Confederate Memorial Park Library

Prattville Dragoon Tyrone Crowley continues his stalwart service to the Cause as a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 1524 by volunteering his time at the library at Confederate Memorial Park in Marbury AL. Tyrone was at the library on Saturday May 28th and despite a bit of rain in the morning, about 20 visitors stopped by the park's library, including a group of McGalliards who were there for a family reunion.  Library Chairman John Land is implementing improvements to the library including signs, labels, and an ongoing reorganization of the stacks. Tyrone noted the copy machine is used less these days as visitors interested in a particular book or page in a book simply takes a picture of it with camera or phone, to be studied or printed out later on.  One lady stopped by with her son who was on his way from Utah to Auburn to pursue a Ph D in Biology) took pictures of the title pages of about ten books that he and she found of interest and plan to borrow from their local library or buy.  A Canadian Air Force Colonel who had just graduated from Air War College at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery and his wife also stopped by to study the collection.  These folks appreciated the historical significance of the Confederate Memorial Park and enjoyed the library and other facilities at this wonderful Alabama state treasure. 

NEW CONFEDERATE MONUMENT TO BE DEDICATED IN DAHLONEGA, GA

(ATLANTA - May 24, 2016)  Despite politically-correct attacks on Confederate monuments and symbols over the past year, the Sons of Confederate Veterans in Georgia have been continuing work on increasing the number of Confederate monuments across the state.  The next such monument will be dedicated on Memorial Day on May 30th at 3:00 pm at 99 Courthouse Hill in Dahlonega.

The Blue Ridge Rifles Camp # 1860 has been working on this monument project for many years; and with the Members of the Georgia Division voting to help fund the project with Division tag funds, it has finally been accomplished. Camp 1860 put forth all the foot work from the design to pouring the foundation and raising their share of the funds to make the project happen.

There were twelve units that mustered in Lumpkin County for the Confederate army that are on the monument:

Home Guards are as follows :

•  Co, G 8th Reg.3rd Brigade State troops,
•  Co. D First Reg. State Troops "Blue Ridge Rangers"
•  Co B 11th Bat. State Guards "Lumpkin Guards"
•  Co. C 8th Reg. 3rd Brig. State Troops 
•  Co. A 11th Bat. State Guards "Dahlonega Infantry"
•  Co. A 4th Reg. 2nd. Brig. Georgia Militia .

Army of Tennessee are as follows:

•  Co. C 52nd Reg. Georgia Volunteer Infantry
•  Co. F 65th Reg. Georgia Volunteer Infantry
•  Co D 52nd Reg. Georgia Volunteer Infantry "Boyd's Guards"
•  Co. E 11th Reg. 30th Georgia Calvary Bat.

Army of Northern Virginia are as follows:

•  Co. H 1st Reg. Ga. Volunteer Infantry (Ramsey's) "Dahlonega Volunteers"
•  Co. E Phillips Legion Georgia Volunteer Infantry "Blue Ridge Rifles".

There were nearly 1200 men in these 12 units from the small mountain town of Dahlonega. Northern influence has always insisted that the mountain counties of Georgia were union sympathizers . As is obvious , that is far from the truth. 

The public is invited to attend the dedication, and those wishing to participate in the dedication are asked to wear only period correct attire.

For more information about the Sons of Confederate Veterans or any of this year's planned events to commemorate our Southern Heritage, contact the Georgia SCV at 404-271-8473 or online at www.GeorgiaSCV.org    

END PRESS RELEASE

Making of a Magnolia Wreath for Memorial Day Remembrance Service

The Prattville Dragoons were invited to participate in a Remembrance Service for Memorial Day at Montgomery's Trinity Presbyterian Church on Sunday May 29th.  Part of the program entailed placing a memorial wreath to honor the American soldiers which each organization represented. It was suggested that lemon or magnolia leaf wreaths with a banner if desired be made for placement.  Some organizations chose to use silk arrangements but Commander Waldo of Camp 1524 had designs to make a fresh magnolia leaf wreath.  These wreaths can cost upwards of $100 from a florist but with magnolia trees blossoming in Alabama here in late spring, the greenery and even buds and flowers from these trees are readily available for making your own.  There are step by step instructions online including even instructional videos for assembling a magnolia leaf wreath.  Some of the wreaths online looked great, others perhaps not so much and the attractiveness seemed to be directly proportional to the amount of time required in the assembly. There appear to be two schools of thought for magnolia wreaths, those utilizing just the large waxy leaves, and those using short branch ends from the tree.  Inspecting those florist pieces at the Memorial Day service including the artificial ones, these all seemed to be of the leaf arrangements which provided a more uniform layered appearance.  These instructions are for a branch wreath arrangement as a first effort which provides a more rustic, less structured appearance.

