The Lost Cause

The Story of Captain John Baker Dortch

2011-05-27T01:50:00.001-04:00

Captain John Baker Dortch:
50th Tennessee Infantry Regiment
Tennessee Partisan Ranger Company
3rd/7th (Gano’s) Kentucky Cavalry Regiment
2nd( Dortch’s) Kentucky Consolidated Cavalry Battalion.
8th Kentucky Cavalry Regiment

John B. Dortch was born May 11, 1830 in, and was a resident of, Port Royal, near Clarkesville Tennessee. Dortch was a grandson of former Tennessee Governor Willie Blount (1809-1815), and the nephew of Cave Johnson, Postmaster General (1845-1849) during President Polk’s administration.
In 1861, when the War Between the States came to Tennessee, Dortch enlisted in company E, of the 50th Tennessee Infantry Regiment, with the rank of 1st Lieutenant. His company departed for Fort Donelson, Tennessee November 19,1861. He was promoted to Captain in December. Captain Dortch stood about 5foot 9 inches tall, had black eyes, dark hair, and a fair complexion.
On January 19, 1862 his company was ordered to Fort Henry, then counter-marched back about ten days later. When ordered to return to Fort Henry on February 6, Captain Dortch learned it had been captured while in route.
The Battle of Fort Donelson took place February 14-15, 1862. On the 15th, four companies from the 50th were ordered to re-enforce the 2nd Kentucky Infantry Regiment, which had taken severe casualties. The following day the garrison force surrendered. Captain Dortch and approx. fifty-five others from the Regiment escaped on the Wynn’s Ferry Road and made their way out. Captain Dortch told his men to return to their homes near Clarkesville and then report back to him at Nashville Tennessee. The Capital City fell so quickly that only a few men were able to comply with the order.

Captain Dortch filed a special requisition from Decatur, Alabama on March 23, for one pair of pants and shoes, one camp kettle, ten pans and twelve blankets. This was to replace items lost at Fort Donelson.
During the Battle of Shiloh April 6-7, 1862 Captain Dortch served temporarily with the 23rd Tennessee Infantry Regiment along with seven others from his company. On April 15,1862 Captain Dortch resigned his commission as a Captain in the 50th Tennessee Infantry Regiment. He stated that his men had been allowed to join other commands, which resulted in him becoming a supernumerary officer. His intention was to return home and recruit another company.
Tennessee Governor Harris, by special commission in August of 1862, granted Captain Dortch authority to raise a company of Partisan Rangers for twelve months service. Kentucky General A. R. Johnson, in his memoirs, recalled that Captain Dortch brought two companies of cavalry to Camp Coleman—a recruitment center - near Hopkinsville Kentucky in Todd County. On August 25,1862 Captain Dortch was assigned to Company G, 7th Regiment Kentucky Cavalry which was being recruited by the Texan, Colonel R. M. Gano, Morgan’s Kentucky Cavalry Brigade.
Johnson ordered Captains Dortch and Page (company H, Gano’s Regiment) to burn the railroad bridge between Bowling Green and Russellville KY. Volume 16 of the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion contains a report by Colonel Bruce, 20th Kentucky Infantry, in which he acknowledges elements of the 17th Indiana Infantry and the 8th Kentucky Cavalry skirmished September 30th in that vicinity. There are several casualties listed for Dortch’s and Page’s companies in the Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Kentucky, on that date.
On November 5, 1862, Colonel’s John. H. Morgan and Nathan B. Forrest’s Cavalry commands were ordered to co-operate in an attack upon Nashville TN. Failing to attack simultaneously little damage was done by the attacking Confederates. Morgan did manage to burn a portion of the Edgefield railroad depot across the river from Nashville. After relocating to Tyree Springs and Lebanon, Morgan won a decisive victory at Hartsville, Tennessee on December 7, 1862 and afterwards was promoted to Brigadier-General C. S. A..
From December 21 through January 5, 1863 Captain Dortch and his company participated in Morgan’s Christmas Raid of Kentucky. Leaving Alexandria Tennessee on December 23, 1862 the Confederates set out to destroy the railroad from Muldraugh’s Hill, Kentucky to Nashville, Tennessee. Glasgow, Kentucky was entered on Christmas Eve.
Bacon Creek railroad bridge was burned on the 26th. On December 27, the Battle of Elizabethtown resulted in the shelling of the town from the city cemetery. Morgan’s strategy resulted in the capture of the town.
The bridges at Sulphur Fork Trestle and the fort on Muldraugh’s Hill were burned on December 28.
Lt. Colonel J.W. Huffman , Captain Dortch’s commanding officer was undergoing court-martial at Rolling Fork River, near Boston, Kentucky on the 29th, for violating parole terms offered to the Union soldiers of the 71st Indiana & 78th Illinois Infantry Regiments at Muldraugh’s Hill the previous day. Union troopers from the 10th, 12th, 13th Kentucky Cavalry Regiments attacked and wounded Colonel Duke, resulting in the cancellation of the proceedings. Afterwards a successful withdrawal to Tennessee was accomplished by January 5, 1863.
While Morgan was raiding in Kentucky, the Battle of Stones River,(12/31/62-1/02/63)Tennessee took place. Afterwards General Bragg re-organized his troops placing Morgan’s Cavalry under the control of General Wheeler. Subsequent Confederate troop movements resulted in Morgan establishing his headquarters in McMinnville Tennessee. There were numerous scouts and skirmishes during the Spring, along with two pitched battles nearby, Milton (3/20/63), and Snow’s Hill (4/03/63). In June of 1863, Morgan gathered his troops together at Alexandria Tennessee. Another excursion to Kentucky was in the works!
About the 2nd day of July 1863 General Morgan ‘s troopers began crossing the upper Cumberland River near Burkesville, Kentucky. Flooding from recent rains had swollen the river. Lt. H. C. Merritt, of Dortch’s company recalled “only those who were considered well mounted were allowed to go on the raid. It was most strenuous work on both men and horses. Those who were poor swimmers grabbed on to their horses tail, to be pulled across.” Lt. Colonel Huffman placed Captain Dortch in command of the troopers who were to remain behind. These men became the nucleus of Dortch’s 2nd Kentucky Cavalry Battalion.

Morgan’s Ohio Raid (7/2-7/26/1863) was the longest raid made by cavalry during the war. Although the troopers covered over 700 miles and destroyed millions of dollars worth of property the raid resulted in the
capture of most of Morgan’s command. As a result Gano’s Kentucky Regiment ceased to exist. Those men who escaped capture eventually made their way to Morristown Tennessee. where General A.R. Johnson had been ordered to gather ‘Morgan’s Men” for reassignment.
Captain Dortch and about 300 men were briefly associated with Colonel J. Q. Chenoweth’s 16th Kentucky Partisan Rangers. Eventually enough men were gathered to form two battalions of cavalry. Captain Kilpatrick led the 1st Consolidated Kentucky Cavalry Battalion and Captain Dortch led the 2nd Consolidated Kentucky Cavalry Battalion.
Bennett Young in ‘Confederate Wizards of the Saddle”, wrote that Dortch’s and Kirkpatrick’s Battalions “...were among the best that Kentucky furnished. They were largely young men from the Bluegrass, few of them exceeding twenty-five years in age. They came out of Kentucky in July1862 and October 1862, had now received more than a years seasoning, and were by their military experiences fitted for the hardest and fiercest conflicts. They had left Kentucky well mounted.”
On September 18,1863 Captain Dortch reported to General Forrest’s command for duty and was assigned to General Pegram. Dortch’s men were stationed in the vicinity of Chickamauga and Tunnel Hill GA. After the Battle of Chickamauga (9/19-9/20/63), Dortch’s Battalion paused at Bryd’s Mill to regroup and re-shoe their horses. Afterwards they moved up the Knoxville & Chattanooga railroad towards Charleston, TN. September 28,1863, General Bragg ordered General Forrest to turn over his troopers to General Wheeler.
During General Longstreet’s East Tennessee Campaign Dortch’s Battalion foraged and skirmished at Philadelphia, Loudon , Maryville and Knoxville. When Burnside’s Federal Army cut them off at Knoxville from the main Confederate forces, Dortch’s command made their way back to Confederate lines via Big Bend Mountain and Montvale Springs in Cherokee County North Carolina.
On November 24, 1863 Special Order # 102 placed Dortch’s Battalion in Grigsby’s Kentucky Brigade of General Kelly’s command in Wheeler’s Cavalry. On December 22,1863,Dortch petitioned to be allowed to return to Kentucky, where he hoped to recruit a regiment of mounted rifles. However the petition was denied in January of 1864.

There are a series of forage requisitions in Captain Dortch’s CSR files that indicate ongoing attrition (6.77%) in his ranks. In November of 1863 he requested forage for 300 horses and 60 mules, while stationed in the vicinity of Dalton Georgia. In December he requisitioned forage for 275 horses while stationed at Tunnel Hill GA. In January of 1864 the order had shrunk to 231 horses and 13 mules. On February 29,1864 Captain Dortch requested an axe and hatchet for himself and his staff, while stationed at Silver Springs Alabama..
In February of 1864 General Adam R. Johnson issued Special Order # 22 which allowed Kilpatrick’s and Dortch’s Battalions to return to south-.western Virginia. General Morgan had recently returned to this theatre after escaping from prison in Ohio in November 1863. However, on 3/12/64, General Wheeler chose to retain Dortch’s Battalion. Captain Dortch forwarded a petition 3/24/64 from his post at Childersburg, Alabama requesting that his command also be allowed to return to General Morgan’s Command. Captain Dortch pointed out that his Battalion consisted of not only the remnants of the 7th Kentucky Cavalry, but also elements of four other distinct Regiments that had formed one of the brigades in Morgan’s command. However permission was denied and in April Dortch’s Battalion was assigned to Humes’ Division, Grigsby’s KY Brigade. In May of 1864 the Battalion was stationed near Dalton, Georgia. A report dated 5/17/64, complained that Dortch’s troopers had abandoned their picket post on the Villanow Rd., near Dug Gap and were now camping with the infantry atop the mountain.
The 2nd Consolidated KY Cavalry Battalion was assigned to General J.S. William’s Brigade in June of 1864. This Brigade was composed of the 1st/3rd Kentucky Cavalry- Colonel Griffith, 2nd/15th Kentucky Cavalry-Major Lewis, 9th Kentucky Cavalry- Colonel Breckinridge , Allison’s Tennessee Squadron- Captain Reese and remnants of Hamilton’s Tennessee Battalion, a.k.a. 4th Tennessee Partisan Rangers- Major Shaw. The two Tennessee units were ordered to be merged 7/31/1864. Previously on July 7th, Captain Dortch had been ordered to proceed to Decatur Georgia and arrest deserters and stragglers from his Battalion.
In August of 1864 Captain Dortch ‘s Battalion followed General Wheeler in his last Middle Tennessee Raid 8/10-10/25./64. For William’s Brigade this meant an unplanned march to Saltville, Virginia after they were cut off from the main body of troopers in September. This occurred when General Williams obtained permission from General Wheeler to take two Brigades and half of the artillery to attack the Union garrison at Strawberry Plains near Knoxville. Federal troops were able to get in between him and Wheeler forcing Williams to leave the military department to which he was assigned. On September 21 Williams’ Brigade joined forces with Generals Duke and Vaughn near Rogersville, Tennessee. General Williams then went to Abingdon, Virginia in an effort to have his troopers re-assigned to the Department of Southwest Virginia and East Tennessee. After the Battle of Saltville 10/2/64, General Bragg ordered the arrest of General Williams. By this time Williams’ Brigade was camped at Liberty Hill, Virginia. The troopers were destitute, badly in need of clothing and shoes, and the horses were run down. Williams was to face a court-martial for his separation from Wheeler’s Command. However eventually the charges were dropped and Williams received the thanks of the Confederate Congress for his defense of Saltville. General Williams was restored to his command in February of 1865.
Meanwhile General Felix Robertson (himself under a cloud for his activities at Saltville) took over command and led the wayward troops back to the Army of Tennessee in Georgia. It appears that while in transit the command was ordered to return to Bristol and join General Vaughn’s Brigade. However Robertson chose not to obey the order. Apparently Captain Dortch had remained behind, still hoping for re-assignment.
Special Order # 286, issued 12/2/64 officially transferred Captain Dortch’s command into the Army of Tennessee. By January of 1865

Dortch’s Battalion had shrunk to less than 32 men and it was disbanded, near Abingdon, Virginia. Many from his command had already re-assigned themselves to General Duke’s Brigade.
Captain Dortch apparently joined the 8th Kentucky Cavalry but was unassigned to a company. He took the “Oath of Allegiance” in Nashville Tennessee on May 3, 1865. The Provost Marshal indicated that Captain Dortch had left the Confederate Army on April 23rd.
After the war Dortch returned to Tennessee and farmed at Parson’s Creek, near Port Royal. In 1880 he married Phoebe C. Brown. About 1895 he left to live with his children in Butler County Kentucky. He died at the home of his son, James 3/9/1910. I believe he is buried near Morgantown in the Lebanon Cemetery.
With this article I hope to attempt historical revision and correct an error. The Supplemental Series of the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion erroneously record Captain Dortch as being one John Basket Dortch. In fact his true name is John Baker Dortch. This being confirmed by his wife in her Widow’s Indigent Pension request #1287 filed in Kentucky, June 5, 1912.

Stewart Cruickshank

Sources
1.Official Records of the War of the Rebellion & Supplemental series
2. Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Kentucky (Confederate).
3. Partisan Rangers of the Confederate Army: Johnson
4. Confederate Veteran Magazine
5. Compendium of the Confederate Armies: Sifakis
6.Units of the Confederate States Army: Crute jr.
7.Confederate Veterans Association of Kentucky: reprint
8. A History of Morgan’s Cavalry: Duke
9. Winds of Change, Robertson County in the Civil War: Allen
10. Clarkesville Leaf Chronicle: March 15,1910
11.Confederate Wizards of the Saddle: Young
12.pamphlet;” Ride the Campaign Trail”: Elizabethtown KY. Tourism & Convention Bureau & KY Dept. Tourism
13. Consolidated Service Records ; microfilm:
I wish to thank the Tennessee State Library and Archives, The University of Western Kentucky and most importantly James Pritchard of the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives for their assistance, gathering the various microfilm records made available to me.

Originally printed in the Fall 2007 publication of The Lost Cause

The Story of Confederate, Kentucky

2011-05-20T01:35:00.002-04:00

Nestled between I-24 and Lake Barkley is a small community with a name that is hard to miss: Confederate, Kentucky. According to the Place Names Gazetteer, the only populated place in the nation named “Confederate” is this tiny community in Lyon County. There are variations, such as Confederate Ridge in Virginia, but the only community simply named Confederate is in the Bluegrass state. Among the homes and churches you’ll also find a vacant store building (much more on that later) and the Confederate Cemetery, with a nice gated sign saying “Confederate Cemetery”.
Naturally, our curiosity was aroused. What is the story of Confederate, Kentucky? It took a little digging to find out. An initial trip to Lyon County and inquiries there produced no solid information. Our subsequent research, though, led us to Deborah Atchley, who put us in contact with Mrs. June Thorpe, grand-niece of Confederate’s founder, Linn Gresham.

The history of Confederate most likely really begins with the story of the nearby Tennessee Rolling Works. While Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, Virginia is well known, there were a number of iron mills in Lyon County before the war. Describing the fledgling antebellum Southern iron industry, a copyrighted New York Times article published on November 15th, 1897, by J. E. MacGowan said, “The forges made a very fine grade of iron, resembling closely the soft and tough product of the Swedish forges and rolling works. It is probable that these furnaces...could have produced 75,000 tons of iron in the year 1860.”
Moved from Nashville in 1845-46 according to the Kentucky Historical Society, the Tennessee Rolling Works mill in Lyon County became the center of a community. According to the book One Century of Lyon County History, “...at least 1,000 Negro slaves and 500-600 workers were employed at the Tennessee Rolling Mill during its operation. Hundreds of little houses stood on the hills around the mill…”. There was a company store, as well. One Century also says that in 1878 The community of Tennessee Rolling Mill still had over 200 inhabitants, a school and a church. The Mill was transferred to Louisville in 1884. It is likely the decline and demise of the mill led to the birth of Confederate.
One Century describes Confederate this way: “The history of Confederate is the history of (Linn) Gresham for it is his store that is the hub of activities from buying and selling during the day to the community center of Rook games and cracker barrel philosophizing at night. It was on Gresham’s land that that the spring was located and it was at Gresham’s house that the school teachers boarded.” One Century states that Gresham founded his store in the “middle 1800’s”, however June Thorpe says that her uncle built the store in 1882. The 1882 date would be significant since with the closing of the nearby Mill just two years later, and the closing of the company store with it, it made Gresham’s the natural place for people in the area to gravitate towards. June Thorpe feels that the Mill closing was possibly a catalyst in Gresham’s decision to open his store, perhaps Gresham anticipating the mill circumstances somewhat, or perhaps the company store closing before the mill actually did. Linn Gresham had at least two brothers in the Confederate Army, William and James. William is buried in Confederate Cemetery, and James across the street in Bethany Cemetery. The Adjutant General’s Report confirms that James served in Cobb’s Battery, and William in the 1st Kentucky Cavalry. Two other Gresham’s (more brothers, perhaps, but that could not be confirmed), John and M. C., enlisted in the 1st along with William.
Linn Gresham’s store operations grew through the years. Across from the store was a spring, in a grove of Maple trees. Traveling salesmen, known as “drummers” often availed themselves of the shade and water. This would prove significant. Initially the community became known commonly as Gresham. Some time after the store was founded, though, a post office was set up there, and a place name was needed. Apparently there was some discussion as to what to call the place. According to June Thorpe, it was one of the “drummers” who suggested the name Confederate.
Perhaps we’ll never know the exact reasoning behind this visitor’s suggestion, but it would seem reasonable to think it came from his perception of the place. There seemed to be no resistance in the community to the idea of being called Confederate, which would enforce the feeling of the salesman that it was a place of Confederates.
The Confederate post office survived until 1914 (postmarks from Confederate, Kentucky would likely be a hot collector’s item today if they could be found). The store passed to Leonard Gresham, June Thorpe’s father. He operated it from 1918 until 1959. In 1952, June joined her father in the business. She operated the store until it closed in 1974.
The store had to be moved in the 1960’s because of the construction of Lake Barkley, which now covers all of what was Tennessee Rolling Mill and much of what was Confederate (nearby Eddyville also had to be relocated in its entirety). Though closed since 1974, the building (after the move) is still standing.
So, there you have it; Confederate, Kentucky was founded by a family of Confederates, named by a visitor who saw something Confederate in the place, and after more than 125 years we still couldn’t imagine a better name.

Originally printed in the Fall 2007 publication of The Lost Cause

Burbridge the Extortionist

2011-05-13T01:31:00.003-04:00

I recently had the pleasure of speaking to the John C. Breckinridge SCV Camp #100 in Lexington, KY and was asked about the allegation of extortion that I made against Major-General Stephen Gano Burbridge of the Union Army.
Confederate Veteran Magazine 1911, volume 19, page 527, provides my best source of this allegation. Charlton G. Duke, wrote an accounting of the timely ransom payment that resulted in his death sentence being revoked. Rather than rewrite the tale, I ‘d rather you read it in its original form.

“ Personal Prison Experiences and Death.”
By: Charlton G. Duke, Hopkinsville, KY.

“ By request, I give a short account of my capture and imprisonment at Louisville KY. After the wounding of Gen. Adam Johnson at Grubbs’ Crossroads, our command crossed the river and went to Paris, TN. I was sent by Colonel Sypert, with my brother, John C. Duke, and cousin, Capt. Lindsey Buckner, back into Kentucky to gather up some of our men, who had been unable to cross with the command and to recruit as many more as possible. This we attempted to do, but, finding the whole country overrun with Federal soldiers, we thought it best to hasten back to our command. In endeavoring to cross the river at Hillman’s Rolling Mills, we were captured and sent at once to Louisville to a prison, which bore the significant, if not euphonious, name of “slaughter pen”. I will not speak of the many indignities heaped upon our men while in this prison, but will pass on to a period which I can never recall without emotions of deepest sadness.

We had been there some three or four weeks. We were coolly informed one morning that Captain Lindsey Buckner, B. P. Wallace, John Duke, and I would be shot the following day by order of General Burbridge in retaliation for a mail carrier who had been killed by a band of guerrillas, supposed to be the Sue Mundy gang. We did not spend that day with any degree of pleasure, for the thought of dying such an ignominious death at the hands of our enemies was indeed depressing, but we determined to meet our fate like men.

We were greatly surprised the next morning when several nicely dressed men in blue uniform, one of whom we recognized as Mr. Ed Baker, from our home at Princeton KY. came into the prison. He expressed pleasure at seeing me and my brother John, and informed us that it was his great happiness to convey to us the good news that through his influence and that of another prominent Union man of Princeton General Burbridge had been persuaded to countermand the order for our execution, and that we could have our choice of being sent to a Northern prison or take the oath of allegiance and return home. We thanked him and said we would go to prison. We asked if they could not influence General Burbridge to release our companions also. He replied that he could do nothing for Captain Buckner but that Captain Wallace would probably be released, which was afterwards done. Captain Lilly, Lieutenant Blincoe, and an old man named Halley were selected in our stead. We little supposed that the men who had interfered in our behalf were actuated by any but kindly motives in securing our release from death, but soon found that these expressions of friendship had cost our mother $2,000 in cash, which she promptly forwarded to Louisville. Our friend Wallace was also ransomed by his friends, and had Captain Buckner’s brother received in time the letter written him, his terrible fate would have been averted. But the letter was misplaced in some way.

In the afternoon of the next day the four men mentioned were placed in irons and taken out on the Jeffersontown road and shot to death. They requested that their eyes be not bound, and all refused to kneel when told to do so. Captain Buckner was one of the finest looking men I ever saw. He possessed an unusual degree of personal magnetism, was brave, as a man could be, but as gentle and affectionate as a woman. Just before the time appointed for the execution he was asked by one of his comrades to pray. I have never heard before or since such a prayer. He talked to the Lord in that calm beautiful way that made one feel as if in the presence of Jehovah, and as they passed out of the prison the last words I heard him utter were: “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil.”

Shortly after this sad event I was sent to Johnson’s Island and my brother John to Camp Douglas, where we remained until the close of the war.”

Charlton G. Duke’s obituary in the Confederate Veteran Magazine Volume 30, 1922, page 30 also gives a shorter version of this same instance. There are some subtle differences in the recollections, however.
Fortunately there is another recollection by Charlton G. Duke in the “ Partisan Rangers of the Confederate States Army” Memoirs of General Adam R. Johnson, page 265, entitled “ Additional sketch of Colonel L. A. Sypert”. This recounting clarifies the activities of Duke’s military service up until his capture October 9, 1864.

