Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 1524 Prattville Dragoons Commander's Column for November 2026 - Artifical Intelligence as a History Teacher

Artificial Intelligence is at the forefront of the news, our industries and economy, and our everyday lives today.  Most everyone has a smartphone and doing a simple search is utilizing AI nowadays – ask Google a question and it will return an “AI Overview”, data found by its Gemini AI system. While surfing social media like X (formerly Twitter), it is commonplace to see debates over topics especially political and posts are rife with “facts” cited, most assuredly found thru a web search leveraging AI.  I recently went down this rabbit hole questioning Gemini about something related to the War for Southern Independence.  I’ve learned from my wife that you have to feed the AI bot very specific questions and even include relevant information, somewhat akin to leading the horse to water, asking leading questions.  Nonetheless, Gemini still frustrated me with the “answer” it returned.  Mind you, Joe Public out there takes AI results to be the God given truth of the matter, not to be questioned.  About three or four iterations into our back and forth, Gemini revealed the key.  AI in this use anyway, is essentially a beefed up search engine.  It stated that its results were the “consensus of mainstream historians today”.  If you disregard Jefferson Davis’ “The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government” as aged or simply put it on even footing with Ty Seidule who has led the attack on Confederate monuments and largely provided the groundwork for removal of those including the Reconciliation monument, you are diluting the preeminent first hand account of the man who led the Confederacy from secession to formation and thru its war for independence. Then when you give greater weight to Seidule’s position of presentism and wokeism by adding on additional modern “mainstream history experts”, mouthpieces like radio personality Mark Levin, an Ashkenazi Jew whose grandparents immigrated from Europe (England and Ukraine) since that WBTS period, you can easily see how the search results start to reflect the same history you were taught in government public schools and which the majority of US citizens believe in their shallow comprehension, that Lincoln’s War was a righteous cause to preserve the Union to free the slaves.  Tidy.  Remember General Patrick Cleburne’s warning, “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.”  The victor writes the history to legitimize and glorify their position/cause.  Where would US patriotism be today if our citizens were taught in their formative education that Lincoln prosecuted the war on behalf of his industrialist cronies to collect tariffs to fund their empire building?  Doesn’t sound as good as The Great Emancipator orating his (revised) “Emancipation Proclamation”, never mind the pesky detail that it didn’t free any of the slaves in the United States or its territories.  Arie De Young states, “Although the text of generative AI might seem like original work at first glance, it draws heavily (entirely) from pre-existing sources of information. Consequently, determining precisely what these sources are is crucial for evaluating the accuracy and utility of any product of artificial intelligence.” (https://emergingcivilwar.com/2026/09/22/history-is-generated-by-the-algorithms/) He did a query of WBTS battles and generals and checked the sources Gemini cited in compiling its AI results (facts to Joe Public) and found the most commonly referenced sources:

The top ten most frequently cited sources, with the percentage of overviews they appeared in were:

1.         Wikipedia (97%)

2.         American Battlefield Trust (80%)

3.         YouTube (65%)

4.         National Park Service (56%)

5.         Encyclopedia Britannica (41%)

6.         History.com (36%)

7.         Encyclopedia Virginia (22%)

8.         Facebook (22%)

9.         American History Central (17%)

10.        EBSCO (16%)

Wikipedia and Youtube dominating the search results’ cited sources is truly disqualifying.  Troublesome certainly.  Even the National Park Service with their (1999 Congressionally mandated) campaign to “contextualize” battlefields and historical sites should cause serious pause.  Facebook… really?  Social media is driven by and based on personal opinions and experiences; how often have you exclaimed, “And they vote” when looking at posts?  “Reddit’s appearance in six percent of searches places it higher than the Smithsonian’s three percent, Library of Congress’s two percent, and National Archives’s two percent. That most prestigious and venerable of Civil War publications, USA Today, appeared as a source in one overview.”  Where was the National Enquirer?  Where was any book by Jefferson Davis or any Confederate General like Longstreet, Early, or Hood?  “This gets at perhaps the largest problem of the Gemini AI Overview as a source of history. While it can cite quality websites, and even an academic article on occasion, books are entirely absent from its sources (at least those that it lists). This is not to say that books are the be-all and end-all of historical information, but it is not a contested contention that they form an important part of it. They can get into more depth of detail and complexity than most webpages typically feature. It does seem wrong to exclude the long-time foundation of humanity’s knowledge from contributing to the new frontier of information.  AI’s frequently questionable sources, circular citations of other AI-produced material, and total exclusion of books as sources is a black mark that should not be overlooked.”  You need only look back at the consensus of the safety and efficacy of the Covid 19 vaccines spouted by the medical community or the consensus of Joe Biden’s 2020 Presidential race victory with an unprecedented 81 million popular votes as legitimate to question mainstream consensus as facts.  An unrestrained AI becoming self-aware and running amok is perhaps one concern we may confront in the near future but the use of AI in “educating” (or indoctrinating) the citizenry is maybe even more dangerous. 

