Winner of the 2016 Best Newsletter Award, Sons of Confederate Veterans

Transcription

1 ol. 3, No. 3 Copyright 2017 March 2017 Winner of the 2016 Best Newsletter Award, Sons of Confederate Veterans COMMANDER S CORNER by Larry Joe Reynolds UPCOMING EVENTS This past weekend I attended the Army of Trans-Mississippi Symposium, which was an outstanding event, but it got me to thinking about the many things that we still need to accomplish in our Camp. A camp is not the building that we meet in once a month, a Camp is a band of brothers that shares similar ideas and works towards a like goal. I have always said that the Sons of Confederate Veterans has something for everyone, if you enjoy re-enacting then we ve got that. If you like attend Graveside Memorial Services, then we have lots of them, if it s Parades that you like marching in then join us, If you just want to make the Camp Meetings, learn some of our history, enjoy fellowship and good food then we certainly have that. What I would like to see is more Compatriots trying new and different things. I was disappointed that not more members showed up at the Army of Trans-Mississippi Symposium, or training session. It was a wonderful meeting and I, for one, really learnt a lot of things. I would like to see more of our members get involved in the Guardian Program and hope, before my term is up that we can have a Guardian for every Confederate Hero in Titus County. If there is anything of interest that you feel our Camp should be involved it then please let me know, I m always open to new ideas and will entertain almost any idea, as long as it furthers our cause. This month s meeting will be about Our Camp and what we can do to improve it. I hope that all of you will be there. Monday, March 6 th, 7:00 p.m. Refreshments at 6:30 p.m. Old Union Community Center Hwy 67E, Mount Pleasant, Texas NATIONAL CONFEDERATE FLAG DAY March 4 th, :00 p.m. Tyler, Texas East Texas Flag Rally with 4, 5, 7, & 8 Brigade will be at noon at Camp Ford in Tyler. GRAVE DEDICATION April 8 th :00 a.m. Hubbard, Bowie County, Texas See for full details CEMETERY MEMORIAL SERVICE April 15th, :00 a.m. Marietta, Cass County, Texas See for full details CEMETERY MEMORIAL SERVICE May 13 th :00 a.m. Old Mings Cemetery, Gilmer, Texas See for full details 2017 TEXAS DIVISION REUNION June 2 nd 4 th, 2017 Radisson Hotel 2540 Meacham Blvd., Fort Worth, Texas See for full details NATIONAL REUNION July 18 th 23 rd, 2016 Sheraton Downtown Hotel 250 N. Main Street Memphis, TN See for full details.

2 Vol. 3 No. 3 Copyright 2107 Page 2 DAVIDRREYNOLDS.ORG This month the following changes have been made to our web site: I ve updated our Guardian page with the latest Guardians. I ve updated our Events page to include all known events by the Camp and its members. Please let me know when you do anything for the SCV, this includes attending other camp meeting, public speaking, or even putting flags on graves. I ve updated our Calendar of Events. I m still looking for biographies of your Confederate Ancestor. Please try to come up with a short bio that we can put on-line. If you have any suggestions, recommendations or comments you can send me an to: Joe.Reynolds@davidrreynolds.org and I promise to give it my full consideration. Our Charge "To you, Sons of Confederate Veterans, we will commit 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 which he loved and which you love also, and those ideals which made him glorious and which you also cherish." Lt. General Stephen Dill Lee, Commander General, United Confederate Veterans, New Orleans, Louisiana April 25, 1906 Remember, it is your duty to see that the true history of the South is presented to future generations! Abraham Blevins Private Company D, 27 th Texas Cavalry Abraham Blevins was born in Alabama in His wife was Sarah Ann Foreman, and she was born in Alabama in They were married in 1844, and came to Titus County in 1858 and settled north and west of Cason. He bought land in that community from the Riddle family and lived there for the remainder of his life. the Blevins Cemetery is named for him. He was at one time Justice of the Pease in that community and was thereafter known by all of his acquaintances as Squire Blevins. On January 1, 1862, he enlisted in Whitfield's Texas Legion of the Confederate Army, but was discharged in December, 1862, because of being over-age. William Old was a large land owner adjoining the Blevins land on the west. In those days, it was the custom of farms to let their stock run at large, and they fenced their land to keep the stock out of the fields. Abraham Blevins had a large number of hogs running out, and he began to miss some of these hogs. Finally, he went to William Old and informed him that Old's negro slaves were stealing his hogs. This made Old angry, and he and Blevins became very bitter enemies over this; and, in fact, they began carrying their guns for each other whenever they would leave their homes. This brought about a very tragic end for William Old. In 1860, he went to the town of Snowhill to assist in building a church and carried a shotgun with him; and in setting this gun down, it accidentally discharged and kill him.

