THE GILMOR BLADE. Date: Feb. 26, 7PM-midnight Place: Heritage Parkville Gardens, 7631 Harford Road Price: $32 per person (adults only, please)

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1 THE GILMOR BLADE Those who allow the surrender of their history, also surrender their future! Official Newsletter of THE COL. H.W.GILMOR CAMP, No. 1388, SONS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS Join us on Feb. 26 at the annual Bull & Oyster Roast! If you haven t gotten your tickets yet for the annual Harry Gilmor Birthday Bull & Oyster Roast, do it soon! This event always sells out, and tickets are going fast. You won t want to miss out on a great evening of food, fun and fellowship highlighted by delicious all-you-can eat food, games of chance, a silent auction, the usual Basket of Cheer, many, many door prizes, and the drawing for this year s beautiful Mort Kunstler print, Ghost Column. This is a great party, and it helps to support the activities and projects of the Camp. Get a group together and arrange for a table! Date: Feb. 26, 7PM-midnight Place: Heritage Parkville Gardens, 7631 Harford Road Price: $32 per person (adults only, please) Make checks payable to The Harry W. Gilmor Camp Send payment to Bruce Null, Treasurer, 2600 Masseth Ave., Baltimore MD Don t miss the February 9 th Gilmor Camp meeting! Author Gregg Clemmer headlines February meeting The Cause of the Civil War: With Mr. Lincoln, the Spin Stops Here Our next meeting of the Gilmor Camp will feature the initial talk in our Sesquicentennial of the War Between the States lecture series. It will start appropriately with the cause and purpose of the War. Our guest speaker is none other than Gregg Clemmer, the author of four books including the acclaimed Valor in Gray: The Recipients of the Confederate Medal of Honor. His biography, Old Alleghany: The Life and Wars of General Ed Johnson, won the 2005 Douglas Southall Freeman History Award as the book of highest merit published in Southern history for that year. Currently Gregg is an online reporter for Examiner.com specializing in the War Between the States and has just finished his first historical novel, A Turn for Home. Mr. Clemmer is past Historian-in-Chief of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and is a former president of the Montgomery County (MD) Civil War Roundtable. Active in several other hereditary and patriotic organizations The Charge "To you, Sons of Confederate Veterans, we submit the vindication of the Cause for which we fought; to your strength will be given the defense of the Confederate soldier's good name, the guardianship of his history, the emulation of his virtues, the perpetuation of those principles he loved and which made him glorious and which you also cherish. Remember, it is your duty to see that the true history of the South is presented to future generations." including the Aztec Club of 1847 and the Society of the Cincinnati, Gregg numbers 14 Confederates in his ancestry including members of Armistead s and the Stonewall brigades. Our next meeting is February 9 th 2011 starting at 7:30 PM. We will again meet at the Baltimore County Historical Society, 9811 Van Buren Lane, Cockeysville. Please join us and bring along your friends. All are welcome to attend and I m looking forward to seeing all of you there. --Michael Williams, Cmdr. Inside this issue: Lee-Jackson Day Confederate of the Month Navy Marine Corps Day in Annapolis Hardwick Case status Toasting Harry My Ancestors: 10 th VA heavy artillery Beauvoir and MD A secret message never delivered

2 Lee-Jackson birthday celebration shows the colors, honors heroes The Gilmor Camp Color Guard files past the double-equestrian Lee-Jackson Monument. Cmdr. Barringer offers welcoming remarks. Gray skies could not discourage a beautiful ceremony and appreciative crowd from honoring Gens. Robert E. Lee and Thomas Stonewall Jackson at the annual Lee-Jackson Birthday Celebration on January 15, Jointly hosted by the Col. Harry W. Gilmor Camp #1388, Sons of Confederate Veterans and the Maryland Division, United Daughters of the Confederacy, the event featured remarks by Gilmor Camp Commander Michael Williams and MD Division Commander Jay Barringer, as well as the traditional wreath-laying honoring Gens. Lee and Jackson and all those who served the Confederacy. Gilmor Camp member Bob Lyons (L) did not let recovery from surgery keep him from doing his