Sunday, March 22, 2015
Driving the South to Secession
From: bernhard1848@gmail.com
It is said that if the Crittenden Compromise of December, 1861 had been submitted to the people, it would have had far-reaching effect in arresting the secession movement except for the already-departed South Carolina. By January, the opportunity had passed though the Republicans showed by their support of the proposed 13th Amendment that slavery was truly not an issue, and that their coming war against the American South was expressly for other reasons.
Bernhard Thuersam, www.Circa1865.com
Driving the South to Secession
"From Buffalo, on January 18, 1861, he [Horatio Seymour] wrote Senator Crittenden of Kentucky in support of his scheme of compromise. It was in his opinion that this "great measure of reconciliation" struck "the popular heart." [Senator William] Bigler of Pennsylvania had proposed that the Crittenden Compromise be submitted to popular vote, and Seymour assured the senator that Bigler's suggestion was "here regarded as vastly important."
He thought the measure would carry New York by 150,000 votes in a referendum . . . [and] Republican congressmen who feared to support the compromise would be glad of the chance to throw the responsibility on their constituents.
[Author] James Ford Rhodes fortified one's belief in the good judgment of Seymour when he studied the defeat of Senator Crittenden's proposals. In view of the appalling consequences the responsibility of both Lincoln and Seward for the defeat is heavy, if not dark — in spite of all that historians of the inevitable have written of "this best of all possible worlds." The committee to which Crittenden's bill for compromise was referred consisted of thirteen men. Crittenden himself was the most prominent of the three representatives from the Border States.
Of three Northern Democrats, Douglas, of Illinois was the leader; of five Republicans, [William] Seward was the moving spirit. Only two men sat from the Cotton States, [Jefferson] Davis and [Robert] Toombs. Commenting on the fateful vote of the committee, Rhodes observed:
"No fact is clearer than that the Republicans in December defeated the Crittenden compromise; few historic probabilities have better evidence to support them than the one which asserts that the adoption of this measure would have prevented the secession of the Cotton States, other than South Carolina, and the beginning of the civil war in 1861 . . . It is unquestionable, as I have previously shown, that in December the Republicans defeated the Crittenden proposition; and it seems to me likewise clear that, of all the influences tending to this result, the influence of Lincoln was the most potent."
In January the House refused, by a vote of 113 to 80, to submit the Crittenden Compromise to the people. About the same time the Senate joined this action by a vote of 20 to 19. Two-thirds of each House, however, recommended to the States a compromise thirteenth amendment to the Constitution, as follows: "No amendment shall be made to the Constitution which will authorize or give Congress the power to abolish or interfere, within any State, with the domestic institutions thereof, including that of persons held to labor or service by the laws of said State."
Conservative Republicans voted with the Democrats to carry this measure of which Lincoln approved in his inaugural address."
(Horatio Seymour of New York, Stewart Mitchell, Harvard University Press, 1938, pp 222-224)
Saturday, March 21, 2015
Lincoln's Real Motive
From: bernhard1848@gmail.com
Lincoln's belief that the American South after solemn conventions of its States remained part of his government was a fiction to which he clung throughout the war, surpassed only by his belief that ten percent of the voters of a State can determine its legal and constitutional government. He refused to believe that his own authority as president was limited, and the supremacy of his political party over country motivated him.
Bernhard Thuersam, www.Circa1865.com
Lincoln's Real Motive
"From Mr. [Robert] Toombs, Secretary of State, Message No. 5, Department of State, Montgomery, Alabama, May 18, 1861.
To: Hon Wm. L. Yancey, Hon. Pierre A. Rost, Hon. A. Dudley Mann, Commissioners of the Confederate States, etc.
Gentlemen: My dispatch of the 24th ultimo contained an accurate summary of the important events which had transpired up to that date, and informed you that the Executive of the United States had commenced a war of aggression against the Confederate States.
On the 20th instant the convention of the people of North Carolina will assemble at Raleigh, and there is no doubt that, immediately thereafter, ordinances of secession from the United States, and union with the Confederate States, will be adopted.
Although ten independent and sovereign States have thus deliberately severed the bonds which bound them in political union with the United States, and have formed a separate and independent Government for themselves, the President of the United States affects to consider that the Federal Union is still legally and constitutionally unbroken . . . He claims to be our ruler, and insists that he has the right to enforce our obedience.
From the newspaper press, the rostrum, and the pulpit, the partisans of Mr. Lincoln, while they clamorously assert their devotion to the Union and Constitution of the United States, daily preach a relentless war between the sections, to be prosecuted not only in violation of all constitutional authority, but in disregard of the simplest law of humanity.
The authorized exponents of the sentiments of [Lincoln's party] . . . avow that it is the purpose of the war to subjugate the Confederate States, spoliate the property of our citizens, sack and burn our cities and villages, and exterminate our citizens . . .
[The] real motive which actuates Mr. Lincoln and those who now sustain his acts is to accomplish by force of arms that which the masses of the Northern people have long sought to effect – namely, the overthrow of our domestic institutions, the devastation and destruction of our social interests, and the reduction of the Southern States to the condition of subject provinces.
It is not astonishing that a people educated in that school which always taught the maintenance of the rights of the few against the might of the many, which ceaselessly regarded the stipulation to protect and preserve the liberties and vested rights of every member of the Confederacy as the condition precedent upon which each State delegated certain powers necessary for self-protection to the General Government, should refuse to submit dishonorably to the destruction of their constitutional liberty, the insolent denial of their right to govern themselves and to hold and enjoy their property in peace.
In the exercise of that greatest of the rights reserved to the several States by the late Federal Constitution – namely, the right for each State to be judge for itself, as well of the infractions of the compact of the Union, as of the mode and measure of redress – the sovereignties composing the Confederate States resolved to sever their political connection with the United States and form a Government of their own, willing to effect this purpose peacefully at any sacrifice save that of honor and liberty, but determined even at the cost of war to assert their right to independence and self-government."