3 Vol. 3 No. 3 Copyright 2107 Page 3 SEVEN CIVIL WAR STORIES YOU DIDN'T LEARN IN HIGH SCHOOL Everyone seemed to enjoy our last meeting, lots of fun, fellowship, and food. The Chicken and Dumplings went over good. Compatriot Charles Hayes of the Captain James P Douglas Camp #124 in Tyler brought us the Program, Civil War Limericks. For many American historians, the Civil War is the climax in the story of how the United States came to be what it is today. But it's also a source of some bizarre and surprisingly cool trivia. I ll bring you one each month. 2. HUNGRY LADIES EFFECTIVELY MUGGED JEFFERSON DAVIS The Confederacy's image hinged on the notion that the rebellious states made up a unified, stable nation. However, the hard times of war exposed just how much disunity there was in Dixieland. Civilians in both the North and South had to cope with scarcity and increased food prices, but the food situation was especially bad in the South because outcomes on the battlefield were directly linked to the CSA's currency - rising food prices were hard enough to deal with without wild fluctuations in what the money in your pocket could buy. Invading northern troops, of course, poured salt on the wounds of scarcity, burning crops and killing livestock. But in Richmond, Virginia, those who couldn't afford the increasingly pricey food blamed the Confederate government. Hungry protesters, most of whom were women, led a march "to see the governor" in April 1863 that quickly turned violent. They overturned carts, smashed windows, and drew out Governor John Letcher and President Jefferson Davis. Davis threw money at the protesters, trying to get them to clear out, but the violence continued. So, he threatened to order the militia to open fire, which settled things down pretty quickly. LAST CAMP MEETING 1 st Lt. Commander Rex McGee receives an Oak Leaf Cluster to his Guardian Medal and three new Full Guardian Certificates from Commander Phil Davis, Guardian Chairman as 2 nd Lt. 5 th Brigade George Linton looks on. We will not have a scheduled program next month, we have lots of business to discuss so we will just have a business meeting. Please try to be there! Atlanta Rolls Up, Moves an Old Oil Painting - All 374 Feet and 12 Tons of It In the Grant Park neighborhood in southeast Atlanta stands an auditorium that, for more than a century, has housed the massive oil painting Battle of Atlanta. Of late, the venue has become a construction site. Piles of rubble mount and scaffolding extends high into the air - surrounding the large, cylindrical oil painting also known as the Atlanta Cyclorama. The panorama, which is longer than a football field, depicts scenes of Confederate and Union soldiers from the 1864 fall of Atlanta. Now, following months of preparation, art and engineering meet head-on as the painting starts its