Materials - trash bag full of magnolia branches (about 10" lengths), a 28" wire form, 24 gage florist wire and wire cutters.

Wire each branch to wire form in two spots, adding more branches to fill laying each the same direction. 

All branches wired to the form about the circumference. Add smaller bits to fill to cover form from view.

Smaller leafed branches were used first and then 8-10 larger leafed branches including one with a flower were added equally spaced.  

Finished wreath with the flower on the left and a bud on the right. 

Added four mini-Battle Flags. Note within 24 hours of making the arrangement the flower was wilted and browned to the extent it was removed before the service. Otherwise the thick waxy leaves of the magnolia last for a nice while and can even be used as a dried arrangement. 

Prattville Dragoons Cemetery Workday Memorial Day Weekend

On Saturday, May 28th, very successful cemetery cleanup day was conducted with eight Dragoons from SCV Camp 1524 gathered at Indian Hill Cemetery making quick work of tidying this historic Prattville cemetery. Five members brought lawnmowers including Tom Crowley, Ryan King, Skip Ward, Camp Commander Stuart Waldo and Bill Myrick who as usual was the first to arrive and start working.  Larry Spears used his weed whacker to trim areas inside some of the burial plots and along the bank of the county road fronting the cemetery.  Father James Spears used weed killer to spray along the fenceline and around the large trees.  Jack Moore also took photos of everyone to document.  With all the prior work performed at this cemetery in reclaiming it and with five mowers working, all was completed within an hour and a half.  Camp 1st Lt. Harold Grooms went directly to the cemetery across CR 45 from Autaugaville's Shiloh Baptist Church and finished clearing that cemetery including cutting down a fallen pine tree.  Weed killer will be applied under the tree canopy at Indian Hill and at the Shiloh cemeteries to keep the undergrowth controlled.  Following the quick work at Indian Hill, Skip, Stuart, Bill, Tom and Jack drove out to Autaugaville to do an initial cleanup of the section of the town’s cemetery there where a half dozen Confederate soldiers are buried. These older graves are set along the tree line with more recently deceased laid to rest closer in the cemetery out toward Hwy-14. Among the graves here was a musician named Pau, just seventeen when the War commenced.  Also under the shade of the trees nearby was a World War II veteran who died in service in 1944. Truly heroes who fought to preserve their liberty and defend their homeland.  Branches from the trees along the fenceline adjacent to these older graves was obscuring the view of these graves with some branches grazing the monuments and many limbs strewn about.  Everything was trimmed up and picked up and these graves were made to once again appear a part of the larger cemetery.  A wonderful way to honor the service of these brave American veterans on a Memorial Day weekend.

Larry

Tom

Stuart and Skip

Prattville Dragoons Commander's Column for June 2016

Heroes Among Us

Penning this column on Memorial Day morning after spending the last two days doing meaningful work for celebrating this holiday set aside to honor American soldiers who have fallen in battle during the course of our nation’s founding and history.  On Saturday we had a very successful cemetery cleanup day with eight Dragoons camp members making quick work of mowing at Prattville’s Indian Hill Cemetery before five made the drive out to Autaugaville to do an initial cleanup of the section of the town’s cemetery there where a half dozen Confederate soldiers are buried. As is now well known within Camp 1524, there are a number of Confederate veterans and Prattville founders buried at Indian Hill.  Original founding member of the Prattville Dragoons, 2nd Lt. A.Y. Smith as well as 2nd Lt. Dixon S. Hall are interred there.  Smith who received the first Dragoon flag from Abigail Holt at the location of the Dragoons monument on the grounds of the Prattville Primary School off Washington Street in April 1861, survived the War.  But an amazing statistic I heard more than once over the Memorial Day weekend was the 1.3 million American soldiers who have perished on fields of battle here on our soil and across the world in defense of America from the colonial days to the present.  The War Between the States accounted for about 700,000 of these casualties, more than any other conflict.  420 soldiers every day perished during the War for Southern Independence as compared to 300 during the World Wars. Every day, hundreds of these best our country could offer were slain on bloody fields of battle or died of severe conditions of privation. Out in Autagaville among the graves was a musician named Pau, just seventeen when the War commenced.  Also under the shade of the trees nearby was a World War II veteran who died in service in 1944. Truly heroes who fought to preserve their liberty and defend their homeland. And we are honored to be Guardians of their final resting place.