Charlton G. Duke enlisted in Captain L. A. Sypert’s company in the Spring of 1864, at age 17. Sypert had a commission as Colonel dated 8/26/63, which gave him authority to raise a regiment of cavalry for the Provisional Army of the Confederate States. He actively recruited in Union, Henderson, Webster, Hopkins and Christian counties in 1864. After a brief period in Caldwell County, Duke crossed the Cumberland & Tennessee Rivers to recruit. Afterwards returning to Union and Hopkins Counties.
Near Morganfield at Blue Pond, his unit skirmished with the 17th Kentucky Cavalry Regiment Union Army. He also participated in skirmishes at Bell Mines and Old Salem. After merging into the Partisan Ranger Command of General A. R. Johnson, Charlton Duke held the rank of 1st Lt. Company A 13th (Syperts) Kentucky Cavalry Regiment. Only about 1/3 of these men were armed. During the fighting at Grubb’s Crossroads Johnson was blinded, and the command retreated into Tennessee. At some point Duke and the others fell in with Colonel J. Q. Chenoweth’s 16th Kentucky Cavalry, also of Johnson’s command. At Paris Tennessee, he was ordered to return to Kentucky and gather stragglers etc. and was captured. General H. B. Lyon replaced Johnson in command of the Brigade. After taking the oath in June of 1865, Charlton G. Duke was released from prison and returned to Kentucky owning a farm near Hopkinsville. He was a member of Camp #241 of the U.C.V.

Others mentioned; with historical corrections :

John W. Duke (his brother) was Sgt. Major of Company A, Sypert’s 13th Kentucky Cavalry.

B. F. Wallace was Captain of Company G, Sypert’s13th Kentucky Cavalry.

Lindsey Duke Buckner was a Captain in Colonel Chenoweth’s 16th Kentucky Cavalry. He was executed with three others, in Jeffersontown KY. October 25, 1864, by a firing squad from company B, 26th Kentucky Infantry (Burbridge’s own regiment). Historian, Nancy Hitt marked his gravesite in Green County with a Confederate headstone in 2001.

Wilson P. Lilly had formerly served in company G, 1st Missouri Volunteer Infantry. General Burbridge had ordered all Missourian’s in Kentucky to leave. Lilly most likely was arrested for failure to comply.
Executed 10/25/64.

Reverend Sherwood Hatley had been forwarded to Louisville after his arrest in Bowling Green, a month previously. Executed 10/25/64 (age 70?).

William C.” Dock” Blincoe served in Company D, 2nd Kentucky Cavalry Regiment. Executed 10/25/64
Historian, Nancy Hitt marked his grave with a Confederate headstone at the Bates burial-ground near Lewisport in 2001.

Further research is needed to identify Ed Baker.

Sources other than those mentioned above
Typewritten muster by S. D. Lynn, of Sypert’s and Chenoweth’s Kentucky Cavalry
Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Kentucky civil war vol.2 Confederate
The Union Regiments of Kentucky: Captain T. Speed
The Atonement of John Brooks : J. Head
Research compiled by the author Stewart Cruickshank

Originally printed in the Fall 2007 publication of The Lost Cause

Dozens of Markers, Monument Dedicated at Sandlick Cemetery

2011-05-06T01:25:00.005-04:00

On Memorial Day, May 28, 2007, the Colonel Ben E. Caudill Camp No. 1629 of the Sons of Confederate Veterans hosted a military salute and dedication at the recently placed monument and restored graves of more than four dozen Confederate soldiers. The cemetery, located in Whitesburg of Letcher County, Kentucky, had remained hidden under thick foliage of undergrowth that prevented anyone from viewing the graves.

In January of 2006, members of the camp began to clear the brush and debris from the cemetery. After two weekends of backbreaking labor, the military style rows of graves began to appear. Now clear of the dense foliage, camp members grubbed out the stumps and roots plowed the area and then sowed grass.
Four soldiers already had Confederate tombstones and eight more were identified. The camp obtained tombstones for these eight men and placed thirty-six more unknown tombstones. A monument honoring the graves was designed by camp members and purchased by money raised in the community. A granite bench, flagpole to fly a Confederate flag, two informative stones, and a Confederate soldier statute were purchased as well.

The majority of these soldiers had died in a military hospital that was established near the cemetery in the fall of 1861 by orders of General Humphrey Marshall. The general’s army was referred to as the Army of Eastern Kentucky and consisted of the 5th Kentucky Infantry, 1st Kentucky Mounted Battalion, 21st, 29th and 54th Virginia Infantries, Jeffress’ Battery and several independent cavalry companies. Disease such as mumps, measles and dysentery ravaged the Confederate army, resulting in dozens of deaths. The majority of the men were buried in the Sandlick Cemetery though some were taken by loved ones back to be buried in family cemeteries. The Yankees burned the hospital in the fall of 1862, resulting in the loss of most records. Ongoing research by the Caudill Camp and historical societies in Virginia is being conducted in an attempt to identify the unknown soldiers.

Other News Items

The Letcher County High School’s Junior ROTC students conducted the presentation of the flags. Dozens of Confederate re-enactors from Kentucky and Virginia marched to the cadence of a drum corps into the cemetery. After opening remarks by David Chaltas, the commander of the Caudill Camp, Kentucky State Representative Leslie Combs and Letcher County Judge Executive Jim Ward both gave speeches commending the Caudill Camp on their efforts to honor these southern heroes. Local musicians from Kentucky and Virginia performed period music throughout the program. After presentation of wreaths supplied by the VFW and the OCR was completed, the Confederate re-enactors and a battery of cannon fired three volleys in honor of all soldiers buried in the cemetery. A Confederate re-enactor performed the mournful tune of Taps to close the program. Our special thanks go out to our brother camps that came from Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Florida to assist with this historical dedication.

96 More Acres To Be Added to Perryville— The area known as as Sleettown will be added to the Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site. The $431,000 purchase was done with money from the Civil War Preservation Trust and a Transportation Enhancement grant. The cost includes an archeological study. Sleettown was an African-American community that ceased to exist after 1931. While preserving information about the Sleettown community is important, there is obviously a fear that political correctness will turn the new acquisition into some sort of “diversity” site that doesn’t include Confederates. In a release, state Parks Commissioner J. T. Miller said “We plan to use the property to tell the story of the Battle of Perryville as well as the history of Sleettown”. The area was a staging ground for Confederate forces.

Two More KY Camps Chartered—Two more Kentucky camps were chartered on June 17th, the Col. Alfred Johnson #276 and Kentucky Secession Site #2125.

Bad Yankee Shooting—The National Rifle Association is a powerful organization today; it was formed in 1871 by 15 New York National Guard officials who were all Union veterans. They formed the NRA “...to promote and encourage rifle shooting on a scientific basis.” It turns out they thought the NRA necessary to correct the poor marksmanship of yankee troops during the war. Source: fwdailynews (Fort Wayne, IN)

Flag Finally Returned—Nebraska Congressmen Jeff Fortenberry, Lee Terry and Adrian Smith returned the flag of the 1st Regiment Alabama Volunteer Infantry CSA to the state of Alabama in May. The flag had been in yankee hands since the regiment was surrendered at Tiptonville, TN in April of 1862.

From the Floyd County Times—June 29th, “Charges Filed” section: Ned B. Pillersdorf (the lawyer who lied about basketball incidents when his team played Allen Central - see our article on the Allen Central hoax), 52, of Van Lear, drinking alcoholic beverage in public place. We hope Ned knows a good lawyer. Note to Ned: if you move to rural Kentucky, a lot of the counties are dry. Most folks are also proud of their Confederate heritage. If you want to drink in public and curse the Confederate Battle flag, Floyd County is the wrong place to live. Go home. New York needs you.

From the Lexington Herald-Leader—A defendant represented by Ned Pillersdorf was recently not only convicted but received the maximum sentence in a scheme where the defendant—a prison guard—was smuggling drugs into the federal prison. The defense that Pillersdorf had presented was that the prison guard only did it because she had been threatened by an inmate if she didn’t smuggle the drugs, and not because of the thousand dollars she received each time she smuggled the drugs in. We repeat: hope Ned knows a good lawyer.

Pvt. Henderson Whisman, 5th KY Infantry Co D CSA will had a new gravestone dedication on Sept. 2nd, 2007 in Rowan Co. KY at the Whisman Cemetery located on Island Fork Rd. The 5th KY Camp # 2122 and the 5th KY Infantry Co's D E & F, Arthur Camp and Ben Caudill Camp assistied in this Confederate soldier’s long overdue ceremony.

Originally printed in the Fall 2007 publication of The Lost Cause

Marked at Last

2011-04-29T01:01:00.013-04:00

Marked at Last: Left, some Confederate graves are harder to get properly marked than others. When Richard P’Pool found out that Pvt. Robert Forsythe, Co. C, 1st Kentucky Volunteer Infantry CSA had an unmarked grave, he decided to do something about it. That led to a long trail of detective work and research. Ultimately it resulted in finding Works Progress Administration records which indicated that Forsythe was buried in the Hematite Cemetery , in the area now know as the Land Between the Lakes. Left, Robert Brooks and Tony Merrick pay tribute at the grave marker for Forsythe, while three of Pvt. Forsythe’s descendants, Elwood, Ferrell and Ovid Forsythe, look on. The Times Leader ran a detailed story covering the search and service in their 05/30/07 edition.

Left: The E. F. Arthur camp made quite an impression marching in the annual NIBROC parade in Corbin.

Below Left: Dr. Hiter at the dedication of a new Iron Cross marker for Gen. H. B. Lyons

Below Right: A poignant scene from a recent induction ceremony of the 5th Kentucky Infantry Camp #2122

Vicksburg Monument
17 November 2007 may be a special date for which you may want to mark your calendars. That date is the planned dedication of a monument that is 104 years overdue. In 1903 I am told, the Kentucky Confederate veterans who fought at Vicksburg, Mississippi picked the spot at the Vicksburg National Military Park for their monument. The Kentucky Division over the last few years has labored mightily to erect the monument they wished to have on that ground.

The effort began back in 1997 when the Division first voted to pursue the endeavor (Joey Oiler perhaps being the most outspoken for same back then). With fund raising fervor from across the Division, Mike Gevedon being an example, $20M was raised within 3 years. With that amount raised a potential contractor was found that would require another $30M to be raised to erect the monument. Another obstacle surfaced when the wording for the monument, the first drafts of which were written by Geoff Walden, became an issue with the National Park Service (NPS) insisting historically inaccurate information be included in the wording.

By 2002, those two issues, one involving the extent of the necessary fund raising and the other the stubborn insistence on their views by the NPS brought the project to a near standstill. The Division however, being descended from Southern Warriors, did not give up. Since 2002 the Division took a second look at cost issues and has subsequently entered into contracts that will set the monument in place for the money now on hand. Any contractual obligations that had existed between the first proposed contractor have been extinguished by mutual agreement.

The Division has also compromised with the NPS on wording issues and at this point work is proceeding at Vicksburg by the park service to prepare the site and a dedication tentatively scheduled for 17 November 2007 is now on the schedule. So reserve that date on your calendars so you can be present at a very special and historic service for our Kentucky Confederate forbears.

Originally printed in the Fall 2007 publication of The Lost Cause

Confederate Images: the MMA Collection: Capt. Robert D. Logan

2011-04-22T00:48:00.003-04:00

On May 20, 1910 a large crowd gathered in McDowell Park in Danville, Kentucky to dedicate a memorial to the Confederate soldiers of Boyle County. Erected by the Kate Breckinridge Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the local Confederate veterans the handsome granite monument was crowned by the figure of a Confederate officer. The man whose figure had been chosen by the local community to exemplify the qualities and virtues of the Confederate soldier at his best was Capt. Robert D. Logan.

Robert D. Logan was born on January 20, 1829 to Beaty and Patsy Everheart Logan, a pioneer family of Lincoln County in what was later part of Boyle County. Before the war Logan was a single farmer who lived at the family farm with his two single brothers, Mathew and Allison.
Logan was described by his neighbors and friends as a man of “striking individuality, one who attracted more than passing notice of any assemblage. He was a magnificent specimen of manhood, rugged, robust, courageous and honest in physique, mental traits and personal convictions. Without apparent appreciation of fear, without compromise on questions of political importance, and with stern and prompt expression of opinions, he was a fair fighter and a forgiving friend…as a companion and neighbor he was hospitable and generous, as a citizen, he was patriotic, and as a man he was big-hearted, genial and kindly.”
On September 2, 1862 Logan enlisted in the 6th Kentucky Cavalry which was being raised in central Kentucky for service in the Confederate Army. Logan was elected captain of Company A. The 6th was commanded by Col. J. Warren Grigsby and placed under the command of Abraham Buford. The 6th saw its first action in the Perryville Campaign helping to cover the retreat of Bragg’s army from Kentucky. The regiment participated in the Battle of Murfreesboro and in March, 1863 was assigned to the command of Gen. John Hunt Morgan. The 6th served with Morgan in operations in Tennessee and was part of his command on the Indiana-Ohio raid which would be the longest cavalry raid of the war. The 6th was given the advance of the column near the end of the raid in southern Ohio. Closely pursued by several columns of Federal troops, Morgan intended to cross the Ohio River at the fords near Buffington Island.

The 6th was in the thick of the fighting at Buffington Island and formed part of the rear guard allowing Gen. Morgan and a large part of his command to escape capture there. Logan and part of his men were cut off and surrounded at Cheshire, Ohio where they were captured on July 20, 1863. As one of Morgan’s officers he was denied status as a regular prisoner of war and sent with his commander to the State Penitentiary in Columbus, Ohio where they were treated as convicts. Following Morgan’s escape in November, he was transferred to nearby Camp Chase and again to Ft. Delaware, Maryland in March, 1864.

In August he was sent to Charleston, South Carolina among a group of 600 Confederate officers who were placed in a crowded open stockade on Morris Island in front of Union batteries in retaliation for the keeping Union officers in the city of Charleston which the Union batteries were shelling. Exposed to the elements and on near starvation rations the officers became known throughout the South as the “immortal 600” for their suffering and refusing to take the oath of allegiance. After 45 days under fire they were sent to Ft. Pulaski and on December 15, 1864 Logan was exchanged at Charleston harbor.

Logan returned to the remnant of Morgan’s men taking a command in Basil Duke’s brigade of cavalry. In April 1865 he accompanied Jefferson Davis and the Confederate government south into the Carolinas and Georgia. At Charlotte, North Carolina Duke asked and received permission from President Davis to promote Logan to Lt. Colonel. Logan surrendered with Duke’s command in May in Georgia. Of his service his comrades said, “As a soldier he was brave and chivalrous…he never shrank from duty.”

Logan returned to his farm along with his brothers who had also served as officers in the Confederate Army. He joined the J. Warren Grigsby Camp of the Confederate Veteran Association of Kentucky when it was formed in 1890. One of his favorite pastimes was fishing. From the silver coins he had received as his last payment from the Confederate Treasury he had a silver fishing reel made which was one of his prize mementos of his service.

After a short illness, Logan succumbed to heart problems at his home on June 25, 1896. His doctor reported his last words, which he stated he was aware of his condition, which he knew his time was short, that he had lived as best he could and if the Lord wanted to take him he was ready and satisfied to go. His old comrades conducted his graveside ceremony at his burial in Bellevue Cemetery in Danville. The memory of his life and service were still fresh in their memories fourteen years later when they unveiled his figure atop the Confederate monument.

"Originally printed in the Fall 2007 publication of The Lost Cause"

Pride of the Purchase

2011-04-15T11:12:00.011-04:00

Kentucky gathered in Paducah for the annual reunion this year, and how fitting after the national SCV’s purchase of land adjacent to the Tilghman house has ensured the long-term preservation of this important Confederate site. Political correctness prevented the memorial service from being held at the Tilghman statue, so the service was moved to the land the SCV owns next to the Tilghman House. Nice to have a place of our own. Continued on the next page. Photos © Don Shelton

originally printed in the Fall 2007 publication of The Lost Cause

The Allen Central Confederate Boycott Hoax Exposed

2011-03-25T12:54:00.008-04:00

In much of life we are content with a false comfort that there is a certain randomness to that which befalls us. We know that difficulties and disasters will come our way. We are prepared to accept a certain amount of such as simply fate or an act of God. The best example of this is that every time an accident or disaster occurs such as a plane crash, our first question is “was it terrorism”, and—for some reason—we feel a palpable sense of relief when confirmation arrives that it was not an intentional act, and though the loss of life remains unchanged by this news, we are more able to accept the event as a necessary trial of this mortal life.
   It is apparently part of our human nature, on the other hand, not to be content to simply accept a bad occurrence if it turns out to be the design and intent of men (or women).
   As Americans with Confederate ancestry, we are discovering more and more the intent of some to rob us of our heritage, and paint us and our ancestors as societal pariahs to be shunned and silenced. Attacks on Confederate symbols and heritage are not, primarily, due to any random shift or drift in society, but are calculated incursions by bigots with hate in their hearts towards us and our heritage. Let us take the Allen Central Confederate Boycott Hoax as our most recent example.
   Allen Central is a public high school in Floyd County, the town of Eastern, Kentucky (which yes, is in eastern Kentucky) with about 400 students. It was formed in 1972 from four small high schools (Garrett Devils, Martin Purple Flashes, Maytown Wildcats, and Wayland Wasps), and the students at the new Allen Central were given the chance to choose a new mascot. They chose the Confederate soldier, and have proudly been the Rebels ever since. While there are a number of high schools in Kentucky that are also Rebels, it is safe to say that none of them embraces Confederate heritage as an integral part of their school’s identity more than Allen Central. You are greeted by a Confederate soldier at the entrance to the school, the centerpiece of the cafeteria is a large Battle Flag, surrounded by pictures from athletic events, usually with Battle Flags prominent, a large Battle Flag is in the gym, and even the courtyard is laid out in a St. Andrew’s Cross. In all likelihood, Allen Central is the most Confederate public high school in the nation.

   Nestled into the mountains of eastern Kentucky, far from the Meccas of political correctness in Lexington, Frankfort and Louisville, Allen Central’s celebration of Confederate heritage has remained unmolested for more than three decades; but, four “missionaries” of political correctness recently have launched a coordinated attack to try to put Confederate heritage to an end at ACHS.
   The affair began in November 27th, 2006, when attorney and outgoing school board member Mickey McGuire made derogatory comments about Allen Central displaying the flag. The Floyd County Times ran an article on the McGuire’s denunciations on November 29th. McGuire, who was not seeking re-election, waited until his last meeting as a board member to say anything like this, and no other board members joined in supporting McGuire. McGuire’s parting shot was soon picked up by AP reporter Samira Jafari. Jafari is a journalist with a history of reporting on stories that appeal to the politically correct, including an editorial which was passed off as legitimate reporting on Alabama’s prison sentences being too harsh, and a story with a mildly positive spin on an utterly bizarre YMCA camp that makes children be “slaves” for a day, including being yelled at by an “overseer” until they cry, and then being forced to try and “escape”.
   On December 9th the Associated Press ran a slanted “expose’ ” by Jafari on Allen Central. This article had prejudicial angles in it such as “The black students who have encountered Allen Central's school spirit don't accept such views, though they do little to fight back,” which makes it sound like all black students who have played against Allen Central feel that way. In fact Jafari had only a quote from one black student, and the Floyd County Times was easily able to find black students who had played against Allen Central who felt quite differently.
   An Allen Central cheerleader who defended the school in Jafari’s article was ridiculed on national TV by MSNBC commentator Keith Olberman.
   Next enter Ned Pillersdorf, another Floyd County attorney and his version of “Glory Road”.

The Glory Road Fantasy
   In the recent movie, “Glory Road”, about the first NCAA basketball team with an all-black starting line-up to win a championship, a scene depicted Kentucky Wildcat fans taunting African-American players with Confederate flags. However, even though the movie was supposed to be based on real events, the flag-waving incident never occurred. When confronted about the deception, the movie producers simply said it made for a better story.
   Ned Pillersdorf was the source for the next Associated Press story by Jafari on December 24th – which was carried nationally and internationally – about a small high school basketball team that was going to boycott a game against Allen Central High (ironically, scheduled on Robert E. Lee’s 200th birthday, January 19th), because of Allen Central’s use of the Confederate Battle Flag, and its fans taunting an African-American player in last year’s game with Confederate flags.
   Was this really life imitating fictionalized art? Pillersdorf, a transplanted New Yorker who has decided to live in Floyd County and who is volunteer basketball coach for the tiny private David school that was supposed to boycott Allen Central for the flag waving, claimed it was. Pillersdorf specifically claimed that Allen Central fans at last year’s game had taunted an African-American player on his team with Confederate flags when he shot free throws, and that his players had voted to boycott this year’s game. For some reason, Pillersdorf hadn’t complained about anything last year, and he had waited until after the Associated Press ran an article about Allen Central’s Confederate mascot to announce a boycott by his school.
   It turns out, though, that Pillersdorf’s flag-taunting incident was just as fictional as the one in “Glory Road”. The problems for Pillersdorf began when David school officials held a press conference to announce that there
was no boycott, and that Pillersdorf hadn’t gone through channels to ask for one. This means that Jafari, the AP reporter who worked with Pillersdorf to create the faux boycott story, didn’t corroborate it with school officials, a basic requirement of journalism, before sending the inflammatory piece over the wires.
Jafari running an uncorroborated story was really the lynchpin, as various versions of the Confederate boycott article reverberated through the media for days and even weeks. The Lost Cause contacted Jafari to ask her why she ran such an inflammatory story without corroboration. Jafari declined to comment.
   It got worse for Pillersdorf, though, when the Allen Central athletics director pulled the records from last year’s game, and the records showed that the player in question hadn’t shot any free throws in that game. That problem for Pillersdorf’s story was nothing, though, compared to when his own players spoke. They revealed to the Floyd County Times that they had not wanted to boycott the game with Allen Central, that they had not taken a “boycott” vote, and even supported Allen Central’s use of Confederate symbols.
Finally, the African-American player in question in the flag-taunting story drove the ultimate stake into the heart of Pillersdorf’s fabrications when he flatly stated that the incident never happened.
   Eventually the two school principals decided to postpone the game, with all the emotions that Pillersdorf and the media had created over the fictional flag taunting, and the Floyd County superintendent wanting there to be no flags at the game if it did happen.

   It’s bad enough that a movie would pass off such a fabricated event as taunting players as real, but Ned Pillersdorf pretending that such a thing happened in real life wasn’t just coming up with a “better story” to make some sort of personal statement of his dislike for Southern heritage; it was very disruptive to the community, and on January 27th, the SCV issued a press release demanding apologies from Pillersdorf and the Associated Press, and demanding that the AP run a story correcting its bogus “boycott” article. With the damage the AP article caused, and its wide distribution, a correction would be a minimal response, but even after the hoax was revealed and reported on by the Floyd County Times, and even obliquely covered in the Lexington Herald-Leader, the AP has declined to run a correction.
   During all this, local reaction against Pillersdorf and McGuire ran strong, with websites and ad hoc committees quickly formed to fight the apparent attempt to change Allen Central’s flag and mascot. One of the most active citizens locally was Ronnie Parsons, who worked with the SCV to coordinate an effective counter-campaign, including a large ad paid for by the SCV featuring Parsons in the Floyd County Times. The SCV also ran a “Thank You” ad in the school paper at Allen Central.