4 Vol. 3 No. 3 Copyright 2107 Page 4 trip to a new home. The move is being partially overseen by Gordon Jones of the Atlanta History Center. "It's really not a part of the normal art conservation that you see, because this has primarily been an engineering challenge up to this point," Jones says. The project has meant rolling up the towering, 130- year-old painting onto two 45-foot-tall scrolls, each weighing about six tons. It won't be easy. Jerusalem in Ste-Anne-de-Beaupré, Quebec - that are still on display in North America. "They did sort of fall out of favor once film was invented - so that's a huge reason why people don't really know about them so much anymore," Velas says. She hopes efforts to restore of the Battle of Atlanta might start to change that. The history center plans to have the painting back on display next year. Copied from the Dixie Heritage Newsletter MARY TYLER MOORE Most people remember Mary Tyler Moore as one of Hollywood's great funny ladies, and for good reason: her characters Laura Petrie and Mary Richards left an indelible mark on American society. Her death this week at age 80 was major news. "Both scrolls will be lifted by crane through two holes in the roof, then once outside of the building, they will be laid down flat onto flatbed trucks, and then we do the same thing to put them back into the new building," Jones explains. That new building is at the Atlanta History Center. The nonprofit struck a deal with the city, which owns the painting, to restore and display it for the next 75 years. Jones says it's a good move: Atlanta sheds the costs of upkeep, and the center can add historical context to a painting that long has been a symbol of Confederate heritage. Sara Velas, president of the International Panorama Council, says panoramas once were popular entertainment - think 19th century IMAX movies. Battle of Atlanta is one of just three panoramas created in that period - along with The Battle of Gettysburg in Gettysburg, Pa., and The Panorama of What many don't know is that Mary Tyler Moore had deep ties to the Confederacy. Her great-grandfather was Lt. Col. Lewis Tilghman Moore of the 4th Virginia Infantry, part of the legendary Stonewall Brigade. Col. Moore helped to lead the regiment during its many famous engagements from Henry House Hill at the First Battle of Bull Run to the end of the war in During the winter and spring of 1862, Jackson established his headquarters in Moore's home in Winchester. That house is today the Stonewall Jackson Headquarters Museum, Mary Tyler Moore was a generous donor to help pay for its restoration. Her great grandfather's house's connection to the War remained important to her for the rest of her life. She was also the great-great-great granddaughter of Conrad Shindler, who lived in Shepherdstown in what is today West Virginia. In approximately 1795, Conrad Shindler built a sturdy brick home on the main street in downtown Shepherdstown that still stands. In the 1990s, Shepherd University, which is

5 Vol. 3 No. 3 Copyright 2107 Page 5 roughly a block away from the Shindler house, undertook a major project to create a massive database of WBTS soldiers. That project needed a home, and when the Shindler house came available in 1995, Mary Tyler Moore purchased the house and then donated it to the University. The Shindler house today is called the George Tyler Moore Center for the Study of the Civil War, named for Mary Tyler Moore's father. The image at the top of the post is of the Center's original director, Prof. Mark Snell, and Ms. Moore on the front porch of the house at the ceremony dedicating the Center. interest me. I do watch a lot of Fox News. I like Charles Krauthammer and Bill O'Reilly...If McCain had asked me to campaign for him, I would have." In an interview for the 2013 PBS series Pioneers of Television, Moore says that she was recruited to join the feminist movement of the 1970s by Gloria Steinem, but, did not agree with Steinem's views. Moore said she believed that women have an important role in raising children and that she did not believe in Steinem's view that women owe it to themselves to have a career. GOD CREATED DIXIE Angels came from Heaven's Grace; Then stood and looked upon this place. From all His glorious realms on high; God created earth and sky. Through the years, Mary Tyler Moore made significant contributions to the preservation of sites and education about the War Between the States in the Shenandoah Valley. During the 1960s and 1970s, Moore had a reputation as a liberal and even endorsed President Jimmy Carter for re-election in a 1980 campaign television ad. In 2011, friend and former co-star Ed Asner said during an interview on The O'Reilly Factor that Moore "has become much more conservative of late." Bill O'Reilly, host of the aforementioned program, previously stated that Moore had been a viewer of his show and that her political views had leaned conservative in recent years. In a Parade magazine article from March 22, 2009, Moore identified herself as a centrist who watches Fox News. She stated, "...when one looks at what's happened to television, there are so few shows that When God performed His creative act; The angels beheld this Holy fact. No greater work was there to be; Then what He made for you and me. Remember Lord you made this place; You worked so hard but left a space. So God considered where to stand; And went to work on Dixie Land. God went to work and did the rest; So that the South would be His best. What God had done could never be; Though at the time no one could see. Through all the ages it is told; They tell our story and behold. There was never in all that span; Quite a place like Dixie Land. ROBERT E. LEE & HARRY TRUMAN By Colonel Greg Eanes