Saturday afternoon I tried my hand at assembling a magnolia leaf wreath for use at the Remembrance Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Montgomery. Camp 1524 was extended an invitation to participate in this Memorial Day program to remember Americans who had died in service in conflicts from the colonial founding of America to the present day Mideast conflicts.  1^st Lt Grooms represented the Dragoons in laying the wreath and said afterward it was one of the most touching memorial programs he had attended. Along with our camp, Confederate patriots were honored by the Thomas Goode SCV Camp 259, the Ladies Memorial Association of Montgomery, and the Cradle of the Confederacy UDC Chapter 94.  Our own Quartermaster Myrick was dressed dapper as usual in a casual jacket which was adorned with many of his service ribbons including his Bronze Star.  Awesome stuff.  I took special note too of the last to place a wreath, a gentleman representing the Military Order of the Purple Heart. Truly heroes among us.  It has always impressed me that many of our compatriots in the Sons of Confederate Veterans are also veterans themselves of one branch or another of the United States military.  These men can surely more than most appreciate the incredible sacrifices made by and bravery exhibited by the men in grey.  While Americans pause at Memorial Day to honor our fallen soldiers, we as Sons of Confederate Veterans are charged to continually and unceasingly defend “the Confederate soldier's good name, the guardianship of his history, the emulation of his virtues, the perpetuation of those principles which he loved and which made him glorious”.   We must protect and defend the memory, monuments and resting places of these veterans who fought and died in our defense, all American heroes. 

Remembrance Service for Memorial Day at Trinity Presbyterian Church

The Prattville Dragoons Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 1524 participated in the Remembrance Service hosted by Trinity Presbyterian Church in Montgomery AL on Sunday May 29th.  Prior to the service in the sanctuary of Trinity, a Patriotic Medley Prelude was played on the beautiful organ accompanied by a trumpet.  The colors were then posted including the U.S. flag and flags from each branch of the service led by a bagpiper in kilt.  Patriotic hymns were sung by all including "MMy Country 'Tis of Thee", "America the Beeautiful" and "The National Anthem".  The Trinity Men's Choir also sand an Offertory Anthem "For the Fallen: They Shall Grow Old Not" and an Anthem "Mansions of the Lord".  The Senior Minister of Trinity provided the Invocation and led the Confession of Sin which the congregation recited in unison. An Alabama National Guard chaplain provided a good appropriate message entitled "Two Memorials" which related that we should celebrate the sacrifices of our fallen American soldiers who helped preserve our political and religious freedoms but that only thru Jesus can we be assured of spiritual liberty and security. Following a collection which benefitted the National Guard, The Laying of Wreaths in Memory of Our Heroic Dead was conducted with representatives from each organization called in succession according to the program in historical chronological order starting with the Jamestowne (Colony) Society, Daughters of American Colonists, Colonial Dames, different chapters of the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution, the United Daughters of 1812, the UDC and SCV as well as The Ladies Memorial Association of Montgomery. Representatives of organizations from more recent conflicts included the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, Military Officers Association and, the Military Order of the Purple Heart.  After all the wreaths were placed in the apse a Moment of Silence was observed followed by the playing of Taps by trumpet. The service concluded with a Benediction and the Recessional led by the bagpiper. 1st Lt Harold Grooms represented the Dragoons in placing the magnolia wreath provided by the camp adorned with four mini-Battle flags.  Camp 1524 Commander Stuart Waldo was also in attendance as was Quartermaster Bill Myrick, Allen Herrod and, Tyrone Crowley with their wives.  It was truly a beautiful memorial service, one which Harold stated was perhaps the most moving he had attended.