The Circus Comes to Town
   On December 18th, Louis Coleman, a media-hungry “civil rights” nudnick from Louisville suddenly showed up in Floyd County, to hold a “private” meeting and hold hands with superintendent Paul Fanning, urging Fanning to get rid of Allen Centrals’ flag. Interestingly enough, this “private” meeting was attended by Samira Jafari, who promptly ran a sizeable story on it again over the AP wires, complete with hateful quotes from Coleman—”this community is in the past” and “these symbols have been eliminated.” etc. The article did admit that the school had been flooded with messages of support for the flag, but somehow failed to check with the SCV for a counter comment, despite efforts by the SCV to get the media to carry its responses. Telling all about Louis Coleman would be a whole article in itself, but he is a master of quick publicity (he has friends in the media, obviously Jafari among them), and is a master of squeezing money from businesses and local governments, apparently for them to prove their support of his agenda, and perhaps to avoid being on the receiving end of one of his many protests and quick-strike media blitzes (a la’ Jesse Jackson), according to an expose’ on Coleman by Louisville TV station WLKY.
   The real point, though, is that Jafari either invited Coleman to Floyd County, or Coleman set up the media coverage with Jafari. Either way, when combined with the “boycott” story to come a few days later where Jafari worked with Pillersdorf, a pattern begins to emerge. Jafari was “creating” news by working with the likes of Coleman and Pillersdorf, rather than being a journalist, all the while ignoring calls from the SCV to make corrections.

The First Meeting
   Superintendent Fanning’s response to the “controversy” was to say that McGuire’s suggestion would be open for discussion at the next school board meeting. To add to the confusion, though, there were two “next” meetings, one on the 17th of January and one on the 22nd. Apparently the first meeting usually is for the purposes of setting the agenda at the second. Mickey McGuire, no longer a member of the board, wasn’t at either meeting to hear the reactions to his earlier anti-Southern comments.
   The consensus of those working the case for the SCV, which included division staff, members from the two Floyd County SCV camps, SCV Chief of Heritage Defense Darryl Starnes and SCV national heritage defense committee member Billy Bearden along with Ronnie Parsons and the local group of concerned citizens, was that a full turnout for both meetings was essential, prepared to stare down Coleman if necessary.
A rumor began circulating that the school board would turn the matter over to the School Based Decision Making Council at Allen Central (which turned out to be true). In anticipation, the School Council met before the school board meetings, and unanimously voted to keep the flag in anticipation. The SBDMC would not meet again until late February, where this decision could truly be made offical (to the satisfaction of the superintendent).
   At the school board meeting on the 17th, over 100 turned out, all in favor of keeping the flag at Allen Central. The Kentucky Division’s “I Support Confederate History Month” stickers were passed out, with virtually all present wearing one. First to speak on the matter was Sam Hatcher, commander of the Col. Andrew Jackson May camp, who eloquently defended Confederate heritage and Allen Central. Afterwards, Hatcher was interviewed by WYMT television, and the Herald-Leader. Typically, the Herald-Leader didn’t use any of Hatcher’s or the SCV’s statements. Ultimately, the school board declared that any mascot issue belonged to the School Council and referred it to them (fully aware that the SBDMC had already voted to keep the flag and soldier).
   This school board meeting was probably the first news-worthy event in the entire scenario—it showed a community speaking clearly to its elected officials in support of Confederate heritage despite a media barrage against them. McGuire’s unsupported comments, the slanted article on Allen Central, the Coleman PR-seeking private meeting, the Pillersdorf boycott hoax were all “created” news of a sort - much ado about nothing. So, with this strong public reaction certainly the media—and especially the Associated Press and Jafari—had an obligation to report this community outpouring at the board meeting. However, after all the previous anti-Confederate stories on the AP, this apparently wasn’t worthy of mention.
   Instead, the next day—the 18th—the media picked up on a story that the game would happen, but that the Superintendent was going to ban Allen Central—as a school, but not any individuals— from having any Battle Flags at the game, so after ignoring the story of the overwhelming support at the school board meeting, the Associated Press went with the flag ban story instead, and the Herald-Leader expanded it into a full feature. The AP quoted superintendent Fanning as saying school displays of the flag would be banned to defuse the situation (while admitting individuals couldn’t be stopped). If Fanning truly thought this, he needed a quick education, because all he did was give the media more fodder to keep pouring fuel on the fire, and it’s doubtful he had any real authority to make such a proclamation. Besides, the “school displays” of the Flag are permanently attached—as in painted on the walls. Even if the school, say the cheerleaders, weren’t going to wave a particular flag per se, the Flag would still be everywhere.
   Fortunately for all concerned, the two school principals involved had more sense, and rather than play a game with a “ban” (which would have been the beginning of a terrible slippery slope for Allen Central), they agreed to postpone the game. This decision was carried again by the Associated Press, but with the angle that the “flag flap” controversy had caused the game to be postponed, rather than being truthful that biased and inaccurate media reporting—specifically the Associated Press—was responsible for the schools having to delay the game.

The Second Meeting
   The second, “full” meeting of the school board occurred on January 22nd and had many similarities to the first: over a hundred showed up to support the flag in case the issue came up and in case Louis Coleman showed up. Coleman didn’t show (it’s not really his style to face a hostile crowd), but he did leave copies of a letter from his “Justice Resource Center” - filled with factual and grammatical errors, even getting the name of the school district wrong—explaining to the good folks in Floyd County why they were bigots for having a Confederate high school. The superintendent made copies of the Coleman letter available, but the crowd had no interest in it. Sam Hatcher again eloquently spoke on behalf of the SCV, joined by local citizens like Ronnie Parsons. The superintendent addressed the issue by explaining the matter had already beenreferred back to the SBDMC, and was not being considered by the board.
   This second meeting was the media’s chance to atone somewhat for their mishandling of things by at least reporting the final outcome. We are still waiting for that to happen, though. The AP ran a total of 5 biased and inaccurate stories on Allen Central before the second meeting, but couldn’t bother to even report the outcome of the “controversy” they created.

More Coleman
   Louis Coleman’s antics weren’t done just with his little collaboration with the AP. On January 9th he also picketed (probably for just long enough to speak to a reporter he arranged beforehand to be there) in front of the Kentucky Department of Education building in Frankfort, complaining about Allen Central (and all other “Rebel” schools in Kentucky), and demanded to be placed on the agenda of the state school board’s next meeting (February 7th). Coleman had previously spoken to the state school board several years prior and as a response the state board sent letters to all school systems recommending they study the issue of insensitive mascots. The truth is, though, that under KERA (the Kentucky Education Reform Act) the state school board has no power over local schools’ mascots. In response to Coleman’s request, Kentucky Division Commander Tom Hiter also formally requested to be on the agenda to counter Colemen. The reply from the board was that since the board had no authority to address the question, it would not take sides, and would not allow either Coleman or Hiter to speak. It seems a little late to pretend to be neutral after sending the politically correct “offensive mascots” letter to schools earlier, though.

More Nonsense
   The nonsense wasn’t over yet, though. As a follow-up to all this, the SCV arranged for H. K. Edgerton, a noted black Confederate activist who, among many other things, has marched 1,600 miles across the South carrying a battle flag for Southern heritage, to speak at Allen Central on February 9th. It would be a perfect educational opportunity during Black History Month. However, a few days beforehand, Superintendent Fanning ordered that he not be allowed to speak at the school. Having had enough of the nonsense, Division Cmdr. Hiter called for a press conference/protest to be held across from the Lexington Herald-Leader building in Lexington’s Thoroughbred park on the 9th, and have Edgerton speak there.
   The SCV sent press notices to all area media, especially the Associated Press and A. P. writer Jafari who was behind most of the biased, erroneous and inflammatory reporting. Jafari sent back an apparently automated response saying she would be out of the office until May.
   Thursday night, February 8th, Allen Central and David finally played their basketball game, but Superintendent Fanning prohibited the press and public from attending, an apparently unprecedented event in Kentucky high school athletics (there have been instances where flu outbreaks have caused athletic events to be played behind closed doors, but nothing like this). Fanning claimed he wanted the situation to go away quietly, which brings into question his intelligence, since his over-the-top banning actions again drew the immediate attention of the media and the SCV. The Associated Press ran yet another story on Allen Central, this one taking the angle that the flag “controversy” (not the taunting hoax) caused the superintendent to ban the press and public. The byline on this A. P. story was the same as the others: Samira Jafari, the reporter supposedly “out of the office until May” who was refusing to answer questions about her role.
   The SCV news conference the next day was held under beautiful but cold skies on the high ground of Thoroughbred Park. Three TV stations and the Herald-Leader did send reporters. They got an earful from Cmdr. Hiter and Edgerton, focusing on the flag taunting hoax and denial of Edgerton’s speaking appearance. The TV stations provided brief coverage, but didn’t get beyond the typical “Confederate flag causes controversy” sound bite. One of the stations even managed to cover it without mentioning or showing Edgerton. The Herald-Leader and Associated Press did briefly cover it, but were still more fascinated with the closed-doors basketball game than anything else. They briefly visited the issue of Pillersdorf’s faux flag-taunting, but treated it more like a disagreement than a hoax. Then Channel 36 (ABC affiliate) put together a 4-night hatchet-job on Edgerton and the SCV, ignoring again the real story of the Pillersdorf fabrication and media culpability.

Even More Nonsense
   Finally, on that same Friday, the state school board issued its earlier “offensive mascots” letter to school systems again, telling the media it was in response to the Allen Central “controversy”. This action came after directly telling Cmdr. Hiter that the board was neutral. So now we have even the state school board dealing in actions that fall short of truthful.

The Result
As we were going to press on Monday, February 25th, the School Based Council met again in the afternoon and voted to let the students decide whether to keep the flag. The positive outcome of this student vote is somewhat easy to predict. It’s also predictable that proper media coverage of this decision won’t happen, though.

What Now?
The victory in Floyd County—and it was a victory, no matter the biased media coverage—was coordinated by a winning combination of local citizens, local SCV camps, division and national. All worked together and all contributed. There was a big difference in addition, though; in this case the school—especially the principal “Sis” Hall—was with us, and the school board was with us (even if the superintendent wavered to very bad effect). This was a fight on good ground; but we’ve always known Floyd County was good Confederate territory, from the days of the 5th Kentucky Infantry drilling in the fields by the May house in Prestonsburg.
The antagonists of this hoax will probably take a breather for the moment; Jafari still isn’t responding to questions about her role, Pillersdorf now wishes it would all go away, McGuire hasn’t been involved since his hate-filled comments in November, and Coleman may temporarily run out of ways to get some media face time. However, these four were able to orchestrate a tempest in a tea cup that took a large-scale mobilization of local and SCV resources to counter. Even though they lost, they enjoyed a lot of attention for little effort; they (and more like them) will be tempted to try similar things in the future.
   The SCV’s job is not over. We have several areas to address. First, the controversy has generated interest locally in the SCV despite the fact the media (other than the Floyd County Times) refused to carry SCV press releases and statements, and this is a recruiting opportunity. Second, the SCV needs to insure that those responsible for this hoax are held accountable. The Associated Press perpetrated a lie and refused to speak to it, correct it, and discipline the reporter responsible. Pillersdorf fabricated events. McGuire did harm to the school system he was elected to serve. These parties need to be reminded as much as possible when appropriate of their responsibility for the entire affair, and others tempted to try the same need to see that there will be strong and long-lasting resistance to such perpetrations. Finally, the SCV needs to recognize that we don’t have many public schools where Confederate heritage is celebrated, certainly not to the degree at Allen Central. Even the other schools with “Rebel” mascots in Kentucky are skittish to some degree. Allen Central needs to be adopted, both by our division and the national organization, as a public service project. The staff and students need to know that the SCV will be there to help, not only in a scrap like this, but also when they need some money for academics or sports, or to provide living history demonstrations and other Confederate-related education. The SCV needs to be involved with Allen Central, a public high school that celebrates and fights for Confederate heritage like no other.

A Fine Place

2011-03-18T02:23:00.004-04:00

Elbridge Gerry Littlejohn was a typical Confederate soldier. He was born near Gaffney, South Carolina, on January 3, 1841. The young Elbridge received the proper education for an antebellum Southern gentleman, attending an academy at Limestone Springs, South Carolina, where he learned to read both Latin and Greek classics “with a considerable degree of accuracy.” The headmaster of his school, J. Banks Lyle, commented that “few young men leave our Academies with morals so correct” and “with minds so well trained” as E.G. Littlejohn. In late November 1860, while all across Dixie stunned Southerners were considering how to respond to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President, “with much pleasure” Lyle commended the young man “to the consideration of any Southern community.” Just eight days after South Carolina seceded from the Union on December 20, 1860, several prominent citizens of Spartanburg also recommended Littlejohn as a “young man of good morals and in good standing in our District.”

E. G. Littlejohn was soliciting these recommendations at the end of 1860 for he was about to move to Texas. Apparently, as soon as school let out for the Christmas holiday, Littlejohn jumped on his horse and headed for the Lone Star state. His fiancée and her family had moved to Texas earlier in the fall, and the attraction of love persuaded the young man to leave home and family behind and seek his fortune out west. By his wedding date, January 19, 1861, Littlejohn was already living in Smith County, Texas. For a little over a year, Littlejohn enjoyed his new married life, but the crisis of the times soon caught up with him, and in March 1862 he enlisted in the Confederate Army. Littlejohn joined Company G of the 10th Texas Cavalry, a regiment that just a month after his enlistment was dismounted and fought the remainder of the war as an infantry unit. From the spring of 1862 until May 1865 Littlejohn faithfully wrote his young wife, Sarah—or, “Sallie,” as he called her—telling her of his life as a Confederate soldier. Among those letters are two written from Kentucky, for the 10th Texas was among those Confederate forces that invaded the Bluegrass State in the fall of 1862.

Before the Kentucky invasion, Littlejohn’s regiment had not seen much action. After spending some time in central Arkansas, Littlejohn had joined thousands of other Confederates from the trans-Mississippi who were transferred across the river to help defend the vital rail junction of Corinth, Mississippi. After the battle of Shiloh, Corinth had become the headquarters for Confederate forces seeking to blunt the Union move through Tennessee and down the Mississippi River. However, General Beauregard soon decided the position was indefensible, and in late May he evacuated the city. While the boastful Confederate commander regarded the retreat as “equivalent to a great victory,” Private Littlejohn had another perspective. He wrote to his wife that while he expected the newspapers to describe the evacuation as “magnificent” and a “Glorious Retreat,” he assured her “it [was] anything else.” The inexperienced soldier confessed that he had never witnessed “any suffering” until his experiences in Corinth. The treatment of the sick and dying caused him special consternation.

Like many soldiers, Littlejohn encountered much sickness in the army camps. On June 3 he wrote that “our regiment has not more than 200 men able for duty,” for “everybody has the Diarrhea.” The young Texan admitted that even he had had “a mild form.” The rigors of camp life, he said, had produced “great dissatisfaction among the Texan boys;” they were sure it was the “water and the climate working upon them” to produce such sickness. Littlejohn advised his wife to tell her brother, Benton, “never to go to the army…as long as he can keep from it.” After what he had seen, the distressed young man assured his wife that her brother had no idea “about the hardships of military service.” Benton Jefferies, however, disregarded his brother-in-law’s words of caution and joined the Confederate Army; in November 1862 he succumbed to the sicknesses that Littlejohn warned of and died in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Invariably, when Littlejohn wrote to his wife he implored her to “earnestly pray” for him. The homesick soldier assured his wife that he kept her in his prayers, and he wanted her to so remember him. Like so many Southerners who served in the defense of their country, Littlejohn realized that both the fate of the nation and its cause as well as his own personal destiny was in the hands of a God who “directs all things for the better.” Thus, he comforted his worried wife with the promise that if they “should not meet [again] on earth,” they should “meet each other in heaven, where we will not have to shake parting hands any more.” On a more practical note, Littlejohn counseled his wife that he was committed to seeing the war through to its conclusion and that in this resolution he was determined “to keep good spirits and then go ahead,” for he said, “what good would it do to become despondent and low spirited?” Later in the War, when many Confederate soldiers were giving up and deserting the ranks, Littlejohn refused the temptation telling his wife that to leave the ranks would dishonor his name forever.

By July 1862, Elbridge Littlejohn was in Chattanooga. For the moment, Confederate forces there were immobilized, as was the Army of Mississippi now commanded by Braxton Bragg, while Union forces slowly worked their way down the Tennessee River and across northern Mississippi towards the strategic city. On the twentieth of the month, Littlejohn exulted to his wife over the “signal victory of Gen. Forrest at Murfreesboro and around Nashville, and those of Morgan in Kentucky.” Indeed, all the Confederacy took hope at the daring cavalry raids of the intrepid Nathan Bedford Forrest and John Hunt Morgan. These raids not only slowed the Federal advance but they also planted an idea in the strategic thinking of the Confederate high command. General Bragg decided to move the Confederate armies northward into Kentucky, duplicating on a larger scale the cavalry operations, and hoping that this move would not only relieve Tennessee but also gain Kentucky recruits for the Southern cause and perhaps even bring the Bluegrass State into the Confederacy.

Elbridge Littlejohn entered Kentucky as a part of Ector's Brigade, McCown's Division, Confederate Army of Kentucky. While marching from the Cumberland Gap towards Richmond, the Texas soldier reported that the Confederates “did not meet with many friends.” However, he said, as they “advanced farther into the state, the friends of secession became more numerous.” News of a “federal force ahead of us” must have made the young man anxious, for he had never been in battle yet. “Early in the morning” of August 30, 1862, Littlejohn and his messmates caught the sound of “heavy artillery firing;” then, as they hurried forward, “soon we heard the small arms open.” At this point, he confessed “I knew that the long expected moment was near at hand.” Littlejohn’s account of the Battle of Richmond follows closely the later official reports. While the 10th Texas was involved in “trying to flank them on the right,” the men of General Patrick Cleburne’s brigade “were pouring it to them on the left. They could not stand the fire and broke to run. Our brigade outflanked them and commenced firing on them as they run. They could not stand this and soon surrendered. Another part ran on farther and formed a line of battle behind a little hill. Our men advanced on them slowly until we came in sight of them….The Feds fought bravely,” he conceded, “but could not stand the charge of our boys, in which we took one battery. They ran then in every direction.”

Like so many soldiers in the War Between the States, Littlejohn became a casualty in this battle. After the first charge, he could not continue and had to “sit it out.” His inability to continue the fight was not the result of a wound, however, but the result of diarrhea. This scourge of both armies took more lives over the course of the War than did battlefield wounds, and it temporarily incapacitated many more, both during battle and at other times. Littlejohn frequently reported to his wife of his bouts with the illness. He seemed to feel no shame in confessing to his wife that the attack on his bowels was so severe “that I could not keep up. We had to run so much and being unwell I gave out just before the second fight commenced.” However, he was close enough to the fighting that “the balls fell around me where I was sitting as thick as hail.” At some point he was able to regain his feet and catch up with his company. All in all, he admitted that the “day’s labor was the hardest ever I went through with.” Certainly the Texans did their part, for Littlejohn reported that the 10th Texas Dismounted Cavalry suffered fifty-two of the seventy-five killed and wounded in Ector’s Brigade.

After leaving Richmond the Confederates marched northward and “passed through several towns of importance…among which was Lexington.” The young man from Texas was much impressed with the city, declaring it a “fine place” that provided “the grandest display of secession feeling” he had ever seen. “The streets were thronged with men and women.” In addition, he related that the hoped for recruits from the Bluegrass State were “volunteering rapidly.” The 10th Texas ultimately reached the approaches to Covington before having to retreat “owing to the superior numbers of the enemy.” In spite of this setback, Littlejohn was sure the Confederates would once again “attack them in a few days,” and he promised his wife that he would write her all the details, “if I live.”

Like so many soldiers who wore the gray, Littlejohn seemed to take the horrors of war and difficulties of army life in stride. In his letters he commented matter-of-factly on the deaths of his comrades (including one killed at Richmond), and then he would turn his attention to more mundane matters. From Covington he informed her of his diet—“eight days without tasting bread, eating nothing but roasting ears, poor beef, and apples, and not half enough of that;” the condition of his clothing—“tolerable…with the exception of shirts,” but wearing “Yankee socks…which I took out of one of their knapsacks;” his health—“not been sick at all, only with the diarrhea, which is very common in camps;” and, his thoughts of home—“Sallie, I would like to hear from you very much.” Although his enlistment period would soon be completed, he expected he would have to “stay on a while longer.” He reassured his worried wife, however, that he would “come out safe and sound” and that she should not be “uneasy” about him.
Littlejohn’s Division did not participate in the Battle of Perryville, “a fortunate thing for us,” he admitted. Before he departed Kentucky, he had a chance to write one more letter detailing his experiences in our fair state. This letter is dated October 27, 1862, and was written from the Cumberland Gap. Although he said he could not give a “full account of our perambulations through the State of Kentucky,” he did give his wife some more highlights. He was disappointed that he had missed seeing Frankfort, but he went to some lengths to describe the hospitality and enthusiastic support of Kentuckians for the Confederacy. Littlejohn worried about these “zealous lovers of the Southern cause,” for he feared they would “suffer the malice and fiendish propensities of the infuriated clan that will follow us.” He was convinced that the depth of feeling he witnessed among Kentuckians—“I saw some men and women so rejoiced that they even burst into tears and shouts”—was the result of their having been “bowed down by oppression so long.” These people “were the kindest in the world to soldiers,” he said. “No matter what they had was not too good for the poor private.” He related how one Sunday morning he and another soldier had approached a house where they found “a very old woman sitting alone reading her Bible.” To their relief, they found her to be “true secession.” She invited them in, served them a meal, and then filled their canteens with milk and gave them “as much butter as we could carry.” They offered to pay her, but she would not take “one cent.” The homesick young husband told his “dear Sallie” that he had not “met with a better dinner since I left home.” The meal and the “kindnesses” of this unnamed Kentucky grandmother and the many others who made the soldiers feel welcome in the bluegrass made Littlejohn “think more of home than I had done for a long time.”

So, Elbridge Gerry Littlejohn took with him from Kentucky cherished memories of a kind and generous people. The young Texan would be wounded twice at the Battle of Murfreesboro, but would recover from his wounds and return to the ranks to serve to the end of the War. Although his name does not appear in the histories of the Confederate Kentucky campaign, he and many other largely anonymous soldiers in gray did what they could to bring the Bluegrass State into the Confederacy. Although their efforts were not successful, they could take pride in having done their duty and given their best in the cause of liberty.