6 Vol. 3 No. 3 Copyright 2107 Page 6 General Robert E. Lee s birthday on January 19th has been a holiday in the Commonwealth of Virginia since It was a day of remembrance for General Lee and later Stonewall Jackson whose birthday is the 21st of January. Until the start of Monday and Friday state holidays Lee-Jackson Day was always on January 19th. While the day was a time to celebrate the lives and leadership of two of Virginia s most prominent sons, it was also, by extension, an opportunity for so many of Virginia s citizens to honor and celebrate the lives of the grandfathers, fathers, sons, and brothers who were veterans of or died in Confederate service. It is estimated that 120,000 Virginians served in the Confederate Army at various times with nearly 29,000 deaths from wounds, disease, and all other causes. Lee and Jackson came to symbolize their men, a devotion to the principles of Constitutional liberty, and defense of their homeland; concepts for which they and their men were willing to leave their families and surrender their lives. Their consciously made sacrifices are an example to be enshrined and emulated. In speaking about Confederate veterans, President Theodore Roosevelt said: They by their deeds reflect credit upon their descendants and upon all Americans, both because they did their duty in war and because they did their duty in peace. On another occasion, he said, the memory and the valor shown alike by the men who wore the blue and the men who wore the gray, is a heritage of honor for the whole country. The spirit of Lee, Jackson, and the Confederate soldier has been displayed on diverse battlefields since the end of the Civil War. There are countless photos of U.S. soldiers, proud of their Confederate military heritage, displaying the Confederate battle flag on modern battlefields. The United Daughters of the Confederacy, the Military Order of the Stars and Bars, and the Sons of Confederate Veterans, and before them the United Confederate Veterans actively supported the soldiers and sailors of the United States since the Spanish-American War. A young World War I artillery Captain named Harry Truman was very much influenced by Lee and Jackson. A keen student of military history, he grew up at a time when Civil War veterans were very much alive and part of the community. Truman recorded Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson were all down in his head as the heroes. Sometime in the 1920s, Truman gave his mother a miniature portrait of Robert E. Lee. She prominently displayed it on her bedroom dresser until the day she died. In Truman s home and White House, he maintained a 1947 copy of the famous painting depicting the Last Meeting between Lee and Jackson. Truman visited Gettysburg in 1935 and wrote a letter to his eleven-year-old daughter describing the visit. After explaining Lee s challenges, he wrote: I picked two little flowers from the foot of the Virginia Monument which stands on the spot where Lee stood and I am sending them to you. They will re-mind you of how a great man takes a terrible defeat Lee didn t blame anybody. He accepted the responsibility and stated that if there was any fault it was his Lee blamed no one. Lee s example of leadership and accountability directly influenced this future President who made the hard decision to drop the atomic bomb to save American lives in World War II and proudly displayed a sign that said The Buck Stops Here. In 1960, President Truman visited Lexington to give the keynote speech at Washington and Lee s mock

