Prattville Dragoons Robinson Springs Cemetery Workday

Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 1524 compatriots Larry Spears, John Dennis and Stuart Waldo arrived early on Saturday morning at Robinson Springs cemetery in Millbrook to finish the trimming to maintain the historic cemetery.  Connor Lee used his riding lawn mower the previous evening to mow most of the grass in the cemetery so Saturday morning Larry, John and Stuart used push lawn mowers and string trimmers to finish the lawn maintenance effort.  There was a nice cool breeze even given the warm summer day so it was a pleasant task.  A few new U.S. flags and Confederate Battle flags were placed on graves which had faded or torn ones.  There are a number of graves in this cemetery dating from the 19th century for Robinson Springs community founders as well as Confederate veterans.   There are also a number of more recent graves including those of  U.S. Armed Forces veterans.  The cemetery work is part of the SCV Guardian program to maintain the final resting place of Confederate veterans.  

Prattville Dragoons SCV Camp 1524 Meeting for September 2019

The Dragoons held their monthly meeting for September at a new venue, Kendrick Farm Market and Cafe in Prattville.  Mike Kendrick welcomed us to his beautiful new cafe which provided a great place for camp members to enjoy a supper together and then the camp meeting.  The food at Kendrick's cafe was delicious with folks enjoying BBQ cooked on site in their smoker, big juicy burgers, deli sandwiches stacked high, and chicken breast sandwiches topped with pimento cheese, topped off with huge scoops of ice cream for dessert.  Former camp chaplain Tom Snowden provided an Invocation to start the meeting followed by Color Sergeant John Dennis leading everyone in the pledge to the U.S. flag and salutes to the Alabama state and Confederate Battle flags.  Commander Waldo then recited the SCV Charge and provided a summary of upcoming events and other announcements.  Upcoming events include another workday at Robinson Springs cemetery on Saturday morning, the kickoff for our annual canned food drive set to finish the first of November to benefit the Autauga Interfaith Care Center as well as the camp fall muster clay shoot and booth at the Autauga County Fair coming up in October.

The guest speaker was Calvin Chapelle who is the new Site Director of Confederate Memorial Park.  The park is part of the Alabama Historical Commission to Protect, Preserve and Interpret Alabama's Historic Places.  Calvin began by providing a background of his personal life including showing on the projector photographs of his great grandfather Abram Chappelle who was a Confederate veteran.  He is a native of Montgomery and a 5th generation Alabamian. He holds a Bachelors degree in Art History from the University of Tennessee and a Masters degree in Museum Studies from the Philadelphia University of the Arts.  Prior to his position at CMP he served as Executive Director for a private foundation that oversees Mabry-Hazen House and Knoxville's Confederate Cemetery, the final resting place of over 1,600 Confederate soldiers. Here he helped restore the historic caretaker's cottage on the grounds.  While in Knoxville, he also served as Heritage Tourism Coordinator for Visit Knoxville and as Chairman of the Knox County Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission which held the Blue and Gray Reunion and Freedom Jubilee.  His fascination with the Civil War began with his father's interest in genealogy and a childhood trip to Fort Morgan State Historic Site where several of his ancestors served in the 21st Alabama Infantry. Calvin began reenactments at the age of 9 in a drum and fife unit and he plays many period instruments today in events and presentations.  

Calvin brings 18 years of museum experience to Confederate Memorial Park. The park comprises 102 acres in Mountain Creek and includes two cemeteries, picnic pavilions, a museum, period buildings including a chapel as well as the Alabama Division SCV library.  The park was a Confederate soldier's home established to care for destitute veterans so that they would have food, shelter and medical care.  Other such homes were established in other states such as in Hermitage TN.  The home was founded by Jefferson Manly Falkner. Mountain Creek was an area with summer cottages built there to escape the summer heat of Montgomery.  Many prominent people and organizations contributed to the development and building of the Confederate veteran's home in Mountain Creek including Ell Torrence, Commander in Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, Booker T. Washington (who contributed $100), the United Daughters of the Confederacy, as well as the Episcopal church.  These donations were used to build cottages for the veterans to reside as well as a Memorial Hall (completed in 1904), hospital, mess hall, dairy farm and other community buildings.  Calvin displayed photos of some of the early administrators of the home including Commandant Fowler, Kate Lassiter (buried in nearby Marbry Baptist Church) who was a matron/nurse, Dr. Marshall Fielder who was a Commandant and Confederate veteran himself and John Neland who was the first Commandant not a veteran.  