Glen Spann, associate professor of history at Asbury College, is a descendant of Private E. G. Littlejohn.

Originally published in the Winter, 2007 issue of "The Lost Cause"

Remembering Elizabeth

2011-03-11T03:22:00.004-05:00

After weeks of balmy Fall, a deep Winter’s chill set in on the morning of Veterans’ Day, 2006, but it did not stop over a hundred from gathering in a small Trigg County cemetery to pay respects to Elizabeth Savells Wirz, the Kentucky wife of martyr Capt. Henry Wirz. Elizabeth’s final resting place was unmarked and largely unknown for decades, until a research effort led by Nancy Hitt and Betty McCorkle found Elizabeth (see the Winter 2006 Lost Cause for the full story). The time had come to remember Elizabeth, and the suffering she endured as her husband was falsely imprisoned, charged and executed as a scapegoat for the South. Capt Wirz’ only request was that the South take care of his family. In a small way, that is what we did under the cloudy, frigid skies of November.

Folks came from near and far, including groups from Georgia, South Carolina and Switzerland (that’s Col. Heinrich Wirz, great-nephew of Capt. Henry Wirz, in the beret). Nancy Hitt and the ladies of the UDC went to great pains to make the service solemn and special, and then treated all to a wonderful buffet afterwards.
Photos © Don Shelton originally published in the Winter, 2007 issue of The Lost Cause

Confederate Images: Capt. Henry Wirz

2011-03-04T03:03:00.007-05:00

A brief biography of Capt. Wirz has appeared in the Lost Cause previously (Winter 2006), but with the pictures from his wife Elizabeth’s marker dedication in this issue (page 4), we thought it appropriate to give here the specifics of Capt. Wirz’ military record:

Capt. Henry Wirz
Born: November 25, 1823 Executed: November 10,1865
Buried: Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Washington, D. C.

1840-1849: European military service
1849: Arrives in America: practitioner of homeopathic (treating disease by giving drugs in minute doses which provide symptoms similar to those of the disease) medicine and a bartender in Louisville, KY.
1854: Marries the widow Elizabeth Wolfe in Cadiz, KY.
1860: Census shows Wirz to be a physician and gentlemen farmer Milliken’s Bend, Louisiana.
May 1861: Enlists as a private in Madison Infantry, which departs for Richmond, Virginia.
July 10, 1861: Major Waddill begins organizing the 4th Battalion Infantry Louisiana Volunteers, five companies of 561 men. Madison Infantry becomes company A. Various companies are assigned duty as body guards to President Jefferson Davis and as guards to Libby Prison and other sites. The three volume alphabetical roster of Confederate Soldiers from Louisiana does not include Wirz in the musters. The author’s theory is that Wirz was not on the muster rolls because he had been placed on detached service while still a member of the State Troops, Madison Infantry, thus he was a member of the Provisional Army Confederate States.
August 26,1861: Special Order # 134, Sec. of War: “ Private Henry Wirz, of the Madison Infantry Louisiana Volunteers will report for duty to General J. H. Winder in this city." ( Richmond).
September 19, 1861: Special Order # 157: Company A 4th Battalion Louisiana Infantry is mustered into the Confederate Army. Henry Wirz is not on the rolls as he is on detached duty as a clerk in the Provost Marshal office.
September 25, 1861: Special Order # 162: The 4th Battalion is sent to Lewisburg, VA to report to General Floyd. Takes part in the Kanawha Campaign in western Virginia.
November 1- 10, 1861: skirmishes Cotton Hill.
November 30, 1861: Special Order # 248: The 4th Battalion LA. Infantry is ordered to return to Richmond and report to General Winder.
December 14, 1861: Special Order # 266: The 4th Battalion LA. Infantry is ordered to leave Richmond and report to General Robert E. Lee, @ Coosawatchie, South Carolina. “ The members of this battalion who have been detached as a guard to prisoners at Tuscaloosa Ala. will rejoin their proper companies so soon as they are relieved from that duty.” Henry Wirz still on detached duty has the rank of Sergeant, and is Assistant Commander of the Tuscaloosa Alabama Military Prison until recalled to Richmond in 1862.
May 31, 1862: Sergeant Wirz takes part in the Seven Pines Battle and is severely wounded in the right arm by a rifle ball. (During these battles before Richmond, all available troops were organized in temporary organizations and dispatched to the front lines as re-enforcements).
June 1862: Wirz is promoted to Captain assistant adjutant General to Brigadier General Winder. Also, Provost Marshal, Manchester, VA.
November 26, 1862: Special Order # 225: Wirz is ordered to AL, GA, LA, MS, and TX to gather records on prisoners of war.
December 1862: Captain Wirz is granted a furlough to go to Europe for surgery on his arm. It is also reported that he was on a mission for President Davis to contact Confederate Commissioners James Mason and John Slidell.
February 1864: Captain Wirz returns from Europe and is assigned to duty Augusta, GA.
April 1864: Captain Wirz becomes Commander of the Military Prison, Camp Sumter a. k. a. Andersonville.

originally published in the Winter, 2007 issue of The Lost Cause

Flags Over Franklin

2011-02-25T09:31:00.005-05:00

During the planning for this past November’s remembrances of the Battle of Franklin, the mayor had the gall to attempt a ban on Confederate Battle Flags during this solemn and holy occasion. This story was immediately picked up by the Associated Press (as they will apparently run any story about banning our flags—whether true or not), which resulted in a thunderous response by the SCV. We promised the mayor that we would be there—with flags.

The weather cooperated superbly, giving us a balmy day despite impending cold and showers threatening to move in. About 300 SCV members made the trip to Franklin—on a Thursday—for what was one part parade, one part memorial service, and one part protest. The result was a beautiful scene as the streets and city square of Franklin were filled with flags fluttering in the breeze. 10,000 luminary were set out to commemorate the dead, and were lit as dusk approached.

Photos © Don Shelton, originally published in the Winter, 2007 issue of The Lost Cause

Why We Mistrust Our Media

2011-02-18T02:52:00.005-05:00

The following was written in response to the media hoax created around Allen Central High School’s Confederate flag and soldier mascot. It ran in the Floyd County Times, but for some reason the Lexington and Louisville papers—responsible for so much of the nonsense—refused to let the truth be told:

Take the case of an unpopular lame-duck school board member who attempts a parting shot at infamy by daring to impugn the Confederate symbolism of a local Eastern Kentucky high school, then add a Minnesota-raised journalist with a penchant for sometimes creating stories of particular interest to those on the left and politically correct side of polity, and her need to create some byline buzz to kick-start a fledgling career that has so far landed her in the backwaters of Kentucky Appalachia, and what do you have? Nothing, actually. But there are those among us, the media at the forefront, who benefit from the creation of apparent somethings from actual nothings.

Samira Jafari isn’t going to win a Pulitzer with the typical news stories that arise in her district, though, and media liberals higher up the chain need stories that can be framed to suit their agendas, so this non-story was shot across the AP wires about a board member suggesting Allen Central abandon its “evil” mascot (a soldier) and flag. The story conveniently ignored that the reaction to this suggestion was the sound of chirping crickets. In all probability, there are innumerable suggestions made by singular school board members across this country that die similar unsupported deaths with nary a glance by the media, but for some reason they aren’t “news”. As non-stories parading as news usually do, this one garnered little real reaction, but it provided the opportunity to create even more of the apparent somethings from actual nothings which are craved by a few; predictable editorials appeared in the Louisville and Lexington papers, comparing the ignorant hillbillies and their mascots and flags to Nazis, the editorials only slightly disguising their hateful disgust with a veneer of psuedo-intellectual hubris.

At this point, enter Louisville civil rights gadfly Louis Coleman - who seemingly will show up to protest just about anything anywhere it will get him some media face time (yet never seems to have any real number of followers to justify his “leadership”) - to “educate” the poor ignorant Floyd Countians as to their “bigotry” and the fact that in the “real world” Confederate symbols have been eradicated. Of course, Coleman is wrong - thankfully symbols of honor like the Confederate battle flag are far from eliminated – and Coleman knows that if it were he and others of his ilk like Morris Dees, who have shamefully transformed “civil rights” into a multi-million dollar business, would lose a lucrative fund-raising bogeyman.

Now we are witness to an exercise of just how far the liberal elite can create apparent something from actual nothing, but don’t be fooled good people of Floyd County – it’s the media (and darlings the media favors like Coleman) simply talking back and forth to themselves, in ever increasing rounds of crescendo, in the hopes that they can create some kind of whirlwind that pressures you into acceding to their political correctness. Don’t fall for it.

There is a story here, though, and it is – indeed – a story about hatred, bigotry, and a lack of education. It is a story about hatred of Southerners, a story about bigotry towards Eastern Kentuckians, and story about a lack of education by the politically correct concerning Americans with Confederate heritage. The insidiousness of this bigotry is that it seeks to disguise itself within the folds of self-righteous finger pointing at others. Those who now so vehemently vilify Southerners and Eastern Kentuckians rationalize their hatred by pretending to oppose bigotry in others, but that makes it no less real, and makes them no less culpable for being bigots themselves. The real story here is the need for them to realize others are not guilty of “hatred” simply because they don’t wish to be unjustly sacrificed on an altar of the politically correct agenda, and it is not “hatred” simply preferring to practice the honoring of ones’ own cultural heritage rather than the dictates of the cosmopolitan media.

Hopefully someday we’ll see those practicing this real bigotry realize the admirable goals of diversity and tolerance that they pretend to worship are merely a lie until they stop using them as a cover to attack groups like Southerners, Eastern Kentuckians, Christians, et al.

Until then, just do what you’ve had to do so many times before, and tell the flatlanders to mind their own business. Eventually they’ll take the hint and find someone else to bother.

Originally published in the Winter, 2007 issue of The Lost Cause

Found: The Lost Cause - Its Origins as a Phrase

2010-11-19T23:00:00.001-05:00

By Don Shelton

Most of us have wondered at some point about the origin of the phrase “The Lost Cause”, or even why it is the title of this journal. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, the use of “Lost Cause” to refer to the Confederacy’s bid for independence began in the 1860’s; indeed, by the time Sam Watkins published “Company Aytch” twenty years later he used the term with such familiarity and pride that it had obviously been an established part of the Southern lexicon for quite some time. The subtle but crucial transformation in usage happened almost immediately after the War—the struggle for Southern Independence was no longer “a lost cause” in the colloquial, but instead became “The Lost Cause” in reverential reflection on the idealism of defense of home and constitution from invasion—both physical invasion and invasion of philosophies repugnant to the agrarian, traditionalistic South and to the original intent of the Constitution. To stand against these invasions was seen as a victory unto itself; using “The Lost Cause” a backhanded way to recognize the military reality of defeat while saying that The Lost Cause was also The Right Cause to a Southern nation which placed honor above life itself—a conceptuality which is foreign to the modern mind saturated with Jerry Springer and Howard Stern.

Our Southern ancestors were also much better trained in literary allusion and historical reference than we are today. When Moses Ezekial created the Confederate monument at Arlington cemetery, he inscripted upon it the Latin phrase: “Victrix Causa Diis Placuit Sed Victa Caton” which translates to “The Victorious Cause was Pleasing to the gods, But the Lost Cause to Cato.” This is a quote from Lucan’s epic Pharsalia (Civil War) written about Julius Ceasar’s Roman civil war with Senator Pompey. The phrase doesn’t mean much, though, without knowing who Cato was. In his 1999 address given at the Arlington monument, Rev. Fr. Alister C. Anderson, Chaplain (Colonel) U.S. Army (Ret.) and Chaplain-in-Chief of the Sons of Confederate Veterans explained:

You may remember that Julius Caesar made himself dictator of the Roman Empire for life and he marched against Pompey and the republican forces who resisted Caesar’s military and political grab for absolute control and power. Pompey was an admirer of Cato the Younger, who lived one hundred years earlier and was devoted to the principles and virtues of the early Roman Republic. Cato had one of the greatest reputations for honesty and incorruptibility of any man in ancient times, and his Stoicism put him above the graft, bribery and mad despotic ambition so prevalent in Roman politics of his day. Pompey’s army, however, was defeated by Caesar's legions at the Battle of Pharsalia in the Balkans, and Caesar went on to become what can be called the first of the Roman Emperors.

The Latin quote illustrates the truth of an historical and political continuum from the time of this ancient war to that of the War for Southern Independence. “Victrix Causa,” “the victorious cause”, referring to Julius Caesar’s inordinate ambition and his lust for total power and control, is compared with President Lincoln and the federal government’s desire for power to crush and destroy the South. Next we read “diis placuit” which translates “pleased the gods”. In this context, gods are with a small “g” and refer to the gods of mythology; the gods of money, power, war and domination, greed, hate, lust and ambition. Next we come to the noble climax of this quotation, “sed victa catoni” which translates “but the lost cause pleased Cato.” Here Lucan, the poet, refers to Pompey’s fight to retain the old conservative, traditional republican government of Rome. Even though Pompey was defeated by Caesar’s greater military power, his defeat, nevertheless, pleased the noble Cato. And here, of course, Cato represents the noble aims of the Southern Confederacy. The South fought politically to maintain the Constitution which had guided her safely for eighty-seven years. She merely wanted to be left alone and be governed by it.

In this context the use of “The Lost Cause” by Southerners becomes much more clear. The allusions to the virtuous cause of Pompey in fighting to save traditional values against overpowering tyranny would have instant appeal to Southerners, and taking into account Lucan’s Pharsalia would have been familiar reading to educated Southerners like Ezekial, this two thousand-year-old quote has to be considered the leading candidate as origin for usage of “The Lost Cause” term by Confederates.

The phrase has not, though, had universal acceptance among Southerners, with some feeling it to carry a negative or defeatist connotation; the most notable critic of the phrase was the renowned S. A. Cunningham, publisher of the original Confederate Veteran magazine. His criticism has been taken to heart by some in support of their disdain for usage of the phrase. In the December, 1902 issue of Confederate Veteran Cunningham called the term “detestable” in complaining that correspondents were using it in submitted articles. Cunningham said it “assuredly originated in the minds of prejudiced Northerners”. However, few people who quote Cunningham are aware that the original Confederate Veteran magazine and the original Lost Cause magazine were competing publications, and occasionally sparred with each other in print (as Stewart Cruickshank’s accompanying article will show). Taken in that light, it is possible that Cunningham’s criticisms may have had less than completely altruistic motivations (after all, Cunningham was a shrewd and experienced businessman), and such context should be taken into some consideration by those who base their dislike for the phrase solely on Cunningham. Ironically, a biography of Cunningham was published in 1994 and when it was reviewed by Book News Inc. the reviewer’s first sentence called Cunningham “a central figure in the Lost Cause movement in the post-Civil War South” and that quote now accompanies virtually every site listing the biography for sale. That a reviewer would use a term to describe a man who found it so detestable he refused to print it in his own magazine is a posthumous insult no one should have to suffer, especially a man who did so much for Confederate heritage as S. A. Cunningham.

When the Kentucky Division of the SCV was re-formed in 1983, choosing the name of a turn-of-the-century Confederate publication originating in the Bluegrass State as the title for the division newsletter seemed only natural to the division leadership (just as the national SCV had taken up the title for its magazine from Cunningham’s). While publication of The Lost Cause has been somewhat erratic in the twenty-two years since, the current magazine format is a serious effort by the Kentucky division to carry out the mission of the original publication: “to be a(n) illustrated journal of history”, both of our Kentucky Confederate ancestors, and our SCV today.

Originally published in the Spring 2005 issue of The Lost Cause.

A Recounting of The Lost Cause, 1898-1904

2010-11-12T22:59:00.000-05:00

By Stewart Cruickshank

In June of 1898 The Lost Cause began circulation from its offices at 328-338 W. Green Street in Louisville, Kentucky. The magazine was printed by the Courier-Journal Job Printing Company. Editor Ben La Bree, an entrepreneur, offered a year’s subscription for 75 cents and single copies for 10 cents.

The original masthead featured the Confederate Battle Flag with a broken staff imposed upon a black moon with 13 stars and the motto “Defeated but not dishonored”. A headliner regarding the War with Spain promised “This Journal will also contain a description of the battles and events of this war, fully illustrated with large Battle scenes, portraits, etc.” However, by the September issue the Spanish-American War had ended and this subject was no longer a feature.

The mission statement of The Lost Cause promised “An Illustrated Journal of History, devoted to the collection and preservation of the record of the late ‘Confederacy’ and to the recording of Humorous Anecdotes, Reminiscences, Deeds of Heroism, Terrible Hardships endured, Battles on Sea and Land and the noble Deeds Accomplished by the faithful and loyal Southern Women.”

A fire at the printing plant resulted in no issue being published in December of 1898. Publication resumed in January 1899. The June, 1899 issue was the last one to be edited by Ben La Bree. Due to a change in ownership no issue was circulated in July 1899.

The Lost Cause resumed publication in August. The new owners were the Albert Sidney Johnston Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Mrs. (General) Basil Duke was editor and Miss Florence Barlow the UDC chapter recording assistant secretary was the associate editor and manager.

This business venture of the Kentucky UDC placed it in direct competition with a rival publication produced by a former Confederate Army Sergeant Major, S. A. Cunningham, The Confederate Veteran. He was a veteran publisher who had learned some valuable lessons in the 1870’s competing for newspaper subscribers, and would be a strong competitor for the UDC to contend with.

A small ad in the August, 1899 issue revealed that over 1,500 subscriptions had expired with the August issue. “True Friends” were invited to re-subscribe to “Confederate History”.

The masthead was also changed to the one replicated in the previous issues of the modern-day version of The Lost Cause that we have been enjoying. The amended mission statement of the publication promised “A Confederate War Record”. “The Lost Cause is a monthly Illustrated Journal of History, devoted to the collection and preservation of the records of the Confederate States, Humorous Anecdotes Reminiscences, Deeds of Heroism, also devoted to the work and interest of the ‘Daughters of the Confederacy’”.

The Confederate Veteran, Cunningham’s publication, had by now become the largest distributor on the subject of the War Between the States. Cunningham was also the General Agent for the Jefferson Davis Monument Fund. The June 1899 issue of The Lost Cause featured “spicy reading” rebutting an editorial published in Cunningham’s magazine which had attacked the Financial Director of the Confederate Memorial Association, John C. Underwood. This feuding and debating was continued through the September 1899 issue.

The Lost Cause embraced marketing concepts in an effort to attract female subscribers. For example, a 100-piece Princess China Set was offered free to anyone who sent in 25 yearly subscriptions. Another ad revealed that “Every dollar made by The Lost Cause goes to help Confederate Veterans, their families, widows, and orphans. This fact ought to be sufficient to enlist the interest of every veteran, son and daughter.”

The April 1900 issue announced a price increase to one dollar yearly. A single issue remained ten cents. The yearly subscription included, for a limited time, an 8” x 12” silk Confederate Flag. A subscription agent sending six (later five) yearly subscribers received a silver Kentucky souvenir spoon.

The November 1901 issue announced that “The Lost Cause is owned, controlled and edited by women—Daughters of the Confederacy—who are as loyal to the Southern Cause and the Confederate Veterans as any soldier who bore arms. No ‘Yankee’, as has been maliciously reported (apparently a reference to Cunningham) has any connection whatever with this journal. The Veterans can trust their interest into our hands with the assurance that it will be well guarded with the same devotion and loyalty which characterized the women in the ‘60s.”

The continuing sparing between the Nashville Tennessee published Confederate Veteran and the Louisville Kentucky published Lost Cause is also apparent in the following statements: “The Lost Cause has the advantage over other similar publications in having access to historical matter and over 20 thousand cuts illustrative of Confederate history that no other publishing house possesses. This collection represents the work of one man for 30 years and an expenditure of over $100,000.00”

The April 1902 issue also stated that “The Lost Cause is the only journal published in the United States that is purely Confederate. No matter how Southern an article may be unless it relates in some way or has some bearing upon the Confederacy or its organizations we reject it. There are other Southern Journals but The Lost Cause is the only purely Confederate Journal.” The ladies of the UDC were apparently quite unafraid to mix things up with Cunningham.

However, the financial obligations had to take their priority. In a small ad that issue it was stated that an agent sending in four subscriptions would receive one year free. However, “credit would not be welcomed”. Later that year $50.00 cash was offered to anyone providing 100 subscriptions.

The July, 1902 issue was not printed. No reason was given. Publication resumed in August 1902. Beginning in October of that year an ongoing series which listed by state the “Regiments and Battalions of Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery and Engineers (including Indians) and their Field Officers in the Confederate States Army 1861-1865” was undertaken. This outstanding series was not completed though, as the final chapters of this tale will reveal.

The April, 1903 issue was not printed. Again no reason was given. Publication resumed in May. The September issue revealed that Mrs. Duke had gone abroad and would no longer be associated with the journal. Miss Barlow was now the Editor and Proprietor. She often traveled to various UDC and UCV camps speaking about Southern chivalry and the mission of The Lost Cause. A small ad stated that “those indebted to The Lost Cause for past years subscriptions will please remit. We can not keep up the good work we are doing without collecting what is due us.”

In January, 1904 the bargain rate of fifty cents for one year was offered. The March issue was delayed due to a printer’s strike at the publishing house. The Lost Cause ceased publication with the April, 1904 issue. Miss Barlow announced that ownership would be transferred to Mrs. J. T. McCutchen of Jackson, Tennessee. With that announcement a chapter in Kentucky publishing of Confederate history came to an end.

Today The Lost Cause has returned as the “Journal of the Kentucky Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans”. Your subscription and advertising support to The Lost Cause will continue the mission of honoring and remembering Kentucky Confederate history started years ago by Ben La Bree, Mrs. Duke and Miss Barlow.

Originally published in the Spring, 2005 The Lost Cause

UDC Beats Vandy

2010-11-05T22:58:00.001-04:00

We’re not talking about a sporting event; shortly before going to press we received the powerful news that the ladies of the Tennessee United Daughters of the Confederacy had beaten Vanderbilt University’s attempt to get the courts to overturn contract law to satisfy their political correctness.

In 2002 Vanderbilt announced that the dormitory named “Confederate Memorial Hall” would have the word “Confederate” stricken from its name and inscription out of “sensitivity”. Unfortunately for Vandy, the UDC had donated $50,000 toward the construction of the building with the contractual agreement for the “Confederate Memorial Hall” name. The UDC filed suit to protect the name. The Chancery court sided with Vanderbilt, ruling that the emotions associated with the word “Confederate” were too much to inflict upon students no matter what the contract from the 1930’s said.