7 Vol. 3 No. 3 Copyright 2107 Page 7 convention. While there, he slipped away to visit Lee s tomb and explore some of Lee s personal papers. Most telling was Truman s routine invocation of Robert E. Lee s prayer. Harry Truman memorized the prayer and used it throughout his life. It reads as follows: Help me to be, to think, to act what is right because it is right; Make me truthful, honest for the sake of right and honor. And without thought of reward to me. Can there be any more telling evidence of Lee s positive influence than this? There are reportedly more than 65 million Americans of Confederate ancestry. On this Lee-Jackson Day, many of them will quietly pause to remember those who sacrificed and still sacrifice on foreign battlefields for home and family. 34TH TEXAS DISMOUNTED CAVALRY 2nd Texas Partisan Rangers Col. Almarine Alexander raised the 2nd Partisan Rangers, Texas State Troops at Sherman, TX in the winter of with recruits from Parker County to the west and Lamar County to the east. In the spring of 1862, Alexander's 2nd Partisan Rangers moved north to Fort Washita, Indian Territory and joined Col. Douglas Cooper and his Indian regiments, where the 2nd Texas Partisan Rangers was accepted into Confederate service as the 34th Texas Cavalry Regiment. Col. Douglas Cooper's Brigade then moved northeast into southern Missouri where the brigade joined Col. John T. Coffee's 6th Missouri Cavalry, Steven's 22nd Texas Cavalry and Hawpe's 31st Texas Cavalry at Camp Coffee, six miles south of Newtonia, Missouri. In late September, 1862, Union forces advanced on Newtonia, were met by vicious Confederate fire and fled back to the north in disarray. After the battle of Newtonia, the 22nd and 34th Texas cavalry were dismounted due to their unsuitable cavalry mounts. The 34th Texas Dismounted Cavalry marched south into Arkansas and joined Col. Thomas Coke Bass' 20th Texas cavalry. On December 7, 1862, the 20th and 34th Texas Cavalry fought at Prairie Grove, Arkansas and stopped the Union advance before they had to retire from the field after their ammunition was exhausted. In January, 1863, the 34th Texas Dismounted Cavalry joined the 15th Texas Infantry and marched through deep snow to Texas, leaving the 20th Texas Cavalry in Indian Territory. In the spring of 1863, the 15th Texas Infantry and the 34th Texas Dis. Cavalry were moved mack to Louisiana where the 34th Texas was retrained as infantry. In the summer of 1863, the regiments engaged the Union forces at Stirling's Plantation and Bayou Bourbeau. In the fall of 1863, the 34th joined Brig. Gen. Camille de Polignac's brigade and skirmished at Vidalia and Harrisonburg, Louisiana. In early 1864, Polignac's Brigade fought at Pleasant Hill, Mansfield and Yellow Bayou. Assignments: April-May Indian Territory, Trans- Mississippi District, Department #2 May-September Department of the Indian Territory, Trans-Mississippi Department September-December Cooper's Brigade, 1st Corps., Trans-Mississipi Department December1862-January Bradfute's Brigade, Roane's Division, 1st Corps., Trans-Mississippi Department January-June Department of the Indian Territory, Trans-Mississippi Department June-September Speight's Brigade, District of Western Louisiana, Trans-Mississippi Department

8 Vol. 3 No. 3 Copyright 2107 Page 8 November Polignac's Brigade, District of Western Louisiana, Trans-Mississippi Department November 1863-September Polignac's Brigade, Nouton's-Polignac's Division, District of Western Louisiana, Trans-Miss. Department BATTLES FOUGHT DURING THE MONTH OF MARCH September 1864-May th Texas Brigade, Polignac's Division, 1st Corps., Trans-Mississippi Department Battles: December 7, Prairie Grove, AR September 30, Newtonia, MO September 30, Stirling's Plantation, Pointe Coupee Parish, LA March-May Red River Campaign, Louisiana (Pleasant Hill, Mansfield, Yellow Bayou) Battle of New Madrid and Island No New Madrid and Island No. 10 Missouri 3 March to 8 April Generals McCown and MacKall verses General John Pope. Casualties 4077 Confederate, 831 Union! Battle of Pea Ridge - Pea Ridge Arkansas BIRTHDAYS, ANNIVERSARIES & OTHER IMPORTANT DATES March 3 rd - Misty Reynolds March 9 th - Tommy Lee Reynolds March 13 th - Charles Richarrd Hess March 14 th - John Michael Farley March 17 th - Jerry Don Reynolds March 23 rd - Jamee Lynn Mars March 13 th - Henry & Donna King March 4 th - Today's date is Flag Day in the Confederate States of America. March 11 th - Confederate States Constitution Day , 7-8 March General Earl Van Dorn verses General Samuel R. Curtis. Casualties: 800 Confederate, 1384 Union! Battle of Brentonville - Brentonville North Carolina March General Joseph E. Johnston verses General William T. Sherman. Casualties: 2606 Confederate, 1646 Union! Battle of Kernstown - Kernstown Virginia March General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson verses General Nathaniel P. Banks. Casualties: 700 Confederate, 590 Union! Battle of fort Stedman - Fort Stedman Virginia 25 March General John B. Gordon verses Generals Hartranft and Meade. Casualties: 4400 Confederate, 2080 Union! Battle of Dinwiddle Courthouse and White Oak Road - Dinwiddle Virginia

