Va Flaggers: Jeff Davis Memorial, Ft. Monroe

From: info@vaflaggers.com

This past Saturday, we took a short drive down to Ft. Monroe to attend the Jefferson Davis Memorial Service, held in the Casement room in which he was imprisoned after the War. The ceremony was held by the Magruder-Ewell Camp #99, and Commander Ken Wood and his men did a wonderful job in conducting a moving and meaningful service.

I was honored to be asked to light the memorial candle, and felt humbled to perform the duty in the very room where our President languished so long, unlawfully and unjustly kept shackled and confined under lock and key. It was my first visit to Ft. Monroe, so we took some time to explore the grounds.

After the ceremony, we were pleased to witness the swearing in of officers for the 13th Virginia mechanized cavalry, Camp #9, Sons of Confederate Veterans, who were gracious enough to invite us to lunch with them. It was a pleasure to meet many new friends! Many thanks to Jeff Barbour for his gracious hospitality, and to Ken Wood and the Magruder-Ewell Camp#99 for the warm welcome and all of their hard work! :)

More photos here:  https://www.facebook.com/susan.f.hathaway.7/media_set?set=a.10152129973749274.1073741851.698334273&type=3

Susan Hathaway

Va Flaggers

Va Flaggers Upcoming Events:

Tuesday, January 7th, 2014:  Susan will be traveling to Lynch Station, VA, to speak at the January meeting of the Campbell Guards, #2117, Sons of Confederate Veterans.  7:00 p.m.  Lynch Station Ruritan Club, 677 Powell Road.  More information here:  https://www.facebook.com/events/564428446959652/?ref=br_tf

Friday, January 17th - Saturday, January 18th, 2014:  Lee-Jackson State Holiday/Flagging/Memorial Events, Lexington, Va.  The Va Flaggers will be flagging Lexington all day Friday, for the Lee-Jackson State Holiday, and participating in the Memorial Services and parade on Saturday, with more flagging Saturday afternoon.  We invite all to join us!  More details soon. Event Page here: https://www.facebook.com/events/227559140750614/  Info from the Stonewall Brigade here:   http://leejacksonday.webs.com/

Saturday, February 1st, 2014:  Susan will travel to Statesboro, GA to speak at the Lee-Jackson Banquet, held by the Ogeechee Rifles, Camp #941, SCV.  RJ's Restaurant, 454 South Main St. (US 301 S.) @ 6 pm for the meal, preliminaries @ 7 pm and the program immediately following.  Seating limited to 125.  Ticket information forthcoming at a later date.

Saturday, February 22nd, 2014:  Susan will be speaking at the February meeting of the Rev. Beverly Tucker Lacy Camp #2141, SCV, Fredericksburg, VA.  4:00 p.m., Perkins Restaurant, 10 Simpson Rd.

Tuesday, March 4th, 2014:  Susan will be speaking at the March meeting of the R.E Lee Camp #1589, SCV.   Dolce Vita Italian Restaurant, 2401 Colony Crossing Place, Midlothian, VA 23112. Dinner at 6:00 p.m. and meeting at 7:00 p.m.

Thursday, March 20th, 2014:  Susan will be traveling to Columbia, SC to speak at the March meeting of the Lt. Gen. Wade Hampton Camp #273, SCV, Columbia SC. Seawell's Banquet Hall, 1125 Rosewood DR. Dinner at 6:00, Meeting at 7:00.

April 19, 2014:  Susan will be traveling to Quincy, FL to speak at the Confederate Memorial Day Service at the Soldier's Cemetery, sponsored by the Finley's Brigade, SCV.

