Sunday, January 22, 2023

Prattville Dragoons' Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 1524 Monthly Meeting for January 2023

Members and guests of the Dragoons of SCV Camp 1524 enjoyed their monthly camp meeting on Thursday January 12th.  1st Lt Cmdr Rob Schwartz hosted the meeting in the absence of Commander Waldo including providing music on his guitar prior to the meeting start.  About 20 folks gathered, a smaller crowd than typical after a line of severe storms hit the area earlier in the afternoon including a deadly tornado which hit Selma and moved east right across Autauga County and the north portions of Prattville.  Rob provided the opening Benediction and Color Sgt Dennis led everyone in the pledge to the US flag and salutes to the Alabama state and Confederate Battle flags.  Rob then recited the SCV Charge and provided information on upcoming events and other updates including report-outs from the numerous Christmas events in which the Dragoons participated in throughout December.  Dr. Robert Wieland who serves as curator at the First White House of the Confederacy in downtown Montgomery was teh guest speaker who provided insights into a recently released biography of Lincoln and contrasted the truth of Abraham Lincoln with the flattering portrayal of Lincoln today, the history revisionism which clouds the  truth in favor of a PC myth.  Some of the interesting facts provided by "Yankee Bob" was that Lincoln married Mary Todd, the daughter of Robert Todd who was Kentucky's largest slaveholder.  In that era, the law assigned a woman's property to her husband and so when Robert Todd died, Lincoln inherited about 500 slaves which were a part of his estate.  Instead of emancipating them, Lincoln instead sold them for a profit.   In the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858, Lincoln made his position clear regarding blacks, "I will say then that I am not, not ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races."  He went on to say that he opposed Blacks having the right to vote, sit on juries, hold public office or intermarry with whites.  Throughout much of his career, Lincoln pushed the idea of colonization of the Blacks from America back to Africa or Central America as the best way to solve the problem of slavery in the eventuality of its end.  Lincoln's two heroes, Henry Clay and Thomas Jefferson who both owned slaves also recognized the dilemma of slavery and also favored colonization as they saw no way black and white people could live together peaceably.  Another bit of trivia was that Lincoln had syphilis - some of his photographs show his face appearing akin to that of a drug user because he was on a mercury treatment as they had not yet developed penicillin to treat that condition. 





Friday, January 20, 2023

Alabama Division Sons of Confederate Veterans Celebrate Robert E. Lee's Birthday

Members of the SCV Camp 1524 Prattville Dragoons attended the Alabama Division's celebration of Robert E. Lee's birthday at the Alabama State Archives on Saturday January 14th.  1st Lt Cmdr Rob Schwartz, Quartermaster Bill Myrick and compatriot Tyrone Crowley represented Camp 1524 at the annual observance honoring one of America's greatest leaders, a man of exceeding character and integrity.  Division Commander Mike McMurry welcomed all who gathered on Saturday morning in the Archives auditorium in downtown Montgomery.  Talented Mutt Cooper provided music for everyone to enjoy as part of the program agenda.  Greetings were conveyed by representatives of other heritage organizations including the MOSB, the Order of the Confederate Rose and the SCV Mechanized Cavalry.  Past SCV Commander in Chief Chris Sullivan was the keynote speaker of course speaking of General Robert E. Lee.  Following a closing which included the singing of "Dixie" the Dragoons visited the First White House of the Confederacy next door which had just resumed Saturday hours and then all enjoyed a couple of famous dogs at Chris' Hot Dogs on Dexter Ave there in downtown Montgomery.  





Sunday, January 15, 2023

Prattville Dragoons SCV Camp 1524 Chaplain's Column for January 2023 - Surrender

  Surrender. Not a popular word. Especially for us with Confederate blood. It brings up ugly connotations of Appomattox and the horrors of “Reconstruction.”

The definition of “surrender,” according to the dictionary, means “to cease resistance to an enemy or opponent and submit to their authority.”