However, the appeals court judged otherwise. The panel ruled that basic contract law cannot be ignored, and that Vandy had to either let the name stay, or compensate the UDC for the $50,000 it raised to help pay for the dormitory. The appeals court sent back to the Chancery court the task of determining what $50,000 in 1930’s dollars is worth today, but some estimates were in the range of $700,000.

The other option for Vanderbilt would be to appeal to the Tennessee State Supreme Court; legal representatives for Vandy indicated that decision had not yet been made.

The SCV donated $10,000 in 2002 for the UDC’s legal costs in the suit; then Heritage Defense Chief for the SCV Allen Sullivant called the donation one of the best things done by the SCV during his term.

Beyond merely ruling in the UDC’s favor, one judge wrote a 23-page concurring opinion in which he scathed Vandy for their political correctness and ignorance of history; “A great majority of those who fought in the Confederate armies owned no slaves. Their homeland was invaded, and they rose up in defense of their homes and their farms,” wrote judge William B. Cain. “They fought the unequal struggle until nearly half their enlisted strength was crippled or beneath the sod. The dormitory is a memorial to them…”

Judge Cain went on to say, “It is to the memory of these men that Confederate Memorial Hall was built and, to that end and at great personal sacrifice in the midst of the Great Depression, that the United Daughters of the Confederacy raised and contributed to Peabody College (Vanderbilt’s predecessor) more than one-third of the total cost of the construction of the dormitory.”

Common sense still exists in the Tennessee judiciary, and hopefully this costly lesson learned by Vanderbilt will serve as a warning to other institutions which somehow mistakenly think they are above the law in their fanatical pursuit of political correctness.

Originally published in the Spring, 2005 The Lost Cause

Corydon - Going North

2010-10-29T22:56:00.001-04:00

By Don Shelton

Gen. Robert E. Lee certainly understood the powerful psychology of what a Confederate victory North of Mason and Dixon's line could potentially do: demoralize the Northern populace, thus robbing Yankees of their will to wage war after seeing it in their own back yard, and also perhaps get England and France to get off the sidelines (England, certainly, would want to show support to the Confederacy if it became apparent they were winning—for economic reasons if nothing else). Such psychology was the driving force behind the Gettysburg campaign. While Lee had obviously invaded Maryland once already, taking the war into territory actually above the Mason-Dixon line was a powerfully tempting objective, and had happened on a small scale before Lee marched into Pennsylvania. In September of 1862 Gen. Albert G. Jenkins led his Confederate cavalry forces into southeastern Ohio on a two-day raid that is little-known today, but generated considerable excitement at the time. John Hunt Morgan was destined, of course, to make a somewhat more famous visit to Ohio, via Indiana. Morgan knew of Jenkins’ raid, and had displayed a mastery of the psychology of warfare many times himself. He was certainly observing with keen interest the reaction Lee was getting in Pennsylvania. Morgan wanted to prove that he, too, could use Northern panic and alarm to force the enemy to react to him. Lee wanted Meade to react by bringing his army out into the open where Lee could destroy it. Morgan wanted to draw troops away from Rosecrans, so that Gen. Braxton Bragg could make a similar attempt on Rosecrans’ Army of the Cumberland in the western theater.

Morgan’s Great Indiana-Ohio Raid left Kentucky by crossing the Ohio River at Brandenburg, and going into Harrison County, Indiana on July 8th, 1863. On July 3rd the fighting ended at Gettysburg, and news of Lee’s defeat, along with the surrender of Vicksburg a day later, somewhat diverted national attention from what Morgan was shortly to accomplish at Corydon; the largest engagement North of the Mason-Dixon won by the Confederates. Had Lee prevailed at Gettysburg, Morgan’s victory at Corydon and his seeming unstoppability in his travels through Indiana and Ohio would have overshadowed the fall of Vicksburg and given the instant appearance of a two-pronged—east and west—surge of Confederate fortunes. Even with the Confederate misfortunes in Vicksburg and Gettysburg, Morgan’s adventures on his Raid proved to be rather an alarming and electrifying poke into the psyche of the Northern citizenry; it takes little imagination to see the full potential effect of Morgan’s plan had Lee been successful.

By crossing into Indiana, Morgan was defying the orders of Bragg. According to Morgan’s brother-in-law Gen. Basil Duke in “A History of Morgan’s Cavalry”, Bragg gave Morgan “carte blanche” to do whatever he wanted in Kentucky, but “Bragg refused him permission to make the raid as he desired to make it and ordered him to operate in Kentucky.” Bragg’s plan was for Morgan to cover the retreat of the Army of Tennessee across the Tennessee River, with the intention of fighting near Chattanooga (which indeed occurred with the battle at Chickamauga). Bragg also wanted Morgan to attempt the capture of Louisville if possible, thus drawing Union troops away from Rosecrans for that decisive battle. Morgan argued that capturing Louisville was unlikely, but by going into Indiana and Ohio “the scare and clamor in the states he proposed to invade would be so great, that the military leaders and the administration would be compelled to furnish the troops that would be called for.” Morgan told Duke shortly after his meeting with Bragg of the order confining him to Kentucky, and of his intention to disobey it. Ultimately Morgan’s plan was to join with Lee in Pennsylvania after his grand tour of Indiana and Ohio, putting a finishing touch on the invasion psychology.

The order confining Morgan to Kentucky is a singular example of Bragg’s command abilities; while his generalship did sometimes rise to competency, it never achieved the inspired brilliance required (or demonstrated repeatedly by Lee, Breckinridge, Jackson, Forrest, Morgan and others). Bragg failed to recognize the importance of psychology in warfare—on his own troops (whom he too often mistreated), on the enemy, and on the general populations of both sides. When Bragg invaded Kentucky in 1862, he did so tentatively, thinking that the mere presence of his army would cause Kentuckians to flock to the recruiters and swell the Confederate ranks enough to secure the state. True, Morgan had proclaimed to him often of Kentucky’s strong Confederate desires (helping Bragg’s overestimations), and while a good many Kentuckians did join the Confederate Cause, Bragg overlooked the simple need for many Kentuckians to see the ability and determination of the Confederates to fight the federal forces off from the state before committing; if the Confederates were just passing through in 1862, the families and property of Confederate Kentuckians would fall to the harshest retributions of Yankee occupations. If, instead of wandering aimlessly in 1862, Bragg had shown an inspired plan—such as laying siege to Cincinnati as Morgan urged him to do—the results could have been dramatically different, at least to Morgan’s thinking.

With the situation in 1863, Bragg was correct (and Morgan recognized it) that he needed to retreat across the Tennessee River, and that a diversion was necessary to keep Rosecrans from full strength for the battle Bragg conceived taking place afterwards. However, Morgan obviously saw in Bragg once again the lack of vision for truly taking a calculated risk with great potential reward. Morgan had to feel that his plan in 1862 to lay siege to Cincinnati would have succeeded in drawing the federal army in Louisville northward, (at least more so than Bragg’s bumping into them on a search for water at Perryville, south of Louisville) allowing the Confederates relatively little resistance in occupying large swaths of the state for a longer period of time. Morgan was not going to let what he must have considered to be short-sighted orders get in the way this time. He knew that with only 2,500 men he could not take (and certainly could not hold for any length of time) Louisville or Cincinnati, nor would he make such a suicidal attempt, but there were much easier targets for creating havoc across the Midwest, and Morgan intended to do as much so as possible.

But before he could do any of that, Morgan had to cross the Ohio River at Brandenburg, and that was accomplished with some degree of excitement. Captain Thomas Henry Hines had already taken a liberal interpretation from some of Morgan’s orders and been in Indiana leading a detachment which had stirred the reactions of some militia. Hines rejoined Morgan in Brandenburg on July 7th, and Duke reported Morgan to be satisfied with Hines’ explanation (after all, Morgan was disobeying orders, Hines had merely stretched them).

However, just as Morgan’s command was beginning to cross the river with the clearing of the morning fog the next day, they were fired upon. Morgan had to wonder, at least to some degree, just how much Hines had aroused the militia.

We have the luxury of two personal accounts of the actions at the Brandenburg crossing and Corydon; one from Duke of course, but the other from Simeon K. Wolfe, editor of the Corydon Weekly Democrat, who also participated in the Battle of Corydon. Wolfe is much more prone to hyperbole and exaggeration than Duke, but he provides interesting and colorful contrast and more description of the battle itself. For instance, Duke matter-of-factly reports that the musketry from the opposite shore at Brandenburg produced no effect, and the artillery shelling injured a captain and scattered the party around him. Wolfe’s account (based on information from Col. Irvin of the Indiana Legion—or militia) says the shelling caused “the rascals to skedaddle to the rear of the town in fine style but before getting out of the way some thirty of them were killed and wounded.” Wolfe also estimated Morgan’s command at nearly twice its actual size.

When Morgan had Lt. Elias D. Lawrence fire his two Parrotts in answer by shelling upon the Indiana side of the river, the Hoosier contingent abandoned their position, and found themselves unable to remove their artillery piece. The 2nd Kentucky and 9th Tennessee were then immediately ferried across the river, with their horses left on the Kentucky side.

At that time, though, a Union river gunboat, Springfield, approached and fired at Morgan’s troops on both sides of the river. The 2nd Kentucky and 9th Tennessee were able to take a ridge sheltered from the gunboat's shells (the Hoosier militia had abandoned the area entirely and were apparently falling back to Corydon). An hour-long duel ensued between Morgan’s Parrotts and the Howitzers on the Springfield. This had to be a tense moment; Morgan had two regiments on the other side of the river, dismounted, and he could not know if Hines’ previous excitement had brought down a superior force to engage them, and the gunboat prevented any further assistance. Duke described Morgan during this time as exhibiting “an emotion he rarely permitted to be seen.”

After an hour of shelling which produced little if any damage on either side, the Springfield retired, and the ferrying continued at once, the first order being to bring horses to the men already across. The gunboat returned about 5 p.m., but artillery fire kept it from interfering with the crossing. Morgan’s 1st Brigade finished crossing about dark, and the 2nd Brigade took until nearly midnight to finish.

Duke commanded the 1st Brigade, and the camped about six miles north of the river that night. Duke reported the eerie scene of houses throughout the area abandoned at a moment’s notice: “they had left their houses with open doors...and had fled to the thickets...at the houses at which I stopped, every thing was just in the condition in which the fugitive owners had left it, an hour or two before. A bright fire was blazing upon the kitchen hearth, bread half made up was in the tray, and many indications convinced us that we had interrupted preparations for supper.”

The next day, Wolfe reports that “about 11 1/2 o’clock...our scouts brought the report that the enemy was approaching in strong force up the Mauckport road toward Corydon”, which generated obvious alarm. Wolfe went on to report of Morgan’s trip through the county “their principal depredations being in horse stealing and robbing houses and citizens of everything valuable”. Of course, to steal a horse, a trooper had to leave his behind, and later in many cases the farmers in Indiana realized that instead of being stolen from, they were trading up to Kentucky thoroughbreds.

In his book “The Longest Raid of the Civil War”, Lester Horwitz describes the defensive position for the 450 or so home guards protecting Corydon under Col. Lewis Jordan as being a breastwork made of logs, stones and especially Wormwood rails, placed about a mile south of the town. Horwitz delineates the line of battle for the defenders as about 2,000 feet across, running from Amsterdam Road on the west to Laconia Road on the east.

to the east of Mauckport Road, upon which Morgan’s main force arrived at Corydon, to Laconia road Wolfe described the terrain as uneven and heavily wooded—not conducive to a cavalry charge, which was apparently thought to focus Morgan upon their front and right. There was, however, a severe problem with the position. A young Corydon defender, W. B. Ryan, described the failing; “Our position was unfortunate because the brow of the hill obscured our field of vision so that it was impossible to see the enemy until he was upon us.” Wolfe also complained about the visibility, saying that the defensive line was “at least fifty yards too far north”.

Though there were woods to the east, and poor visibility in the center, the west—Union right—had superb visibility near the Amsterdam Road with a complete view of the approaching Confederate by 12:30 p.m. The Ellsworth Rifle company (including Simeon Wolfe) was posted on this federal right flank, and they were equipped with Henry repeating rifles, which would prove a somewhat difficult obstacle. There was, however, a problem with this position also in that the Ellsworth company had virtually no cover. They opened fire as soon as Morgan’s troops came within range, checking the Confederate advance for the moment.

Morgan’s superior numbers allowed him to keep fire on the center while commencing with flanking movements. On the Confederate left, Col. W.W. Ward’s 9th Tennessee moved around the Ellsworth rifles, and on the Confederate right Major T. B. Webber led the 2nd Kentucky in a similar flank.

Elements of Col Richard Morgan’s recently formed 14th Kentucky Cavalry then charged the breastworks. Col. Morgan was Gen. Morgan’s brother, and had been Assistant Adjutant General on Lt. Gen. A. P. Hill’s staff, but according to Duke wanted a “less monotonous life in the cavalry”. He was about to get his wish.

The defender’s barricade was too high for many of the horses to jump, and some fell headlong into a “violent melee”. Lt. Leland Hathaway and some others displaced the top rail to open a more manageable hurdle for a second charge.

However, the Ellsworth company, with their Henry repeating rifles, were able to hold Morgan’s men off for fifteen minutes more, under ever-increasing pressure of the flanking movements by the 2nd Kentucky 9th Tennessee.

Col. Adam R. “Stovepipe” Johnson ordered Lt. Lawrence to fire his Parrotts, which greatly unnerved the Yankee militia. Wolfe described it: “making the shells sing the ugly kind of music over our heads”. Federal commander Col. Jordan wrote, “When the enemy opened with three pieces of artillery, with shell and shot, and they appearing in such overwhelming number, seeing my forces could no longer successfully contend against such odds, I gave the order to fall back to Corydon.”

The retreat turned into a rout, with the Yankees racing down the hill, across Big Indian Creek and toward town. Wolfe conceded, “This was done, not with the best of order it is true, for our forces were mostly undrilled, but with excellent speed”. Having taken the field, the Confederates planted their battery on the hill south of town and fired two shells into it. Both struck near the center of town, one exploded but did no damage. Seeing it was hopeless, Col. Jordan “wisely” surrendered the town. While a few cavalry and mounted citizens were able to get away, Morgan paroled three hundred and forty-five men. Wolfe then records that about 5 o’clock, “the King of American Freebooters left, moving north on the Salem road”, and Wolfe records a long list of businesses in town which he claimed were imposed upon to support the Southern Cause.

Duke only records one paragraph about the battle at Corydon, saying “(Col. Morgan) charged them, but they resolutely defended their rail piles, killing and wounding several men...A demonstration was made upon the flank of the enemy...and Col. Morgan again advanced upon their front, when, not understanding such a fashion of fighting upon two or three sides at once, the militia broke and ran, with great rapidity, into the town, their progress accelerated (as they got fairly into the streets) by a shot dropped among them from one of the pieces.”

In all, the battle and retreat lasted about half an hour, with nearly 3,000 combatants engaged. Certainly not a battle to be compared in any scale to what Lee was attempting in Pennsylvania, and an event quickly put to the back of the ever more wearying minds of Morgan and his men over the following days of the Raid, so it is understandable that the Corydon battle was not thought of at the time as so significant (except to the terrified citizens of southern Indiana, and its impact was further negated with Morgan’s failure to escape the raid successfully into western Virginia. The Confederates needed a much larger victory on Northern soil to sufficiently meet Lee’s goal of impacting the psychology of the war, but nonetheless, it was Kentucky’s John Hunt Morgan who gave the South her largest victory north of the Mason-Dixon.

Official records (Northern, so possibly high numbers) state that Morgan lost eight killed and 40 wounded at Brandenburg and Corydon. Known dead are Pvt. Albert Womack, Pvt. John Dunn, & Pvt. Greene Bottomer.

Yankee casualties list eight dead, including one man who died of a heart attack in the running retreat. Cordon residents also try to include two ladies in the list of casualties, stating both deaths were due to related hardship, stress and exhaustion from the battle.

______________________

Today a portion of the battle site is preserved as five-acre Corydon Battle Park, a county park, on Business Route 135. There is a monument to the Confederate dead at the park. There is also a reenactment held nearby; this year it will be July 9th & 10th at the Hayswood Nature Reserve in Corydon. For more information about the park, go to www.corydonbattlepark.com

Originally published in the Spring, 2005 The Lost Cause

The Coup That Failed

2010-10-22T22:55:00.001-04:00

by Don Shelton
Forget watching the West Wing; SCV national politics of late has had more intrigue and twists than anything television show writers could ever dream up. Board of Director removals, lawsuits, temporary restraining orders, a coup d’etat, and historic first-ever special convention of the entire SCV are the highlights (lowlights?) of this tale.

The SCV has always had its share of squabbles to keep things interesting. About 15 years ago a personality conflict between two Past Commander’s-in-Chief became so involved that large segments of the SCV were being forced to choose sides until then Commander-in-Chief Hawkins had to settle things down. The current brouhaha is somewhat more driven by policy differences and power than personality clashes, but cults of personality still weigh heavily. Conflict came to a head during Ron Wilson’s administration. Wilson, certainly not a weak personality in this drama, delineated the struggle; the SCV must adapt to the unprecedented modern challenges we face by becoming more aggressive in areas of recruiting, legislative battles, legal battles and heritage battles in general. The problem, Wilson contended, was the exclusive “country club” atmosphere preferred by most of the Past Commanders-in-Chief (who, with their lifetime appointments to the SCV’s board of directors known as the General Executive Council nearly controlled the SCV no matter who was voted into the elected positions) could no longer be the SCV’s method of operation. In addition, he pointed out many of the PCIC’s had not kept current enough on issues and developments in the years since they were CIC’s that they were informed to make board of director decisions. Wilson led an effort to have the constitution changed to only include the most recent three PCIC’s on the GEC.

Amendments require a 2/3 majority and it fell just 4% short of the 67% needed. This amendment effort was a throwing down of the gauntlet for both sides; the acrimony and intensity of response continued to escalate in each round from then on.

The next major development was the revelation that PCIC Hawkins, an attorney, had stipulated in Missouri court to billing fraud of over $30,000 and had entered into an agreement—in the face of disbarment—where he gave up his law license. Hawkins had also been Executive Director of the historic Beauvior home of Jefferson Davis, but was no longer after the suspension of his license. PCIC Hawkins did not reveal this event to the GEC, but eventually when CIC Wilson discovered it, he felt that Hawkin’s presence on the GEC created a moral dilemma for the SCV and suspended Hawkins. Hawkins responded by filing suit. The suit was dropped after discussions in the post-convention GEC meeting which reinstated Hawkins for dismissal of the suit.

Meanwhile, supporters of the PCIC’s (the term ‘Old Guard' has been applied, apparently without offense, so we will use it here, and will use the term ‘Reformers’ for the other side) threw their efforts into getting Troy Massey elected last year at the Dalton reunion. It was Massey’s third attempt to win the CIC spot, but it wasn’t the charm as Denne Sweeney prevailed. However, Dr. Anthony Hodges, who had run as a moderate, but was clearly the choice of the Old Guard, won the Lt. CIC spot thus setting the stage for the takeover attempt.

CIC Sweeney knew there were fences to mend, and he attempted to work with the Old Guard at the Fall GEC meeting; the reception was described as hostile (as reported by the CIC in the Confederate Veteran).

By the first of this year a petition was circulating among officers and members calling for the removal of PCIC Hawkins over the billing fraud issue, and threatening a derivative lawsuit to have Hawkins removed if CIC Sweeney did not do so. Sweeney responded by suspending Hawkins again, and he also suspended PCIC Orlebeke for alleged voter fraud at the Dalton reunion. Apparently PCIC Orlebeke cast votes for a camp in which he was not enumerated as a member. This was apparently the result of the habit of some members of the Old Guard to transfer into camps just before the convention and then transfer back afterwards (Orlebeke contends it should be allowed, but the Judge Advocate General-in-Chief had ruled such actions to be, indeed, prohibited proxy voting), and CIC Wilson had ordered transfers held until after the convention to prevent proxy voting.

The suspensions of Hawkins and Orlebeke were too much for the Old Guard, and the plans to oust CIC Sweeney and other members of the GEC were soon formulated.

At the next scheduled GEC meeting in December, the Old Guard members of GEC mounted a boycott of the meeting to deny a quorum. In order to conduct business, CIC Sweeney temporarily suspended the boycotting GEC members for the day so that a quorum could be declared. While unusual, the temporary suspension move was based on a precedence set by PCIC Orlebeke when he was CIC and suspended hundreds of SCV camps for a few days so a quorum could be declared at a national convention. AoT Commander Tarry Beasley did not make the December GEC meeting as he had scheduled a meeting with heritage leaders in Georgia. He was not included in Sweeney’s temporary suspensions.

As events unfolded, it became clear that the primary architects of the takeover were two attorneys from the Oklahoma division, Mark “Beau” Cantrell (who was Army of Trans-Mississippi Commander) and Jeff Massey (brother of CIC candidate Troy), with help from Hawkins and others. The takeover plan was very slick (no surprise, with so much attorney brainpower behind it), and very nearly succeeded.

The first phase of the plan was to set up a “meeting” of the GEC under circumstances the Old Guard could control (a conference call). They did so by having three members of the GEC “call” for a GEC meeting, and the three calling members also set the time, place and manner of the meeting in their call. The did this despite the fact that there was already a GEC meeting scheduled just a few days later, and despite the fact that the Commander-in-Chief sets the time and place of a meeting when three GEC members call for it (according to the constitution).

The conference call meeting was recorded, and can be heard on the internet at: www.savethescv.com

The recording reveals several disturbing items: 1) AoT Commander Tarry Beasley saying he was tricked into being on the conference call by being told it was a discussion about resolving the differences on the GEC. “I’m not part of this” Beasley stated when it became obvious the that the call was for the purpose of a coup d’etat unseating CIC Sweeney. Beasley’s presence was required to create a quorum. 2) That other than a need for Beasley to make quorum, the meeting was for those participating in the coup only, as Adjutant-in-Chief Jim Dark’s recorded attempts to gain access to the meeting (to lodge protest) show. When he was finally allowed onto the call, Dark found someone else acting as Adjutant (Jeff Massey). 3) That Army of Trans-Mississippi Commander Beau Cantrell is prone to vulgar outbursts at GEC meetings, as he told Dark to “shut up”, referred to CIC Sweeney as a “gorilla” and told Dark that they were there to “throw you out on your a—”.

After Dark and Beasley both declared that they were not part of the meeting , were not to be included in any quorum (but Beasley had said “I’d have to vote no” on the first resolution, and the judge later ruled that voting made him part of the quorum) and left the call, the coup meeting continued, with resolutions passed by number reference only with no discussion. All resolutions “passed” with only PCIC Shaw voting against.

The coup members did not stop at voting to oust CIC Sweeney, though they stated only had complaints with his actions, but also voted to remove his appointees from the GEC. They even voted to remove two members of the GEC whom they had previously voted to place on the GEC, which are the Editor-in-Chief and Adjutant-in-chief (those are only nominated by the CIC, they must be approved by the GEC). Even more, they voted to remove from the GEC the councilman from the AoT.

