Sons of Confederate Veterans National Leadership Conference - Part 1

On Saturday March 2nd, the Fort Blakely SCV Camp 1864 hosted a National Leadership Conference at the Gift Horse in downtown Foley AL.  Camp 1864 Commander Tommy Rhodes brought the meeting to order and welcomed everyone to the Gift Horse where the members of Camp 1864 hold their monthly meeting.  The Gift Horse has a number of gift stores and a buffet restaurant.  The large room in which the conference was held had beautiful beaded pine paneling and Camp 1864 had decorated each linen topped table with a centerpiece of Alabama state and Confederate Battle flags.  There were about thirty attendees representing eight states including Texas, Indiana, South Carolina  as well as Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Georgia.  Following Camp 1864 Chaplain Gary Riley's invocation, Commander Rhodes informed the group that they were very happy to host this National SCV conference and they are proud to have grown their camp membership from 10 to currently 87 men.  Camp 1864 has won awards as Alabama Division camp of the year and they have won awards for their camp newsletter.  Tommy provided information about the local Confederate Rest cemetery in Point Clear at the site of a former Confederate Hospital near the current Marriott Resort.  Camp 1864 has worked to maintain the cemetery and has used a grant from SCV Nationals to renovate the grounds and place concrete crosses at the graves.  The camp holds a yearly memorial service there and a recent highlight included the reinterment with full honors of a bone fragment which was inadvertently unearthed during flag placement.  Commander Rhodes presented Adjutant-in-Chief Steve Ritchie and Lt. Commander-in-Chief Kelly Barrow with tokens of appreciation for arranging the Leadership Workshop.  Presentations followed from Lt. Barrow, Adjutant Ritchie, Field Representative JM, and former Chief of Heritage Defense Tom Hiter.


The Gift Horse

SCV National Leadership Conference Hosted by Fort Blakely Camp 1864

Jefferson Davis Visits Victory Baptist 6th Grade History Class

On Friday March 1st, Prattville Dragoons Communications Officer Tyrone Crowley again portrayed Jefferson Davis as he did for the Sesquicentennial observance of the inauguration as President of the Confederate States of America at the Alabama state capital.  This time, Tyrone had a smaller audience in number and stature as he addressed the 6th grade history class of Mrs. Pastorelli at Victory Baptist School in Millbrook Alabama. Tyrone was accompanied by 2nd Lt Stuart Waldo's wife Kerri who was also dressed in period clothing, a red bustled hoop skirt and portraying Davis' daughter Margaret, the only one of his children to marry and have children of her own (Margaret's grandson Bertram Hayes-Davis is the current director of Beauvoir, last home of Jefferson Davis).  Kerri's daughter Brooke is a student in Mrs. Pastorelli's class. Tyrone did a wonderful job of entertaining the children including a story of Davis' childhood when he mistook a local carpenter who resided in the woods as a hermit for an antlered deer.  Tyrone provided highlights of Jefferson Davis' life including attending the Catholic school of Saint Thomas in Kentucky as the only Protestant and after his formative education, serving as a Mississippi Senator and Secretary of War for the United States of America before serving as the only President of the Confederate States of America.  The long and distinguished career and life of Davis was unfortunately only touched upon briefly in the interest of brevity but Tyrone was able to convey the primary cause of secession as the Confederacy sought to pursue the true constitutional promise of liberty, self-determination and states rights as he displayed the flags of the Confederacy including the First National, the Stainless Banner and the Battle Flag.  Tyrone recruited a Color Sargent from the class and the young man did an exemplary job of folding the colors ensuring they did not touch the ground.  Kerri brought some period treats, bags of ginger bread cookies which the children enjoyed following their lunch period.  The feedback from Brooke was that the class and teacher very much enjoyed the presentation.  The principal of Victory Baptist actually provided a tour of the school to Tyrone and they snapped some photographs of Tyrone and Kerri in their period attire with Mrs. Pastorelli's class for the school yearbook.  This school presentation was a tremendous success and will hopefully serve as the first of many future educational outreach initiatives which the Dragoons can pursue to further the Cause as the Charge directs us.