Dragoons with Memorial Wreath

Posting of the Colors Led by Bagpiper

Chaplain Delivering the Sernon

Placement of the UDC Wreath in Memory of All Confederates Who Fought in the War Between the States 

1st Lt. Harold Grooms Observes a Moment of Silence after Placing the SCV Camp 1524 Wreath. 

A Moment of Silence after Placement of all the Wreaths in the Sanctuary Apse.

The Assemblage of all the Memorial Wreaths. 

Prattville Dragoons May Camp Meeting - Part 2, The Battle of Chickamauga

Tyler Suttle provided a presentation on the historical novel on the Battle of Chickamauga he recently completed, "This Terrible Sound", part of a trilogy by Peter Cozzens. After the Battle of Stone River in the Tullahoma Campaign which was highlighted by the disastrous suicidal charge under Confederate General Bragg, his forces withdrew from Chattanooga on August 21st in the face of Union forces recently outfitted with repeating Spencer rifles.  Mj. Gen. William Rosecrans led the Union forces chasing Bragg and while he was a brilliant graduate of West Point, he was overconfident and didn't recognize the concentration of Confederate forces and how spread out his own forces were.  Bragg was also a West Point graduate class of 1827 and his faults included trust and personality issues.

Bragg's Army of Tennessee required reinforcements after the previous battle losses and received them from Longstreet and from Vicksburg. The Battle of Chickamauga was the second bloodiest battle of the War Between the States and started on September 19, 1863.  Chickamauga was Indian for River of Blood.

The Battle of Chickamauga commenced with a morning skirmish in Winfrey Field.  Confederates pushed the Federals back to Brock Field where the battle raged for 3-4 hours.  7th Indiana Private Jacob Miller was the first recipient of the U.S. Medal of Honor when he sustained facial/skull injuries and doctored himself to walk off the battlefield.

The East Viniard Field was where the fighting moved in the early afternoon with Confederates seeking to take the Lafayette Road for the infantry to hold the ground. Confederate General Benning's forces provided reinforcements.  Bodies were slain and laid so deep that it was said you could walk across the 300 yard wide field without stepping on grass, just on bodies.  Fighting lasted here into late afternoon around 5:30pm. Federals used grapeshot at close range in a crossfire pattern to hold the Confederates at bay but eventually the Union artillery and forces withdrew and some fled to Chattanooga.  The Wilder Tower Monument provides visitors to the battlefield park today a panoramic view of these fields.

Major General Patrick Cleburne's forces arrived for reinforcements in the Winfrey Field and starting at 6pm the fighting evolved into some of the first night time fighting of the war which resulted in many friendly fire casualties.  Col. Baldwin's Brigade set up breastworks which held until 7pm when after hand to hand combat, Baldwin was killed and the Federals retreated.

Night time falls and as the firing ceased you started to hear that terrible sound as wounded men lay dying in the battlefields, some burned alive as fires started by the artillery blasts burned brush and grass and consumed the men who couldn't move for their injuries.  Enemies provided humanitarian aid to enemy soldiers.

The next fighting the following day involved Major General Henry Thomas, commander of the Federal 14th Corps of the Cumberland, the "Rock of Chickamauga".  Bragg ordered an attack at 6am on August 22nd but orders were late and the charge was postponed until 9am. Some Confederate forces were led by Maj Gen. John Breckinridge who was formerly the youngest ever Vice President of the United States.  At 9:45am fighting was in Kelly Field and McDonald Field but a poorly executed charge led Breckinridge to be reminded of the disastrous charge at Stone River.

Fighting loved to Horseshoe Hill and Snodgrass Hill where the Federals held spots until 5-7pm.  South Carolina troops organized by Alabama troops led by future Alabama governor too Hill No. 1.  Fighting finally ceased at 10pm that night and the final Union troops retreated without any further Confederate attack.  General Nathan Bedford Forrest recon'd the area and saw the Federals in disarray and believed the Confederates could retake Chattanooga but Bragg ignored this suggestion/advice.

This battle was 18000 Confederate casualties and 16000 Union casualties. It was tactically a Confederate victory but the Confederates forfeited the opportunity to pursue and finally defeat the Federals. Many called for Bragg's dismissal but were rebutted by President Jefferson Davis.