The next phase of the plan was to approach Maury County, TN Chancery Judge Robert Jones, with a suit against (if their conference call meeting was indeed legal, the now former) CIC Sweeney in order to get the court’s blessings on their takeover. The complaint was presented in an ex parte hearing. Ex parte means that only one side is heard, and in many, but not all, cases ex parte is not allowed because of the inherent unfairness. CIC Sweeney had virtually no notice of the hearing (and of course, he was in Texas), so an attorney was hastily put in front of the judge to represent him, but had little or no preparation time and the judge did concede the hearing to be ex parte in fact. The Old Guard had a litany of complaints against the CIC, but the “double jeopardy” of suspending PCIC Hawkins after his reinstatement deal in Dalton was what appeared most to strike the judge as potentially improper. Judge Jones issued a temporary restraining order which removed CIC Sweeney from office, and as a consequence elevated Lt. CIC Hodges to acting CIC, and set a date for a hearing to determine if the TRO would become a permanent injunction.

Later that day, in Atlanta where the physical meeting of the GEC had been scheduled by CIC Sweeney, a number of members and GEC members had already gathered when the startling news of the coup’s successfully being blessed by the courts was announced. Most of those gathered were stunned and angry; a few were jubilant. Apparently in a mood to gloat, ATM Commander Beau Cantrell stood on a chair in the hotel and addressed those present in a speech on the “Rights and Entitlements” of the GEC Old Guard members.

Because the Old Guard petitioners in the suit were members of the board of directors (GEC), the suit was filed as being on behalf of the SCV against Sweeney. This incensed the Reformers, as they pointed out that the Old Guard was voted against by nearly two-thirds of the membership and were not truly representative of the SCV. In addition, while the suit being styled as it was made sense legally, it also put Sweeney in the position of having to pay for his own legal defense, while the Old Guard intended to use the SCV treasury to pay for their side of the legal battle (which incensed the Reformers even more, if that was possible).

The result of the TRO was like an electric shock to the SCV. Within a short time 21 divisions (which is most all of them), including Kentucky, had issued resolutions condemning the actions of the Old Guard and tens of thousands of dollars came pouring in from the membership to pay for Sweeney’s defense.

Meanwhile, acting CIC Hodges and the other members of the coup quickly went about acting as a new administration—filling positions, making committee appointments, etc.—trying to create a sense of business as usual in the face of open revolt by overwhelming numbers of divisions and camps which refused to recognize their ascension to power. Beau Cantrell then went to the media and said that divisions and camps should mind their own business, and let them (the post-coup GEC) take care of national SCV business. He also said through the media that members who were upset at the coup should leave the SCV, but that suggestion was universally ignored.

Rumors began circulating that the Old Guard had proof of financial malfeasance by Sweeney (and in some rumors Ron Wilson also), and also had proof showing Sweeney was about to facilitate a takeover of the SCV by the political and modern-day secessionist League of the South. Giving the appearance of some credence to the rumors, acting CIC Hodges ordered an audit of SCV finances (even though there is an annual independent audit of the SCV finances anyway). However, the rumored evidence never materialized in the hearing or in any evidentiary submissions to the court.

Overall reaction to Hodges and the coup was so strong in terms of protest via email and phone, an announcement appeared on the SCV website stating “CIC Hodges is unavailable during the current crisis”.

Attorneys for both sides began running up large amounts of billable hours in preparation for the court hearing on March 9th that would decide if the TRO would become a permanent injunction removing Sweeney. On the 9th about 65 Sweeney supporters (wearing “Denne Sweeney is My Commander-in-Chief stickers) filled the Maury County courtroom. A few of the coup members along with a handful of supporters and AoT Commander Beasley sat to the side in the jury box.

A full description of the day-long hearing is beyond our scope to portray here, but in the end the judge ruled that the telephonic GEC meeting which removed Sweeney and other members of the GEC was not valid due to a lack of notice and care required for such an important decision. He did rule that their telephonic meeting would have been legal otherwise, stating AoT Commander Beasley’s presence did establish a quorum, and he told Beasley, “as an attorney, you knew what was going on”. He also ruled that the CIC does not have the power to suspend “designated directors” (which is what he ruled the lifetime appointed PCIC’s to be) for any reason, making it clear that he felt CIC Sweeney’s suspensions were detrimental to the SCV, and he returned the two suspended PCIC’s to the GEC. While the Old Guard took some solace in being vindicated by the court on the suspensions, clearly the ruling fell far short of what they needed for the coup to hold or to be successfully attempted again. With all the players put back in their original positions by the judge—thus returning to the stalemate status— it was time for the membership to weigh in with their opinions on where for the SCV to go next. The reaction was swift and strong; within a few days over three thousand members had submitted petitions invoking powers provided under Mississippi corporate law for the membership to call itself into convention. With the law only requiring about 1,600 petitions to call a special convention, the course was set. The Amendments and Resolutions Committee reported favorably on two amendments submitted by Chris Sullivan to be considered at the special convention. One would limit Past Commanders-in-Chief on the GEC to the last three, and the other would eliminate the non-voting Commander-General of the MOSB (who had participated in the coup) from sitting on the GEC.

Before the special convention, though, the attorneys for the GEC “coup” members who filed suit against CIC Sweeney had a “present” for the SCV—their legal bill of $45,859.07. CIC Sweeney’s legal bill was even higher, but he had never asked for the SCV national treasury to be used in paying it; instead it was paid with private donations and his own funds. His attorney quickly pointed out to the “coup” attorney that because the judge had ruled their telephonic coup meeting invalid, the corporate resolution they passed at the meeting making the SCV party to the suit didn’t happen and the legal fees would have to be collected from the individuals who filed the suit. Obviously, this meant that if the coup were successful, the SCV would have had its treasury lightened by more than $45,000, which gave the Reformers one more hot button issue to press. As this news spread in the days before the convention it appeared to bring camps normally not involved in national politics to pre-register, and dashed the hopes of the Old Guard of swaying any significant numbers of undecided camps to their arguments.

The special convention in Concord, North Carolina (suburb of Charlotte) arrived April 23rd with much anticipation. Early fears there might not be enough camps for a quorum had mostly faded—although internet traffic indicated some of the Old Guard thought there might be a chance of quorum failure (20% of all camps is a quorum). Instead, the short-notice low-cost convention turned out to be the largest in SCV history with 379 camps represented— nearly half of all SCV camps and in excess of 60 more camps than attended in Dalton last year.

Once standing rules were adopted, with only two questions before the membership things proceeded quickly. A tremendous amount of preparation had gone into making sure parliamentary procedure was followed. Not one but three professional parliamentarians oversaw conduct of the meeting, and a half-dozen parliamentary procedure students aided as microphone monitors and other jobs. The result was a very smooth flow to the meeting, and within about an hour debate had ceased and voting began. When the votes were all counted 90 minutes later the results were stunning. On the first amendment the ayes were 1565, nays 74 with 11 abstentions—an incredible 96% yes vote. The second amendment was nearly as impressive, with a 93% yes vote. All 16 camps in the Kentucky delegation voted for both amendments. A thunderous ovation greeted the voting report, and after a few more housekeeping matters the truly historic special convention of the SCV had ended—however there was a GEC meeting scheduled later that afternoon, so the day still had some SCV history to be made.

In the time before the GEC meeting, some small excitement centered around Beau Cantrell, the only coup leader who came to Concord. After the convention adjourned a member from North Carolina stood on a chair in obvious mockery of Cantrell’s Atlanta “Rights and Entitlements” speech. Cantrell took extreme exception to it. The member described the events thus:

While standing on a chair speaking to a group of compatriots at one table, I was rudely interrupted by Mark (Beau) Cantrell who had been seated at the end of another table in that area. Well, it seemed that my opinions on "Rights" and "Entitlements" conflicted with his and his violent nature erupted by him reaching out and choking me by grabbing the lanyard holding my Credentials Committee ID tag.

I told him to let go of me and he refused saying “no” and jerking tighter on the lanyard again. While not hurt in any manner by his grasp and assault and realizing (though) that he could have me seriously injured by causing me to fall from the chair to the cement floor I managed to get the violent brute to let go of me by an effective use of the English language without profanity. I never uttered a profane word to Beau.

A crowd quickly gathered, and while it was obvious that Cantrell was extremely upset, there were no punches thrown, but what exactly was being said in heated exchanges for several minutes was difficult to ascertain. Shortly a deputy sheriff arrived to investigate a disturbance. Determining that Cantrell was the source of the disturbance, the deputy asked him to leave. Cantrell refused (he was still ATM Commander and there was a GEC meeting scheduled there in an hour). The deputy then ordered him to leave and physically began moving him towards the door. Amidst some hoots from the crowd, Cantrell made an obscene gesture towards them. Someone asked the deputy if he had seen the obscenity and the deputy responded “yes, does anyone want to press charges” to which a quick “yes” was replied. Cantrell was then handcuffed and placed in the back of the cruiser, to be charged with causing a disturbance.

Soon CIC Sweeney and PCIC Wilson came outside in an effort to intervene on Cantrell’s behalf, explaining to the deputy that there was indeed a GEC meeting in a few minutes and that Cantrell was entitled to be there. The deputy released Cantrell, but stayed throughout to ensure his good behavior. No witnesses could ever recall seeing a GEC member acting thus, nor being detained so by authorities, and several expressed hopes it is never seen again.

Things were no more pleasant for Cantrell at the GEC meeting. Among the first orders of business was to deal with discipline of remaining GEC members (most of the PCIC’s now being removed by the amendment) who participated in the coup. A motion was made to remove Lt. CIC Hodges from his office. It passed with only Cantrell voting against and AoT Commander Beasley abstaining. CIC Sweeney then appointed Chris Sullivan of South Carolina to serve out the Lt. CIC term. Next up for removal was Cantrell and the vote was the same, thus ending one of the most contentious and ungentlemanly GEC terms ever. Next came AoT Councilman John French, who had been a vocal supporter of the coup. Only Beasley abstained, all others voted for removal.

Then a motion was made to censure AoT Commander Beasley for his actions during the coup crisis. Specifically it was believed by PCIC Ron Wilson that Beasley had conveniently arranged in December to be at another meeting so he could quietly support the GEC boycott but have an excuse, and Wilson believed the judge’s criticism that Beasley knew his presence on the conference call would give the coup plotters the quorum they needed. Wilson also took great exception to Beasley’s abstaining on the three previous votes in the face of the overwhelming reaction by the membership to the damaging coup. For several minutes Wilson, Army of Northern Virginia Councilman Randy Burbage and Lt. CIC Sullivan grilled Beasley about his stand (or lack thereof) during the coup, questions ranging from why Beasley sat with the Old Guard in the court hearing to conflicting stories as to why Beasley didn’t attend the December GEC meeting. The point of the line of questioning obviously being to elicit from Beasley something along the lines of a repudiation of the coup. Beasley refused to take the “bait” and either dealt with specifics of his actions, or stated that he always did what he thought best for the SCV. Finally, not getting what he was looking for from Beasley, Wilson offered a substitute motion to remove Beasley from the GEC. The motion passed, but Adjutant-in-Chief Jim Dark, Editor-in-Chief Frank Powell and PCIC Ed Deason voted against.

The sense in the room was nearly unanimous on the removals of Hodges, Cantrell and French, but was mixed concerning Beasley. In discussion allowed from the membership after the vote, several expressed opinions that Cmdr. Beasley—whatever the politics of the coup—has been an active and supportive army commander, pointing out his corporate restructuring proposal, extensive AoT traveling, Kroger fundraising program efforts and bringing informational AoT meetings to two locations.

Cmdr. Beasley has since announced that he will stand again for the AoT commander position in the special election to fill the vacancy in Nashville. At press time no other candidates had announced. Kelly Barrow of Georgia and Kevin Spargur of Florida have both announced candidacies to replace AoT Councilman French.

The GEC went on to a number of other items, including removing Beau Cantrell and Ed Cailleteau as chairmen of the Nashville reunion committee. Most important to Kentucky among the other business, though, the GEC voted $25,000 of heritage defense money to pay for legal expenses in the Jacqueline Duty case.

Finally, a long and historic day in the SCV came to an end. The Old Guard’s move to take power had backfired (barring another court ruling in their favor), and the question is what they’ll do next. There have been indications that John French (who is still Mississippi division cmdr. though removed from the GEC) will attempt to lead his division into a “secession” from the SCV. However, such reactionary moves seldom succeed fully and most members seem to be more interested in what the Reformers will do with the fact they now have the reigns. There was certainly damage done to the SCV—the coup left in its wake more than $100,000 of legal bills, tremendous resource drains on SCV manpower, the cost of the special convention, some inevitable loss of membership with such in-fighting, and traditional SCV enemies in the media have had a heyday. However, never has the SCV been so united. If that unity is focused on the true issues facing the organization, there could be a strong surge forward unlike has been seen before. Clearly the reformers have little time to celebrate: they have their work cut out to move the SCV ahead, and all eyes will be on their leadership in Nashville.

Originally published in the Spring 2005 The Lost Cause

Confederate Images: Henry C. "Billy" Magruder

2010-10-17T22:51:00.001-04:00

By Nancy Hitt

“He was buried in an unmarked grave”, “His body was moved to the other Magruder cemetery”, “He was buried on the Hilltop cemetery”, were some of the tales handed down over the years, but just where was the Confederate Partisan Henry C. “Billy” Magruder buried?

Billy joined the Buckner Guards at age 17, was at Fort Donelson and was part of the surrendered troops. Made a prisoner, he managed to escape and fought at Shiloh. He was with General Albert Sidney Johnston when Johnston was killed.

Billy joined up with Gen. John Hunt Morgan and was on the Great Raid into Ohio where Morgan was captured, but Billy was able to escape again. This time he returned to Kentucky and began a guerilla career which would lead to the gallows.

He was active in Bullitt, Breckinridge and Meade Counties during 1864 in which old scores with Unionists were settled at the end of a gun. When William C. Quantrill and his band came into Kentucky they fought side-by-side with Magruder and his men.

Near Cloverport, Kentucky the Home Guards wounded Billy. He aid Marcellus Jerome Clarke (a.k.a. Sue Mundy) along with Henry Medkiff were overtaken and captured in a barn near Webster on March 12, 1865. The Yankees gave a guarantee to Clarke to treat him as a Pris oner of War, but they broke their word and executed him in Louisville on March 15! Henry Medkiff served some time, but was paroled. Billy suf fered a wound to the lung, and was taken to Louisville and placed in the military hospital where Quantrill also lay, dying.

On June 6,1865 Quantrill died after being paralyzed in a gunfight at the Wakefield Farm on May 10th. Billy lingered and lingered while the Yanks waited for him to recover enough to be able to walk to the gal lows. He was given a sham trial and convicted on eight counts of mur der. However, the research of Stewart Cruickshank points to the fact that these ‘victims’ were either present or former Federal solders.

Billy’s mother, aunt and some other family members came to Louisville in a wagon to plead for Billy’s life, but to no avail. Gen. Palmer had his execution carried out on October 20,1865—which was more than six months after Appomattox. Poor Billy suffered from March until October in the hospital with little medical aid and yet he managed to walk on his own to his death, at the end of a Yankee noose. It is interesting to note that Catholic Father Brady ministered to both Quantrill and Magruder and may have converted both before their deaths. Father Brady was with Magruder at the scaffold and they were allowed to pray together before the execution— which took place at the same location as that of the Clarke execution, 18th and Broadway in Louisville. Today there is an his torical marker at this site.

Billy’s mother took him in the wagon to be buried, but where was that cemetery? Over 70 years ago Porter Harned, a re nowned historian of the War, was told by his older brother that Henry Magruder was buried on property which joined the Harned land on Wilson Creek between Lebanon Junction and Boston, Kentucky. This was a valuable lead in finding Billy.

Archibald Magruder was a solder of the American Revolution and Great-Grandfather to Billy. Archibald is buried in a family cemetery in Guerilla Hollow at the Bernheim Forest on Hwy 245 as this property was the original homestead before being sold to Bernheim.

Ezekial Magruder, a son of Archibald, settled South of Lebanon Junc tion and was to become a guardian of Billy along with his maternal Un cle, William Magruder. I first looked at the Magruder Cemetery at Bernheim Forest for clues, but it was confusing until I obtained a family re cord of the Magruders and was able to single out the individuals who composed the family, but Billy did not appear to be there.

Along with Betty Darnell and Steve Masden, we investigated the Ma gruder Hilltop Cemetery which is on the North side of Hwy. 61 just out of Lebanon Junction and were sur prised to find such fine monu ments, although in need of repair. We were able to determine his burial site as a space between the graves of his Aunt and Uncle (there was a squared off blank stone placed there for him). With the graciousness of the property owners, Lisa and Keith Haley, I was able to order a VA marker for Billy.

Curt and Ruby Carter with their son Travis cleared the overgrown cemetery and installed the stone in 2000. That was my very first “find” and I want to encourage everyone to keep looking for our unmarked heroes!

Originally published in the Spring, 2005 The Lost Cause

Minstrels of Death The Orphan Brigade's Suicidal charge at Murfreesboro as recorded by Capt. Dan Turney

2010-07-17T01:19:00.001-04:00

Introduction by Sam Flora

Above:

Sgt. Dan Turney in the uniform of the Hamilton Guards, Co. G, 2nd Kentucky Infantry commanded by Capt. Edward Spears. This picture may have been taken at Camp Morton after his capture at Ft. Donelson.

Daniel E. Turney was born on his parent’s home in Bourbon County, Kentucky on May 6, 1837. After growing up on the family farm, Turney embraced the cause of Southern independence in 1861. On July 22, 1861 he left Paris with nine friends, waving a new Confederate flag out the window of his railroad car over the heads of admiring Southern sympathizers and scowling Unionists. His destination was Camp Boone near Clarksville, Tennessee where like-minded Kentuckians were forming regiments to fight for the Confederacy.

Only July 24, Turney was sworn into the Confederate Army as a private in the Second Kentucky Infantry. The Second was the first regiment formed of the First Kentucky Brigade, later to known as the “Orphan Brigade”. Turney was attached to Company G, the Hamilton Guards, men recruited mainly from his home county. On August 10, 1861 Turney was elected second sergeant of the company.

The brigade went north to Bowling Green, Kentucky on September 18, 1861 to help defend the central part of the Confederate defense line in Kentucky. The Second Kentucky was sent to Fort Donelson, Tennessee to reinforce that vital link in the Confederacy’s defense of middle Tennessee. Here Turney saw his first combat as his regiment distinguished itself in its baptism of fire. On February 16 Turney became a prisoner of war when the fort was surrendered. Sent north to Indianapolis, Indiana, he would spend the next six months at Camp Morton until the regiment was exchanged in August 1862.

Rejoining the brigade at Knoxville on October 12, the Kentuckians were too late to take part in the Kentucky Campaign. On December 7^th the Second was engaged in the victory at Hartsville, Tennessee under the command of John Hunt Morgan.

The last week of 1862 found Turney and his comrades near Murfreesboro as part of General Braxton Bragg’s Army of Tennessee. Here they awaited the Federal army advancing from Nashville.

During most of his service Daniel Turney kept a diary of his experiences. The following is his account of the Battle of Stones River.

Sgt. Turney does not record that he was elected to the Confederate Roll of Honor for gallantry in the charge of January 2, 1863. He was promoted to second lieutenant of the company on February 27, 1863. He left Company G, when he was promoted to first lieutenant of Company I on October 5, 1863. He was later promoted to captain of that company.

Turney went on to fight with the Second Kentucky at Jackson, Chickamauga, Rocky Face Gap, Resaca, Dallas, Peachtree Creek, Intrenchment Creek, Utoy Creek and Jonesboro where he was slightly wounded and captured but exchanged shortly afterward in Georgia. He commanded Company I through all the mounted engagements of the brigade and was present at the brigade’s surrender at Washington, Georgia on May 6, 1865.

Capt. Turney returned to his home in Kentucky and opened a dry goods business in Paris. He married Mollie Mitchell in 1867 and they had six children. In 1869 he went into the livery and stock trading business. He later owned and operated “The Arlington”, a summer resort at Blue Licks, Kentucky.

Turney was an active member of the Orphan Brigade Association and the Confederate Veteran Association of Kentucky.

Daniel E. Turney died on March 18, 1899 at the age of sixty-two. A large crowd followed his remains to his resting place in the Paris Cemetery. The burial service of the Confederate Veteran Association was conducted at his graveside.

On the occasion of his death his old comrades and neighbors remembered him as “an honorable and upright citizen, who was generous and kind to everyone. He was always congenial, yet bold, free and outspoken on all subjects. The brave and independent spirit he showed in the war was evidenced in his successful business life. He was a popular man; few men in Bourbon had more genuine friends than he. His standard of manhood was the old time Kentucky one that measured a man by his quality and not his wealth or station.”

--------

Firing was heard in the direction of Nashville 26^th Dec./.62, also the 27 ^th – it now became evident that the Federal Army was advancing to attack us & that a general engagement was no longer doubtful.

On the morning of (the) 28^th our Division was moved to the front. We saw no enemy that day but he made his appearance on the 29^th but the day was spent in skirmishing & artillery fighting. On the 30(th) matters grew still warmer – the Artillery fighting increased, skirmishing continued – our position was in range of one of the enemy’s batteries and shell burst around us sufficient to intimidate those who had not already more than once faced the foe and experienced the horrors of a battle – in truth it was amusing to see many of our boys scampering out of range of their shot, sheltering behind trees &c. Our Comp’y was in front as skirmishers all night the 30^th – it was one of the coldest nights I ever experienced, we were not allowed to have fire, I was without a blanket – the suffering of that night I cannot describe, nor can your imaginations conceive it, none can know it save those who experienced it.

No enemy made his appearance during the night – all was quiet except the frozen wind.

Dec. 31^st 1862 –

The proceedings of this day, the horrible scenes enacted on the grounds about Murfreesboro, will be recorded in American History, in the history of this, the greatest of all civil wars. To use a Soldiers’ expression, “the Bell” was opened about daylight, we moving out and attacking the enemy. The artillery fighting was very heavy but the musketry firing surpassed anything I had ever witnessed – On our side were engaged the divisions of McCown, Cleborn, Cheatam & Withers, under Gen’l Bragg as commander in chief, and Gen’ls Hardee & Polk as commanders of corps, Hardee on the right, Polk on the left.

In the evening Gen’l Breckinridge was ordered out on the left with his Division, (except the 1^st Brigade,) made three charges driving the enemy to an impregnable position. Night closed in, the darkness alone stopping the carnage of the day and the wholesale slaughter of man.

