Prattville Dragoons Camp Meeting for February 2014 - Part 1

The Dragoons held their monthly camp meeting at the Prattville Shoney's on Thursday February 13th.  Following the Invocation by Chaplain Snowden and the reading of the SCV Charge by Commander Waldo, Color Sergeant Brent Jenks led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States flag, the State of Alabama flag and the Confederate Battle Flag.  Twenty five members and guests including three spouses were in attendance.  Next, upcoming events were announced including the Millbrook Mardi Gras parade on Feb 22nd, Alabama Division EC meeting at Buck's Place in Millbrook on March 1st, the Dragoon picnic on April 5th and the state and national Reunions in May and July.  Sam Reid was recognized for volunteering to assume the role of Camp Historian.  Sam is very knowledgeable on Confederate history and was the speaker for the January camp meeting. Sam and Tyrone offered their report out of the Stephen Dill Lee lectures they recently attended in Chattanooga.  Pat Godwin of Selma was also recognized and will be invited to the March camp meeting to receive a Certificate of Appreciation for his work removing trees falling and endangering Confederate graves at the Mt.Zion cemetery in Pine Flat. Elections for camp officers were announced for the next camp meeting with the slate to include the current officers serving as recommended by the Executive Committee.  Karl Wade then announced a new service which he brought to and was approved by the EC which will call members and remind them of upcoming camp meetings.  This automated call service is used by other organizations to help promote attendance and participation. Colonel (retired) Mark Anderson was then introduced by 1st Lt Harold Grooms.  Col. Anderson provided a fast paced interesting presentation on Robert E. Lee, his father Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee and Stratford Hall (where Lee was born and raised).  The meeting came to a conclusion with the reading of the SCV Closing by Commander Waldo and the Benediction offered by Chaplain Snowden. 

Commander Waldo Opens the February Dragoons Camp Meeting

Adjutant Sutherland Listens to Karl Wade's Calling Initiative Announcement

1st Lt Grooms Announces Col.Anderson as Guest Speaker

2014 Stephen Dill Lee Lectures Summary

2014 S D Lee Lectures Summary

D T Crowley and Sam Reid - 16 February 2014

The 2014 Stephen Dill Lee Lectures were held 7-8 February 2014 at the Hilton Doubletree Inn, 407 Chestnut Street, Chattanooga, Tennessee.  Dragoons Sam Reid and Tyrone Crowley attended this very educational event, and offer the following report.

Speakers for the event--all excellent--were as follows:

·       John Ogden, Park Historian, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park - "Stephen Dill Lee and His Involvement in the Chickamauga National Park"

·       Kirkpatrick Sale - "Violating the Leiber Code:  The March to the Sea"

·       David Aiken - "Monsters of Virtuous Pretensions"

·       Muriel Joslyn - "The Effects of Total War on Prisoner Policy"

·       James Russell - "My Family History and the Devastation of Our South Carolina Plantation"

·       Donald Livingston - "Total War and the Creation of American Nationalism"

·       Marshall DeRosa - "Living in the Ruins:  The American Civil War and the Subversion of Christian Civilization"

·       Donald Kennedy - "Our Love of Liberty"

Some of the points made by this group of speakers were:

·       The Lieber Code changed the conduct of the War Between The States to "Total War", war against soldiers and civilians, to include murder, rape, and pillage of any and all property.  This was all done first in the name of "saving the Union" and later in the name of "Emancipation".

·       Most of us don't realize how awful Sherman's "March to the Sea" was.  It was 40 miles wide, and total devastation.  Troops were to take what they could carry, kill any livestock they couldn't use, and burn everything else, including churches, homes, barns, and towns--total destruction was the objective.  A comprehensive picture of what happened in one city can be found in William Gilmore Simms's A City Laid Waste: The Capture, Sack, and Destruction of the City of Columbia (1865).  All of this occurred after their Commander in Chief, Lincoln, had talked of "malice toward none, with charity for all..." in his Second Inaugural Address.

·       Abraham Lincoln suffered from mental illness, including depression that required drugs, and before he was president "only went to church to mock the preacher". As a national politician, however, he learned to use religious quotes to political advantage.

·       Emancipation and Reconstruction were both "hell" for blacks and whites.  Freed slaves, unaccustomed to any sort of self-regulation and without training for other than field work, were left on their own (as Lincoln said, they would have to "root hog or die").  Many starved, suffered, and died as a result, all across the South.  White males (women didn't vote) who had had any connection to the Confederacy (almost all of them) were disenfranchised--could not vote--and so were powerless to resist what was being done to them and their state government.  This powerlessness led to the formation of the Ku Klux Klan.