9 Vol. 3 No. 3 Copyright 2107 Page March General Robert E. Lee verses General Ulysses S. Grant. Casualties: 2000 Confederate, 2198 Union! And went to work on Dixie Land. God went to work and did the rest; So that the South would be His best. SICKNESS & DISTRESS February 8 th Sympathy Card sent to Mr. Joe Goodspeed, husband of Floye Rachel Lindsey Goodspeed, currently the last Real Daughter in Texas. Mrs. Goodspeed died on February 4, 2017 in Conroe, Texas. February 21 st Sympathy Card sent to Compatriot Larry Harper, Chaplain, Upshur County Patriots Compatriot Harper lost his father on February 18 th in Longview, Texas. GOD CREATED DIXIE Angels came from Heaven's Grace; Then stood and looked upon this place. From all His glorious realms on high; God created earth and sky. When God performed His creative act; The angels beheld this Holy fact. No greater work was there to be; Then what He made for you and me. Remember Lord you made this place; You worked so hard but left a space. So God considered where to stand; What God had done could never be; Though at the time no one could see. Through all the ages it is told; They tell our story and behold. There was never in all that span; Quite a place like Dixie Land. GUARDIAN NEWS By 1Lt Commander Rex McGee We re trying to make sure that our records are up to date, so please review your name below to ensure that it is correct according to your records. If you see any mistake, please let Command Joe Reynolds know. O. M. Adams 14 Graves P M Dennis Gunn 01 Grave P Bill Guy 03 Graves P M Robert Jones 11 Graves P M Rodney Love 18 Graves P M Michael Mars 12 Graves P M Rex McGee 50 Graves F M Jimmy Reynolds 13 Graves P M Jerry Reynolds 07 Graves P M Joe Reynolds 35 Graves P M Tommy Reynolds 15 Graves P M Buffalo 23 Graves P M F - Full Guardian P - Pro Tem Guardian M - Multiple Graves W - Wilderness Grave

10 Vol. 3 No. 3 Copyright 2107 Page 10 Camp Leadership 1 st Lt. David Richard Reynolds Camp #2270 Mount Pleasant, Texas Commander Larry Joe Reynolds (903) Joe.Reynolds@DavidRReynolds.org As usual, I ll leave you with the question that Phil Davis, Upshur Patriots CDR and Chairman of both the National and Texas Division Guardian Program always asks, Are you a Guardian? If not, why not? NEWSLETTER EDITOR Larry Joe Reynolds 1007 Stone Shore Street Mount Pleasant, TX (903) Joe.Reynolds@DavidRReynolds.org 1Lt. Commander Alvin Rex McGee (903) AlvinRexMcGee@hotmail.com 2Lt. Commander Robert Eugene Jones (903) rj416b@gmail.com Adjutant Vacant Chaplain John Michael Mars (903) jmmars74@gmail.com Sergeant-at-Arms Kenneth Roy Phillips, Jr. (903) confederateglory@yahoo.com Quartermaster O. M. Adams (903) toshman@gmail.com Opinions expressed by individual writers are their own and do not necessarily reflect official positions of the 1 st Lt. David Richard Reynolds Camp #2270. Letters and articles may be submitted to: Joe.Reynolds@davidrreynolds.org (Cutoff for articles is 15th of the month) Web Master / Newsletter Editor Joe Reynolds (903) Joe.Reynolds@DavidRReynolds.org