duty with fellow Gilmor Color Guard participants Steve Smith ( C ) and Ron Jaggers( R ). Members of the MD Division Color Guard display the colors. Confederate of the Month: Pvt. Michael Pilker Pvt. Michael Pilker, born circa 1841, enlisted in Co. G, 1 st Maryland Infantry at Harper s Ferry on May 22, Pvt. Pilker was listed as present for duty September through December, He later reenlisted in the 43 rd Battalion, Virginia Cavalry under Col. John Singleton Mosby. Pvt. Pilker was listed as a resident of Allegheny Co., Maryland when he entered the Old Soldier s Home in Pikesville, Maryland on August 15, 1888 at age 47. He was expelled from the home in October of the same year. Pvt. Pilker was listed as a Railroad Engineer after the war. He was a member of the Army & Navy Society, Maryland Line Association. His wife s name was Amanda. He had seven children according to the 1880 census: William, Elizabeth, Mary, Anna, John, Charles and Thomas. He was interred on By Steve Smith, 1 st Lt. Cmdr. Confederate Hill, Loudon Park Cemetery in Baltimore after his death on February 7, 1896 at age 55. His funeral was held at his residence, No Comet Street in Baltimore. His plot is G-07 Comet Street today is and his marker is barely access to a parking lot readable. behind a basketball court. Newsflash! Pvt. Michael Pilker has been adopted, but there are many other worthy unadopted Confederate Veterans on Confederate Hill. Check the website at to help us with this project! 2

3 continued 15 th Annual Confederate Navy Marine Corps Day set In honor of the sailors and Marines who served the Confederacy, the Capt. James I Waddell Camp #1608 will host the fifteenth annual Confederate Navy Marine Corps Day on Saturday, March 12, The event will commence at 11:00 AM at the historic St. Anne s Cemetery, located at Calvert and Northwest Streets, in Annapolis MD. Featured participants are the Maryland Division Color Guard, the Order of the Confederate Rose, and Marine Corps Detachment A wreath-laying ceremony will honor Confederate sailors and Marines. Following the ceremony, a reception will be held in St. Anne s Parish Rectory Hall for participants and the public. The hall is located at 119 Duke of Gloucester Street in Annapolis. Music for the occasion will be provided by The Shady Side Sour Notes. For information about this event, call or , or wdwkr38@aol.com. St. Anne s cemetery dates from Veterans of all our wars are buried here. Picture courtesy of Appeals court hands Hardwick case back to lower court From SLRC Update Vol.XIV, No.7 Dec 2010 RICHMOND, VA--Citing failure of the defendants to address a key element of Candice Hardwick s inschool Confederate clothing ban case, the Fourth US Circuit Court of Appeals has remanded the case to the lower court in which it was originally filed. The appellate court s action leaves the door open for further arguments in the case, which the lower court had summarily dismissed, and was hailed by supporters of Ms. Hardwick as a tactical victory. Anytime the lower court and the defendants get spanked by a higher court, that is cause for us little people to rejoice, said SLRC Board Chairman Neill H. Payne. Ms. Hardwick began experiencing disciplinary action at the hands of various teachers and administrators in her home town of Latta, SC beginning when she was in middle school, for wearing clothing items depicting various inoffensive Confederate images. School officials contended that such clothing might foment racial unrest and disciplinary problems, though no such issues were reported in connection with her wearing it. In 2006, Ms. Hardwick, then in high school, filed suit against the school board and certain administrators in US Circuit Court in Florence. After three years of legal wrangling the court eventually granted summary dismissal of the case, whereupon the SLRC filed appeal at the Fourth Circuit level. Oral arguments in the case were heard in Richmond on October 27. The appeals court based its remand on failure of the school board s attorneys to answer Ms. Hardwick s claim that her First Amendment rights were further violated when the school prohibited her from wearing t-shirts protesting the Confederate flag ban, even though the so-called protest shirts bore no Confederate images. The defendant s legal team inexplicably [did] not address [Ms. Hardwick s] argument that the case must be remanded for the court to consider her First Amendment damages claim involving the protest clothing, the court s ruling states but we look forward to the continued contest and eventual vindication for Candice Hardwick, [SLRC Chief Trial Counsel Kirk] Lyons concluded. Want to receive your Blade days earlier, and in glorious full color? Join our growing list of subscribers! Send your request to nullb@verizon.net. Your next Blade will be ed to you! Not only will it be more colorful; you will save the Camp postage and printing costs. 3

