SCV Camp 1524 Prattville Dragoon Commander at Children of the Confederacy General Convention

The annual General Convention of the Children of the Confederacy was held at the historic Marietta Hilton from Wednesday July 15th thru Saturday July 18th.  Setup and UDC and CofC officers meetings comprised the first day and then the first business meeting was held on Thursday followed by a field trip on Friday to local historic sites like Kennesaw Mountain.  The Hilton property was the site of the Georgia Military Institute in the leadup to the War Between the States and the Brumby House (built by Colonel Arnoldus Brumby circa 1851) immediately next door served as the home of the commandant of GMI and today serves as a "Gone with the Wind" Museum. One room in the Hilton provides historical prints and photos from the WBTS period and later scenes from Marietta as well as a cannon from GMI used during the war.  The grounds in the back of the Hilton are now the City Club Marietta golf course and sunsets are beautiful in the evening looking out west over the course from the hotel.  Camp 1524 Commander Waldo and his daughter arrived Friday evening to attend the business session on Saturday which included the election of new CofC officers for the 2026-27 term.  That afternoon following lunch Commander Waldo and his daughter went across Powder Springs Street from the Hilton to Brown Park to walk thru the beautiful historic Marietta Cemetery where the story of Maddie Harris Lyon and other women and widows of Marietta who helped establish and care for this cemetery is told with bronze statues, monuments and memorial benches. That evening was the President's Evening, Banquet and Confederate Ball back at the Hilton conference room.  This included a procession of all the state flags into the ballroom, a procession of all the current and incoming CofC officers and their escorts where they then did a dance joining hands together in an unbroken chain.  CofC Presidents from the states with representatives in attendance provided reports from their Divisions and the outgoing and incoming CofC Presidents gave speeches also.  The ribbons and sashes were placed on the new General Officers in a ceremony and outgoing officers donned new sashes designating their former status. A candlelight aging out ceremony was held for those CofC members graduating from high school including a message from a UDC representative encouraging their continuation of the Cause as SCV and UDC members.  A banquet of fried chicken, baked macaroni and cheese and green beans, salad, and the requisite peach cobbler (befitting a Georgia dessert) was served.  Following the banquet, a period dance instructor (re)taught and led everyone in the Virginia Reel and other historic round dances.  It was an enjoyable evening to wrap up another grand CofC General Convention.