(A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Confederacy 1861-1865, James D. Richardson, Volume II, US Publishing Company, 1905, excerpt, pp. 26-31)
Friday, March 20, 2015
Ancient Relics and Statues Destroyed in Mosul...Sound Familiar?
This is heartbreaking, and difficult to watch...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2970270/Islamic-State-fighters-destroy-antiquities-Iraq-video.html
"Islamic State thugs have destroyed a collection of priceless statues and sculptures in Iraq dating back thousands of years.
Extremists used sledgehammers and power drills to smash ancient artwork as they rampaged through a museum in the northern city of Mosul.
Video footage shows a group of bearded men in the Nineveh Museum using tools to wreck 3,000-year-old statues after pushing them over."
How utterly disgraceful and disrespectful to destroy the culture, heritage, and history of a people because of hate and ignorance.
Sound familiar? How frightening is it that there are people in the United States who would like to see the same thing happen to our Confederate memorials, monuments, and artifacts? It's already happening here, and will continue, if we don't start standing up and defending our heritage!
"The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here." Matthew 12:41
Susan Hathaway
Va Flaggers
Sandston VA
info@vaflaggers.com
Thursday, March 19, 2015
RESCUING GENERAL STUART
General James Ewell Brown Stuart is once again in danger! Though he is no longer prey to the mortality of the flesh, his monument in Richmond is in serious danger of being rendered hors d'combat due to the passage of time and frailty of every man-made substance no matter how "permanent".
THE STUART-MOSBY HISTORICAL SOCIETY is sponsoring a fund-raising effort to keep General JEB in the saddle for many years to come. For a cost of $35,000, craftsmen will return the General to full health and continued existence. It is hoped to have the funds raised by June so that the work can be done during the summer. All monies collected above and beyond the cost of restoration will be placed in a trust fund for future maintenance.
To help in this most worthy cause, please make out your check to: The Stuart Mosby Historical Society and mark for the "Monument Restoration Fund." Please send your tax-deductible donation to:
The Stuart-Mosby Historical Society
5405 Midship Court
Burke, VA 22015
Susan Hathaway
Va Flaggers
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
The Civil War Soldier – Who Are They?
WALKER COUNTY, GA – The American Civil War is the most widely written and discussed topic in American history. Details pertaining battles are reviewed; political figures and their policies are examined and debated; military figures are studied to find the defects or geniuses of their engagements. However, the common solider is overlooked and rarely discussed. On February 28, 2015 at 6 P.M. at the Walker County Civic Center the Georgia Civil War Commission will present an educational symposium entitled The Civil War Soldiers - Who Are They? Notable historians will discuss the aspect that the War was not just a "white man's war" but that both armies consisted of a conglomerate of different people from different walks of life. This event is free and open to the public.
The Georgia Civil War Commission has arranged many distinguished and prominent historians that can delve into the subject of "Who are the Civil War soldiers?" Those speakers include Earl Ijames, who is the African American and Community Curator of the North Carolina Museum of History; Teresa Roane who currently is the Archivist of the United Daughters of the Confederacy; Charles Kelly Barrow who is not only a Commissioner but also author of Black Confederates and Black Southerners in Confederate Armies; Brad Quinlin who is a renowned genealogist and researcher for many of the Confederate and National Cemeteries around Georgia; Lewis Regenstein who a regular contributor about Jewish Confederates to periodicals; John Carroll who is not only a Commissioner but also a historian; Greg Eanes who is author of Virginia's Black Confederates; and James Yancey who is a Commissioner and former archivist of the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library.
For more information, contact Cassie Barrow at gcwc@inbox.com or 770.468.4313.
About Georgia Civil War Commission
The Georgia Civil War Commission was created by the 1993 Georgia General Assembly. Its mandate, as spelled out in Senate Resolution 21, is to coordinate planning, preservation, and promotion of structures, buildings, sites, and battlefields associated with this significant period of our common heritage. The Commission is to develop a State of Georgia Civil War Sites Heritage plan. The plan will promote heritage tourism and provide incentives to local landowners and local governments to preserve Civil War battlefields and historic sites. The Commission is to acquire or provide funds for the acquisition of Civil War battlefields, cemeteries, and other historic properties. The Commission can receive and accept loans, gifts, grants, donations or contributions of property.
Cassie A. Barrow,
Chief of Staff
Georgia Civil War Commission
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Re: How one man reminded me what I love about the South
From: cscitizen@windstream.net
To: jarchibald@al.com
http://www.al.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/02/how_one_man_reminded_me_what_i.html
John,
Tell your friend Justin that to totally & truly love the South one must personally come to terms with the fact that it is not perfect. We have our flaws like every other section of America but, we borrowed them from the rest of the country when America was young. So, do not make the South the sole scapegoat for them as the rest of the country does in an attempt to relieve its conscience & itself of its part of the responsibility for those events.
While we do have good food, weather etc., we are also a distinct region unto ourselves with our own history, heritage, culture & symbols unlike places I have lived or visited in the rest of this country. All foreign & distant compared to what I knew at home.
In short, do not be a South hater because we have no more or no less the number of faults as the rest of this country, we just get singled out more for them. I for one will be glad when the rest of America shoulders their share of the responsibility for America`s shortcomings instead of piling them all on us. It has gotten old, worn-out & is no longer believable to most thinking people.
Billy E. Price
Ashville Alabama
Monday, March 16, 2015
We Won! We have the deed to Confederate Memorial Circle!
It's time to Celebrate, Commemorate & Re-Dedicate!
The Friends of Forrest and Selma Chapter 53, UDC Cordially Invite You to Attend & Share The Celebration of our Historical & Monumental Victory!!!
