Prattville Dragoons SCV Camp 1524 Meeting for July 2022 - The Battle Flag Color Bearers

The Dragoons' camp meeting for July was held on Thursday, July 14th at the Prattville Masonic Lodge with about 30 members attending. Some came early for beverages and snacks and fellowship and some music by 1st Lt commander Rob Schwartz that started at 6pm.

Then the meeting proper started at 6:45 with Chaplain Brantley leading us in prayer, then color Sargent Dennis led us in the pledges and salutes to the flags.  1st Lt Commander Rob Schwartz led the meeting in the absence of Commander Waldo (who came in after the start but told Rob to continue so he could enjoy being a regular member) starting with some announcements and then Tyrone Crowley played a short message that compatriot Harold Grooms had wrote, recorded and had played over the air on our local radio station in the past.  It was fantastic and very professional sounding.

Our guest speaker for July was Dana “For Dixie” Jones and the topic for her presentation was all about the color bearers during the war years.  She provided reference volumes including "The Embattled Banner", "Never Goes Down" (written by a Yankee) and "The Truth of the Confederate Battle Flag".  Dana explained how the color bearers were chosen and vied for the honor of carrying the battle flag in the front lines. They didn't carry weapons, just the flag but were surrounded by a six man color guard meant to protect the flag and bearer. The color bearer was a focal point for both forces and many were killed but there was someone always ready to pick it up and keep going.  It was necessary to have the Battle flag leading as it was important for the troops and the generals to know where there front line was at all times  in the chaos of the fight even when the battlefield was obscured by smoke from guns and cannon.  She provided specific accounts of the fate of color bearers and the Battle flags in WBTS battles which were very moving, demonstrating the passion the troops had for the banner.  She ended by saying many of these men were so proud of what they were fighting for that they died for the colors.   Dana challenged many of us asking who removed their cap or covering their shirt that displays the Confederate Battle Flag when we go somewhere in public to avoid confrontation saying we should not be ashamed of what our own ancestors believed in and fought and died for?  Dana gave a very interesting presentation full of details and many commented on how much they learned hearing her wonderful presentation.

Prattville Dragoons SCV Camp 1524 Chaplain's Column for July 2022 - Sons of Confederate Veterans Heritage

A friend of mine recently sent this article to me. I thought it was too good not to share. It is from the former Chaplain of the Jim Pearce Camp in the Kentucky Division.  - Chaplain Brantley

 

“Heritage, not hate! Most of us have seen the bumper sticker. The battle for America's soul boiled down to three words and an explanation mark.

Heritage has always been very important to me. I am a proud American; I served my country as an active duty U.S. Marine, honorably discharged in 1978.

I am a proud Kentuckian; born in Morganfield, descended from blue collar Salt- of-the-earth types (farmers, coal miners, construction workers, etc.). I am a proud former resident of Texas, a state known for its proud spirit of freedom and independence and, yes, big egos. These are the places and the cultures that have contributed to who I am. I guess that's why I value heritage so much.

One of the definitions of heritage is “relating to things of historic or cultural value that are worthy of being preserved.” Note especially the words “historic” and “cultural.”

I have had a love of history since I first studied American history in the fourth grade. As a recruit in Marine boot camp at Parris Island, SC, I was introduced to the colorful and proud history of the Corps, and lovingly embraced it.

In fact, it was more than just history, as important as that is. The Marine Corps instilled a culture in its recruits, one of honor, devotion, and pride.

This culture was captured in a book written by Captain Marion F. Sturkey, a Marine helicopter pilot in Vietnam, entitled Warrior Culture of the U.S. Marines.

Concerning my Kentucky heritage and history, I drew from Daniel Boone a love of the land and freedom, and from Jefferson Davis a love of noble character and service to my God and fellow man.

Concerning my Texas residency of over three decades, and its culture and history, I can say the same. It epitomizes the spirit of freedom and independence under God.

There is another influence in my life that I've yet to mention that represents who I am. In importance, it follows only my relationship with Jesus Christ, His Church, and my wife and family. It's a non-racial, non-sectarian, non-profit veteran's educational organization known as Sons of Confederate Veterans.

I know that for many Americans today, there is unfortunately a knee-jerk reaction to anything Confederate, due to ignorance of historical fact. Long-standing myth concerning the War for Southern independence (erroneously referred to as a civil war) has for too long replaced historical fact. The definition of “myth” that applies here is “a widely held but false belief.”

