Prattville's Indian Hills Cemetery Renovation by Dragoons SCV Camp 1524

          Dragoon Benny Harris is heading up a clean-up of the historic old Indian Hills Cemetery on Golson Road (County Road 86) in Prattville AL.  The work days are listed below.  See if you can come and help out.  Bring any trimmers, chain saws, mowers, and anything else you have, or just bring willing hands to do the work.

            Directions to get to Indian Hills Cemetery:   From the junction of Highways 82 and 14 in west Prattville, go north (toward Tuscaloosa) on Highway 82 for two miles.  Turn left onto County Road 86.  Go 1.6 miles and you'll see Indian Hills Cemetery on your left.

            There are several Confederates buried in this cemetery, some of whom are on the original roster of the Prattville Dragoons.

                 Benny reports:  I have identified six dates for cemetery clean-up days at the Indian Hills Cemetery between now and the end of the year.  I will be working to secure the resources we will need in order to successfully restore this very historic cemetery to a respectable condition…..resources such as monument repair experts, money to purchase the monument repair supplies, brick masons to repair the brick walls, chain saw operators and a bucket truck to removed dead trees and problem trees, burn permits from the City, Boy Scout Troop participation for more manpower, etc.  Camp members can plan to bring chain saws, rakes, lobbers, bush axes, weed eaters, etc.  My target Cemetery Clean-up dates are…..

Scheduled SCV Cemetery Clean-up Days at the

Indian Hills Cemetery in Prattville, Alabama

Work-day #1      Saturday, June 7th

Work-day #2      Saturday, August 2nd

Work-day #3      Saturday, August 16th

Work-day #4      Saturday, September 27th

Work-day #5      Saturday, October 11th

Work-day #6      Saturday, December 13^th

 

H.L. Hunley Preservation

Article in Archaeology, a Publication of the Archaeological Institute of America dated Friday May, 2, 2014,

http://archaeology.org/news/2080-140502-hunley-submarine-conservation. 

CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA—The H.L. Hunley, a Civil War-era submarine, will be immersed in a caustic bath that will remove the concretion of sand and shell that accumulated on its 40-foot-long iron hull. The procedure will also extract salt from the hull so that the Hunley can eventually be displayed without immersing it in water. Once the sediment has loosened the scientists at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center will begin to scrape it off. “Under that concretion is the possibility of new information about the attack,” archaeologist Michael Scafuri told The Post and Courier. The submarine sank and disappeared in 1864 after it rammed a torpedo into the USS Housatonic.

Recent Photo of the Hunley

 

Abbeville Institute for Southern Heritage Research and Education

Forwarded by Don Livingston of the Abbeville Institute:

Dear Friends and Associates of the Abbeville Institute

         If you have not already done so, please take a look at the remarkable achievement of the new Abbeville Institute website www.abbevilleinstitute.org. You should form the habit, as I have, of looking at it every day, for there is an abundance of new material daily. 

     Brion McClanahan is developing the site for the first time ever into a true voice of the South in all its many aspects.  He has already gathered an impressive company of writers,many of them new to our public mission. The new site has drawn 4,000 viewers in its first three weeks and seems especially of interest to young people.

     Please spread the word about this new venture to all potentially interested persons.  Consider contributing material for the Blog (commentary) and the Review (scholarly). Send submissions to Brionmcclanahan@gmail.com), and congratulate him on his unique and unprecedented achievement.

     I do not exaggerate in saying this may well be the best hope for Dixie. 

Sincerely,

Clyde Wilson, 

Emeritus, Distinguished Prof. of History,

University of South Carolina and 

M.E. Bradford Distinguished Fellow,

Abbeville Institute

Tallassee SCV Camp Proudly Announce Their New Home

The Sons of Confederate Veterans Tallassee Armory Guards now own a new meeting place.  The Historical Society indicates the structure it was built in 1890, however Benjamin Micou who owned the mills during the 1860s and 70s is said to have built it for his overseer.  It was located on the grounds of the Micou mansion which burned in 1908.  The overseerer's house was then moved to the present site which is where the Micou mansion once stood.  It is obvious that it is of 19th century architecture and it may have been constructed during the War Between the States.  The Tallassee camp intends to do more research on it now that it belongs to the camp and they are planning a work day to clean it up with the hopes to start conducting their camp meetings there in June.  Plans also include a flag display and a Confederate Monument at the site.  Congratulations to the Tallassee Armory Guards on this historical treasure.

New Tallassee Armory Guards Meeting Place

Dragoons at the Prattville Cityfest

Camp 1524 manned an information and recruiting booth at the annual Prattville Cityfest on Saturday May 3rd.  On Friday evening five Dragoons including Don Drasheff, Wayne Sullivan, Harold Grooms, Tyrone Crowley and Stuart Waldo helped prepare the booth, setting up the tent and tables.  Friday evening many of the local businesses set up their booths along Main Street in preparation for the Cityfest the following day.  The festivities actually begin Friday evening too with live music performed on a stage along Autauga Creek and food vendors selling hot dogs and sodas and fair fare.  Everyone brings there folding chairs and enjoys the spring evening while children play in the creek. 

Dragoons Setting up Booth for Cityfest Friday Evening

Thanks probably to great weather following a cold dreary winter and early spring, Saturday's event was one the best CityFest events in recent memory.  There were lots of visitors milling down Main Street of Prattville perusing the booths and enjoying food and drinks. The Dragoons gave away all the small Battle Flags numbering over 150 and Lt. Grooms noted when he was further down the street that he noticed the procession of Battle Flags being carried down Main Street by all the youngsters and young at heart.  Quite a few Alabama Division educational posters were distributed also to passers-by who appreciated Confederate history.  The Camp sold a number of larger 3x5ft flags including Battle Flags, Gadsden flags with the coiled rattlesnake, Bonnie Blues and Confederate National flags.  A sheet and a half of contacts signed up for information regarding membership, Confederate genealogy or SCV information.  Beautiful day and a great day for Confederate history and Southern heritage in downtown Prattville at the 2014 Cityfest.

Dragoons and Ladies of the DAR at the Opening of Cityfest on Saturday

Quartermaster Brantley and Commander Waldo Manning the Booth

Always Popular Free Battle Flags Lined Main Street

Some Young Confederate Compatriots