Saturday, May 23, 2015
1:00 PM
Confederate Memorial Circle
Historic Live Oak Cemetery
Selma, Alabama
A Guided Tour of Live Oak Cemetery
9:30am
Reception to follow program at the
Smitherman Building Museum
(The Original Site of the NB Forrest Monument)
109 Union Street
The host hotel is the Quality Inn here in Selma – 334-874-8600. I have blocked off 15 rooms at the Special Friends of Forrest rate of $69 per night plus tax. There are only 60 rooms in the hotel so call now for your reservations! May 23, 2015 is Memorial Day weekend. This will give out-of-towners an extra day for travel back home & work or to stay an extra day to tour Historic Selma! For more information contact: Pat Godwin at 334-875-1690; 334-419-4566 (cell) or e-mail: oldsouthrebel@zebra.net
Confederate Memorial Circle was originally dedicated 137 years ago on 26 April 1878. It's time to celebrate, commemorate & re-dedicate Confederate Memorial Circle where we will re-dedicate the Nathan Bedford Forrest Monument by unveiling the REPLACEMENT bronze bust of Lt. General Nathan Bedford Forrest. We will re-dedicate the Confederate Soldiers' Memorial and also the new Battle of Selma Memorial. This will be a HUGE MONUMENTAL HISTORICAL event- the most paramount Confederate accomplishment throughout the South in recent times. We beat the enemy in their own territory, the Civil Rights hotpot of the world! We have won our case against the City of Selma. Selma Chapter 53, UDC has been awarded the deed to the one acre Memorial Circle plus the Pigeoneers House! Our Security & Beautification Enhancement of Confederate Memorial Circle project has been quite a test of patience, endurance, perseverance and faithful dedication of all our supporters. We are very GRATEFUL for ALL our supporters and contributors to our efforts to defend, protect and preserve our noble Southern history and heritage here in Selma. Even though we are having the dedication on May 23, this project is not quite finished. We still have LOTS to pay for and also erect 20 bronze historical interpretive markers throughout the Circle. These historical markers will cost approximately $1500 each. We are also still selling the ancestor pavers; if you want your paver laid by dedication day please place your order NOW! However, we will continue to sell the pavers until we have all 4 quads filled with engraved pavers. Contact me at 334-875-1690 for order form & information. If you would like to contribute to this historical, monumental project, please make check payable to and MARK FOR: CONFEDERATE MEMORIAL CIRCLE:
NBF Monument Fund
C/o Patricia S. Godwin
Fort Dixie
10800 Co. Rd. 30
Selma, Alabama 36701
Keepin' the skeer on'em!
DEO VINDICE!
Patricia S. Godwin
Sunday, March 15, 2015
Museum of Waxhaws remembers
From: gpthelastrebel@att.net
Chuck in response to the article Museum of Waxhaws remembers ex-slaves in Confederate Army,
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2015/02/13/5513456/museum-of-waxhaws-remembers-ex.html?fb_action_ids=10153181467454274&fb_action_types=og.comments#.VOOBOWc5Aeh
SHAPE has quite a good bit of info. Factual and sourced information on Black Confederates at "Negroes In Gray" at http://negrosingrey.southernheritageadvancementpreservationeducation.com/page.php?2
At the current time we have some 10,000 Negroes (names or numbers)who served the Confederacy listed.
To full understand the role of Black Confederates in the Confederate Military, read the laws passed by the Confederate Congress "Organization of the Confederate Military" http://negrosingrey.southernheritageadvancementpreservationeducation.com/e107_plugins/forum/forum_
viewtopic.php?658
We are constantly updating the information; I do not claim the website to be complete.
Use the search feature to navigate
Thanks,
George Purvis
Saturday, March 14, 2015
Va Flaggers: Charlottesville Lee-Jackson Day Update
As of this writing, the Charlottesville City Council meeting scheduled for tonight, at which the proposal to eliminate the City Lee-Jackson holiday will be read, will "happen as scheduled". http://www.charlottesville.org/index.aspx?page=3544
Also as of this writing, we will not be attending. The region was hit with 6-8 inches of snow, and freezing temperatures tonight would make late night travel home treacherous for our folks, even if we could get there.
Yesterday, the Daily Progress published an article, which included several statements I had given them. http://www.dailyprogress.com/news/local/charlottesville-ordinance-to-remove-lee-jackson-day-expected-to-be/article_e25d5764-b617-11e4-aa33-1b701f108385.html
The typical slant of the piece is certainly not surprising, but we were pleased that several good points were made.
Last night, I received the following email:
From: Matthew Bowen <drmbowen@comcast.net>
Date: Mon, Feb 16, 2015 at 9:58 PM
To: info@vaflaggers.com
Ms. Hathaway:
Regarding the subject reference and related debate, I just took note of this quote attributed to you on behalf of the Virginia Flaggers:
Posted: Monday, February 16, 2015
"This holiday honors two American veterans. To deny them the honor and remembrance they deserve is to insult and dishonor all veterans."
Madam, your assertion is entirely incorrect. From the firsthand vantage point of documentary interview conducted with African-American veterans ranging from legendary units such as the 333rd artillery at the Battle of the Bulge and the Montford Point Marines to African-American veterans who served on combat units during the worst fighting of the Vietnam war, I can assure you with 100% certainty that, counter to your statement, they all in fact feel dishonored--to say the least--precisely on account of the persistence of a Lee-Jackson holiday.
Otherwise, know that I speak as well from the perspective of one who has a plot in my ancestral cemetery (Tate County, MS) alongside that of my great-great grandfather, who fought with the 42nd Mississippi Infantry. Indeed, as a small boy visiting with my great-aunt Jessie, I was ceremoniously shown the cherished family heirloom of his canteen with a musket ball hole in it, and told tales of his service. As such, I have carried my whole life a deep understanding of and respect for the Confederate veteran.