4 Celebrating Harry s Birthday: toasting a tradition By Michael Williams, Cmdr. As the hands of my watch joined each other and pointed to 12 noon, you could see the people coming from their cars and trucks. There was the neighing of horses in the distance as four horses with cavalrymen aboard started up to the Hill. On they came, Confederate and Union reenactors, bar patrons, policemen both current and past, SCV from several camps, some UDC and just the curious who were in Loudon Park Cemetery on this day - January 24, It s Harry s birthday! With smiles, handshakes, hugs and welcoming words, this was for some their first time back to Harry Gilmor s grave since last year January 24, For others it was their first time and still others this event went back as far as they could remember, to a time when they first joined the police force. Col. Gilmor s birthday and the gathering at his grave every January 24th at 12 Noon is the larger reunion that reflects smaller events that occur throughout the year. Events like Confederate Memorial Day when flowers are put on Harry s grave, and there are the personal trips to check on Col. Gilmor and his grave site. For the policemen it may have been just prior to the Lieutenant s exam seeking Harry s intervention on your behalf. On that trip tradition has it that a uniform button is be buried on Harry s grave to further insure success. One of the stories of this type is that of an officer named Steve C who wanted to retire and had run into resistance from the higher-ups. Officer C traveled to pants and a drink for Harry. And with a raised cup a toast is proposed - To Gallant Harry, Cavalryman Dauntless in Battle, splendid in success! Another round is delivered to all including the Colonel, whose empty cup is soon filled. Another toast is offered - To Police Commissioner Gilmor who saved Baltimore during the railroad riots of 1877! Today s event [2011], being on a very cold Monday doesn t have the horses, the bag piper who came several years, Abe Lincoln [Jeff Knapp], the First Maine Cavalry or the horde who were present in Despite ground frozen as hard as a rock, the temperature in the mid 20's and a breeze, ten hardy souls and one hardy dog were on hand to salute and toast Col. Harry Gilmor. Some of Harry s favorite drinks were shared - peach brandy and port wine. Good old Rebel Yell was also shared, stories were told, great laughs were had and all to a man [and dog] greatly enjoyed being together with Harry on his birthday. Celebrants in 1993 gather at Harry s graveside to pay homage to him. Confederate Hill and Harry s grave early the next day after learning of the problem. A button was buried, assistance asked and by one PM that same day, Officer C was given the permission to retire that he sought. Add one more to the list of believers, one more uncanny coincidence to the getting longer and longer list. Today is not necessarily about burying buttons. On Harry s birthday, as it was in 1993 and at all of the nearly 25 birthday events I ve attended, it s about paying our respects to the Colonel, giving him the salutes he richly deserves and toasting Harry with some of his favorite beverages. Port or peach brandy were Col. Gilmor s favorites although just about any alcoholic beverage will do. Some for the participants and some for Harry. It s poured into his own cup that sits at the head of his grave. There s great camaraderie, stories about back in the day, lots of laughter and a few sad moments when we remember those who are not able to be with is any more. Someone notices that Harry s cup is now empty [how does that happen?] and another round is delivered. A drink for the partici4 L to R: Jay Barringer, MD Div. Cmdr; Ed Schillo, Balto.City Police, Ret.; Elliott Cummings; John Zebelean; Chuck Walker,Balto.City Police Mounted Unit, Ret;, Steve Adamski; Craig and Jean Borne w/ Ollie the Wonder Dog; Mike Williams; and unseen photographer Craig Gotshall.