Calvin shared his vision for the future of this wonderful historical asset also including a greater social media presence online.  He has started additional events at CMP like a Winter Quarters in January 2019 which brought reenactors from Illinois, Pennsylvania, Tennessee as well as Alabama for a month long encampment including cooking, inspections, drills, drum and fife, even period correct barber shaving service.  In October a commissary cooking event is being planned.  This Saturday September 14th Calvin will host a walking tour of the park.  Calvin is expanding his and the park's presence at community presentations and festivals and is working elsewhere including Ft.Morgan in south Alabama.  Partnering with other historic organizations like Old Alabama Town, the Archives and others, his goal is to present history in authentic appropriate presentations and open the dialogue to respect and preserve our state's and nation's invaluable history and heritage even helping with a new slave dwelling project at Old Alabama Town and seeking other groups interested in preserving black Southern history.  

Prattville Dragoons Chaplains Column from the SCV Camp 1524 Dispatch

Chaplain’s Column  - Who Do You Resolve to Be?

You can be whatever you resolve to be" Stonewall Jackson

Each day we have an opportunity to do good and share Gods love. Many ways are showing kindness and love towards others. One thing to consider, we never know what someone is going through and how God can use a kind word and a smile to brighten their day.

My question is who do you resolve to be? What do you want to be remembered by?

I pray for each of you and may Gods Blessing be upon you!

Remember all those that are on our prayer list.

Prattville Dragoons Commander's Column for September 2019 - The Demise of Patriotism in the Current Generation

“The values that Americans say define the national character are changing, as younger generations rate patriotism, religion and having children as less important to them than did young people two decades ago,” according to a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.  (https://www.foxnews.com/us/young-americans-care-less-about-patriotism-religion-and-family-than-previous-generations-study-says) “Among people 55 and older, for example, nearly 80 percent said patriotism was very important, compared with 42 percent of those ages 18-38 — the millennial generation and older members of Gen-Z.”   I wondered the other day how long it had been since I heard the song “America the Beautiful”.  “O beautiful for Pilgrim feet, whose stern impassioned stress, A thoroughfare for freedom beat, across the wilderness.”  Today these words would meet with condemnation from the politically correct crowd highlighting the European oppression of the native Americans.    The “amber waves of grain above the fruited plain” is rejected as the destruction of old-growth forests and resultant climate change.    “O beautiful for heroes proved, in liberating strife, Who more than self their country loved, and mercy more than life” brings to mind the privileged white nationalists whose monuments are toppled by Antifa anarchists in the name of multiculturalism and historical revisionism.  Truly a hymn of oppressive imperialism.   Patriotism and the study of our nation’s history and civics lessons have been removed from our children’s formative education and curriculum.   Prayer has been taken out of the public schools along with any semblance of discipline.  Supposed sports heroes kneel in silent protest against the United States flag and law enforcement.   

Parents are forced to spend thousands of dollars to send their children to private schools which still emphasize a foundation based on the Word of God.   My little girl and boy attend a Christian school where the school schedule includes chapel each day where the Pledge of Allegiance to the U.S. flag is recited each day.  At each home football game, the “Star Spangled Banner” is played and a prayer offered to start each contest.   It was refreshing to attend the recent Children of the Confederacy event at the Alabama State Archives where the children led the agenda which began with the recitation of the Cof C Creed followed by the pledges to the U.S., Christian and Confederate flags.   The Cof C Creed states, “We pledge ourselves to preserve pure ideals: to honor our veterans; to study and teach the truths of history (one of the most important of which is that the War Between the States was not a rebellion nor was its underlying cause to sustain slavery) and to always act in a manner that will reflect honor upon our noble and patriotic ancestors.”   When doing a web search for that verbiage, I was astonished at the first search results which proclaimed,  “Children of the Confederacy Creed plaque in Capitol is indefensible and should come down.” (Houston Chronicle);  “Confederacy Creed marker at the state Capitol is an embarrassment to Texas; plaque in (the Texas) state capitol building is tantamount to public endorsement of a revisionist lie.”  (Dallas Morning News);  “You can debunk this Confederate plaque in minutes. What’s taking Texas so long?” (Texas Tribune)   Any wonder that many have forecasted that Texas may well turn blue in the coming electoral cycle, electing as its majority the PC progressive socialists?  