Upcoming Events for Confederate Compatriots

Battles for the Armory – November 6-8^th, Tallassee AL

 

Dragoons Camp Meeting – Thursday November 12^th, Masonic Lodge, downtown Prattville

 

Thanksgiving Food Drive – benefitting the Autauga Interfaith Care Center, til camp meeting on Nov 12^th - delivery Nov 17^th

 

Prattville Christmas Parade – Friday December 4^th, downtown Prattville

 

Children of the Confederacy Christmas in the South – Saturday Dec 12^th, chapel (program) and post office (Santa) at CMP

 

Christmas Social – Thursday Dec 17^th, 6-9pm at the Doster Center, Prattville – SWC Brigade event

 

Vida Christmas Parade – Saturday December 19^th, 2pm from the Vida Community Center

 

Millbrook Revelers Mardi Gras Festival and Parade – Saturday January 23^rd, 9am and noon

Prattville Dragoons Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 1524 Chaplain's Column for November 2026 - Servitude to Honor The King

“And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.”— Revelation 19:6

As autumn draws to a close, the Church turns her attention to one of the great truths of the Christian faith: Jesus Christ is King. In my beloved Anglican tradition, we close out the Liturgical year with the Feast of Christ the King, which fell this year on October 25. The Feast of Christ the King celebrates the sovereign lordship of our Saviour over all creation and reminds us that every earthly authority, every human ambition, and every duty must ultimately be measured against His authority.

Our Lord declared before Pontius Pilate, “To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth” (John 18:37). Yet Christ’s kingdom is “not of this world.” He did not come to reign through worldly vanity, but according to truth, righteousness, sacrifice, and the willing obedience of His people. Our Lord’s last earthly words to His disciples on the day of His Ascension into Heaven began with “All authority is given me in heaven and on earth.” Christ is not going to be King, nor has He been a King. He is King, now. And will be throughout eternity.

For the Christian man, this feast presents a question that cannot be avoided: If Christ is our King, are we living as His faithful subjects?

Scripture leaves little room for misunderstanding. Christ commands, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). The Christian life is not merely a matter of professing belief, attending church, or identifying with a Christian heritage. It requires obedience. A man must seek to govern himself before presuming to govern others. He must practice honesty when dishonesty would profit him, exercise restraint when anger tempts him, and stand for what is right when doing so carries a cost.

The Christian man’s first duty is fidelity to Christ. From that allegiance flow his duties to his wife and children, his neighbors, his community, and his country. He is called to protect those entrusted to his care, to provide for his household, to speak truthfully, to keep his word, and to serve others without demanding recognition. These are not signs of weakness, but marks of Christian character.

Our Lord Himself taught that greatness is found in service. The King of Kings washed His disciples’ feet, endured the Cross, and laid down His life for the salvation of sinners. Christian manhood must therefore be distinguished from mere pride, domination, or the pursuit of worldly honor. True strength is governed by righteousness; true courage is disciplined by charity; and true dominion embraces responsibility for the welfare of others.

This lesson is especially fitting for those of us who seek to preserve the memory of our forefathers and the history of our Southern communities. We should honor courage, sacrifice, duty, and fidelity wherever they are found. But our highest allegiance cannot belong to an ancestor, a nation, a cause, or a tradition. It belongs to Jesus Christ. Our heritage is best preserved when we approach it with honesty, humility, and a willingness to judge our own conduct by the same Christian standards we profess. Indeed, to do this is to follow in the very footsteps of the forefathers we revere, who shared the firm conviction that service to one’s people, in the mold of Christ our King, is the highest mark of an honorable Man.

The Apostle Paul exhorts us, “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. Let all your things be done with charity” (1 Corinthians 16:13–14). Here is a worthy rule for Christian manhood: stand firm in the faith, act with courage, and let charity govern all that you do.

As this year draws to its close, each of us examine his conscience. Do our words honor our King? Do our actions reflect His commandments? Are we faithful husbands, fathers, friends, and neighbors? Do we seek justice, practice mercy, and walk humbly before God?

Earthly honors fade. Generations pass. Nations rise and fall. But the reign of Christ endures, and every man will one day answer to Him.

May we therefore strive to be faithful subjects of our heavenly King: steadfast in faith, courageous in duty, humble in spirit, and charitable toward our fellow men. May we order our lives so that, when our earthly service is finished, we may hear those blessed words of our Lord: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21).