5 Of the Confederate veterans I have so far connected to my family tree, the 10 th VA Heavy Artillery is one of the most well represented units. I have traced seven ancestors who served in Allen s Battalion (10 th ) Virginia Heavy Artillery. The 10th was organized into five companies on April 4, 1862, on Jamestown Island. The battalion s first commander was Major William Allen. He resigned four and a half months later. Major James O. Hensley commanded the battalion for the remainder of the war. The 10 th left Jamestown Island in early May 1862 with General J.E. Johnston s army to reinforce the defenses of Richmond. The battalion remained there for the next three years, manning the guns of the capital s defenses. The 10 th helped to throw back the Kilpatrick- Dahlgren Raid in March It also served in the defenses at Drewry s Bluff. Like most heavy artillery units, the 10 th drilled as infantrymen and could handle rifles as well as heavy cannon. They were also proficient engineers. When Richmond fell on April 3, 1865, the companies of the 10 th joined the retreating columns of Lee s army, sharing the army s fate at Sailor s Creek and Appomattox Courthouse. The battalion surrendered 5 at Appomattox with 103 officers and men. All my 10 th VA ancestors served in Co. B. Robert Burwell Claytor was the Captain of Co. B. His Grandfather was Samuel Claytor, my 4x Great- Grandfather. Robert was my 1 st cousin, 4 times removed. His brothers, Sgt. David Mitchell Claytor, Pvt. James Harvey Claytor and Pvt. John Pope Claytor My ancestors in the 10 th Battalion, VA Heavy Artillery By Steve Smith, 1 st Lt. Cmdr. How Beauvoir got its name: the Maryland connection Excerpted from history.html Sarah Ann Ellis was a childhood friend of Varina Howell, wife of Jefferson Davis...She had known Davis most of her life and often visited in the home of his elder brother, Joseph, at Hurricane Plantation on the Mississippi River, south of Vicksburg. Sarah Ann married Samuel Worthington Dorsey, a native of Maryland, who managed her properties well after her parents died. Sarah Dorsey purchased 600 acres, including James Brown's house, on July 7,1873 from Frank Johnston, and after the death of her husband, Sarah Dorsey made her home at Beauvoir. She gave the house the name it still bears, signifying its "beautiful view." A cousin, a Mrs. Cochran, made her home with Sarah Dorsey at Beauvoir. Dorsey had completed her education in England and was a woman of exceptional educational standing. She corresponded with numerous served along side of him in Co.B. Pvt. John Pope Claytor died of unknown causes on September 11, 1864 at Bainbridge, GA, aged 29. Cousins of these Claytor boys were Pvt. Jesse M. Claytor and Sgt. Samuel Graham Claytor, both my 1 st cousins, 4 times removed. They also served in Co. B. The final member of the 10 th that I have traced is Pvt. James W. Leftwich, also of Co. B. His 2x Great-Grandfather, Augustine Leftwich, Sr., was my 6x Great-Grandfather. James was my 3 rd cousin, 4 times removed. intellectual and literary figures all over the world. She even held membership, which was rare for a woman, in the New Orleans Academy of Science well before the sale of Beauvoir to Davis, Sarah Dorsey made her will on January 4, 1878, leaving her estate to Jefferson Davis. It is noteworthy that after her death, Davis paid the two remaining installments due on Beauvoir in order to liquidate debts owed by Dorsey's estate. Consequently, Davis did buy Beauvoir, and he paid for it in full.