On behalf of the Combat Veterans Oral History Project, for the reasons stated, I beg that you refrain in the future from further unqualified statements such as the above.
Regards,
Matthew Bowen
MY RESPONSE:
From: Virginia Flagger
Date: Tue, Feb 17, 2015
To: Matthew Bowen <drmbowen@comcast.net>
Mr. Bowen,
I am afraid I do not know to what "unqualified statement" you are referring. Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson served in both the United States and Confederate Armed forces. I was raised to respect and honor ALL American veterans and that to insult one was to insult all. These men were, and remain, American Veterans, and as such, and considering their military genius, impeccable character, and devotion to God and Country, deserve every respect and honor, including the city holiday, set aside to honor them in Charlotttesville, Va.
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2013/04/03/confederate-soldiers-american-veterans-by-act-of-congress/
Unlike you, I don't claim to speak "for" thousands of Veterans, but I can share information from a recent poll of American Veterans: "In May 2014, The American Legion Magazine asked its readers, website visitors and social media followers to select from a list of 100 beloved U.S. veterans. More than 70,000 votes were cast. The choices span our nation's lifetime." Among the top 25 beloved U.S. Veterans, as voted BY U.S. Veterans, Generals Lee and Jackson ranked #8 and #25, respectively.
http://www.legion.org/belovedveterans
No I can't speak for the Veterans you mention, and I wonder how you can make such assertions, with 100% certainty, or any certainty at all, unless each individual of hundreds of thousands of black veterans told you that, specifically, and/or unless you are claiming clairvoyance or omniscience? Ironically, many of these men you mentioned served in U.S. Armed forces that were not desegregated until 1948, a full 83 years after Lee surrendered at Appomattox. I doubt they blamed Lee & Jackson or any other Confederate Veteran for that injustice.
I will, however, speak on behalf of my four Great-Uncles, who, in 1941, left Virginia to serve honorably in World War II:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bv2gWoNhsUg/UlGpX9CPVFI/AAAAAAAAAJo/mSlkhn4JGDE/s1600/74416_496406589273_4072570_n.jpg
L-R, Granville David Jenkins, Wesley William Jenkins, John Sylvanius Jenkins, and Ryland Sylvester Jenkins. Uncle Granville was with the 24th Infantry in the Pacific. He was awarded a medal for bravery and came home to be killed by a drunk driver. Uncle Wesley was with the 2nd Marine Div. in the Pacific. Uncle "Tootsie" was with the 90th Infantry in Europe. He was the last surviving brother and died last year, at 95.Uncle Ryland was with the 9th (Army) Air Force in Europe.
They were the grandsons of a Confederate Veteran, and from them, I learned to honor and respect ALL who serve.
I am deeply saddened that someone like you, who has apparently devoted so much time to the good work of recording the history of our Veterans, would choose to make such prejudicial statements about Lee & Jackson, by speaking in favor of removing a holiday set aside to honor their memory. Had I not known of your prejudicial views and the endorsement (on behalf of Combat Veterans Oral History Project) of the removal of the Lee-Jackson holiday, I would have been eager to support your project, and encourage others to do the same.
Refrain from making statements such as what was quoted in The Daily Progress? No sir, I will not. As long as I have breath, I will continue to speak for my Confederate ancestors, who can no longer speak for themselves.
Sincerely,
Susan Hathaway
Va Flaggers
I share this communication in the hopes that any Veterans who read it and feels inclined, might share their views on the topic with Dr. Bowen, and to make like-minded folks aware of the formal and public stand taken against Lee-Jackson Day in Charlottesville "on behalf of the Combat Veterans Oral History Project".
Confederately yours,
Susan Hathaway
Va Flaggers
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Virginia Flaggers
P.O. Box 547
Sandston VA 23150
info@vaflaggers.com
Friday, March 13, 2015
ONE LAST LETTER
As we see the approach of the 150th anniversary of Lee's surrender at Appomattox, I, ironically face a type of finality myself. I have written about this before but, now, have a bit more to say about it.
Since 1973 I have submitted Letters-to-the-Editor to the Macon Telegraph and various other publications. Most editors were fair-minded people even though they heartily disagreed with most of the views I expressed. Others used their authority to support their own ideology. Earlier this year, in a sloppy piece of writing, I failed to note the direct words of source and place the proper quotation marks - see the Letters-to-the-Editor at Macon.com for January 7. I make no excuse, it was my poor work and I am guilty of that. What I am not guilty of is the bogus charge of plagiarism. Although I am ashamed of my workmanship, in this instance, I have no need to copy words and represent them as my own. In fact the strength of my writings is often the foundation laid through eloquent words of past voices. In better words, what I say, or what I think is not important - historical quotes are - and that is what I often used. Without attributing them to their rightful author they do not carry much weight. It seems, therefore, that I now am totally barred from expressing opinions in the Macon Telegraph. A slanderous enemy seems to have won.
I, had a voice, one voice, in this community to present historical observations without a coating of political white wash. Naturally, these were opposed but often people graciously told me how much they supported the sentiments of my writings which mirrored opinions that they also held. As much as I appreciated these kind words, I always wondered , "if you feel that way, why did you not write as letter as well?" Sometimes I actually asked them this question, to which they replied "well, you know I can't write and express things like that" … and so on - others just shrugged. Most of us were taught to read and write in school and I was amazed that illiteracy was yet so prevalent. Can you imagine someone with a high school diploma (and in many cases a college degree) telling me they can't write a letter expressing their opinion - what they mean is they won't! I know, they say that the art of letter writing has been lost but I get emails folks all the time saying what they think. And don't tell me people are incompetent nor shy about giving you a piece of their mind - look at FACEBOOK! However, in newsprint, well they seem to reluctant to write what they think and sign their name to it - why is that? Do they fear repercussions from their peers or a reprimand at work? I have actually received work place promotions and opportunities related to writing letters to the newspaper - true story! Come on folks, I understand fully how the politically correct of this world can give you a hard time but we are SOUTHERN PEOPLE - of all humanity we should be unaffected by fear or laziness. Is our heritage worth it or not? If not, find the channel changer and nod off in an easy chair.
