Historic Cemetery Maintenance by the Prattville Dragoons Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 1524

 Saturday morning July 24th members of Camp 1524 picked up trash, trimmed around graves and tombstones with weedeaters and blew off all the grass trimmings to complete the maintenance of the Robinson Springs cemetery in Millbrook AL.  The guys started early at 7am to try to beat the heat.  Those participating included compatriots Larry Spears, Rob Schwartz and Bill Myrick.  The prior day Mike Thomas did the majority of the grass cutting, bringing his zero turn mower to professionally cut the large areas of grass leaving the finish work for the guys on Saturday.  Also, John Dennis cut the grass at the Indian Hill cemetery and the Hunt family cemetery as part of his outstanding ongoing grounds maintenance ownership. The Dragoons perform this community service as part of the SCV's Guardian Program to help care for these historic cemeteries. 

Prattville Dragoons SCV Camp 1524 Meeting for July 2021

 A great crowd of approximately twenty eight Dragoons including two member's wives enjoyed the monthly gathering of Camp 1524 on Thursday evening July 8th at the Prattville Masonic Lodge.  Folks started gathering at 6pm and chips, peanuts, cookies and beverages were available for snacking.  At 6:45 the meeting commenced with an Invocation by Chaplain Brantley followed by the pledges and salutes to the flags led by Color Sergeant Dennis.  Commander Waldo then recited the Charge to the Sons of Confederate Veterans and provided details of upcoming events including the National SCV Reunion and the bicentennial birthday party for General Nathan Bedford Forrest.  The upcoming Dixie smoked butt fundraiser and Dragoon participation with a booth at the Autauga County Fair were also highlighted.  David Smith was recognized with a Division commendation for his work as I-65 Battle Flag chairman.  1st Lt Harold Grooms emceed a presentation showing photos from the recent Alabama Division Reunion which the Dragoons hosted including candid pics from the registration, reception, business session and awards banquet.  It was a nice final occasion to bask in the afterglow of the success which was this Division Reunion and recognize all the members who played critical roles in the planning and execution of the event.  

Dragoon Wallet Donated to Confederate Memorial Park Museum

          A wallet belonging to a member of the original Prattville Dragoons was recently donated to the Museum at Confederate Memorial Park, after having been authenticated by Dragoon Camp member and artifact expert Paul Whaley.

            SCV member David L Rogers of Ogeechee Rifles SCV Camp 941, Statesboro, Georgia, had found the wallet in a thrift store there and very generously offered it to Dragoon Tyrone Crowley to do with as he saw fit, as a donation to a museum in Alabama.  The wallet, pictured below, was owned by Prattville Dragoons veteran Thomas Whetstone Smith, (1836-1916). The wallet is inscribed in ink "Thomas W. Smith, Prattville, Alabama, June 17, 1862” and is of high-quality suede leather.  The wallet is in very good shape for its age, since it probably spent most of its life in the bottom of a trunk. Statesboro is about 50 miles west of Savannah, Georgia, and it’s unclear why the wallet ended up in a thrift store there.

            Thomas Whetstone Smith’s wallet will soon be on display at the Museum at Confederate Memorial Park.  A wallet similar to this one is already on display in the Dragoon Room/War Room at the Prattaugan Museum where a Wedding Exhibit is now on display at the Prattaugan Museum with dresses from the 1850s to the present day on display.

Jefferson Davis Portrayed by Prattville Dragoon Crowley for Cemetery Historic Chair Rededication

             On Saturday 26 June 2021 at 4 p.m. the Jefferson Davis Chair at Confederate Circle in Old Live Oak Cemetery in Selma, Alabama, was rededicated. The chair was stolen in March 2021 by a group named "White Lies Matter", and there was world-wide publicity about the theft. The "ransom" was to have a banner displayed for 24 hours at the UDC building in Richmond on April 8, the date General Lee surrendered.   UDC President General Linda Edwards would not give in to the "ransom". Law enforcement found and arrested the criminals in New Orleans, and the memorial chair was located and returned to Live Oak Cemetery. 