Jefferson Davis and Margaret with Victory Baptist 6th Grade Class



Jefferson Davis, Teacher

 

Jefferson Davis Displaying the Confederate First National Flag



Tyrone Crowley and Kerri Waldo as Jefferson and Margaret Davis



Jefferson Davis Reenactment for Vistory Baptist Students

Prattville Dragoon Tyrone Crowley will again reenact the role of Confederate President Jefferson Davis when he provides a presentation on Friday morning, March 1st to the 6th grade history class at Victory Baptist School in Millbrook AL.  Dragoons 2nd Lt Stuart Waldo coordinated the presentation which will discuss the Sesquicentennial events being observed including Davis' departure from Vicksburg and travel to nearby Montgomery for his inauguration as the President of the Confederate States of America.  The First White House of the Confederacy where Jefferson and Varina Davis resided is still standing, now overlooking the Alabama State House.  The causes of secession and the War will also be explained to the students.  Kerri Waldo, wife of Lt. Waldo will also attend in period dress and may bring some period treats like ginger snaps or sugar cookies for the children.  This outreach and instruction to these youngsters is a seminal endeavor to present the true history of the South to future generations and further the Cause as the Charge challenges us all.

Update on Memphis Tennessee Historical Memorial Park Naming Controversy

The TN state legislature passed legislation to ban the renaming of memorials to past wars and honored figures defeating the politically correct revisionists.  Tennessee public radio WPLN News provided the following news account.  Note the inflammatory bigoted defense of the attempted censorship attempting to liken the noble Confederate Cause to the Nazi holocaust.  Of course, the intolerant propagandist actually ignorantly argued for the preservation of these parks and memorials honoring our ancestors and inadvertently equated the Memphis city council to Hitler's Gestapo when he said it was the Nazis who removed the statues of the Jews throughout the German country.  Exactly!  The citizens of TN and elsewhere need to make these outrageous denigrators of our shared history and heritage pay with their jobs.

Ban on Changing Park Names Passes Against Democrat Objections

Monday, February 25th, 2013, by Blake Farmer

A likeness of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest could not be moved from the state capitol under the bill without special permission from the Tennessee Historical Commission. Photo credit Blake Farmer/WPLN

Legislation that would prevent the renaming or moving of war-related monuments in Tennessee passed the state House last night. The bill comes as city officials in Memphis have renamed three Confederate-themed parks.

Democrats tried to get the bill’s sponsor – Republican Steve McDaniel – to admit he was responding to the name changes in Memphis, which he denied.

Rep. Johnnie Turner asked what if Jews hadn’t been allowed to tear down Nazi statues.

JOHNNIE TURNER: “I’m not comparing the Confederacy with Adolf Hitler. I’m just saying during the time that he reigned, there were statues everywhere. But today, you would have to look far and wide.”

STEVE MCDANIEL: “Much of what you said just makes my point for me.”

McDaniel says present generations shouldn’t get to decide what history future generations are allowed to see.

Democrats also tried to add an amendment preventing the renaming of Civil Rights-related monuments, but were unsuccessful.

Web Extra

While debate around HB0533 is about Civil War sites, the legislation includes every conflict from the French and Indian War to Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan). The legislation refers to the Civil War as the “War Between the States.”
The proposal casts a wide net, saying “no statue, monument, memorial, nameplate or plaque which has been erected for, or named or dedicated in honor of” a war and is located on public property cannot be “relocated, removed, altered, renamed, rededicated or otherwise disturbed.”
Also, streets, buildings or parks named for any historical military figure or organization can be renamed.
And finally, the legislation suggests governmental entities responsible for monuments have to take proper care of them.
An amendment adopted by the state House allowed the Tennessee historical commission to grant waivers.

Canadian Confederates

Interesting news article from UPI.  Very disappointing headline that a high school in Ontario Canada has banned the Confederate flag from the school as it had "become (increasingly) popular over the last two years".  Ignorance prevails north of the border in the school administration as they banned students display of the Confederate Battle Flag on clothing. But, the news report responses were outstanding in defense of the Cause and the truth of heritage. From UPI.com on Feb 24th:

High school bans Confederate flag  

SUTTON, Ontario, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- A high school in Canada has banned its students from wearing depictions of the Confederate flag because of its racist symbolism, officials said.
The Confederate flag became popular at Sutton District High School in the last two years, Dawn Laliberte, the school's principal, said.
School officials explained the flag's symbolism to students this week and then implemented the ban, the Toronto Star reported.
Most students were angry at the decision and said the school was trying to control what they wear.
"It's more about the country values, we don't think of it as racist," a student said.
The president of the Ontario Black History Society, Rosemary Sadlier, told the Star the use of the symbolism shows a lack of knowledge about history.
"What it represents is the interest of people in the Deep South to maintain a way of life that fervently and significantly was built upon and included an ongoing use of Africans as enslaved people. For that very reason alone, it is inappropriate and wrong," Sadlier said.