We may be able to affect little change by voicing our opinions and being a reminder of true historical facts but we can sure make them know we are not asleep. For much of the opposition this is all just a game played with a deck of cards called "sheer willful ignorance." Those who wrote rebuttals to my work had little more to say than to call me names and skew a few facts - real scholars they are! I never minded what they said about me, it was often amusing; nor did I waste my time contending with them. However, do you feel okay about their defamations of Lee, Jackson, the Cause of Southern Independence and in some cases even the Lord Jesus Christ?
Apparently, I am out of that game - my weapon taken. If I could find any way to continue the fight, I would, and there may be another avenue of approach but I will need some courageous wiliness from you - not interested, okay, I expected such. But, there may be one or two out there who still have a taste for the fray - contact me if you care about carrying the fight to the face of the enemy. I really do not expect many emails nor for my phone to ring in acceptance of this challenge. It you're up to it, it would be encouraging.
"….. a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come….." - Proverbs 24:33-34
I am your devoted friend and compatriot,
John Wayne Dobson
Macon, GA
waynedobson51@yahoo.com
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Document CSA Ancestor & Joining SCV
SHNV Compatriots,
After my recent post on SHNV concerning the requirements and procedures for documenting a Confederate ancestor and joining SCV, I have received several requests for assistance. The information posted below explains the procedure I use to document a Confederate Ancestor so that one may join SCV.
Documentation of Confederate Ancestor and Joining the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) Organization
A male descendant age 12 or older can join the SCV (Sons of Confederate Veterans) organization upon documentation and proof of an ancestor who was a Confederate veteran. He may join under a direct line (example-great great grandfather) or a co-lateral line (example-a brother of your great great grandfather who was a great great great uncle) by documenting CSA (Confederate States of America) military service.
When I document a Confederate ancestor for a person to join SCV I get info. on their parents, grandparents or great grandparents (names, exact or approximate birth and death dates, places of residence etc.) in 1930.
Then I find these individuals on the 1930 Federal U.S. census (the latest available to the public) and trace back 10 years at a time to 1860. As you search backwards an ancestor (example-Great grandfather) may be an adult in 1930 and a child or younger person in 1900 who may be still at home with his parents. Then you take the parents name and go backwards until you find him or her listed as a child perhaps 1880 or 1870 and you get the names of his or her parents and find them on an 1850 or 1860 census. Be aware that spelling of names, age, etc. sometimes varies from census to census and census takers sometimes missed individuals or families who were moving to a different location etc.
Unfortunately the 1890 census burned and is not available. I check the names of all males that are of age to be CSA soldiers in 1850 and 1860 against the CSA records. Your number of ancestors doubles with every generation as you go backwards (example-2 parents, 4 grandparents, 8 great grandparents and on & on). So I usually find one or more CSA ancestors from both the father's and mother's several family lines.
You have to pay and join one of the genealogy sites like ancestry.com or archives.com (the lowest cost) to have access to the U.S. Federal Census records.
Basic Confederate records (name, Regiment, Company) by state can be accessed by anyone at no cost. Do a Google search on a computer--enter "Soldiers and Sailors System National Park Service". Then open that NPS site and click on soldiers. Select Confederate then enter a surname and you can select a state or view a listing by surname and first and middle names or initials for all CSA states. The names of CSA soldiers are listed alphabetically A thru Z. There is some duplication because soldiers sometimes changed regiments. This site has about 6 million total names (more than actually existed due to duplication) for CSA and Union soldiers. Also some soldiers had the same first or middle names and/or initials. On common names like Smith etc. there are often many soldiers with the same or similar names so it is often impossible to tell which one was your CSA ancestor that you are searching for. Sometimes already knowing the state, county, city or town, your ancestor was from and the regiment an ancestor was in solves this dilemma.
Since CSA records involving discharge, parole, surrender etc. during the confusion at the time of surrender are often unavailable, inaccurate, or unknown, I deem the documentation of the CSA ancestor's name and regiment as sufficient proof to join SCV in my camp.
Some complete CSA military records for a soldier are available from other sources such as Fold3 and national and state archives. Also some post war CSA state pension applications can provide greater details of a soldier's service. The CSA infantry and artillery records are more complete than cavalry records.
SCV members receive the national magazine The Confederate Veteran" every 2 months. Members of the Georgia SCV Division also receive a newspaper "The Georgia Confederate" every 2 months. Most camps also send a camp newsletter to members every month. A member also receives a color SCV certificate suitable for framing that includes the members name and his ancestors name, regiment, and company with the SCV emblem at the top.
The 3 primary purposes of SCV is 1.-preserve the memory of CSA enlisted men and officers, 2.-preserve CSA graves, monuments, historical markers, battle sites, flags, artifacts, mementos, and place new monuments and markers, and 3.-present the history, heritage, and culture of the Old South, the Confederate war years, and post-war reconstruction accurately. Since the victor of a war writes the history that which is presented in American history is at best a highly biased New England perspective and at worst no more than Yankee lies and propaganda.
The National SCV, State SCV Divisions, and many local SCV camps host one or more of the following events--a yearly Lee-Jackson Banquet, a yearly CSA memorial service, Christmas Banquet, CSA balls, CSA grave headstone decorations, erections, dedications, placement of CSA flags, and other events and some SCV members participate in reenactments. The national SCV and many SCV state divisions have annual reunions.
