SCV Camp 1524 Prattville Dragoons Meeting for November 2019

The Dragoons held their monthly camp meeting for November at Milestone's Cafe, a new venue for the camp meetings and it was a great success.  The cafe afforded a separate room for the camp compatriots to gather together to have supper and to then conduct the meeting.  Despite a couple of men who were absent because of illnesses and despite the rainy cold weather, there was still 28 people in attendance including Tim Hobbs from the Tallassee Camp and our newest member Darrell Haywood.  Colby Carlock was also reinstated after catching up on his dues.  With Chaplain Dismukes out, Bill Branch led everyone in the Invocation to get things started followed by Color Sgt John Dennis who led everyone in the pledges and salutes to the flags.  Commander Waldo recited the SCV Charge and then provided information about the upcoming holiday events and additional announcements including that the camp is now on Instagram, the canned food drive will culminate with the delivery on November 19th to the Autauga Interfaith Care Center and, the annual billboard ad campaign was set to commence Thanksgiving week.  2nd Lt Karl Wade also petitioned everyone to consider signing up for a shift to cover the camp's Salvation Army kettle bell ringing days. 

Lloyd Caperton was the guest speaker for this meeting.  The Caperton family is descended from the French Huguenots with Hugo Capet a direct ancestor.  The name originated from makers of capes.  His family moved to Scotland in the 16th or 17th centuries and were among the Jacobites seeking Scottish independence from England.  After the Battle of Culloden, Capertons came to America and have lived in Alabama for over 200 years.  Lloyd claims Scottish and Cherokee ancestors.  The Capertons also hailed from the western part of Virginia (which became West Virginia) and Allen Taylor Caperton (for whom Lloyd was middle named), was a Confederate Congressman.  Lloyd showed off a 150 year old quilt and a 250 year old pocket watch which were handed down to him from previous generations.

Lloyd runs Caperton's Old South general store which was built in 1853 by his (great) grandfather William Stewart Caperton.  It was featured in the book "Wonderful Wetumpka".  Wetumpka means rumbling waters and Weogufka where Lloyd resides means milky waters.  Weogufka was settled in 1836 by Cherokees seeking to avoid the Trail of Tears displacement and the Creek Indians recently purchased land below Weogufka to reestablish the tribe from Oklahoma.  His general store is the only business remaining in Weogufka and the Confederate Battle Flag flies proudly over the building.

Lloyd was formerly a member of the League of the South, joining in 1997 and was part of the group which lobbied the state legislature to require state buildings to fly the Alabama state flag which was patterned after the flag used by Rucker's Brigade and the St. Andrews cross of the Confederate Battle flag. Lloyd was part of the contingent who defended the Lee monument in Mobile from Antifa and witnessed the wanton depravity and perversions of those anarchists.  When the League of the South was contorted from Southern Nationalists to White Nationalist, labeled such by the media, which attracted skinheads to the group, Lloyd left to start the Southern Cultural Centers across Alabama.  The group opposes the one world socialist order championed by progressives and Antifa.  Lloyd warned of coming conflict with the rise of these extremists determined to destroy our Constitutional Republic. 

Lloyd has donated land and helped establish hiking trails thru Flag Mountain and handed out brochures for this parkland which has an historic fire tower constructed by the CCC in the 1930s and three log cabins.  It is a state forest owned and operated by the Alabama Forestry Commission situated east of Clanton in a rural area without any cellphone service.  He also recently restored his grandfather's historic home.