But the first few responses were excellent:

From Bruce:

As a Canadian who like many others had family fight for the South during the War of Northern Aggression. I am appalled at the banning of the Southern flag at your School. I assume, Maybe wrongly, That you are aware that the war was fought over States rights, not Racism. (Slavery). Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri were slave states within the Union. Thus on the same theory the Stars and Stripes should be banned as well. Most Southerners did not own slaves, nor did they care about slavery as an institution. As educators I would expect you knew this. (Apparently wrongly) Abraham Lincoln's solution prior to the Emancipation Proclamation was to deport the Slaves back to Liberia. The only thing that changed his mind was keeping England and France out of the war, not any consideration for the slaves. Many Canadians fought for the South during the war and our country under the British Empire came close to joining the south as an ally. Up to 1863. Banning the Southern flag is just pandering to Political incorrectness and is very insulting to many families who had members fighting in this war. I suggest you rethink this ban or you risk losing your respect and appearing as bigots on this issue.

And from lspan:

1. I guess the last place to show anything about history would be a school (nuts!). 2. Racism is in the eye of the beholder. If there is no racist intent, but racism is felt by others, the latter are wrong, not the former. 3. Is this REALLY the biggest problem in Ontario?

 

BRAVO!

Harrisburg PA National Civil War Museum Sesquicentennial Events

The National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg claims to be "the only museum in The United States that portrays the entire story of the American Civil War. Equally balanced presentations are humanistic in nature without bias to Union or Confederate causes."  Oh if it were.  May be questionable with two of their lead events being a showing of the recent movie "Lincoln" which has been exposed in earlier blogposts for being a farcical accounting and of course the politically correct "African American" patriot tour which can be assumed to exclude the Confederate Blacks who defended their homeland as patriots. They are attempting to attract visitors from nearby Gettysburg during this historic Sesquicentennial period with many special events. Here is a link to the museum's website which provides a calendar of events - http://www.nationalcivilwarmuseum.org/ .  The following news article by Jeff Franz from the Central PA Patriot News Penn Live provides further details:

Dauphin County announces events to commemorate Civil War

Robert E. Lee wasn't aiming for Gettysburg.
In the summer of 1863, the Confederate general wanted his Army of Northern Virginia to capture Harrisburg, a major railroad hub and the site of Camp Curtin, where more than 300,000 Union soldiers trained during the war.
Lee, of course never made it.

Kent Courtney, an Americana singer and Civil War historian, sings period songs Monday before Dauphin County announced a series of events to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the war. Jeff Frantz

But Dauphin County wants to remind people -- especially tourists already in the midstate to visit Gettysburg -- of Harrisburg's strategic importance as the country celebrates the 150th anniversary of the war.
"Once you get out in the real world and learn all the history that hasn't been told, it's hard not to get excited," Commissioner Jeff Haste said Monday while announcing a series of events over the next two years.
"Let's be honest," Haste added, "part of this is about tourism. We know Gettysburg is going to get about 4 million visitors, and shame on us if we didn't try to get some of those folks to come here."
Indeed, the Hershey Harrisburg Regional Visitors Bureau expects Civil War buffs to book an extra 800 to 1,200 room nights in Dauphin County hotels this summer, a 10 to 15 percent bump in occupancy rate. The bureau has already set up a shuttle service with a limousine company to ferry guests from area hotels to Gettysburg during the June 28-July 7 celebration of the war's defining battle.
Some of the planned events include:
At the National Civil War Museum
-- 1863: An exhibit running through the end of the year commemorating he events of 150 years ago. Beginning in May, the museum will also have an exhibit on the draft, desertion and draft resistance.
-- Civil War Dance classes, 2 p.m., March 3.
-- Commemoration of the Medal of Honor: The first Medal of Honor was presented on March 25, 1863. At 2 p.m., March 24, Dr. Richard Bantz will lecture about Andrew's Raisers and the Great Locomotive Chase while the Medals of Honor of six servicemen from three wars will be on display.
-- Lecture on the Trans-Mississippi Theater by historian Jeffrey S. Prushankin, 1 p.m., April 6.
-- Lecture on "Jeb Stuart's Ride around Gettysburg" by historian Jeffrey Wert, 1 p.m., April 13.
-- Lecture on Pennsylvania's Civil War trails, 1 p.m., April 20.
-- Lecture on Lancaster-native Major General John Fulton Reynolds actions in 1863, by historian Michael A. Riley, 1 p.m., April 27.
-- Pennsylvania Firefighters during the Civil War, exhibit opens in June. Admission, adults $6, seniors and students $5.
-- "Lincoln on the Lawn," a showing the 2012 film, for which Daniel-Day Lewis received an Oscar for his portrayal of the 16th president, 8:30 p.m., June 30.
Elsewhere in the county:
-- "A Page Out of Godey's Lady's Book: An Exhibit of Civil War Era Dresses": View six Civil War era dresses, on display at the Fort Hunter Mansion, May 1-Dec. 22.
-- Music of the Civil War: Vocalists from Susquehanna Chorale will sing Civil War era songs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., June 29 at Broad Street Market. Admission: Adults $5, Seniors $4, students and children, $3.
-- "Rollick on the River": The County's Parks and Recreation Department will feature live music, historical actors, a free ice cream social, interactive children's activities and fireworks to celebrate the 150th anniversary at 6:30 p.m., June 29 at Fort Hunter Mansion.
-- "Tea with Clara Barton": Actress Pat Jordan will portray Barton, and discuss Barton's work to organize medical care for wounded Union soldiers, 2:30 June 30th, The John Harris and Simon Cameron Mansion. Admission, $15.
-- Bethel Village Trail and Commemoration of African American Patriots of the Civil War: The trail, which follows the landmark sites of the Bethel AME congregation and community's movement through Harrisburg, will be formally dedicated 3:30 p.m. Jun 30 at Solider's Grove on the Capital Complex. Pamphlets for a self-guided tour of the trail will be available from Memorial Day to Veteran's Day.
-- "Marching Toward Harrisburg: Stories of the Civil War" : Storyteller Steve Anderson will reveal Harrisburg's Civil War history, noon, July 2, at the Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts.
-- Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra: Aaron Copland's Lincoln Portrait, 7:30 p.m., July 3, Metro Bank Park, with fireworks to follow.
-- "The Civil War: 150 Years after Gettysburg": The discussion will includes Lincoln's prewar visit to Harrisburg in February 1861, the opening of Camp Curtin and Lincoln's funeral procession stopping in the city April 21 and 22, 1865; 6:30 p.m., Sept. 17, Historic Harrisburg Resource Center.