Anyone who meets the requirements to join SCV may join their local camp, national headquarters camp, or my Albany Georgia camp. Those who have no Confederate ancestor may join my camp as an associate member with all benefits except voting rights. The SCV organization currently has approximately 30,000 members, the majority in Southern states with a limited number in Northern and Western states and Europe.
James W. King
SCV Camp Commander Albany Georgia
Col. Thomas M. Nelson-Nelson's Rangers Camp 141
jkingantiquearms@bellsouth.net
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Appeasing the Enemy
From: cwipaulk@earthlink.net
Dear Mr. Eckel,
I read your letter in which you state that "Our goal as a Christian organization is to be welcoming to all". Why doesn't "all" ever include us, meaning the SCV, League of the South, Confederate Society of America, or any other pro-Southern organization? Just because of a few malcontented, uneducated, bigoted complaining people, you take it upon yourselves to help them not be "offended" by offending those of us who are working hard to preserve the true accounts of our history, and whose ancestors fought and died defending their homeland from an illegal invasion, resulting in the raping, burning, looting, and murder of people and property of the South.
I'm sure the perpetrators of cultural genocide upon our beloved South are greatly in your debt for helping them win another battle. You should re-examine your "Christian ministry of hospitality" and realize that you are appeasing the enemy. Appeasement is another word for surrender. Surrendering to the enemy of our culture, history, and symbols is not what our Lord would have us do. Trying to sugarcoat wrong actions under the banner of "Christian ministry" is insulting to those of us who are Christians. The more these misinformed groups are given in to (surrendered to) the more ground we lose, never to be regained. Education is the key to resolving such matters, but it must be educating with the correct material. What we have had for 150 years is indoctrination of generations of Americans with rewritten, inaccurate history, so that the South would be made the villain, the North made out to be a hero, and hide the true facts of Lincoln's illegal and unconstitutional war.
Instead of surrendering to a few uneducated misfits, encourage them to become educated with the truth.
Sir, you folks have done a great disservice to the memory of General Lee, and all who wore the Confederate uniform, be he black or white.
I leave you with this quote, "Any society which suppresses the heritage of its conquered minorities, prevents their history, and denies them their symbols, has sewn the seed of its own destruction." Sir William Wallace, 1281
Deo Vindice
Jeff Paulk
Tulsa, OK
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Confessions of a recovering Rebel
From: cscitizen@windstream.net
To: cdean@al.com
http://www.al.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/02/confessions_of_a_recovering_re.html
Mr. Dean,
If you are the same Charles Dean I remember from my reenacting days with the Alabama Division of Re-enactors I recall you being a Union Re-enactor at all the events where I saw you. So much for your dreams of a Confederate victory at Gettysburg.
As for your cousins in Illinois it might interest you to know Chicago is considered the Communist Capitol of the Mid-West by the conservatives that live there. Your cousins should be the last ones whose opinions you should be listening too.
I suppose you think it equally terrible that Southerners whose families come from the original British stock in this country should still honor their ancestors of the War of 1812 & the American Revolution as well. Both wars where they fought against some of their relatives just as some did in America`s Civil War. Should we stop honoring those as well because its not considered politically correct today? Should we rewrite all history to suit a few?
Of the dozens of my ancestors who fought for the Confederacy, I had two which fought for the Union. I`m not for erasing their history either even though I disagree with it. As both joined early, I wonder if they were fighting to preserve the Union as was stated in the beginning or to free the slaves As Lincoln claimed in 1863?
From your article on Al.com you would have us believe that, " the only thing wrong with the South is there are too many white Southerners in it," to quote the English King Long-shanks from the movie Braveheart. The Scots lost to, should they stop honoring their ancestors?
As a boy who grew up in West Mobile in the 1950`s - 60`s I think your problem is you are surrounded by liberal yankees & up to your eyeballs with them working for Al.com. A place where they will never accept you unless you accept the 150+ years of Reconstruction brainwashing they are feeding you.
No, according to their plan the South & all of America will not be a liberal, happy utopia until the history of both are rewritten to fit their socialist agenda. This can only be achieved when the last white person is killed or bred out of existence & all the worlds ill`s which, were created by whites are no more.
Hopefully I will not live to see them turn the South & America into just another 3rd world Hell Hole. Until then, I will unabashedly celebrate all my ancestors & the part they played in America`s history & all with no apologies or guilty conscience over the fact a few cannot accept the truth.
Billy E. Price
Ashville, Al.
Monday, March 9, 2015
NBC Affiliate: cabinet-caught-in-gray-area-on-confederate-vets
From: gatorstick@tampabay.rr.com
http://www.news4jax.com/news/cabinet-caught-in-gray-area-on-confederate-vets/31124058#comment-1839750090
There is GOOD video here with HK & McCallister. This NBC affiliate that serves the News Service of Florida aired in Tallahassee & Jacksonville markets at the minimum & may have aired in other markets.
If you had to PURCHASE this AIRTIME, I would guess the value in the $3,000+ ranger depending how wide it circulated and viewed. Could have aired anywhere in the US for that matter since it's a Network affiliate. Additional value could be gained should we capture the segment & use to "inform" bureaucrats we don't roll over & play dead when screwed. Unkind media coverage is a bane to bureaucrats and this could produce added long term benefits...
Guess investing in having HK there live was worth the effort.