The days’ work ended amounted as near as I can certify as follows; - we drove the enemy about five miles, captured 4000 prisoners, among them several Generals; 22 pieces Artillery; several thousand small arms; their killed and wounded was very great and supposed several times our own; We also destroyed several hundred wagons, stores, &c. The first Ky. Brigade, commanded by Gen’l. R. W. Hanson, was not in the engagement being left to support some batteries and hold a certain piece of ground, - one of the most responsible positions of the whole field – from this position we could look upon the opposing hosts as they neared each other and poured into each others’ columns the missiles of death – all stand in breathless anxiety – the booms bursting around us in our exposed position are unheeded – every moment expected to decide the fate of the day; now a yell goes up from the boys of freedom; the charge with a desperation bordering on madness; our would-be subjugators give way, they fly in wildest confusion before our rapidly advancing columns; the shouts of our brave boys go up louder and clearer than before and many a one of the retreating foe are made to bite the dust – a just fate.

Thursday, Jan. 1^st 1863

The day was spent in skirmishing, artillery firing & feeling of the enemy’s position along the whole line, clearing the fields of the trophies of yesterday’s victory & burying the dead.

Jan 2d

Besides skirmishing & throwing a few shell now and then all was quiet until about 3 1/2pm when Gen'l Breckinridge moved his division

out to attack the enemy who had crossed the river on our right and taken a strong position in a woods. Little was known of the nature of the ground the enemy occupied & we were in total ignorance of his strength or position. The General commanding was certainly much to blame for not being perfectly familiar with the battle ground for he had ample time to examine it before the fight began.

Gen’l Hanson’s Ky Brigade (except 9^th Ky. Reg. Which was left to support Cobb’s Battery) was the left wing of the front line, a Tenn. Brigade the right wing – two other Brigades formed the second line of battle.

Our orders were to move upon the woods occupied by the enemy at a double-quick and to rush upon them at a charge bayonet – the orders were strictly obeyed but there not being room for the line to maneuver between the bends of the river some confusion arose from being crowded en masse but nothing daunted, all went in with a yell and drove the enemy before them in the wildest confusion – the slaughter was great, many being left dead & wounded on the field and many killed in the fight, several hundred are taken prisoners, some cross the river and many shelter themselves under he cliffs. The rout was complete and our loss thus far was trifling. The orders were to halt at the edge of the woods beyond the range of the enemy’s grape and canister but the race was too exciting and our boys too impetuous, we could not hold, must still pursue; as well might you ask the winged lightnings to quit their celestial course or the planetary worlds to change their orbits as to bid the Southern patriot to withdraw from the slaughter of the destroyer of his peace, despoiler of his land and desecrater of his home. No; revenge was in his heart & vengeance was in his eye and he sped recklessly on regardless of his own safety’s fate.

Having advanced as far as possible for the River which left us in the form of a “V” we halted when the enemy opened several masked batteries upon us, mounting near 100 guns, at a distance of about 200 yds, and they advanced several divisions of infantry which poured upon us an enfilade fire. With the river in front we could not advance to storm their batteries nor could we reach them with our small arms from the low position we occupied; we were being flanked on our right, there was no alternative but to fall back but there was a general rally as soon as we were beyond the reach of their grape and canister when the enemy were checked by Breckinridge’s Division.

We accomplished the object of our battle – drove the enemy across the River but were unable to hold the ground taken from him owing to his strong commanding position.

There never was a more gallant charge than that of this evening – the only possible fault was the too great impetuosity of the troops which cost many a brave life.

After the fight we held the same position as previous to it. We lost three pieces of Artillery and 1700 men in killed, wounded and missing. Loss of the enemy supposed equal, if not greater than ours, with several hundred prisoners.

After successfully checking the enemy our (Hanson’s) Brigade was moved back to our former position on “the Hill”. We spent a most uncomfortable night being visited by a cold rain to which we were horribly exposed.

Saturday – Rained almost incessantly all day & we had no shelter to protect us from the falling torrents and freezing winds.

About 8 p.m. the enemy made a charge upon a portion of our line – and heavy firing continued for some time. From our position we could witness the action by the light of the discharged pieces. I have no words To describe the grandeur of the scenes – it beggars description. From each side went up an almost solid flame of living fire and the cannons were belching forth their deadly missiles, red with burning rage; and the bacchanalian yells of the contending forces were given freely to the breeze. The heavens were lighted up by the minstrels of death and night rendered hideous by their awful sounds. ‘Twas a grand, a sublime but a horrible sight – there was eloquence even in the bleak darkness which followed when we were left awhile to our meditations.

When the engagement begun we were ordered into our pits which were several inches in water and we were compelled to remain there until all was over; almost unconscious of our own situation so deep was the interest we took in the engagement progressing on our left.

Sunday – Were called into line at 1 O’c A.M. & immediately commenced a retreat, our Brigade being in rear. Rained until daylight. We made a slow retreat as far as Alizon where we arrived Jan. 7./ 63. and remained until 9^th when we moved back to Tullahoma, where Hardee’s corps was camped while Polk’s was at Shelbyville.

Our suffering upon this retreat was very great. It was in midst of winter and I had no blanket. During the day I would drag wearily along & when night came I would lay me down with no bed but the wet, cold ground; no covering but the bleak, frozen clouds; the chilling winter winds & an icy atmosphere as constant companions and an unappeased appetite a faithful fried, but tired and exhausted I would sleep and sleeping dream of home and all its comforts, - perhaps never more to be enjoyed by me, - of flaming fires – just beyond my reach – of sumptuous feasts – but not set for me – ‘Twas only a dream.

Originally published in the Winter, 2005 The Lost Cause

Sgt. William W. Weathered Remembered by Lexington Police, SCV

2010-07-10T01:17:00.002-04:00

A ceremony to honor the service and memory of William Weathered was held at his gravesite in the Confederate lot in Section P of the Lexington Cemetery on Sunday, November 7, 2004 at 2:00 pm.

William Weathered served as a sergeant in the Second Kentucky Cavalry as part of the famous command of General John Hunt Morgan, C.S.A. After the war he served as a police officer for the city of Lexington for many years and was killed in the line of duty while making an arrest in 1894.

Weathered’s grave marker had deteriorated to become nearly unreadable and its foundation sinking. It has been completely restored due to the efforts of the John C. Breckinridge Camp #100, Sons of Confederate Veterans and the Morgan’s Men Association. Members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Morgan’s Men Association, Lexington Fraternal Order of Police and the Sons of Union Veterans participated in the ceremony. 4th Kentucky Co. F reenactors provided the volley salute.

At 3:00 pm on the same day the Breckinridge camp attended the dedication of new grave markers for two Union veterans and a Spanish-American War veteran in nearby Section I-1 sponsored by the Sgt. Elijah P. Marrs Camp #5, Sons of Union Veterans.

Above: Officer Tommy Puckett from the Lexington Police Dept. recounts the events surrounding Sgt. Weathered’s sacrifice. Below: Camp #100 Commander Sam Flora and Past Commander David Gess unveil the new marker

Confederate Images: William Francis Corbin

2010-07-03T01:16:00.001-04:00

By Capt. J. C. DeMoss (from 1897 Confederate Veteran) Darlene Mercer and Joey Oller

In the Summer of 1860, J. C. Demoss raised an independent military company, of which he was chosen captain and his friend William Francis Corbin was made first lieutenant. Gen. Buckner was in command of the state forces. This company was received, armed, and equipped in the “regulation gray.”

In the Summer of 1862 the company was called into camp, with many other companies, near Cynthiana, for state drill and general military instruction. This was during the period of “armed neutrality” in Kentucky . During this encampment the chivalric spirit took possession of the soldiers, nearly all of them determining to join the Confederate army. DeMoss induced his company to deliver their arms to the state authorities, but Corbin and a score of the company made their way through the Federal lines to Paris, Ky., where on September 25 they were sworn into the Confederate States service and joined Capt. Tom Moore’s company of the Fourth Kentucky Cavalry. Corbin was at once commissioned as captain, but had no command, and he spent that winter with Moore’s company in the mountains of Virginia.

In March following Capt. Corbin was sent to Kentucky to raise a company. On his way out of his native state with the recruits secured, he was captured near Rouse’s Mill, in Pendleton County, April 8, 1863, with Jefferson McGraw. They were assured that they should have terms as regular prisoners of war, but it was given on May 5, from Johnson’s Island, that they had been tried by court martial, and were to be shot in ten days. This action by the authorities was in pursuance of an order from Gen. Burnside, issued at Cincinnati, April 13, after they were captured. Intense zeal was maintained by Miss Corbin, the sister, who enlisted many prominent Union people’s petition, but without avail. She appealed to Gen. Burnside, but in vain. His only reply was that he had determined to make an example of those two men, and that he would not even recommend clemency.

There are pathetic reminiscences in connection with efforts to save Capt. Corbin and Comrade McGraw. Miss Corbin determined to appeal to Lincoln himself and made the long and difficult journey to Washington. While en route, the guardianship of family friend J.C. DeMoss was insufficient to protect this distraught young woman from the insults and vulgar behavior of the yankee troops with whom they were forced to share their train car.

After she was refused an audience with the President, an eloquent, earnest letter was written by Miss Corbin, begging for her brother's life. The "compassionate" Lincoln declined to even read the letter.

Rev. Dr. Sunderland, pastor of the church at which Lincoln worshiped in Washington sought his consideration, but Mr. Lincoln declined to be informed upon the subject, claiming these men were “bridge burners, etc.”

Hope was maintained until the last, and the officers in charge at Johnson’s Island delayed the execution until the last moment. Captain DeMoss had gone there, and reports the events of May 16th, 1863:

“After reading and prayer Capt. Corbin said, speaking of himself, that life was just as sweet to him as to any man; he was ready to die, and did not fear death; he had done nothing he was ashamed of, but had acted on his own conviction, and was not sorry for what he had done; he was fighting for a principal, which in the sight of God and man, and in the view of death which awaited him, he believed was right, and, feeling this, he had nothing to fear in the future. He closed his talk by expressing his faith in the promises of Christ and his religion. To see this man, standing in the presence of an audience composed of officers, privates and prisoners of all grades, chained to and bearing his ball, and bearing it alone, presenting the religion of Christ to others while exemplifying it himself, was a scene which would melt the strongest heart, and when he took his seat every ear was softened and every eye bathed in tears.”

McGraw received the same sentence. The two young men met their doom manfully. The condemned men were allowed a last interview with Mr. DeMoss and then two hours later were marched out of their cells, each surrounded by 12 men. They were blindfolded and seated upon their coffins in preparation for death. They both appeared to observers to be calm and resigned to their mutual fate. Not so the firing squad. Their anxiety was so intense that one man fainted when the order to fire was given. Corbin’s body was brought back to the family graveyard and laid to rest in the family cemetery. McGraw was buried in his church cemetery where the UDC later erected a monument over his grave.

Mr. DeMoss accompanied both bodies back to Cincinnati where he was rejoined by the grieving sister, Melissa Corbin. With breaking heart, the two of them brought the remains of the courageous young soldiers back to Kentucky. Will Corbin was buried on his family's farm alongside a brother who had died 10 months before. Jeff McGraw was then carried to the Flagg Springs Baptist Church where he was laid to rest. (McGraw's grave was later marked by the U.D.C and the cemetery is well maintained by the congregation.)

Their families' anguish was not yet over. Both young men were the sons of widowed mothers. Mrs. McGraw took her younger children and left the area soon after the burial. Mrs. Corbin, who had buried half of her children in less than a year's time, did not long survive her soldier son.

On July 3, 2002, Joey Oller (Ky. Division SCV Grave Registrar) and Darlene Mercer (Ky. Division UDC Historian) made a pilgrimage to the Corbin farm in California, Kentucky where they were warned that the difficult to climb to cemetery might be overgrown. They carried with them flags and flowers to be left in tribute when the grave was located. The cemetery was indeed "overgrown." Stones were overturned and broken, some being driven several inches into the ground. Fallen trees and weeds obstructed the way as the two searchers tried vainly to locate the final resting place of Capt. William Francis Corbin. This was not the neglect of one or two seasons. It was obvious that no one had been near the spot in years.

Nancy Hitt joined the search on the next trip, and through much effort, the exact location of Capt. Corbin’s final resting place was found, the cemetery restored, and the new marker was placed this year. The neglect of his gravesite was one injustice done to Captain Corbin for which something could be done. The injustice done to him and his family by the yankees is eternal.

Originally published in the Winter 2005 The Lost Cause

“Look Away!” A History of the Confederate States of America

2010-06-26T01:14:00.000-04:00

By William C. Davis

The Free Press 2002

Reviewed by Bill Cunningham

Most people think of the Confederate States of America in terms of waging war against the Northern invasion. It is largely forgotten that for four years there were two sovereign nations on the American soil. The Confederates, in addition to supporting the war effort, had to go about the more mundane business of state craft such as raising revenues, allocating monies for public services, maintaining law and order, and making sure the mail got delivered.

It proved not to be easy.

The essence of the day-to-day life of the Confederate government is captured in this overlooked work by WBTS historian William C. Davis of Blacksburg, Virginia. Scores of tomes have dealt with the War, its generals and battles, but this creative work deals with the Southern nation itself—the Confederate States of America.

The Confederate States of America functioned with its own constitution, executive branch, judicial branch, legislation and seat of government. It’s interesting to discover how the strong states’ rights advocates learned that successful nation-building demanded the surrender of many local prerogatives. The Confederate political leaders were required to bring together a conglomeration of states into one cohesive country—galvanize it to fight a war and to govern its people at the same time.

“Look Away” gives one the impression that this monumental challenge was doomed from the beginning. At the organizational meeting in Montgomery in 1861, there were too many selfish interests, including slave mongering—fire eaters such as Robert Barnwell Rhett of South Carolina who had advocated secession as early as the 1830’s. He and others clashed with moderates who placed states’ rights as top priority and were even open to the possibility of non-slave states being admitted to the Confederacy in the future.

There was constant bickering between the states as to how much power should be centered in Richmond as opposed to the various state capitals. These founding fathers of the new nations of the South quickly found that nation-building was not as easy as once thought. Radical decentralization led to chaos and confusion when attempting to wage war and permit local autonomy at the same time.

The infrastructure of the South, especially later in the war when the Union forces gobbled up more and more of the Southern real estate, became increasingly difficult to maintain. Even law and order broke down as huge hunks of manpower were pulled away from small towns and villages leaving them exposed to lawlessness. In the lower South slaves outnumbers whites and they began to wander and pillage at will in some communities.

And then there was the political bickering and infighting which undermined the administration of Jefferson Davis. Davis pushed for more authority to be invested in Richmond and sought high tariffs to help finance the war effort. Both measures were seen as contradictory by some to the secessionists’ main purpose. President Davis is portrayed by the writer as having some strengths, but also burdened with an impossible task destined to failure by the very definition of his new country. Yet at the same time, in the end especially, Jeff Davis is cast as a stubborn fanatic, without vision and without the common sense to know when the Confederacy was beaten and on the verge of ruination.

It is the clear opinion of this book that by far the best selection for the job would have been Kentucky’s own John Cabell Breckinridge, and that if Kentucky had uniformly seceded early the job would have been his. He is correctly portrayed as a moderate, and one of the bright and shining lights of the South, equal in character and ability with Robert E. Lee. Historian Davis states that just prior to the war Breckinridge was the “most revered statesman in the South.”

He had served as vice-President of the United States from 1857-1861. Though obtaining his high military rank purely by his political reputation, he nevertheless became a very effective and well-respected commander involved in numerous major encounters. Very late in the life of the Confederacy, Breckinridge was appointed Secretary of War. By all accounts he “played a poor hand well”, striving gallantly to salvage what he could of a sinking ship.

At the end of the war, when President Davis became divorced from reality, Breckinridge—after conferring with Lee—put forth to the conquering Union General William T. Sherman his own secret peace plan. It would have made the readmission of the Southern states much easier and with less rancor than ultimately came with reconstruction. Sherman forwarded the proposal to Washington. Unfortunately Lincoln, who had previously shown favor to such a deal, died before it could be considered.

This dramatic information, along with other stories of the day-to-day life of the Confederate nation makes for very interesting reading by anyone enthralled with the history of the War for Southern Independence.

Closer to home, the book sadly reminds us that the brilliant career of John C. Breckinridge was permanently derailed by the War. It was not only Kentucky’s loss, but the nation’s.

Bill Cunningham is a Circuit Judge, serving Kentucky’s 56th Judicial Circuit. Judge Cunningham is also an author concentrating on regional history. His books include "Flames in the Wind," "On Bended Knee," "The Night Rider Story," "Kentucky's Clark," "Castle, The Story of a Kentucky Prison," and his own novel, "Children of Promise". His public career includes 30 years in the criminal justice system. He also served the United States in Germany, Vietnam, and Korea.

Originally published in the Winter, 2005 The Lost Cause

Bennett Young and the Missing Medal

2010-06-20T10:00:00.006-04:00

Kentuckian Bennett Henderson Young early in life studied to be a Presbyterian minister, but soon found himself robbing banks for the Confederate cause. He survived through dangerous and trying times to become an outstanding Louisville attorney, an author of many books on a variety of subjects, a Confederate benefactor and a philanthropist.

Bennett Young was born May 25, 1843, on a farm in Jessamine County near the town of Nicholasville, the son of Robert and Josephine Henderson Young. When the War for Southern Independence started in April, 1861, Bennett Young was a student at the Bethany Academy in Nicholasville.

In September, 1861, Young entered Centre College, a Presbyterian school, located in Danville, Kentucky. He intended to study for the ministry, but was taken ill in 1862 with typhoid fever and had to discontinue his education.

By September 10, 1862, he was a Private in Company B, 8th Kentucky Cavalry under the command of Confederate Gen. John Hunt Morgan. Young served in Quirk’s Scouts during 1863 and rode with Morgan during the Great Raid into Indiana and Ohio. He was captured in July of 1863 and imprisoned atCamp Douglas near Chicago, Illinois.

Young was able to escape and cross into Canada. He made his way back to the South sailing through the blockade from Nova Scotia to Bermuda, and reportedly on to Richmond, Virginia. Young proposed, and Secretary Seddon approved (commissioning Young a Lieutenant), to return to Canada and undertake missions into the U.S. from there.

Once back in Canada, Lt. Young was able to recruit other escaped Confederates and form his own company named Young’s 5^th Company Retributors CSA. Some of these young men orchestrated the most northern raid made by any Confederate land forces. On October 19, 1864, Lieutenant Young’s small unitraided the town of St. Albans, Vermont. The raiders were able to take more than $200,000 in greenbacks from several Yankee banks, but failed in their second objective to burn the town. Only one civilian was killed during this short visit to St. Albans. After crossing back into Canada they were arrested. However, a Canadian court determined that they were acting under legal military orders, and that Canada - being neutral in the conflict - would not turn them over to the U.S. Canada did return about $88,000 of the money the raiders had on them to Vermont.

After the War ended, President Andrew Johnson did not include individuals such as Lt. Bennett Young in his amnesty proposal. Young was able to make his way to Ireland. Some authors have reported that he studied law at the University of Ireland and at the University of Edinburgh. Other researchers say he may have studied in Canada as well.

In 1868, he was able to safely return to Kentucky and settle down in the city of Louisville where he became a prominent attorney. He married Mattie Robinson and they had two children.

The list of Young’s accomplishments is legion. He was instrumental in developing the Monon Railroad and the Kentucky and Indiana Bridge, and became President of the Louisville Southern Railway.

Young’s High Bridge was named for him in 1888 for the Louisville Southern Railway at Tyrone, Kentucky. It stands today as a unique and unaltered cantilever bridge over the Kentucky River. The bridge is no longer in use, but there have been ongoing efforts to find a way to utilize it. Bridge enthusiasts from all over the country visit Young’s High Bridge to study its design. It contains no middle piers and trains traveled over the top of the bridge instead of through the center of the structure.

Young was a representative to the 1878 Paris Exposition and was named President of the Louisville Public Library. He was instrumental in the formation of our current Kentucky Constitution as a member of the 1890 Constitutional Convention. Young was selected to be National Commander of the United Confederate Veterans and was made an honorary lifetime commander. It is likely he received the rank of Colonel within the United Confederate Veterans Association.

Colonel Young was an active Confederate benefactor. He was chosen President of the Davis Home Association and under his direction, the Jefferson Davis monument was brought to completion in Fairview, Kentucky, the birthplace of President Davis. He was very much involved in the creation of the Confederate Veterans Home in Pewee Valley, Kentucky. He was an advisor during the construction of the Captain Henry Wirz U.D.C. monument in Andersonville, Georgia.

From Page 162 of Valor in Gray by Gregg S. Clemmer: “On his own initiative, he organized the Bellwood Seminary and Presbyterian Normal School for orphan girls, ultimately contributing thousands of dollars of his own money when funds ran low. For many years Bennett Young—he was “General” Young now to his friends in Louisville—served as President of the Kentucky School For the Blind, regaling youngsters well into the 20^th century with his stories of the war times. When he gave of himself for the benefit of his community, he worked for all. In 1879, he quietly led the effort to establish the Colored Orphan’s Home, serving as president of the charity for more than two decades. For 50 years, he had superintended the afternoon Sunday school at Stuart Robinson Memorial Church.”

Much of his legal work for the poor was done pro bono and the list of his generosities goes on and on.

In addition, Young somehow found time to be a prolific author. A partial bibliography is at the end of this article. Confederate Wizards of the Saddle: Being Reminiscences and Observations of One Who Rode with Morgan is probably his best known work among students of the War for Southern Independence. However, The Prehistoric Men of Kentucky became a widely recognized archeological text (yes, Young gained a passion for archeology in the 1890's), and A History of Jessamine County, Kentucky remained a standard textbook in Jessamine County schools for many decades. Dr. Gander of Youngland was a posthumous publication gathering tales Young read to the children at the blind asylum (and was also published in Braille).

It is reported that when Colonel Young visited Montreal, Canada, in 1911, a group of dignitaries (including a Vermont congressman) from St. Albans called on him at the Ritz-Carlton. The event was recorded in the Montreal papers, and apparently rather than being hated in St. Albans, Young had become something of a legend. Greeting the Vermont visitors in his uniform, Young had apparently brought with him ample stocks of Kentucky bourbon as gifts, which helped make the evening a very cordial one.

Colonel Young’s home known as “Youngland” is located in the southwestern part of Louisville at the corner of Youngland Avenue and Dixie Highway. This fine brick building stood empty and in a state of disrepair for years. Fortunately, it has now been rehabbed into attractive apartments.

It is said of Col. Bennett Young that he lived an exemplary life and was never known to play cards, use tobacco, drink or utter a word that could not be repeated before any woman. He died on February 23, 1919, and is buried at Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville.