But what about in a Biblical context? In this case it does not mean surrendering to the enemy. Quite the opposite, in fact. In this case, it means surrender to God. This word has come into my life hardcore of late. My men’s bible study group, which meets once a week, is reading from a book excerpt entitled, “Absolute Surrender.” My church, Church of the Highlands, has deemed 2023 the “Year of Complete (Total) Surrender. I think God might be trying to tell me something.

As humans we tend to give God things we think we can handle and hide things (read: sins) that we think He can’t see. But God does not want a part or pieces of our life, He wants it all. He sees it anyway. Imagine being in a relationship where you love someone completely and would do anything to help them if they would just ask.

And this is ultimately where we get in trouble. If we go back to Genesis 3, in verses 17-19, we are reminded that we must make the choice to surrender to God because of the original surrender of this world to the Devil at the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden. Imagine if Adam and Eve had completely surrendered to God instead of surrendering to the lies of the greatest liar of them all.

Ephesians 5:18 speaks to the benefit of surrender to God. We will be filled by the Holy Spirit helping us to ward off attacks by our greatest enemy. We are surrendering our will to Him and letting him take over our lives completely.

How many of you remember the bumper-sticker, “God is my co-pilot”? I remember thinking that if that was true that maybe that individual should quickly switch seats with God. I will confess I have also done this. I have “shared” parts of my life God and figured I could handle the rest. I then wondered why God had not blessed the parts of my life I did not give over to Him. Imagine.

When we are graced with another new year, we often take that opportunity to make a “resolution” or a promise to do better. Usually it involves losing weight or doing better financially. The average resolution lasts less than three weeks.

Why not make the best resolution you will ever make? Surrender to God. Completely, totally, unconditionally. Don’t put a time limit or condition on it. God doesn’t respond to demands. Just let go. As this year goes along, let me know how your life changes.  Surrender!

 

Remember those on our prayer list. 

Tuesday, January 10, 2023

Great Seal of the Confederacy at the Historic Buena Vista Mansion in Prattville AL

           Prattville Dragoons SCV Camp 1524 Historian Sam Reid and his wife Terrie attended the Dragoon Social on Friday evening 16 December, as they have done for many years.  Sam has a personal reason for attending each year:   He is the great-great-grandson of William Montgomery Sr.’s daughter, Ann, and thus a proud descendant of the William Montgomery family which occupied the home from the late 1840s till 1910.  There were three Montgomery men who grew up there and were members of the Prattville Dragoons at the beginning of the War Between the States.  They were William Montgomery Jr., a Lieutenant in the Dragoons, and his younger brothers John and Alvin, who were privates.  Alvin, the youngest of the three Montgomery brothers, never returned home.  Ann Montgomery Bowen is buried in the family cemetery in back of the home.

            A donation made to the Autauga County Historical Association in 1993 provides some history on the service of the Montgomery men who were raised in this historic home.  In the main hall of the home hangs a framed print of the Great Seal of the Confederacy.  The letter which accompanied this donation to ACHA states the following: 

Dear Friends,

Please accept this reproduction of the Seal Of The Confederacy, in memory of William, John, and Alvin Montgomery, sons of William and Ann Burrows Montgomery, and Dr. James Horatio Bowen, their son-in-law, who was married to their daughter, Ann.  Each served with honor in the War Between The States.  According to a Bible record, Alvin lost his life at the close of the war, dying from an accidental discharge of his gun.  He belonged to the 57th Alabama Cavalry.  He was loved by all who knew him.  He died near East Point, Georgia, on September 1, 1864. Perhaps you can find an appropriate place to display this in the Montgomery home, Buena Vista.

Sincerely, (signed) Melanie Kay Smith Gibbs

Gadsden, Alabama

            William Montgomery Sr. died in 1859, so that after the War Between the States William Jr. became owner of the property.  The Montgomery slaves, who had had a good relationship with their owner, stayed on after the War Between the States to help William Jr. rebuild the farm, a relationship such as described in the book, The First Principle of Government, by W T Pace. 