Capt. Phil Walters
GatorGuides.com
Dixie Gator Trappers
Sponsor: Capt. JJ Dickison (CS) "Grey Ghost" 1971 AMC Javelin
1st Lt Commander J.P. Benjamin camp 2210 SCV
National Rifle Association-Life member
Safari Club International-Life member
Sons of Confederate Veterans--Life member
Sunday, March 8, 2015
The Strategies of War
From: vaproto@optonline.net
The "council meeting" at Charlottesville is an example of the war strategies of the enemies of freedom and the South. It isn't a deep, intricate strategy but it is effective. It goes something like this:
1. Call a meeting of the local governing group to ostensibly hear the "voice of the People."
2. Make sure that the "People" who support the agenda of the governing group (or at least its majority) know that they will have free rein in that meeting no matter what "opening remarks" are made calling for civility and proper conduct.
3. Fill the audience with people for whom "civility and proper conduct" has no meaning other than the restraints under which their opponents will be held.
4. Permit the meeting to degenerate into chaos with the larger and louder group shouting down and intimidating those who have come to participate in what they thought was the democratic process; it isn't.
5. Have the media carry the story that whatever "plan" is being considered by the "governing body" has the approval of the people and that those who objected were "racists" or in a small minority.
Result? They win (again), we lose (again) and the cultural genocide goes on. We have got to stop thinking that such spectacles as the Charlottesville "meeting" represent a condition of social anarchy and that these "meetings" simply indicate the failure of local government to control the attendees. No such thing! It is as orchestrated as a ballet with the exception that those who are not "in" on the program find themselves trying to make order out of chaos and because most of the time our side is well bred, polite and considerate, we get our collective backsides kicked from here to Sunday.
When we start to recognize these politically correct ambushes and we send folks in there who are willing to give "tit for tat" and not be overwhelmed by the biggest mouth in the room, then we might start to get somewhere even if it is only to show our enemies that we are not naive, clueless and pushovers. We just need a few people who are willing to stand up and say that anyone who embraces the murderers John Brown and Nat Turner should get no hearing in front of any civilized audience. If they do, then that speaks volumes not against the speaker, but against his audience.
Valerie Protopapas
Saturday, March 7, 2015
Case for an Educated Postwar Black Electorate
From: bernhard1848@gmail.com
Radical Republican political hegemony in the postwar South depended upon the freedmen casting votes, despite their illiteracy and lack of education and experience in a republican form of government. These Republicans formed Union and Loyal Leagues in the South that would teach the freedmen to hate their white neighbors, vote against their interests, and cause irreparable racial wounds which remain today.
Bernhard Thuersam, www.Circa1865.com
Case for an Educated Postwar Black Electorate Debated:
"Chaplain Noble, who conducted literacy classes for the enlisted men of the 128th United States Colored Troops in Beaufort (an infantry of ex-slaves), related the outcome of a debate he arranged to "enliven" the class. The question was whether Negroes should be given immediate suffrage or whether they should learn to read first, with "the more intelligent" of the class clearly favoring the latter position "on the ground that you ought never to undertake a job unless you know how to do it."
But those who learned less easily were in favor of immediate suffrage. One of the speakers — a black thick-lipped orator — commenced his speech as follows:
"de chaplain say we can learn to read in short time. Now dat may de with dem who are mo' ready. God hasn't made all of us alike. P'rhaps some will get an eddication in a little while. I knows de next generation will. We hasn't had no chance at all. De most of us are slow and dull. Dere fo' Mr. Chaplain, I tink we better not wait for eddication."
Whether because of the potential logic of universal suffrage for the illiterate black majority, or because the difficulties of the chaplain's lessons made suffrage based on literacy seem rather remote for some of the slow learners, the speaker's sagacity brought decisive nods of approval from the majority of the audience."
(Black Over White, Negro Political Leadership in South Carolina During Reconstruction, Thomas Holt, University of Illinois Press, 1977, pg. 34)
Friday, March 6, 2015
SCV Telegraph- SCV TV - Recruiting Seminar Video
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Casting Out Yankeeism
From: bernhard1848@gmail.com
The author below predicted that had the American Confederacy won its independence, "it would have undoubtedly developed more toward a conservative aristocracy" and more like the Founders' intended republic. The aversion to the mob-rule democracy of the North was a fundamental reason the South left the Union, and with the Founders' Constitution firmly in hand.
Bernhard Thuersam, www.Circa1865.com
Casting Out Yankeeism
"There was a growing opinion among Southerners that a proper concept of eternal law was the bulwark of all liberty. Universal suffrage would never be able to discover and conserve this law. Universal suffrage in the North was "organized confiscation, legalized violence and corruption . . . a moral disease of the body politic."
It was mob government, radical democracy, "the willing instrument of consolidation in the hands of an abolition oligarchy," which had perverted the old Union. It was this the South was fighting against. The individual must be buried in the institution. The mob did not know what it was voting for, except to obtain money for doing it or to get a drink of whiskey. [John C.] Calhoun had recognized the tyranny of majorities and had sought remedies against them.
The South had never believed in democracy; it had worked with the Democrats in the North only to secure a place of power in the government. Most [government] positions should be appointive and not remunerative. Officers would serve without pay, if they were patriots. Now every petty sheriff, whiskey-drinking constable, and justice of the peace must be elected and get a fee. All of this is Yankeeism, which the South should cast out – all this universal suffrage – elective Judges – biennial Legislatures – and many other features of policy – all tending to degrade government and corrupt the people."
In line with its conservatism, the Confederacy debated much the abolition of the naturalization laws which it had inherited from the old Union and which made possible the infiltration of masses of foreigners with their "dangerous European radical ideas." Especially they would exclude Yankees. Representative John B. Clark of Missouri declared that he would "as soon admit to citizenship a devil from hell." He advocated a law banishing any Southerner who should marry a Yankee. "
(A History of the South, Volume VII, The Confederate States of America, 1861-1865, E. Merton Coulter, LSU Press, 1950, pp. 64-67)
Thursday, March 5, 2015
From the Trenches: Civil War Trust March 2015
 Hallowed Ground Still Threatened at Brandy Station
Every $1 you give is doubled, securing an additional 33 acres at famed Fleetwood Hill!