Saturday, April 26th, 2014: Susan will be speaking at the Delaware Confederate Memorial Ceremony, Marvel Carriage Museum, 510 South Bedford Street, Georgetown, Delaware, Time: 11AM - 2PM

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs7ulWxMH175_eIex20mnLlJ7US58CqLm1nmX3Mr-jVBJV4W3_1Q001PRx1fqUoPrp4QZD9kBaN1gBG8klzy1KFFqi9Fgn387cNHZ5mj_pqRrt_fvM2uTg-NOKK4LRZgwr05B5mOrv-ew/s1600/1005248_10201964390895232_248600652_n.jpg

Contributions to the I-95 Memorial Battle Flag projects may be mailed to:

Va Flaggers
P.O. Box 547
Sandston VA 23150
Payable to Va Flaggers
or through PayPal:
http://www.vaflaggers.com/i95flagdonate.html

Va Flaggers: VMFA Update 12-20-2013

From: info@vaflaggers.com


At our CHRISTmas celebration last Friday night, it was decided that due to the VERY rainy forecast for Saturday, we would postpone our weekly Saturday flagging to Sunday instead, and it turned out to be an excellent idea.

The weather was gorgeous Sunday, and over a dozen flaggers gathered on the sidewalk from 2-5 outside of the VMFA and were able to greet visitors attending the museum AND and open house at the Confederate Memorial Chapel.  Once again, we welcomed first time flaggers, several of whom joined us after worship.

We had many conversations with passers-by and distributed literature detailing how the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts desecrated the Confederate Memorial Chapel by forcing the removal of Confederate Battle Flags from the portico.  As is usually the case, most folks agreed that the flags should be returned.

After posing for a few photos at the Chapel, one of our flaggers was approached by VMFA security guards who warned that if he went on the grounds of Confederate Memorial Park carrying a Confederate flag again, he would be arrested for trespassing.

Video here: http://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=d4FLIpgRY-4

More photos from flagging here:  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.294739223984703.1073741992.186485551476738&type=1

Thursday evening found the weather a bit cooler, but still 7 Flaggers made their way to the Boulevard to stand for the veterans of the Old Soldiers' Home.  Traffic was very light, but there was no shortage of Confederate flags on display.  A few months ago, one of our flaggers designed a 20 foot pole that is portable and secured to automobiles.  Several flaggers now have the set up, and 5x8 flags can be seen all around the VMFA while we are flagging!  ;)

2013 may be winding down, but the Va Flaggers are looking ahead to the New Year with renewed strength and determination to continue this vigil until the flags are returned to their rightful place on the Confederate Memorial Chapel.  Even in our third year of flagging the VMFA, support continues to grow, and as much as you see us on the sidewalk, there is much more going on OFF of the sidewalk in our efforts to continually find new ways to engage the public and fight AND WIN the battle on new fronts.

CALL TO ACTION:

SATURDAY, December 21st:

9:00 a.m. - NOON Flagging the Museum of the Confederacy, 1201 East Clay Street

NOON - 4:00 p.m.:  Flagging the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 200 N. Boulevard

JOIN US...and be a part of those taking a stand for our Confederate heritage!  If you can't be there, please take a few minutes of your time to call in support of the Flaggers.  Call the VMFA at (804) 340-1405 and ask them to return the Confederate Battle flags to the Confederate Memorial Chapel.

RETURN the flags!

RESTORE the honor!

Tommy Clinger
Va Flaggers

Portraits of Lee and Jackson removal

To: usarmy.carlisle.awc.mbx.atwc-cpa@mail.mil 

Major General Cucolo, and all concerned persons;

Greetings.

Thank you for your service and dedication to America.

I awoke on Wednesday to news of portraits of Robert E Lee and Thomas J Jackson being 'removed'. Before I responded, I read the open statement by MGen Cucolo, and other media pieces, to discover the items in question were relocated.

The media is now abuzz with such stories, and for myself, a cause of concern. General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson is a distant cousin of mine, so the story makes it personal in effect.  On a more intimate level, resting under the Arlington National Cemetery headstone #54-5669 are the eternal remains of my parents, Mr. and Mrs. CWO3 William E Bearden, who gave 48 years of his life to the US Army. A three war veteran, their plot is located between (Stonewall) Jackson Circle, and the (R.E.) Lee home of Arlington House.