And may Christ our King rule in our hearts, strengthen our families, guide our chapter, and grant us grace to follow Him faithfully all the days of our lives. 

Deo Vindice!

Alabama Division Southwest Central Brigade Sons of Confederate Veterans Fall Muster 2026

The SWC Brigade Alabama Division SCV held their fall muster on Saturday October 24th.  With the establishment of the General James Holt Clanton, the muster evolved from a Prattville Dragoons Camp 1524 event to a SWC Brigade event as both these camps heavily participate.  This was the biggest and best fall muster yet with dozens of members, friends and family in attendance.  Compatriot Philip Edwards and his wife hosted the muster again at their home and it is a perfect setup with their walkout basement available for television viewing for those who still wanted to catch some of the Auburn football game (until the game took a turn for the worse).  It was a beautiful early fall day with not a cloud in the sky and a cool breeze helping moderate the temperatures.  A couple canopies were setup under which tables were set for serving the picnic lunch which included smoked butts from Smokin S provided by Camp 1524 and BBQ chicken from Jim n Nicks provided by the Edwards and Conecuh sausage brought by Dragoons 2nd Lt Karl Wade and all sorts of sides and desserts brought by folks to share including drinks, baked beans, mac n cheese, deviled eggs, cole slaw, potato salad, wonderful pear salad, key lime pie, brownies, cookies, and cakes including a wonderful coconut cake and hummingbird cake and German chocolate cupcakes. What made the day so much more enjoyable were all the children brought by Dragoons Chaplain Johnson and his friend Steve Huffman from the Opelika SCV camp with their wives. Also making a special trip down from Tuscaloosa was Leigh Bearden and her husband Michael; Leigh is the recently elected Alabama Division UDC President.  But many senior members and officers of both camps as well as friends and other ladies were there and were integral to a most enjoyable event with much delicious food, fellowship and of course lots of clay target shooting.  Philip and Todd Rogers, Commander of the Clanton camp brought electric clay throwers and three boxes of clay targets were gone thru with folks shooting before and after the picnic lunch. Tremendous fall muster event on a beautiful fall day.

Prattville Dragoons Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 1524 at the Autauga County Fair

The Prattville Dragoons SCV Camp 1524 set up a recruiting booth at the Autauga County Fair which ran Tuesday October 13th thru Saturday October 17th.  Dragoons 2nd Lt Karl Wade again acted as lead for this project including the entry and working every shift, every hour of the fair.  He was joined for setup by Cap 1524 Commander Waldo, Comms Ofc Davis, Quartermaster Dellegar, and former Commander Myrick.  Dale was busy also in the lead-up to the fair getting flags and caps and tags to replenish stores and good sales of these and other items were made throughout the week.  A number of gentlemen stopped by asking for information about the Sons of Confederate Veterans and membership and applications were provided. Bill and Karl worked both shifts on opening night and they were joined by Color Sgt Leverette for the early shift and Commander Waldo for the second shift.  1st Lt Grooms and Commander Waldo also worked Wednesday and compatriot Larry Spears joined for the second shift that night.  Eric and Billy were with Karl again on Thursday and then on Friday there was a crowd of folks working the booth which greeted the crowd of fair goers.  Treasurer Dennis, Adjutant Butler along with compatriots Myrick and Frank Pelt joined Karl that Friday night.  Louis Turner also helped at the late shifts both Friday and Saturday and helped break down the booth on Saturday evening with Dale and Karl.  It was another great opportunity for the Dragoons to get the Sons of Confederate Veterans out in front of thousands of their friends and neighbors at the Autauga County Fair.  

                                      

Prattville Dragoons Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 1524 Chaplain's Column for October 2026 - The Fall Season

 “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”—Ecclesiastes 3:1

There is something about autumn that invites reflection. The heat of summer gives way to cooler evenings, the leaves begin to fall, and the year seems to pause between the abundance of summer and the barrenness of winter.

Autumn sits at the juncture between past and future, between life and death, metaphorically speaking. It is the time of Harvest, the time when all the Farmer’s long days of unflagging labor in the summer’s heat would be rewarded. It is also the time when remaining plants and trees go dormant, their vibrant life that makes Summer so green and fresh ebbing away, to preserve a remnant of life safe from Winter’s hostile attacks.

Autumn is both a season of planning ahead, preparing for the future, and of remembrance, for looking back.

The falling leaves remind us that nothing in this earthly life lasts forever. The Psalmist writes, “As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.” (Psalm 103:15), These words are not meant to leave us in despair, but to teach us humility. The generations before us have passed from this world, and one day our own generation will pass as well.