6 Secret message to Confederate commander at Vicksburg: Help not coming RICHMOND, Va. A glass vial stopped with a cork during the Civil War has been opened, revealing a coded message to the desperate Confederate commander in Vicksburg on the day the Mississippi city fell to Union forces 147 years ago. The dispatch offered no hope to doomed Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton: Reinforcements are not on the way. The encrypted, 6-line message was dated July 4, 1863, the date of Pemberton s surrender to Union forces led by Ulysses S. Grant, ending the Siege of Vicksburg in what historians say was a turning point midway into the Civil War The bottle, less than 2 inches in length, had sat undisturbed at the museum since It was a gift from Capt. William A. Smith, of King George County, who served during the Vicksburg siege. It was Museum of the Confederacy collections manager Catherine Wright who decided to investigate the contents of the strange little bottle containing a tightly wrapped note, a.38- caliber bullet and a white thread Wright asked a local art conservator, Scott Nolley, to examine the clear vial before she attempted to open it. He looked at the bottle under an electron microscope and discovered that salt had bonded the cork tightly to the bottle s mouth. He put the bottle on a hotplate to expand the glass, used a scalpel to loosen the cork, then gently plucked it out with tweezers. The sewing thread was looped around the 6 1/2-by-2 1/2-inch paper, which was folded to fit into the bottle. The rolled message was removed and taken to a paper conservator, who successfully unfurled the message Eager to learn the meaning of the code, Wright took the message home for the weekend to decipher. She had no success. A retired CIA code breaker, David Gaddy, was contacted, and he cracked the code in several weeks. A Navy cryptologist independently confirmed Gaddy s interpretation. Cmdr. John B. Hunter, an information warfare officer, said he deciphered the code over two weeks while on deployment aboard an aircraft carrier in the Pacific. A computer could have unscrambled the words in a fraction of the time The code is called the Vigenere cipher, a centuries-old encryption in which letters of the alphabet are shifted a set number of places so an a would become a d essentially, creating words with different letter combinations. The code was widely used by Southern forces during the Civil War, according to Civil War Times Illustrated. The source of the message was likely Maj. Gen. John G. Walker, of the Texas Division, who had under his command William Smith, the donor of the bottle. The full text of the message to Pemberton reads: Gen l Pemberton: You can expect no help from this side of the river. Let Gen l Johnston know, if possible, when you can attack the same point on the enemy s lines. In- 6 By Associated Press Texarkana Gazette; Published 12/26/2010 form me also and I will endeavor to make a diversion. I have sent some caps (explosive devices). I subjoin a despatch from General Johnston. The last line, Wright said, seems to suggest a separate delivery to Pemberton would be the code to break the message. The date of this message clearly indicates that this person has no idea that the city is about to be surrendered, she said So what about the bullet in the bottom of the bottle? Wright suspects the messenger was instructed to toss the bottle into the river if Union troops intercepted his passage. The weight of the bullet would have carried the corked bottle to the bottom, she said. For Pemberton, the bottle is symbolic of his lost cause: the bad news never made it to him. The Confederate messenger probably arrived to the river s edge and saw a U.S. flag flying over the city. He figured out what was going on and said, Well, this is pointless, and turned back, Wright said. The full text of this article can be found at: eheadlines/2010/12/26/secret-message-toconfederate-commander--66.php This undated image shows a Civil Warera glass vial and the message that was tucked inside it at the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Va.

7 The Blade offers space within its pages for business advertising by SCV members and nonmembers. For $5.00 per issue, an individual can purchase a business card-size space on the Blade s Ad Page. Remember: the Blade is sent to locations all across the country, though by far most readers live right here in Maryland. Wherever the Blade goes, your message can go with it! Interested? Please contact Bruce Null, 2600 Masseth Avenue, Baltimore, MD Send a copy of the ad you wish to place in the Blade, a short letter of explanation, and a check payable to the Col. H. W. Gilmor Camp #1388, SCV amounting to $5.00 for each issue in which you want the ad to appear. That s only $50 for a whole year (we do not publish in July and August) of ads!

8 THE GILMOR BLADE Bruce and Nancy Null 2600 Masseth Avenue Baltimore, MD The Gilmor Blade is the monthly publication of the Col. Harry W. Gilmor Camp #1388, Sons of Confederate Veterans. Subscriptions are available for non-members for $6.00 per year. Any individual interested in a subscription should send a check payable to Col. H.W. Gilmor Camp #1388, SCV to Nancy Null, Editor, at the address above. SAVE THE DATE: February Camp Meeting: 2/9/2011 Featuring acclaimed author Gregg Clemmer