The quotes from Carol Kerr " 'This person was struck by the fact we have quite a few Confederate images, [Lee]  was certainly not good for the nation. This is the guy we faced on the  battlefield whose entire purpose in life was to destroy the nation as it was  then conceived' " INSTANTLY reminded me of an almost identical quote made on August 1st, 1960, by a Dr. Leon Scott:

"The most outstanding thing that Robert E. Lee did was to devote his best efforts to the destruction of the United States Government, and I am sure that you do not say that a person who tries to destroy our Government is worthy of being hailed as one of our heroes. "Will you please tell me just why you hold him in such high esteem?"

Dr. Scott's question was directed to President Dwight D Eisenhower, over his curiosity as to why the U.S. President had a portrait of Robert E Lee in the Oval Office. President Eisenhower answered the Scott query on August 9th, 1960 thusly:

Dear Dr. Scott:

Respecting your August 1 inquiry calling attention to my often expressed admiration for General Robert E. Lee, I would say, first, that we need to understand that at the time of the War Between the States the issue of Secession had remained unresolved for more than 70 years. Men of probity, character, public standing and unquestioned loyalty, both North and South, had disagreed over this issue as a matter of principle from the day our Constitution was adopted.

General Robert E. Lee was, in my estimation, one of the supremely gifted men produced by our Nation. He believed unswervingly in the Constitutional validity of his cause which until 1865 was still an arguable question in America; 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 belief 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 .

Such are the reasons that I proudly display the picture of this great American on my office wall.

Sincerely,

Dwight D. Eisenhower

To the 'dialogue' that is said to be forthcoming, I wish to offer the above historical data for sincere consideration, and with it, the following items as well.

A partial transcript of the statements made at the decommissioning of the US Navy's U.S.S. Robert E. Lee SSB (N) 601 can be viewed here:

http://www.ssbn601.com/lastdays.asp The reason I offer this is the fact the US Navy had named a submarine after General Lee, and the words spoken on it's last day is very inspiring. There was also the U.S.S. Stonewall Jackson SSB (N) 631.

During the D-Day landings at Normandy in WW2, on June 6th, 1944, in the 1st wave on Omaha Beach was the 116th Infantry. They suffered over 800 casualties in the assault. They are known then as now as the "Stonewall Brigade"

The United States Congress granted in 1956 that Confederate Veterans were equal in status to all U.S. Veterans. A U.S. Congressional Gold Medal was given to the last 2 remaining Confederate Veterans in 1958.

In MGen Cucolo's statement http://www.carlisle.army.mil/banner/article.cfm?id=3289 he mentions a "George S. Patton Room". History shows that the young George Patton received his first education as a soldier from Confederate General John S. Mosby.

I could go on for a week with such facts, but shall pause here. I strongly and respectfully request the portraits of General Lee and General Jackson be retained, and forever displayed openly at your facility, that all this information be included in the upcoming dialogue, and shared with the individual whose musical painting maneuver has instigated the late media ruckus.

I appreciate your time and consideration of this important matter.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

God Bless

Billy Bearden

Carrollton, Georgia

Proposed Removal of Confederate Officers Pictures

From: tandpam@frontier.com
To: usarmy.carlisle.awc.mbx.atwc-cpa@mail.mil 

Sirs:

I am writing to you in regards to the proposed removal of pictures of Confederate officers from the US Army College.

Before taking a knee jerk reaction to appease the wishes and supposed sensitivities of a small minority, I would ask that you first consider the following actions of two former US Presidents in regards to Confederate soldiers, as well as my personal thoughts (as a member of a minority), that being an American Indian.

Firstly   " Every soldier's grave made during our unfortunate civil war [sic] is a tribute to American valor… And the time has now come… when in the spirit of fraternity we should share in the care of the graves of the Confederate soldiers… and if it needed further justification it is found in the gallant loyalty to the Union and the flag so conspicuously shown in the year just passed by the sons and grandsons of those heroic dead." …President William McKinley, 14 December 1898.