Prattville Dragoons February Camp Meeting - A Tribute to the Gober Real Sons Part 2

Thursday night, February 14th saw the Prattville Dragoons celebrate Valentine's Day with their monthly camp meeting.  Former Camp and Brigade Commander Wyatt Willis presented a video interview of Vince and Henry Gober, deceased members of the Dragoons and Real Sons of Confederate veteran Lisbon Failes Gober.  Prior to showing the video, Commander Willis read a memorial for the Gober brothers calling them sincere Southern gentlemen and he read a prayer from the family prayer book.  He closed his introduction saying the Prattville Dragoons should be proud to have had two Real Sons as members of camp 1524.

(James) Vincent and Henry (Owen) were both interviewed in the video. Their Confederate veteran father Lisbon Failes Gober is buried at Rocky Mount Cemetery in Prattville.  Henry recalled his father - Lisbon was born in 1845 in Gainesville GA and joined the Confederate army at the age of 16.  Wounded in Tennessee, he stayed in his unit til it was disbanded at the end of the War.  He married and had two children with his first wife but she passed away when the children were young.  Lisbon did not remarry until these two children were grown.  He remarried around 1900 and had nine children with his second wife including Vince and Henry with Mary the youngest.  The children from both marriages stayed in contact with each other.

Henry was born in 1913 in what is now Millbrook AL.  He married in 1934 and had two boys and two girls.  Henry served in the navy in World War II and helped repair amphibious landing ships from 1943-1945.  After the war he was a contractor til the 1960s and helped build many of the homes in Millbrook. After this career he was a cattle farmer and stayed in that line of business til his retirement.  He recalled his father Lisbon was a farmer and also built houses.  He recalled the family's neighbors helped them clear their 40 acre farm.  They made sugar and syrup on the farm and raised beef cattle, hogs, tobacco and watermelon; Lisbon was also a carpenter and made some of the finest quality award-winning brooms. 

Vince was born in Winston AL in 1911.  Vince had four children also and similarly served in the Navy in WWII.  He recalled wonderful times on the family farm and that the family did well until Lisbon passed away.  Wyatt and Vince talked about some of the families which helped found and settle the Millbrook areas and recalled that Autauga County used to encompass the three counties of Autauga, Elmore, and Chilton counties until Reconstruction.

Both sons expressed their honor to be Real Sons of a Confederate Veteran.  They were pleased with the I-65 Battle Flag and Henry said, "I think it ought to be flying high."  He went on to say that he flew his Battle Flag at his home for many years until one of his children expressed concern over the possible repercussions and he took it down briefly.  But, in his later years he again flew it proudly in front of his home saying, "It will be flying there as long as I live."