hateful years of Reconstruction.  They were courageous during the War for Southern Independence and afterwards and we, their descendents must be as well.  Stand firm and “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)    

May God continue to watch over you and your families and protect you all.

And may God save the South!

Remember those on our prayer list. 

Prattville Dragoons Attend the Alabama Division SCV Reunion

Saturday June 6th, the Fort Blakeley Camp 1864 hosted the 2020 Alabama Sons of Confederate Veterans Division Reunion.  Dragoons including Josh Stover, Larry Spears, David Smith, and Tyrone Crowley attended the business session of the Alabama Division Reunion which was held Friday and Saturday, 5-6 June, in Foley, Alabama.  The Reunion was held at the Foley Civic Center at 407 East Laurel Avenue in Foley (AL).

The meeting began with the posting of the colors, pledges to the US flag and salutes to the Alabama and Confederate flags, and a reading of the SCV Charge.  Blakeley Camp Commander Tommy Rhodes welcomed all to "L.A., Lower Alabama", then turned the session over to outgoing Alabama Division Commander Carl V. Jones.

Commander Jones spoke for all present when he voiced anger and frustration at the instances of defacing, destruction, and removal of Confederate and other historic monuments across the United States that we see on the news on a daily basis. He emphasized that the truth is on our side and can't be defeated, mentioning that he had challenged anyone on Facebook to debate that slavery was the cause of the War Between the States but had had no takers.  He stated that we intend to fight against this hatred and bigotry and ended by quoting Jefferson Davis when he stated that "Truth, though crushed to the ground, like a seed will rise again".

Commander Jones recognized National SCV Officers in attendance at the Reunion:  National Commander-in-Chief Paul Gramling, National Lt. Commander-in-Chief Allen McCluney, Jr., and Army of Tennessee Commander Jason Boshers.  At the invitation of Division Commander Jones, SCV National Commander Gramling spoke a few words to those present.  He said that he was supposed to be at a Division Reunion in Texas, but that it had been cancelled and he was glad the Alabama Division had held theirs.  Commander Gramling said that we are in a culture war, not just an anti-Confederate one.  This was a feeling repeated by more than one speaker at the meeting.

During the business session, Alabama Division Commander Carl V. Jones presented a check to National CiC Gramling, a donation to the National Confederate Museum from the Alabama Division.  Division Adjutant Lee Hattabaugh then gave his report followed by the business session proper.  

That Saturday evening, after the Reunion business and elections were complete, the Reunion attendees gathered for a fine feast catered by the Gift Horse Restaurant in Foley. The banquet was held in the Foley Civic Center. The food was excellent and more than enough to go around. A silent auction was completed and those who were the highest bidders claimed their prizes.  This was an excellent fundraiser for the host camp and a lot of fun for those who took the opportunity to bid. . 

Army of Tennessee Commander Jason Boshers gave a fine presentation on our responsibilities as members of the SCV. 

The awards presentations completed the evening’s festivities. Of special note were Dragoon and South West Central Brigade Commander Josh Stover with the Nathan Bedford Forrest Meritorious award. Compatriot of the Year was recognized as Lee Hattabaugh, Division Adjutant. 

This year, 2 Lifetime Service awards were bestowed rather than the usual one. The first LTA award was given to Past Brigade Commander Larry Warren of the Tallassee camp. Larry has some medical issues now and needs prayer from the Confederation. The second LTA was presented to Past Division Commander Gary Carlisle. Both men most deserving of the awards.

Prattville Dragoons SCV Camp 1524 Commander's Column for June 2020 - Western Civilization and American Culture War Attacks

Just a few months ago I believed we may have weathered the worst of the attacks on our Confederate monuments but the latest developments proved how errant were my wishful  ruminations.   The tinder box has again been lit with the death of George Floyd while being detained by a Minneapolis police officer on the suspicion of using counterfeit money and having drugs in his possession.  The store clerk who called the police indicated that Floyd was acting intoxicated and the official autopsy showed he was high on fentanyl with methamphetamine and marijuana also in his system but the narrative is that he was unarmed and no mention of resisting arrest.  Floyd was incarcerated six times previously including armed robbery and holding a pregnant woman at gunpoint while they ransacked her home but the narrative is he embodies the victims of police brutality.   Certainly a martyr of the caliber of Nathan Hale or Sam Davis. 