Many in the new Confederate States of America wanted to retain the US flag as they viewed themselves as preserving the true founding principles.  George Washington was featured on the Great Seal of the Confederacy as he was indeed the father of the CSA too.  Many of the military leaders of Confederacy were long held to embody the ideals of honor and service and patriotism including by future U.S. Presidents like Roosevelt and Eisenhower.  But the revisionist, multicultural, agnostic-atheist, one-world-order, open border socialist-anarchists know better than our nation’s founding fathers.  Cling to your Bible and your guns deplorables.

Upcoming Events for Confederate Compatriots

Prattville Dragoons Camp Meeting – Thursday, September 12th 6pm at the Kendrick Farm Market and Cafe

Autauga County Fair – October 8th – 12th , Dragoons booth at the Autauga County Fairgrounds each night 5-9pm

Dragoons Fall Muster – Saturday October 5th, clay shoot and BBQ at the Dismukes on Peninsula Rd, Millbrook

Children of the Confederacy Field Trip – Saturday October 26th, Andersonville GA

Prattville Christmas Parade – Friday December 6th, 7pm starting at the Autauga County Courthouse downtown

Prattville Dragoons Christmas Social – Friday December 13th 6pm at Buena Vista, CR 4 Prattville

Dragoon Compatriot Works Historic Cemeteries

Camp 1524 Color Sergeant John Dennis again worked at Indian Hill cemetery on Tuesday September 3rd, cleaning the remaining length of fencing bringing it to a gleaming white.  He also cut down some brush growing under the trees on the north side of the cemetery.  After that, he drove out Hwy 14 west past Autaugaville to the Hall Cemetery where he continued cutting and removing the undergrowth in that historic cemetery.  John plans on cutting some briers back and clearing a path around the perimeter outside the wrought iron fence encompassing the cemetery.  John's tireless work and dedication brings honor to these men and women who were founders of their Alabama communities in the 19th century including many brave and noble Confederate veterans.  The photos below show the Hall cemetery before and after John's work on Tuesday. 

Prattville Dragoons Great Adventure Road Trip

On Thursday 29 August Dragoon compatriot Larry Spears and Quartermaster Bill Myrick enjoyed a road trip to south Montgomery county in the Ramer area and a short distance into Bullock county. Bill has done a tremendous amount of research on his ancestry and visited numerous cemeteries searching for the burial places of his ancestors.  The trip began with a visit to the Old Union Church cemetery; the old church (1835) has regrettably been demolished. Bill's great grandmother Mary Kohn is buried there where Bill attended her funeral. The whereabouts of his great grandfather's grave is unknown but possibly near his wife - her first husband was Issac Middlebrooks, veteran of the 1st Georgia Engineers, Confederate States Army.

From there the two adventurers went to Sampey Baptist Church which is where Company K, 22nd Alabama CSA was formed and rode off to join Confederate forces in The War Between the States. Bill has a painting of this event with the old church in the background. The church still stands today. 

Next stop was Ramer City Cemetery where several Confederate veterans are buried. 

Ebenezer Primitve Baptist Church and cemetery was next on the agenda. There is a monument in the cemetery commemorating the gathering point for the formation of Company E, 33rd Alabama CSA. The monument states that these men "Were Giants on the Earth In Those Days." Several Confederate veterans are buried there. 
The two men concluded the day with a meal at Red's Little Schoolhouse Restaurant as a fitting end to their journey.  

Children of the Confederacy Meet at Alabama State Archives

Was encouraged by a good turnout at the first Children of the Confederacy event of the new school year held at the Alabama State Archives in the family education room on Saturday August 31st. It was reaffirming to see the children lead the agenda including the recitation of the Children of the Confederacy Creed followed by the pledges to the U.S., Christian and Confederate flags.  The chapter president provided information on plans for a project to set a Confederate iron Cross of Honor on a veteran's grave.  Ideas for future events were suggested including field trips to the Columbus National Civil War Naval Museum, Andersonville National Historic Site, the Marietta (GA) Confederate Cemetery, the Kennesaw (GA) Battlefield as well as the standing events like Christmas in the South at the Confederate Memorail Park chapel in December.  Following the meeting my son and daughter who were in attendance along with a couple of the other children enjoyed a walk thru the Archives Alabama Voices gallery which tells the story of the history of the state.