But as the flowers of the field, our own generation will give rise to others, who may carry forward the work of our Kind given to us by God from the foundation of the world. It is for us, the living, to plan for them, the future, so that we may hand off the torch of our common heritage to them, flaming brightly and well-kept, that they might bear it burning down through the years in their turn to those that shall come after them.

And in truth, it is that very work of planning and preparation that gives special importance to the work of remembrance.

As members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, we seek to preserve the memory of those who lived through one of the defining periods of our nation's history. We remember their service, their sacrifices, their families, their communities, and the world they knew. For that generation, the War Between the States was not a distant remembrance. It was personal memory.

That generation is now gone.

The responsibility of remembrance has therefore passed to us.

Scripture repeatedly commands God's people to remember and to teach the generations that follow. “Thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children.” (Deuteronomy 6:7).

That principle applies to our own history as well. A people who forgets its past becomes disconnected from its own story. Our task is not to pretend that those who came before us were perfect, but to preserve their memory honestly and faithfully.

For as Christians, we know that death is not the end of the story. All that is false will one day be exposed, and all that is truthful will one day be revealed. All those who have died in Christ will themselves return, resurrected in immortality, and may bear witness to the truth. And as we ourselves desire to be found faithful, we must strive to preserve the true record of our People for its future generations.

We cannot stop the passing of time, but we can faithfully preserve what has been entrusted to us. We can teach our children who their ancestors were, preserve and tell their records and stories, visit their graves, and remember the communities in which they lived.

As another year moves toward winter, may we be grateful for God's blessings, faithful in the responsibilities He has given us, and diligent in preserving the memory of those who came before.

And when the autumn of our own life comes, may we be able to say with the Apostle Paul, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7).

May God bless our families, our chapter, and those whose memories we have been entrusted to preserve. May He grant us wisdom to remember the past, courage to fulfill our duties in the present, and faith to entrust the future to His providence.

            Deo Vindice!

Prattville Dragoons Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 1524 Commander's Column for October 2026 - Fairness

A recent sermon at my church made me draw parallels to the struggles we have as members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans in preserving the vestiges of our heroic ancestors.  The anarchists and Marxists at every turn continue to remove monuments placed on the public square in remembrance of the sacrifices our brave Confederate grandfathers made in defense of their homes and families in their quest for independence.  The sermon presented Job chapters 20-21 as a study of “When Life Doesn’t Seem Fair”.  It seems that the woke historical revisionists incessantly attack our vestiges with no repercussions and are often empowered to destroy or remove or “contextualize” our beautiful monuments by the very politicians that should be representing us as constituents.  There is no respect shown to our Confederate soldiers’ monuments placed as remembrance, many priceless works of art and, even to final resting places of these Confederate veterans and their families.  As Orwell said, “Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.”  The DE&I wokeism, historical revisionism like the 1619 Project, and an absurd concerted effort to protect a vocal minority from “offense” has resulted in the erasure of our Confederate remnants and Southern culture by progressives and carpetbaggers.  The takeaways from the sermon for Job to cope with the seeming unfairness of his situation included to “Resist Simple Formulas”.   For the SCV, I saw the work of the Virginia Flaggers and Josh Stover’s Monuments Across Dixie erecting new flags and monuments as great examples of taking the battle to an offensive and not merely voicing your displeasure with events on Facebook or to your local political representatives who probably don’t share your perspective as descendants of these American patriots.  The second noted point of the sermon was to “Question Your Comparisons”.  Some atrocious statues offensive to any rational American citizen have been erected in the place of those beautiful sculptures removed of General Lee and others.  A drug addicted violent felon like George Floyd has had multiple statues erected on the public square to honor him as some sort of martyr in some perverted sense.  To avoid becoming dejected in the efforts of our SCV Charge which we see in response, we need to appreciate the efforts at a local camp level to get in front of the public including our neighbors to influence and shape the communities in which we live.  And again, great projects are underway to replace the beautiful statues which have been removed in Virginia and elsewhere and according to Monuments Across Dixie, there are now more Confederate monuments than ever before.  Take solace.  The final point of exhortation of the sermon was “Let God Give the Final Verdict.”  The attacks against our heritage come in ebbs and flows but just as we feel that a sense of common sense has prevailed in an appreciation of honoring everyone’s shared history, another report is seen of yet another monument being relocated.  It can be frustrating in just reading the comments on social media from those who are ignorant of our long and complex history of these united states including those who would favor some monstrosity of an omnipotent federal government even to the extreme of a communist state, recent immigrants who cannot fathom and appreciate our 400 years of Southern history and, woke progressives who put on their lenses of presentism in a shallow analysis of the historical record and the honor and record of our Confederate heroes and historical figures.  We must be strong and resilient and persevere in our carrying forth the SCV Charge.  Deo Vindice!