Secondly   On the 23 of May 1958, the Eisenhower administration made Confederates full U.S. citizens with all the privileges & benefits as all American Veterans with Public Law 85-425: Sec 410.

Lastly   I come from a lineage of military veterans that began before the American Revolution.  I have three ancestors (documented) that served in the Colonial forces of the American Revolution, and have had at least one ancestor who served in every war and/or police action up to and including the War in Afghanistan that goes on to this very day.

Having said that, I would like to be a bit more specific by relating the fact that I have (documented) near two dozen ancestors who fought in the WBTS. Like much of this nation's populace at that time, my family split and fought on both sides. So tragic was that war; pitting fathers against sons , brothers against brothers, Americans against Americans. It simply is wrong to honour one side and not the other as well and equally.

As a mix blood American Indian, my heart is weary that there are pictures of some of the Federal officers at the Army College, either ordered, or who personally turned their weapons on innocent women and children, during the so called Indian Wars of the plains. Yet, you hear no request from me to remove said officers' pictures, for as I said earlier, honour all represented sides equally.

I make a slight apology for the length of this communication yet, I assure I could find no way to condense my words considering the seriousness of this subject.

With Reserved regards

T Warren
Bridgeport IL.

Revisionist history would remove portraits of Confederate legends

From: cscitizen@windstream.net
To: usarmy.carlisle.awc.mbx.atwc-cpa@mail.mil

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/dec/17/robert-e-lee-and-stonewall-jackson-tributes-face-a/?page=1

Dear Sirs,
             
I am writing to you about the U.S. War College considering removing the portraits of all Confederate officers from the college. Before you do this to appease modern-day political correctness I would like to remind you of a few things.

Were there no Southern troops to defeat & demoralize the British at the battle of the Cow Pens & Kings Mountain in the Carolinas there would have been no victory at Yorktown & no American independence. Had Southerners not defeated the British at the Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812 there would be no America.

This list of major Southern contributions on keeping America free goes on & on however, you can fill in the rest of these contributions for yourselves. Not only will such an action hinder your efforts on further Southern participation in America's military but, I just wanted you to remember that Southerners have always served in America's military in disproportionate numbers. If you removed all Southern support from this equation America would have ceased to be free long, long ago.

So remember before you take any rash actions that an attack on one of our heroes is an attack on all of them. Reconsider your position on removing the portraits of our confederate heroes, they mean as much to us as the rest of them.

Billy E. Price
Ashville, Al.

Opportunity at Cold Harbor The men of the Union Eighteenth Corps troops formed into line near the Old Cold Harbor crossroads on June 3, 1864. In front of them, their gray-clad adversaries had erected a substantial network of earthworks, a deadly precursor to the trench warfare of the next century. These boys in blue were now being called upon to assault those works. As they waited for the order to advance, they were subjected to intense artillery fire; 800 of them became casualties in the first few minutes of an attack Gen. Ulysses S. Grant would later regret. The Civil War Trust is now working to preserve a six-acre portion of the Cold Harbor battlefield--the very ground where the men of the Eighteenth Corps formed for their assault on June 3, 1864. This is truly blood-soaked ground and its fate hangs in the balance. With all of the development pressures now facing the battlefields around Richmond, it is imperative that we act quickly to save this important piece of the American story for future generations. Help add to land preserved at Cold Harbor! »

Battle Map: Cold Harbor - June 3, 1864 »

Ten Facts About Cold Harbor »

Photo Gallery »

Video: Bobby Krick »

Civilwar.org

Confederate Archives Update

Every day, we are forced to wade through an internet filled with articles and information about the War Between the States from the perspective of those who would rewrite history to fit their Anti-Southern agenda. Almost a year ago , Va Flaggers TriPp and Jack Lewis had an idea to try and do something about it and we launched the Confederate-Friendly search engine www.confederatearchives.com

The site is family friendly, and has fast, free access to facts and information that has been screened and streamlined to make searching for information about the War Between the States faster and more productive.