·       Why did the "Underground Railroad" end in Canada?  Because blacks, freemen as well as escaped slaves, could not legally remain in most northern states--the law forbade it.  In addition to the states of the Northeast, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin also had laws prohibiting the presence of blacks within their boundaries.  They were not so much concerned with freeing the slaves as in removing black people from the United States altogether. 

·       The American Colonization Society, of which Lincoln was a member, had as its objective the removal of all blacks to Africa or at least to Central or South America.  Lincoln called a group of black leaders to the White House in 1862 to ask their help in black removal, telling them “You and we are different races.  We have between us a broader difference than exists between almost any other two races.  ... It is better for us both, therefore, to be separated.”

·       Southerners who want to teach in a Southern university are told "you'd better get a degree in the North" first.  This is seen as a requirement so they can be more "balanced" in their teaching.  This has resulted in the condition predicted by Confederate General Patrick Cleburne, whereby Southern children "...will be trained by Northern school teachers; will learn from Northern school books their version of the War; will be impressed by all the influences of history and education to regard our gallant dead as traitors, and our maimed veterans as fit subjects for derision."  Is this not indeed the situation we see today in our schools?

·       In Greek and Roman times, defeated soldiers were killed or made slaves of, along with their families.  Along with the Enlightenment came a more civilized form of war, limited strictly to struggle between men in uniform--non-military persons and property were spared.  However, beginning with the War of 1861-1865 this changed back to Total War, whereby all people and property became again the spoils of war.

·       George Washington, in his Farewell Address in 1796, stated that there was a question that the United States were too large to be a republic, since a republic cannot function if too large (this was part of the debate since the beginning, and was the reason Virginia gave up her western territories--she did not want to grow too large).  Washington suggested that we wait and see how the "experiment" would work out.  In 1861, when thirteen states wanted to leave the Union of 1789, this was proof that the experiment had not worked.  Several states, among them New York and Virginia, stated in their resolutions approving the Constitution, that they reserved the right to withdraw if they determined that the federal government were not operating in their best interests.

The Stephen Dill Lee Lectures are held each February and are excellent in terms of the education and fellowship they provide.  Compatriots Crowley and Reid recommend them wholeheartedly to the Camp and the Alabama Division.  

Dragoons Participate in the Millbrook Mardi Gras Parade 2014

The Prattville Dragoons placed an entry in the Millbrook Mardi Gras Parade hosted by the Revelers on Saturday February 22nd.  The Dragoon entry consisted of a cart decorated with Mardi Gras tinsel as well as Confederate Battle Flags, a Third National and a Bonnie Blue flag.  Dragoons Commander Stuart Waldo, Brigade Commander Bill Myrick, Quartermaster David Brantley, Larry Spears, Danny Smyth, James Spears, and Tyrone Crowley participated along with Commander Waldo's wife Kerri and daughter Brooke walking in period dress and children Julie and Cooper riding on the cart tossing candy, beads and moon pies; Commander Myrick's wife Peggy also walked with our entry.  Parade spectators clamored for the SCV coins and mini Battle Flags, many times running out into the street and the parade route to grab a flag. As usual, the Battle Flags were so popular that the 144 flags brought to the parade disappeared midway down the parade route. The Dragoons drew cheers and applause all along the route, as the crowd noticed our banner and flags, and heard Dixie pouring out of Treasurer Billy Leverette's great new P.A. system speaker. The Dragoons entry was announced at the review stand and garnered a roar from the huge crowd. A very enjoyable Saturday getting the Battle Flag out in front of the Millbrook community.  

Commander Waldo and Quartermaster Brantley Carry the Camp Banner Leading the Dragoons Parade Entry

 

Tyrone and James in the Dragoons Cart Decorated with Tinsel and Flags and Peggy Retrieving More Moon Pies

Larry, Kerri and Brooke in Period Dress Cheered by Parade Spectators

Danny Carrying the Confederate First National Flag at the Millbrook Mardi Gras Parade