Friday, January 6, 2023

SCV Camp 1524 Commander's Column for January 2023 - Continuing Erasure of History and Heritage in the New Year

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year!  It was a wonderful Christmas season and especially enjoyed the events with the camp including the parades, Salvation Army bell ringing and the Social at Buena Vista.   It was also a time to enjoy the holidays with our families.  Presented an opportunity to catch up on current events and social media and unfortunately the woke cancellation of our Southern history continued.  Last year’s revisionist histrionics involving the US Defense Department Naming Commission which sought to erase the names of the revered general officers for which a number of military installations were named for their involvement in the War for Southern Independence as a Confederate officer has bled over to a full assault on the character of all things Confederate including General Robert E. Lee who is widely recognized worldwide as one of the most honorable men and capable military minds ever produced by our country. 

Last August , Camp 16 Commander and AL Division JAG Jay Hinton spoke to our camp about how worthy Lee was of admiration for his personal and professional qualities in contrast to the sports and Hollywood celebrities of today.   Military leaders, historians and Presidents of the United States unanimously related their admiration for Lee’s Christian character and held him up as an example to emulate.   President Eisenhower who kept a framed portrait of Lee in his office said, “General Robert E. Lee was, in my estimation, one of the supremely gifted men produced by our Nation…. he was thoughtful yet demanding of his officers and men, forbearing with captured enemies but ingenious, unrelenting and personally courageous in battle, and never disheartened by a reverse or obstacle. Through all his many trials, he remained selfless almost to a fault and unfailing in his faith in God. Taken altogether, he was noble as a leader and as a man, and unsullied as I read the pages of our history.  From deep conviction, I simply say this: a nation of men of Lee’s calibre would be unconquerable in spirit and soul. Indeed, to the degree that present-day American youth will strive to emulate his rare qualities, including his devotion to this land as revealed in his painstaking efforts to help heal the Nation’s wounds once the bitter struggle was over, we, in our own time of danger in a divided world, will be strengthened and our love of freedom sustained.”   French General Ferdinand Foch, Supreme Allied Commander WWI, stated, "If Gen. Robert E. Lee was a traitor, Napoleon Bonaparte was a coward. If General Lee was a traitor, I wish France had more of them. he was one of the greatest military leaders the world has ever known."  Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States and Colonel in the US Army of Rough Riders fame, said, “General Lee has left us the memory, not merely of his extraordinary skill as a general, his dauntless courage and high leadership in campaign and battle, but also of that serene greatness of soul.” 

Lee's former home is Arlington House and it stands today as a memorial to Lee.  The grounds are the Arlington National cemetery.  Despite the service Lee exhibited to his country before and after the WBTS, these PC woke progressives seek to remove the Confederate Memorial at Arlington to erase this testimony to the reconciliation of the North and South following the War.  At West Point they are expunging any mention, any reference to the Confederacy and that includes to General Lee who graduated with honors from and served as the commandant of the military academy.  In doing so they are completely erasing all reference to the historical period, a complete and utter cancellation.  George Orwell wrote, ““The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history. Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood. Who controls the past controls the future. 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 sick agenda-driven anarchists even removed the statue of Confederate General A.P. Hill and exhumed his body in Richmond, the last Confederate monument in the once proud historic city to leave a desolate stark sanitized remnant of Monument Avenue.  Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben would be so proud…if they were still here.  We can only hope the new year brings an end to the ridiculous senseless destruction and erasure of our history and heritage.  We must continue to fight by vocalizing our objections to our political representatives and to the public at large and to continue to stand for the ideals for which our Confederate ancestors fought and honor their heroic struggle.  Or else Washington and Jefferson are next.  Hope the new year brings each of you much success, health and happiness. 

Wednesday, January 4, 2023

Upcoming Events for Confederate Compatriots

 

Upcoming Events for Confederate Compatriots

 

Dragoons' January Camp Meeting – Thursday Jan 12th at the Masonic Lodge in Prattville

 

Alabama Division Robert E. Lee Day Celebration – Saturday Jan 14th at 9am AL Department of Archives, Montgomery


Millbrook Revelers Mardi Gras Parade and Festival – Saturday Feb 4th Main St and the Village Green, Millbrook

 

Texas Hospital Reenactment –Feb 18-20th in Quitman MS