Why use www.confederatearchives.com instead of google or other search engines?

(1) We only index one topic: Southern History and Heritage from 1828 to present. (Type "Lee" on google and see how many results come up for LEE JEANS instead of General Lee... Then try ours.)

(2) We have quicker updates to our listed sites.

(3) We offer another place to locate information should google ever decide to censor the content in their search engine.

(4) We will allow only accurate information in our search engine. Hate pages, and sites with inaccurate and false information will be removed.

(5) No Pornography.

(6) With this new site, WE can start cataloging and documenting OUR Heritage and History for generations to come and REMAIN in CONTROL of this database when other search engines come and go.

We asked everyone to help us improve the search engine by doing the following:

(1) USE IT! Use it when you're researching the WBTS, ancestry, or any search related to the CSA. The more it is used, the better the results will be when people search in the future.

(2) Add your favorite websites using the link on the front page of the search engine.

Type of websites we would like to add to www.confederatearchives.com :

- Confederate Cemeteries

- Confederate Soldiers Lists

- Museums with Confederate Artifacts

- Newspapers collections from 1828 thru 1941

- Current day news articles concerning Confederate History

- Current day news articles on heritage violations.

- Historical Documents between 1828 to present day.

- UDC Websites

- SCV Camp websites

- Heritage defense websites

- Art work and pictures

- Maps

- Genealogy pages with family tree information

- Love letters and letters to family members...AND MUCH, MUCH MORE

-Pro Confederate Blog Sites

(3) If you see a link with inaccurate information or a link that should not be included, report it on the home page by copying and pasting the link from your address bar into the space provided on the website.

So...how's it going...?

We are 11 months old now with over 1.3 million links in our database. Our content database is over 600 million records. We have had over 11,000 searches which is pretty good considering the only advertising we have done is on Facebook through different Confederate Heritage pages. The search engine has been shared through different home schooling website and pages, as well.

One of the reasons we created the website was to be able to have access to information when other sites fail or disappear. The recent government shutdown allowed us to test this.  When the Govt took down websites with maps and other historical information,  we were still able to provide cache copies of these pages to users who were searching for them.

We are currently working on two projects to expand on build on www.confederatearchives.com :

*The first one is a database of Confederate Soldiers, in which users enter their ancestors' information.  Folks will then be able to login and instantly pull up all links related to their ancestors, as well as be notified when new links have been added.

*The other project is we will be attempting to data mine and identify descendants of Confederate soldiers for the purposes of recruiting new members to the OCR/UDC/SCV and other organizations, as well as possible help meet the new VA requirement regarding the need to have next of kin request headstones.

WE STILL NEED YOUR HELP!  Please continue use the search engine for research, and add links that you find that would be useful. 

You can enter these links here http://www.confederatearchives.com/add_url1.php.

MANY, MANY thanks to TriPp and Jack Lewis for the COUNTLESS hours they have dedicated to this project!

~~~~

More TECHNOLOGY updates:

FACEBOOK:  We have made some changes in our FB pages/groups.  The GROUP, "Confederate Flaggers - Stand, Fight, and Never Back Down" will continue to be a gathering place for active Flaggers to share experiences, thoughts, ideas, and information, but we have changed it to a "closed" group, so that only member can see the posts.  Our new page, "The Virginia Flaggers" will be our public FaceBook vehicle. We had outgrown the previous set up and believe this will be best for all, as we try to keep up with the demand for information, and help facilitate other groups as the Flagging movement spreads across the South...and BEYOND!

Find the new page here:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Virginia-Flaggers/378823865585630

Give us a "like"...and share!

Finally,  we are still looking for help in creating a website.  We realize that while social media is a fantastic way to share information, there are many folks who are not a part of it, and we need a website to expand our reach and better disseminate information.  We have the domain...all we need is someone to design the site and set it up for us!  Please contact us if you are interested in donating of your time and talents. 

As always, thanks for your encouragement and support!

Susan Hathaway

Va Flaggers