           Tyrone Crowley, member of the Prattville Dragoons SCV Camp, and re-enactor as Confederate President Jefferson Davis, was the keynote speaker at the Rededication. He spoke about the later years of Davis's life, including 1886 when he visited Montgomery, Atlanta, and Savannah with his daughter, Varina Ann, known as “Winnie”, who was born in 1864 and so became known as "Daughter of the Confederacy". Thousands cheered and applauded at any stop they made, because the Southern people recognized Davis as a martyr who had sacrificed so much for the Southern people, including the two years he spent without trial in prison after the war then was released on bail.  The Montgomery Advertiser newspaper stated that over 30,000 were present at the celebration in Montgomery in 1886 when Davis came to dedicate the cornerstone of the Confederate Monument at the Capitol.

            After the Rededication Ceremony, many of those present made pictures sitting or standing next to the chair.  Pictured here are keynote speaker Tyrone Crowley, Selma UDC Chapter 53 President Pat Godwin, and UDC President General Linda Edwards.

Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 1524 Participate in Prattville Independence Day Parade

Members of the Dragoons and the Alabama Division Mechanized Cavalry participated in the Prattville Independence Day parade on Saturday July 3rd.  This was one of the first parades held in Prattville since the COVID issue arose and people were ready to celebrate.  Dragoons Commander Waldo, Quartermaster Myrick, Comms Officer Butler, and Color Sergeant Dennis along with compatriot Darrell Haywood and Commander Waldo's family comprised the Dragoons entry along with three riders from the Mechanized Cavalry on their Harley Davidsons.  Spectators along the parade route encouraged the camp's continued participation with applause and salutes and a number stated that the SCV must continue to honor our Confederate heritage.  The spectators also enjoyed the candy tossed to the children and adults alike who lined Court Street and Main Street on this warm and clear Saturday morning.  A great start to the Independence Day weekend festivities.  

Prattville Dragoons SCV Camp 1524 Commander's Column for July 2021 - Incumbent on SCV Members to Contact Representatives to Defend for Heritage Defense

 We enjoyed a tremendously successful Alabama Division Reunion which Camp 1524 hosted the first of June.  Compatriots from across the state joined us for the events surrounding the Reunion including a registration and Division EC meeting at the Marriott Courtyard, a Commander’s reception at Buena Vista and a business session with breakfast and BBQ lunch as well as an awards banquet with Uncle Mick’s cajun at the Doster Center.  Many Dragoons contributed many hours of their time planning and helping at these functions and feedback from attendees was very positive.  One item of interest which was discussed at the Reunion was the continuing efforts of the progressive revisionists to cancel the recognition of our state’s history in myriad ways from attacking monuments to removing holidays recognizing great Confederate Americans to removing the honorable historic Battle flag from our state’s coat of arms.  

Our Representative Will Dismukes mentioned previously his opposition to the revision of the state’s coat of arms as doing so would make for fiscal irresponsibility.  The coat of arms is used on law enforcement vehicles and uniforms and government officials and department seals, buildings , letterhead etc.   “The bill to legalize a state coat of arms was introduced in the Alabama Legislature of 1939 by James Simpson, Jefferson County, and was passed without a dissenting vote by both houses. The coat of arms consists of a shield on which appears the emblems of the five governments that have held sovereignty over Alabama: Spain, France, Great Britain, the Confederate States of America, and the United States of America. (The design includes the flag of the United Kingdom rather than that of Great Britain.) This shield is supported on either side by bald eagles, symbolic of courage. The crest is a model of the ship, the Baldine, that Iberville and Bienville sailed from France to settle a colony near present day Mobile (1699). The motto beneath the shield is "Audemus jura nostra defendere." Beneath the motto is the state name.  The original design of the Alabama coat of arms was made in 1923 by B. J. Tieman, New York, an authority on heraldry, at the request of Marie Bankhead Owen, Director of the Department of Archives and History. A few years later Naomi Rabb Winston, Washington, DC, painted the completed design in oil. Mrs. Owen selected the motto which was put into Latin by Professor W.B. Saffold, of the University of Alabama.”  (https://archives.alabama.gov/emblems/st_coa.html)