And so the onslaught began anew as state and local governments eyed this as a prime opportunity to remove Confederate monuments and memorials to virtue signal their constituency and appease the rioters who otherwise were defacing and damaging these monuments in nationwide “peaceful protests”.   Those were no brainers, low hanging fruit but, of course the attacks did not stop there.  Instead, statues and monuments across the spectrum were targeted by the BLM and Antifa anarchists including, as smoke rose around the Washington Monument, the World War II Memorial vandalized in Washington DC and, hold on, it gets more astounding, the Lincoln Memorial also sprayed with graffiti.   This is not about racial injustice - the police involved in that Floyd killing were arrested and are facing increasing charges.  This is about the overthrow of our American founding ideals, principles, values and our Judeo-Christian capitalist way of life.  As the SCV Charge states, the Confederacy and it’s soldier defenders embodied those most pure virtues and constitutional principles and so those are clear objects of derision in these woke days.   The progressive socialists can not win at the ballot box or by constructing fraudulent impeachment charges so they are instead destroying the economy and burning and looting their very neighborhoods to bring down our democratic republic, even attempting to scale the fencing around the White House, fanning the flames of a coup one way or another.

But these globalist anarchists’ activities are not bound by the porous US borders ; they are being instigated across the globe.  COVID19 restrictions were apparently lifted or disregarded to encourage a Black Lives Matter protest in Oslo Norway by thousands if you can wrap yourself around that picture (https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidnikel/2020/06/06/norway-fears-coronavirus-return-as-anti-racism-protest-fills-oslo-streets/#4fc171d6504c).  On the anniversary of D-day, Sir Winston Churchills statue in London was vandalized as he was labeled another racist who incidentally led his nation in its darkest hour to victory over Hitler’s Third Reich (https://www.foxnews.com/world/churchill-statue-vandalized-d-day-london).    This is nothing short of a choreographed effort to create a chaotic environment to push a globalist agenda to bring down western society and civilization.   This is not just about placating blacks by listening and convening a panel of Harvard elitists to educate us of our white privilege, nor about patronizing minority owned businesses.   This is about communities seriously considering defunding police forces.   This is about whites being forced into a deferential kneeling position and journalists attacked.   This is about a pallet of bricks left conveniently at a protest rallying point and Molotov cocktails being hurled at police cruisers.  This is about an armed mob seizing control of the Seattle (WA) city hall and a police precinct. This is about a civil war.  After decades of indoctrinating our children in agnostic revisionist state-run schools, we apparently have reached a tipping point.  The question is if and when those who recognize and treasure American exceptionalism, the shining city on a hill, will say enough and worsening events will come to a neighborhood near you. 

Prattville Dragoons Present Donation to Autauga Interfaith Care Center Food Pantry

Members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 1524 presented a check for $700 to the local Prattville food pantry, the Autauga Interfaith Care Center on Wednesday morning June 10th.  The money raised included camp members individual donations as well as funds from the Dragoons camp treasury and from the Millbrook Masonic Lodge.  In light of the recent COVID19 pandemic and the associated unemployment and economic hardship for many across the country, the Dragoons felt a special food drive was an appropriate timely endeavor for the camp.   Dragoons present included Comms Ofc Douglas Butler, Tyrone Crowley, Larry Spears (also representing the Millbrook Masonic lodge) and 2nd Lt Karl Wade. Josette Dudle and Denise Brown accepted the check and were most appreciative of the donation, thanking the men profusely. Josette and Denise said that, with all of the economic problems caused by the Covid 19 emergency, the processing fee of $0.18 per pound that was charged by the Montgomery Food Bank for purchases by other food pantries had been lowered to $0.05 per pound which makes the $700.00 cash donation go much farther.  This is another example of the community outreach and benevolent initiatives Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 1524 performs in the Prattville community.

Prattville Dragoons SCV Camp 1524 Meeting Announced

Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 1524 will hold its monthly camp meeting tonight, Thursday June 11, at the Masonic Lodge in downtown Prattville with gathering at 6pm and the meeting starting at 6:45pm.  Compatriots Tyrone Crowley, Larry Spears will be reporting on the sights, sounds and news from the recent Alabama Division Reunion held in Foley this past weekend. 

Upcoming Events for Confederate Compatriots

Prattville Cityfest - Saturday May 9, 2020, Main Street downtown Prattville AL POSTPONED

Forrest Reinterment and National Museum Grand Opening - Saturday, May 23^rd , 10am-3pm, Elm Springs, Columbia TN POSTPONED

Prattville Dragoons June Camp Meeting - Thursday June 11th, 6pm, Prattville Masonic Lodge

Forrest's 199th Birthday Party - Saturday, July 25th, 3pm at the Godwin's Fort Dixie 

National Reunion - Wed-Sat, July 15-18, 2020, St. Augustine, FL