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From Our President 
March 2015
Dear Fellow Dedicated Preservationist,
I'm afraid I have some bad news to share with you. For the first time in a very long time, the Civil War Trust has not raised enough money on a battlefield appeal to cover our commitment. In January, I sent out an appeal telling you about an opportunity to save 33 additional acres of the historic Fleetwood Hill portion of the Brandy Station battlefield.
I wrote about how important it is to save this hallowed ground to protect the integrity of the hundreds of acres you and I have already saved at Fleetwood Hill. And I told you that the Civil War Trust needed to raise $272,000 - a $2.04-to-$1 match of your generosity - to save this important land. Now, as I sit here at my desk today, I cannot tell for certain if a large number of Civil War Trust members even got my letter.
All I can tell you is that today, we have only raised about $122,000 of the $272,000 we need! Thats only 45%. In my 15-year history as president of the Civil War Trust, this has only happened in a handful of cases, and never before to this extent.
You know that I believe we have a duty to the men who fought and died on this ground to save it, just as you and I have a responsibility to save it for future generations. We have the chance to save hallowed ground, and to double the power of your donation. I pray you agree with me that it would be an irretrievable loss to America if any part of Fleetwood Hill was ever to be bulldozed flat or covered with houses.
- Jim Lighthizer, Civil War Trust President
"Buried Where They Fell" Historian Bud Hall describes the intense battle action that occurred on the "bookend" properties on Fleetwood Hill that the Civil War Trust is currently seeking to preserve. Park Day 2015 Get hands-on with preservation and be sure to make your calendars for Park Day! On Saturday, March 28, don't miss the annual event to help maintain Civil War - and now Revolutionary War - battlefields and historic sites across the nation. Help Close the Gap at Trevilian Station! We have an incredible opportunity to save 70 acres at another cavalry battleground: Trevilian Station. Protection of this land will connect previously preserved parts of this battlefield that witnessed heavy action on the second day of fighting. In4: Black Soldiers in the Civil War In another installment in the Trust's In4 video series, historian Hari Jones summarizes the experience of African American Civil War soldiers, from emancipation to their experiences on the battlefield. 2015 Annual Conference: Road to Appomattox The 2015 Civil War Trust Annual Conference is filling quickly! Join us as we end the 150th anniversary of the Civil War on the road to Appomattox. Register now for the best selection of available tours. March Civil War Battles Expand your knowledge of the Civil War by learning more about some of the Civil War battles that occurred in the month of March. Access our history articles, photos, maps, and links for the battles listed below. Dispatches from the Front Lines
Civil War preservation news from around the country
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SILENT AUCTION - MISSOURI DIVISION REUNION
Gentlemen and Camps,
It is my pleasure to inform you that the Missouri Division has just received an incredible donation of many Confederate items. This collection is from the late Ron Casteel, who was a past Lt. Commander-in-Chief of the SCV. Ron's wife Dianne has indicated that she would like for all proceeds to go to the Missouri Division. With that in mind, we will have numerous items available at the upcoming Missouri Division Reunion -- to be offered in the form of a SILENT AUCTION. The picture of Gen. Robert E. Lee shown below (and also attached to this email) is just a sample of this vast collection... although this particular picture may be raffled off over the course of the next year, with the assistance of the MO Society - MOSB. It will be on display at the Reunion, however. Please share this information IMMEDIATELY with your camp memberships. This collection is AWESOME... clothing, books, pictures/prints and on and on and on.
Tell your memberships to register right away or the Reunion... this is one they do not want to miss!
It is my pleasure to inform you that the Missouri Division has just received an incredible donation of many Confederate items. This collection is from the late Ron Casteel, who was a past Lt. Commander-in-Chief of the SCV. Ron's wife Dianne has indicated that she would like for all proceeds to go to the Missouri Division. With that in mind, we will have numerous items available at the upcoming Missouri Division Reunion -- to be offered in the form of a SILENT AUCTION. The picture of Gen. Robert E. Lee shown below (and also attached to this email) is just a sample of this vast collection... although this particular picture may be raffled off over the course of the next year, with the assistance of the MO Society - MOSB. It will be on display at the Reunion, however. Please share this information IMMEDIATELY with your camp memberships. This collection is AWESOME... clothing, books, pictures/prints and on and on and on.
Tell your memberships to register right away or the Reunion... this is one they do not want to miss!
Letter to Blue Ridge Assembly Board
From: rebeleye@aol.com
Dear Mr. Eckel:
As a retired US veteran and a native Tarheel, I am very disappointed and saddened by your board decision to remove the name of Robert E. Lee from the building at Blue Ridge Assembly.
There is no finer example of a Christian veteran who nobly served his nation and his state than Gen. Robert E. Lee, who inspired many in the South and beyond to serve their country. Many were the Southern soldiers at Normandy Beach, on the Inchon Peninsula in Korea, and in the rice paddies of Viet Nam who, compelled by the example of Gen. Lee, gave their lives on its behalf.
I, too, was inspired by Gen. Lee when I was an adolescent and subsequently avoided many of the vices that plagued my peers. Lee's example inspired me to join the military where I honorably served the United States for over 24 years. I continue to serve my country as an eye care provider at a VA Hospital.
It is indeed a sad day in America when "political correctness" trumps truth and when past heroes are judged according to 21st century standards. Your decision to rename Lee Hall makes me very reticent to donate to your organization, and, as a result, I will tell my family, friends, and colleagues of this myopic decision.
I would hope you and the Board at Blue Ridge Assembly will rethink your decision.
Thank you for your time!
Sincerely,
Dr. Arnold M. Huskins
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
RELEASE: Another Confederate Monument Restored
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