It was reinforced that it is incumbent on the Sons of Confederate Veterans membership to lead the effort to resist the canceling of our state’s historical record particularly in regards to our proud Confederate history where our ancestors fought for their independence, in defense of their homes and the state of Alabama, and for the ideals of our founder’s constitutional republic, for state’s rights limiting the authoritarian centralized federal government.  It was emphasized that we should all contact our state Representatives and Senators regularly by phone, mail and email when in session and outside of those timeframes.  Clyde Chambliss is likely your state Senator for most of the Dragoon membership but, Will Dismukes, Mike Holmes or Reed Ingraham or someone else may be your state Representative depending on your home address.  Check this website to find yours - https://www.sos.alabama.gov/alabama-votes/elected-official-map.  Here is a list of all the Alabama state house representatives, click on their photo to get their contact information including address, phone and email - http://www.legislature.state.al.us/aliswww/ISD/House/ALRepresentatives.aspx .  I am asking our Communications Officer to procure stamped addressed postcards that each member may use to contact these representatives to further strengthen and give another voice to our heritage defense.   As the SCV Charge implores us, it is our duty to vindicate and guard the history and the Cause for which our Confederate ancestors fought and died.  

Prattville Dragoons SCV Camp 1524 Chaplain's Column for July 2021 - In Search of Ancestral Treasure

 

Psalms 61:5 …”thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name.”

In June, Dragoon Compatriot Larry Spears and I set off on a day trip to Mexia, Alabama. Mexia is near Monroeville, definitely off “the beaten path.” We were searching for an old country church which bears a treasure. That treasure is my paternal Confederate Ancestor, Jacob Obanyan Snider.

Jacob is the only Confederate Ancestor I can physically visit as my Maternal ancestor’s grave is under a parking lot in Missouri! What a joy and honor it was to visit this grave in the back of a church which opened in 1817. As Jacob was born in 1840, that means he was raised in this church and after the war. I imagined him going and singing hymns and being with the Lord every Sunday.

His is a story which may be like your Ancestor. He mustered in to the 36th Alabama Infantry in April 1862. He was injured and captured at Missionary Ridge in late November 1863. He spent 18 months in the hellish Rock Island prison in Illinois. He was “paroled” to New Orleans in May 1865. He came home and tried as best he could to rebuild his life and that of the Old Salem Baptist Church. Eventually his war-time injuries, for which he had made and used a cane, caused him to pass at an early age in 1878.

He left behind a wife and two children.

Why tell you this story in a Chaplain’s Column? Jacob represents thousands of troops who suffered during the War but came back and trusted in the Lord unto death. How many times could he ahave lost heart from his injuries or imprisonment in terrible conditions for almost two years?

He didn’t. I pondered on this when I returned home. I remembered how Paul had suffered so greatly (2 Corinthians 1:21-33) but felt blessed to be able to spread the Gospel!

Jacob and so many of his fellow veterans came home and rebuilt churches and went to work spreading the good word. Even during the miserable period of “Reconstruction.” Thousands of souls were saved during the War and thus spread across the South from those great men after the war.

We need to remember this in these dark times. When our world is crashing down around us and we need to see the light and remember to “trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5). Deo Vindice!

I want to raise up a prayer of thanks to the members of this camp who worked so hard to make this year’s Division Reunion such a great success!

May God continue to watch over you and your families and protect you all. And may God save the South!

Upcoming Events for Confederate Compatriots

                  Upcoming Events for Confederate Compatriots

Prattville Independence Day Parade – 9am Saturday July 3rd, Court St- Main St Prattville AL

Prattville Dragoons July Camp Meeting – Thursday July 8th, Masonic Lodge, Prattville AL

SCV National Reunion – Wednesday-Saturday July 21-24th, Metairie-Kenner, LA hosted by the Beauregard Camp 130

Bicentennial Forrest Birthday – Saturday July 31st, 3pm til, hosted by Butch and Pat Godwin at Ft.Dixie