Some of these widely held but false beliefs are that race relations were better in the North than in the South, that cruel treatment of slaves was the norm, that the South was fighting for the cause of slavery, and that the plight of most former slaves was better after the war. None of these things is true, yet many Americans have been taught to believe these things.

What is the solution? In one word, read! And not just anything. Read first-hand accounts written at the time or shortly after by the people who lived it. You would be amazed at how the truth is far different from what is generally accepted and taught.

One book you might start with is The Slave Narratives, an official United States document put together during the Great Depression using testimonies from some of the last surviving slaves of the Old South. There is also a book called Official Record: War of the Rebellion, another official report of the United States concerning the War for Southern independence.

Contrary to popular belief, you will find more than seventy percent of these accounts giving a positive view of the relationship between slaves and masters as close and respectful. Not quite the view you get from Uncle Tom's Cabin, a fictional work.

Just for the record, I am not advocating slavery. What I am advocating is that accurate and fair and complete historical fact be communicated and taught.

We just came out of April, which is, among other things, Confederate History Month. I bet you didn't hear about that on your local or national newscast! Nor did you probably hear about the historical significance of it in school.

Did you know that Confederate Veterans have been recognized by The United States government as equivalents to Union Veterans by law, the most recent being U.S. Public Law 85-425: Sec. 410 approved 23rd May, 1958?

I'm a member of Sons of Confederate Veterans because I consider it an honor and a privilege and important, to educate my fellow Americans, Kentuckians, Texans and Veterans as to who these brave and noble Confederate soldiers were and what they stood for.

They loved and sacrificed for God, home, family, self-determined government, and freedom. To smear their good name, and spit out the name Confederate as if it's a curse word and the epitome of evil, is a disgrace and the greatest of injustices. It's high time the true account of history is told. The truth will set you free!

I want to ask you this, as we come upon Independence Day and the tradition of honoring servicemen at Arlington National Cemetery, do you realize that the sacred ground there was property of General Robert E. Lee, unlawfully seized by the federal government during the War for Southern independence? There are those today in New Orleans and other places who in the name of diversity or political correctness would eliminate any and all trace of part of history. Diversity as I understand it is giving a wide view of all cultural beliefs. Picking and choosing is called bigotry or racism.

Seek the complete and accurate history. Don't settle for and spread myths of so-called history. Heritage, not hate!”

Upcoming Events for Confederate Compatriots

Dragoons Camp Meeting – 6pm, Thursday, July 14^th  at the Prattville Masonic Lodge

127th Annual Sons of Confederate Veterans National Reunion - July 19- 23, 2022, Atlanta GA

Dixie Butt Fundraiser Distribution – Saturday August 13^th at 8am at Herrod’s Chevron in Prattville

Prattville Dragoons SCV Camp 1524 Commander's Column for July 2022 - State's Rights Affirmed

 Jefferson Davis said, “It is to be justified upon the basis that the States are Sovereign. There was a time when none denied it. I hope the time may come again, when a better comprehension of the theory of our Government, and the inalienable rights of the people of the States, will prevent anyone from denying that each State is a Sovereign, and thus may reclaim the grants which it has made to any agent whomsoever.”  The recent US Supreme Court rulings seem to have refocused and reasserted this originalist Constitutional doctrine of states’ rights.  The court’s overturning Roe v. Wade and sending the regulation of the appalling practice of abortion back to the states’ governments was the biggest news of the recently completed US Supreme Court session.  But another huge decision issued was that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could not enforce federal carbon reduction dictates and that again, it was the states which should decide the regulations of such.  “The Supreme Court ruling in the Environmental Protection Agency case on Thursday was a significant victory for libertarian-minded conservatives who have been working for decades to curtail or dismantle modern-style government regulation of the economy.  Known as the administrative state, this system consists of a series of specialized agencies Congress has set up in the executive branch to regulate the economy across a broad range of issues, like keeping the air and water pure and ensuring that food, drugs, vehicles and consumer products are safe.” (https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/06/30/us/supreme-court-epa)   The nanny state which governs and regulates thru “agencies Congress established (as) part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal program during the Great Depression.”  This ruling has great implications for curbing massive federal overreach initiatives like the progressives’ Green New Deal.  The US Department of Education should certainly be on the chopping block as well which has only served to remove God from classroom by outlawing prayers in schools and even at extracurricular functions and has served the government as an indoctrination tool as forewarned by Gen Patrick Cleburne who said, “(The War) is merely the pretense to establish sectional superiority and a more centralized form of government, and to deprive us of our rights and liberties.  Surrender means that the history of this heroic struggle will be written by the enemy, that our youth will be trained by Northern school teachers; learn from Northern school books THEIR version of the war and taught to regard our gallant dead as traitors and our maimed veterans as fit subjects of derision."  And today it means that public schools are empowered to teach only an amoral atheistic curriculum which has resulted in generations accepting of socialistic equity theories, racist revisionist history like Project 1619, and anti-family anti-Biblical and scientifically unsupportable LGBQT and non-binary sexual perversions. 