Dragoons Participate In Shelby County Celebration

"Becoming Alabama" is a statewide partnership for planning and promotion of commemorative activities to observe the anniversaries of three major periods in Alabama History: The Bicentennial of the Creek War and War of 1812, the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War, and the Civil Rights movement.  The Prattville Dragoons' own Tyrone and Carol Crowley portrayed President-Elect Jefferson Davis and First Lady Varina Davis as the central part of a ceremony held Sunday 2 February at the Shelby County Historical Society meeting in Columbiana.  Southwest Central Brigade Commander Bill Myrick, dressed in a very handsome Confederate officer's uniform, took the part of Colonel George Jones, President Davis's bodyguard and aide.  The meeting room was packed to capacity as President Davis, Colonel Jones, other Confederate dignitaries, plus a number of reenactors from the 31st Alabama Infantry who served as the Presidential Escort, entered and proceeded to the front, where the President gave his Inaugural Address.  Several surplus reenactors were in attendance, along with members of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

            Note from Brigade Commander Myrick:  Tyrone Crowley's presentation of President Davis's inaugural speech has become more polished with time.  He delivered the speech with all the dignity and poise of a seasoned politician, the main difference being this one was speaking the truth.  It was my honor to act as Colonel George Jones, the President's bodyguard.  The President and First Lady were swamped with the usual requests to pose for pictures with those in attendance, including some young Mormon missionaries from Utah, Oregon, and Washington state.  The event was covered by the Shelby County Reporter, and photos can be found on the Shelby County Historical Society's Facebook page and on the Facebook page of 31st Alabama Reenactor Pete Smith.

President Davis' Entourage at Columbiana

Upcoming Events for Confederate Heritage

The following upcoming events were highlighted in the February Prattville Dragoons Camp Dispatch for the SCV and Confederate Heritage.

Upcoming Events

Millbrook Mardi Gras Parade - Mill Creek Park on Main Street, at noon 22 February 2014 - Dragoons will participate.  Any questions contact Communications Officer Tyrone Crowley, 365-4713 or dtcrowley@knology.net.

Alabama Division Executive Committee Meeting - Buck's Place, Prattville, Alabama, 9 am on 1 March 2014. Any questions contact Communications Officer Tyrone Crowley, 365-4713 or dtcrowley@knology.net.

Dragoon Picnic, Saturday 5 April 2014, 10 am - 2 pm, at Confederate Memorial Park.  At 9 a.m. we will set flags on all 300+ Confederate graves at Confederate Memorial Park, Cemeteries 1 and 2.  Bring your children and grandchildren, who always enjoy this activity and help us finish in under an hour.

Alabama Division Annual Reunion - Athens, Alabama, 16-17 May 2014. For further information as it becomes available, go to http://www.aladivscv.com/

SCV National Reunion - Charleston, South Carolina, 16-19 July 2014. For further information as it becomes available, go to http://www.scv.org

Prattville Dragoons Camp News

The following was highlighted in the February Camp Dispatch newsletter as the recent Dragoons news of interest.

Camp News

Dragoons Venerate General Lee.  The month of January saw Dragoons pay homage to General Robert E. Lee in several ways.  We placed an ad, complete with a photograph, praising General Lee in several local newspapers, as we do every year.  We enjoyed an evening of fellowship with the Henry C. Semple Camp 2002 at their Lee-Jackson Dinner on Friday 17 January.  We attended ceremonies in honor of General Lee on Monday 20 January at the First White House and on Saturday 25 January at the Capitol.

Dragoons Sponsor JROTC Hunley Award.  Commander Stuart Waldo has met with representatives at Prattville and Stanhope Elmore High School Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) detachments so that our Camp can sponsor H.L. Hunley Awards at their April awards presentations.  This award goes to a second-year cadet who exemplifies honor, courage and most importantly commitment to the JROTC unit.  Of course the award was named in honor of the crew of the H.L. Hunley who gave their lives in defense of their country and demonstrated these same qualities in performing their duties.

Commander Waldo Visits Famous Confederate Cemetery. Commander Stuart Waldo recently visited the renowned Marietta Confederate Cemetery.  You can read about it in a five-part blog posting on the camp website, theprattvilledragoons.blogspot.com.  Our Quartermaster David Brantley came to us from that area and attended numerous events including Confederate Memorial Day programs there.

Mt. Zion Tree Removal Project.  Director Bill Rambo of Confederate Memorial Park has warned that three large dead trees need to be removed at the old Mt. Zion Cemetery, two miles north of Deatsville off Highway 143, to prevent damage to graves of Confederate veterans who are buried there.  This project is being funded in part by the Dragoons, who are also coordinating the effort in collaboration with Carl French of Camp 692 in Montgomery and Butch Godwin of Camp 62 in Selma.