Prattville Dragoons SCV Camp 1524 Commander's Column for August 2021 - The Importance of Your SCV Membership to Advance the Charge

As the long hot summer wears on, we have come to our annual membership renewal period.  As I have said in the past, I believe the single most important thing each of us can do to further the Cause and carry forth the Charge is to maintain our membership in the Sons of Confederate Veterans.  The SCV is recognized even by the critical Main Stream Media as the preeminent historical authority and representative on the period of the War for Southern Independence from a Confederate perspective.   As members of the SCV we are supporting the HQ initiatives including the world class new museum at Elm Springs and the heritage defense initiatives as we attempt to stand in the gap in defense of the Confederate monuments and vestiges of this historical period.   Similarly, in regards to the Alabama Division.  As a member of the Prattville Dragoons, Camp 1524 annually places flags on local cemeteries for both Confederate and US veterans.   Your annual dues also provide funds for donations to the Alabama state Archives for flag conservation and to state and national heritage projects like the HQ museum and Forrest reinternment.  We also have made numerous donations both as a collective group and as a camp to the local food bank as a community service.  The camp treasury also funds camp entries for local festivals and parades which serve as a community outreach for getting the SCV and Confederate Battle Flag out in front of the public and as membership recruitment initiatives.  There are also our annual billboard advertisements which are popular both locally and when posted on social media.  The camp also has awarded JROTC Hunley awards in local high schools which were funded by the camp.  The Camp 1524 Treasury also provides stipends for our monthly camp meeting speakers and our meeting venue rental which are great opportunities for fellowship and educational information from these experts in Southern history and heritage.  Of course, the Dragoons perform many more community service activities including cemetery care and maintenance and participation in historical association events.   

Many worthwhile initiatives to carry forth the Charge.   We also have announced our annual Dixie butt fundraiser, moving it from August to September to remove it from the same periodicity as the membership renewals.  Having it in September perhaps provides an opportunity to use the butts for tailgating or SEC football viewing.    While the recently completed Division Reunion which the Dragoons hosted represented an opportunity for the camp to realize some additional proceeds from the attendee registrations and event tickets for the Reunion activities, we decided to continue the annual Dixie butt fundraiser as many of our families and friends have come to expect this annual offering of delicious smoked butts provided by our camp.  So, I would encourage each member to “buy one and sell (at least) one” butt to raise money for our continued camp initiatives and activities.  In this period of political correctness and wokeness insanity, it is important to stay focused on the true history of the South and our ancestors’ defense of the originalist Constitutional republic, the true Cause for which they fought;  membership in the SCV and continued participation in the wide variety of initiatives in which our camp is engaged is important to rejuvenate our kindred spirit and not be distracted or dismayed by the relentless attacks on our Southern heritage.  I commend all for their continued SCV memberships and engagement in the camp activities and look forward to carrying forward the Charge,  to “(defend) the Confederate soldier's good name, the guardianship of his history, the emulation of his virtues, (and to perpetuate) those principles” of our forefathers.