These recent US Supreme Court rulings reinforce precedent from other cases and more importantly reassert the Constitution’s 10^th Amendment which says, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”  In a 1992 ruling, then Justice Sandra Day O’Connor ruled a federal law “would ‘commandeer’ state governments into the service of federal regulatory purposes and would for this reason be inconsistent with the Constitution’s division of authority between federal and state governments.”  Current Justice Alito wrote in a 2018 opinion, “The anti-commandeering doctrine may sound arcane, but it is simply the expression of a fundamental structural decision incorporated into the Constitution, i.e., the decision to withhold from Congress the power to issue orders directly to the States.  Conspicuously absent from the list of powers given to Congress is the power to issue direct orders to the governments of the States. The anti-commandeering doctrine simply represents the recognition of this limit on congressional authority.”  (https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/on-this-day-the-supreme-court-reinforces-the-10th-amendment)  These Supreme Court rulings while perceived as a conservative judicial overstep are sound in precedent and reflect the founders’ and originalist intent to preserve the power of government at the state and local levels. These are the core ideals for which our ancestors fought for Southern Independence.   As Jefferson Davis said in reflecting over the “Lost Cause”, “The principle for which we contend is bound to reassert itself, though it may be at another time and in another form.”

Flags Placed on Confederate Veterans Graves at Historic Autaugaville Cemetery

Before attending a meeting of the Old Autauga Historical Society at Autaugaville United Methodist Church on Saturday afternoon, July 9th, Dragoon Tyrone Crowley of SCV Camp 1524  found three Confederate graves in a cemetery there and placed Battle flags on those to honor their service.  

Prattville Dragoons SCV Camp 1524 Work at Robinson Springs Cemetery

Members and a friend of the Prattville Dragoons met on Friday morning, July the 8th to mow the grass, weed trim and blow off all the graves at the historic Robinson Springs cemetery in Millbrook AL. It is the final resting place for many area settlers and community founders as well as Confederate veterans and some US veterans. Everyone arrived before 7 in the morning to try and beat the July heat but it was still hot even that early.  

Brigade Cdmr Harold Grooms joined in bringing his riding mower. Also working the job was 1st Lieutenant Commander Rob Schwartz, Color Sergeant John Dennis, Quartermaster Bill Myrick, Larry Spears, and new member Thomas Griffith, using assorted push mowers and weed eaters and blowers.   A welcomed addition was compatriot Hubert Champion, a friend of Rob's who brought his big Zero turn mower again.  Hubert showed everyone how D2 cleaner is used tp clean markers, using it on a veterans headstone. 

This was the largest turnout in recent memory and it was great to have everyone pitch in and make quick work of the grounds maintenance effort and leave the place looking so good. This is part of the Guardian program services that we, the Sons of Confederate veterans do as a service to our community. A big thank you and a rebel yell goes out to all who gave of their time to accomplish this important work.

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

Members and compatriots of SCV Camp 1524 participated in the Prattville Independence Day parade on Monday morning, July 4th.  Commander Waldo and his family, 1st Lt Schwartz, Color Sgt Dennis, Chaplain Brantley, Adjutant Sutherland, Quartermaster Myrick, Camp Historian Sam Reid, and Darrell Haywood represented the local camp and the Sons of Confederate Veterans.  They were joined by two members of the Alabama Division SCV Mechanized Cavalry including Chaplain Michael Atkins and they brought along an acquaintance, a compatriot they had just met at a convenience store in Prattville on their way to the parade lineup.  Good stuff!   1st Lt Schwartz and Chaplain Brantley carried the new camp banner created specifically for the parade proclaiming an "American Independence Day" with a "Betsy Ross" flag in the center.  The entry also included Commander Waldo's purple Charger emblazoned with a US and a Confederate Battle flag as well as the three Harley Davidsons.  It was a very warm July morning walking down Court Street and Main Street but the Dragoons were met with enthusiastic applause.  Bags of candy were thrown to the parade spectators who  lined the streets.  It was another outstanding community event and opportunity for Camp 1524 to get the colors out in front of our friends and neighbors.