Young was placed on the honor roll for a Southern Medal of Honor for the St. Alban's raid. According to, Valor in Gray: “His (Young’s) Confederate Medal of Honor is on permanent public display at the Kentucky Military Museum in Frankfort, Kentucky.” A spokesman at the Kentucky Historical Society which operates the Military Museum informed us that they have never had his medal! This is not true, as Past SCV Kentucky Division Commander, the late Frank Rankin, had presented the medal to the Museum. There was some postulation that Rankin had retrieved the medal, but on his death a complete inventory of his collection was taken and Young's medal was not there. The museum is operated in part by the Kentucky Historical Society, and considering the hostility towards Kentucky Confederate history regularly seen from the KHS leadership, the theory that political correctness led to Young's medal being "misplaced" has been popular.

Fortunately, the Sons of Confederate Veterans has had Young's Medal of Honor replaced. The new medal was presented to Division Commander Hiter this past May by SCV Executive Director Ben Sewell (a member of Camp 100) when both were in Vicksburg for the Kentucky Confederate Monument dedication there, and Cmdr. Hiter entrusted it to now Lt. Division Commander John Suttles, who had arranged for the medal to be on permanent display at the Tilghman House Museum in Paducah - a museum wholly owned by the Sons of Confederate Veterans. There it will be displayed proudly, and will not fall victim easily to neglect or political correctness.

Colonel Bennett Henderson Young’s large grave marker is designed with an open bible and engraved upon the open pages are these words: I Have Kept the Faith. Indeed, he did.

Thanks are in order to my friend, Stewart Cruickshank of Nashville, Tennessee, for shedding light on Bennett Young’s Confederate military service.

Photo by John Suttles.

The following is a partial list by date of articles and books written by Colonel Young:

In 1890, Eight Years of Presbyterian Evangelistic Work in Kentucky

In 1898, A History of Jessamine County, Kentucky

In 1903, The Battle of the Thames: in which Kentuckians defeated the British, French and Indians, October 5,1813: with a list of the officers and privates who won the victory

In 1907, Kentucky Eloquence Past and Present, Library of Orations, After-Dinner Speeches, Popular and Classic Lectures Addresses and Poetry

In 1908, Complaint of Bennett H. Young et al Against the Synod of Kentucky 1908

In 1910, The Prehistoric Men of Kentucky

In 1914, Confederate Wizards of the Saddle: Being Reminiscences and Observations of One Who Rode with Morgan

In 1914, Colonel Roy S. Cluke’s Kentucky Raid, Forrest’s Pursuit and Capture of Streight, Forrest at Bryce’s Cross Roads all were published in the National Magazine

In 1921, Dr. Gander of Youngland

Nancy Hitt – 2010 hunleyhitt@earthlink.net

Camp Feature: Col. Ben E. Caudill #1629

2010-06-19T01:12:00.001-04:00

Nestled in the beautiful mountains of Eastern Kentucky is the largest Sons of Confederate Veterans camp in the state. It is only fitting since this area was known as the Confederate stronghold in Kentucky during the Great Struggle. The camp is primarily made up of members from Letcher County Kentucky but also includes Perry, and Breathitt Counties as part of its base. The Colonel Ben E. Caudill Camp #1629 was founded in 1994 and now has a total of 108 men and continues to grow. What has contributed to their phenomenal growth? The answer may lie in the variety of activities that they endorse and sponsor. The primary mission of the camp is to honor its ancestors by perpetuating and emulating the honorable values that characterized the brave men that fought for the Confederacy.

One particular area of focus has greatly helped in the growth of the camp. Most all of the membership descends from ancestors who fought under the camp’s namesake – Colonel Ben Caudill in the 13^th Kentucky Cavalry - which was based in and around Whitesburg and Letcher County Kentucky. Many members are not only kin is some way to Colonel Caudill but some have as many as fifty or more ancestors who fought in this regiment. For this reason the continued study of the 13^th Kentucky and its battles holds captivating interest for members of the Caudill Camp.

By far the camp’s most remarkable accomplishment has been in locating and marking the graves of soldiers from Eastern Kentucky. When organized there were three Confederate military markers in the camp’s base area. In less than ten years the Colonel Ben Caudill Camp has set 636 Confederate markers for Eastern Kentucky soldiers located in located in forty-four Kentucky counties and thirteen states. With a focus on Colonel Caudill’s 13^th Kentucky, the camp has marked 466 soldiers from this regiment (one as far away as Colorado) and located 664 gravesites of soldiers from the 13^th. The location of stones placed by the camp by county is as follows: Bath- 3, Bell- 1, Breathitt- 106, Carroll- 1, Carter- 4, Casey- 1, Clark- 3, Elliott- 7, Floyd- 43, Franklin- 1, Greenup- 3, Harlan- 1, Jackson- 3, Johnson- 8, Knott- 80, Laurel- 3, Lawrence- 1, Lee- 4, Leslie- 3, Letcher- 113, Lewis- 3, Madison- 6, Magoffin- 6, Mason- 3, Menifee- 13, Montgomery- 5, Morgan- 47, Owsley- 4, Perry- 81, Pike- 5, Powell- 1, Rowan- 13, Wayne- 1, Whitley- 1, Wolfe- 14, other states: Arkansas- 1, Colorado-1, Florida- 1, Indiana- 1, Missouri- 3, Ohio- 1, Oklahoma- 1, Tennessee-1, Virginia- 29, West Virginia – 2.

Many of these graves are in extremely remote, steep locations hidden deep in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky. Many are accessible only by 4WD vehicle or on foot. The basis of this effort is a constant, daily devotion to research. The Caudill Camp has assembled a dedicated team of professional researchers in eight counties who over the years have developed specific skills in finding lost burial sites. This team has spent countless hours seeking out lost records in courthouses and libraries across the state and in interviewing family members throughout the country in order to track down information that has ultimately led to the discovery of detailed family information, photographs and burial sites of Confederate soldiers.

They have conducted 132 memorial gravesite services in uniform, and continue researching, recording and guarding the historical truths of the soldiers willing to die for their cause. The camp offers living history as well as educational programs at schools, civic organizations and supports brother camps through out the region. Several of the members are active in reenactments and are associated with the Southern Guard Battalion as well as the 6^th Kentucky, Company A Reenactment Group. They host the Battle of Leatherwood in Perry County Kentucky in October and are involved with the Wildcat, Chavies, Barbourville, and Whitesburg reenactments to name a few. They have served on community committees that have developed a Miner’s Memorial second to none and are active within the community. They are part of the adopt-a-highway program, having adopted 5 miles from the Virginia / Kentucky line on Rt. 23 and 119. They have met with the Letcher County Fiscal Court and the Jenkins City Council to propose a $20,000 monument to the War Between the States. It will be placed beside the new Welcome Center on top of Pound Gap where several battles and skirmishes occurred.

They have within their midst avid writers who have had several articles published in magazines and books. Lt. Commander David Chaltas has written several books including an excellent work entitled The Legend and Legacy of Lee. Camp commander Faron Sparkman has written A Sifter Full of Bullets, an in-depth biography on his great-great grandfather who served in the 5^th Kentucky Infantry and 13^th Kentucky Cavalry with an emphasis on the experience of the Confederate soldiers from Eastern Kentucky.

The camp has set several flag poles throughout the area honoring not only those men that fought in the War Between the States but also flagpoles as well as military markers for Revolutionary soldiers and other wars. They are blessed with a wonderful webmaster and a newsletter staff that offers others updated news of the most recent events. The camp has strong affiliations with the Daughters of Revolutionary Soldiers, Daughters of the South, Ladies Aid Society, Southern Guard and the East Kentucky Blacksmith Association. If you wish to review their site, go to www.bencaudill.com. Their goals are unwavering, as they look forward to continued growth based in no small part due to their ongoing historical research among Eastern Kentucky families, marking Confederate graves, and strong community involvement through reenactments, dedication services, and school and civic group presentations.

Originally published in the Summer, 2004 The Lost Cause

Saving The President

2010-06-12T09:58:00.000-04:00

By Don Shelton

As we have been anticipating for long time (see last issue), the hysteria of political correctness finally prevailed upon a state legislator to propose removing the Jefferson Davis statue from the capitol rotunda in Frankfort. Rep. Paul Bather (D-Louisville) introduced HJR119 on February 4th. The Kentucky Division, SCV was in action within hours, working with contacts in Frankfort and implementing a 3-pronged plan of attack. The first phase was a basic call for our members and friends in other organizations like the OCR, UDC and reenacting units to contact their legislators. This was a large mobilization involving internet and phone contact “trees”, getting hundreds of people involved within a few days. The next phase was to concentrate on members —especially the leadership— of the State Government committee where the resolution was sent, with “personal contacts”. By this we meant getting people these key legislators knew personally to contact them. This can be much more effective than e-mails from constituents they don’t know personally— we were after their barber, their brother-in-law, etc. This type of networking can require a lot of legwork, but in the end, through a series of these personal contacts, we were able to get friends and spouses of key committee members to lobby for President Davis. It doesn’t get any more personal than that. Due to the makeup of the committee, much of this special effort fell upon the Western Brigade, and Cmdr. Fred Wilhite had the troops looking hard for those important connections. The final step was a direct meeting with the committee members. A six-man task force met in Frankfort the next week for the committee meeting. Donning “Save President Davis” buttons, there we were able to gain personal assurances from many committee members, especially the chairman Charles Geveden, that they would stop the resolution. The power to prevent HJR119 from even being considered by the committee resided with Chairman Geveden. With his assurance that he would use that power to bottle the resolution up (and a majority of the committee saying they would vote against it even if it were to be considered) we only had to watch and make sure these legislators were good to their word. And they were.

When the dust settled, the SCV had mobilized hundreds of people within a few days in a coordinated plan that had a real effect. When our task force met with the committee the legislators were obviously impressed. They were very curious as to who had put together so many e-mails, phone calls, and personal contacts on a bill so recently introduced that most legislators weren’t even aware of it yet. It is good for them to know we are watching. Our people were able to do all this without getting the media into an uproar. The legislators felt like there was a furor, but since the media didn’t know, they weren’t able to get a feeding frenzy of Davis-bashing started like they did last year during the primary elections.

A few weeks later the sponsor, Paul Bather, realized that his resolution wasn’t going anywhere and tried to get the media going by putting out a press release and hijacking a Black History month event to turn it into a press conference on the Davis statue. A contact in Frankfort tipped us off about the “press conference” and warned that the media present had taken Bather’s bait. Thanks to this we were able to put an already prepared statement from our division in the hands of the press before the stories hit. In this statement we pointed out that Bather’s main objection in the resolution was Davis’ support of secession. So then we hit Bather with his own hypocrisy reminding the press that he was a leader in the recent movement for secession of sections of Louisville. Perhaps partly because we were prepared to fire back, but certainly because Bather had waited too late in the session (the budget debate was consuming most of the attention already), media coverage was minimal—despite the story being placed on the AP wire. The media frenzy that “Issues for Us” had been able to manufacture before wasn’t going materialize to help them this time.

In the end HJR119 died as an orphan. It didn’t have a single co-sponsor, and in the dozens of legislators we polled none save Bather supported it. Bather is not seeking re-election, so it can be hoped that the voters in his district will send someone to Frankfort who will work on real issues.

Now the issue of protection for the Davis statue moves back to the Kentucky Military Heritage Commission (KMHC), where the application for protection has languished for many months. There the wheels of bureaucracy have moved slowly, with the Legislative Research Commission (LRC) using its powers to take away the ability of the KMHC to enact protection for a very long time. The problems with the LRC appear to have been cleared up, and we will be lobbying to the KMHC to do its job as soon as possible.

Originally Published in the Summer, 2004 The Lost Cause

Georgia Flag Rally Report

2010-06-04T02:29:00.001-04:00

Hundreds of Real Georgia flag supporters marched to the capitol on April 1st, 2004 including a few Kentuckians. The sea of flags circling the capitol building was a beautiful site. The event sent a clear message to legislators: it’s not over. In spite of a bogus referendum in which the ‘56 or Real Georgia flag was not included, support for a true vote of the citizens of Georgia is very strong, and the SCV won’t be quitting any time soon. Over

400 marchers took to the streets in support of the Real Georgia state flag on short notice, and on a weekday (photo provided by Southern Party of Georgia).

Originally published in the Summer 2004 The Lost Cause

New Mural Highlights Hart County’s CSA Heritage

2010-05-28T04:14:00.000-04:00

by Joey Oller

A new mural, commissioned by the Tourism Council, on the town square in Munfordville depicts the WBTS history of Hart County. Although the mural attempts to be fair to both sides, it clearly is over-shadowed by the rich Confederate history of the county. In September the General Ben Hardin Helm camp will host a booth during the Hart County CW Days which highlights the 1862 battle where union forces surrendered to Gen. Simon B. Buckner. Robert Cull, Lt. Cmdr. of the GBHHelm Camp will also conduct the annual memorial service at the Confederate Cemetery, where over 28 Mississippi soldiers are buried. The Hart County CW Days is one of the Helm Camp's major activities for the year.

Originally Published in the Summer 2004 The Lost Cause

2003 Castorina Report

2010-05-21T04:12:00.000-04:00

The Castorina v. Madison School Board case was settled in our favor over a year ago now, and we have had dealings with more than two dozen school systems in its wake. Some school systems have—after initial resistance—realized that the 6th Circuit case law is unavoidable and have complied with this basic constitutional tenet: students do not shed their rights at the schoolhouse doors, and singling out Southern students for different treatment is unconstitutional. So far 9 school systems have done complete turnarounds in Kentucky on their bans of Confederate symbols. Others are still pondering their responsibilities in the matter, and a few have chosen to challenge the 6th Circuit ruling. One school system in particular—at this point to remain nameless, but not for long– has chosen to belligerently challenge Castorina and are likely to be the next school system to find themselves in court. The Kentucky division has already spent money on legal retainer for the case. Many school systems will be watching—did we just “get lucky” in Madison County, or have we truly created a powerful legal tool? As always, money will be our greatest need if and when “Castorina II” becomes a reality.

The news is mostly positive, though, as we are seeing the “ripple effects” of CastorinaCastorina to change a school system’s improper behavior. continue. In some cases we’ve simply given instructional and legal material to parents and they have been able to take the situation successfully from that point. We are also heartened to hear reports from elswhere - Ohio, Tennessee and even Illinois and other states not in the 6th Circuit where camps and parents have been able to use

We have 3 tools available for these school situations:

¨ “Castorina Kit” - this is the 6th Circuit decision, legal filings and letters which—if given to a school system and their attorney—show them just what Castorina is and what it means for them. Very powerful.

¨ “Approaching School Systems About Respecting the Rights of Southern Students” - a “how-to” guide available only to SCV camps dealing with these situations. It gives much of the story behind Castorina and what works best in dealing with school systems based on our experiences.

¨ 2003 Kentucky Heritage Report Video—this is about 12 minutes of TV news reports, mostly on Castorina and the Jefferson Davis statue (it is the video that was shown at the division reunion in Georgetown). It is on a CD which plays on your computer using Windows Media player. Educational and entertaining (it is especially fun to watch one school superintendent whine on camera about the courts “forcing” her to comply)

To request these materials, send $2 for postage to: Don Shelton, 110 Apple Grove, Nicholasville, KY 40356

Originally Published in the Spring 2004 The Lost Cause

Details for the 2010 Kentucky Division Reunion

2010-05-14T16:52:00.002-04:00

Sons of Confederate Veterans

Corbin, KY

Moses Hamblin, Commander, Cumberland Brigade

The Cumberland Brigade of the KY Division invites you to the 2010 KY Division Reunion.

The Reunion will be held at the Corbin Technology Center on June 18 & 19. Registration for the event is $25.00 per person (includes the 2010 Reunion Medal). Please have your registration in the mail no later than 1 June 2010; make your check payable to Pvt. E. F. Arthur Camp 1783 SCV and mail it to: Jimmy Hendrickson, P.O. Box 1351 Corbin, KY 40702. Late and/or walk up registration fee is $30.00. Additional medals can be purchased for only $5.00.

Lunch on Saturday will be “on your own” at any of the fine restaurants in the area. Friday evening gathering for early arrivals will be held at a location to be announced later.

Lodging is available at several area motels: Those located at Exit 25 of I-75 are – Best Western, Holiday Inn Express, Country Inn and Suites; at Exit 29 you have the following choices – Baymont Inn, Comfort Inn & Suites, Hampton Inn, and Fairfield Inn. Please contact one of these establishments to arrange accommodations (sorry no special discounts available).

Directions to the Tech Center are as follows:

I-75 exit 25, North on US 25W to Appleby’s Restaurant then turn right, proceed to the tech center on your left (first building).

Questions should be directed to acting Brigade Commander Moses Hamblin (606-528-5333) or email Chaplain J. W. Binion at pastorjwb3@yahoo.com.

2003 Division and National Reunion Reports

2010-05-14T04:10:00.000-04:00

By Don Shelton

The 2003 SCV national reunion in Asheville is now history, and finding a single word to describe it remains elusive; “interesting”, “conflicted” and even “amusing” fall far short. However, Kentucky’s praises were sung repeatedly in national and department reports for successes in Castorina free-speech cases, and in implementation of the Kentucky Military Heritage Act.

The Kentucky Soiree’ was a huge success; with three rooms, there was enough space for everyone, and for an enormous 10 x 15 foot 3rd National flag provided by John Bersot. We had visits from such SCV luminaries as CIC Ron Wilson, past CIC's Ed Deason and Rick Griffin, and many, many others.

John Bersot’s magnificent collection of museum-quality flags (with a large number of KY flags, naturally) was on display through-out all the business sessions and dinners.

Kentucky received numerous awards – the most prominent being that the Gen. Ben Hardin Helm camp, for the FOURTH time has won the newsletter award. Congratulations to Joey Oller! Here are some other Kentucky winners: Bronze Medal Dixie Club (Recruiting) - Jimmy D. Reed of the May camp, Dan C. Taylor of the McGuire camp; Dixie Club - Richard M. Smith of the Caudill camp; Commander-in-Chief's Award (presented to those individuals for performing exceptional duty on behalf of the C-I-C during his term of office) Jerry Wells Jr. of the Caudill camp; Distinguished Service Medal (presented for outstanding service to the SCV) William A. Lyons of the Arthur camp, and R. Burl McCoy of the Breckinridge camp.

Kentucky had more camps than ever (9) attend this year’s convention. We had representatives from the John C. Breckinridge, John Hunt Morgan, Andrew Jacksonl May, Pvt. Edward Arthur, Eli M. Bruce, Gen. Roger Hanson, John P. McGuire, Eastern KY Partisan Rangers, and Capt. Thomas Henry Hines camps. Next year’s convention is in Dalton, Georgia, and Kentucky should make every effort to be well represented again. Thanks to our delegates for giving of their time and money to make sure that Kentucky’s voice was heard.

As for the convention business itself; normally the opening session is greetings and reports – important, but rather predictable and ho-hum. This year was different. Instead of glossing over some of the internal strife our organization has experienced this past year, the CIC gave a detailed report on exactly what happened concerning his suspension of ANV commander Charles Hawks, the disloyal group calling itself the “Save the SCV”, and for the first time showed proof of an attempt by some past commanders-in-chief to boycott GEC meetings in order to prevent a quorum so that business could not be done. Obviously, this is probably the first time many members have heard about some of the internal political gamesmanship which goes on at the national level of the SCV. This report was delivered in typical straightforward Ron Wilson style. The report received a standing ovation, and the next day the convention voted that the report, and the actions of the CIC, be approved and took the unprecedented action of voting that the report be published in the Confederate Veteran.

The rest of the business sessions were disappointing, wherein most of our business didn’t even get voted on. Fortunately the evening ball on Saturday restored our spirits. Mort Kunsler was there, and very interesting to meet, but the highlight of the entire convention was to have Ron Maxwell, writer, director and producer of Gods and Generals and Gettysburg speak to us. This is a man who understands Southerners, and understands what truly motivated our ancestors in their quest for a nation of their own. It was tremendously refreshing to hear this voice from Hollywood. Afterwards, this writer was able to speak briefly with Mr. Maxwell. Upon our confession to him of the movie bringing tears to our eyes, Ron Maxwell said that the production staff kept crying as they were editing the movie, even after many viewings. Mr. Maxwell said this puzzled him, since usually by that point they are pretty familiar with the movie. He said that they finally concluded that it continued to make them cry because it was real. Southerners have a dear friend in Ron Maxwell. The ball concluded with our traditional singing of “Good Ol’ Rebel”, “Bonnie Blue Flag” (including the Kentucky verse), Dixie and Auld Ang Syne. While disappointing in some respects, the convention allowed for the renewal of old and dear friendships, and for the making of new ones. It is a unique experience every member should have.

Originally Published in the Spring 2004 The Lost Cause

Confederate Images

2010-05-07T11:05:00.000-04:00

By Atlas D. Hall

Nathaniel Cook, a resident of Cynthiana, in Harrison County, Kentucky, was born about 1835, and was killed in action in January, 1862, being approximately 26 years of age. He was the father of a daughter named Dixie, who was born prior to the War Between The States, and a son named Nathan Humphrey Cook, who was born in March, 1862, approximately 2 months after he was killed in action. Family members believe that this son was named in honor of General Humphrey Marshall.

Nathaniel Cook was enlisted by Lieutenant R. B. Thomas, at Prestonsburg, Kentucky, on October 20, 1861, into Company A, 1st Kentucky Cavalry, Confederate States Army, which at the time of his enlistment was under the command of Captain John Shawhan, who was later promoted to Major, and killed in action near Morehead, on October 3, 1862. His commanding officer was Colonel (later General) John S. "Cerro Gordo" Williams.

The 1st Kentucky Cavalry was organized and saw service during the Mexican War, under the command of Colonel Humphrey Marshall. During the War Between The States, Company A of the 1st Kentucky Cavalry was partially organized at Cynthiana, and later increased at Frenchburg, Hazel Green, Salyersville, with formal completion at Prestonsburg, Kentucky on October 1, 1861.

Private Cook was engaged in action at the Battle of Ivy Mountain, near Pikeville, Kentucky on November 9, 1861, retreating to Pound Gap, Virginia, and thence to Lebanon, Virginia. Following the Battle of Ivy Mountain, the members of his unit were issued rifles to replace the double-barreled shotguns which they had used at the Battle of Ivy Mountain.

His service record indicates on an Appraisement Roll dated November 22, 1861, in Russell County, Virginia, as having personal equipment and a chestnut horse valued at $135.00, and that he was last paid on December 30, 1861.

Company A of the 1st Kentucky Cavalry was encamped at Salyersville and West Liberty on January 1, 1862, observing movements of Federal Colonel James A. Garfield's troops at Paintsville, Kentucky. On January 10, 1862, Private Cook was involved in the Battle of Middle Creek, near Prestonsburg, Kentucky. At some point during the Battle of Middle Creek, Private Cook was seriously wounded. Confederate forces (including the seriously wounded Cook) retreated through David and Brush Creek on what is now Kentucky Route 404, to the confluence of Brush Creek with Right Beaver Creek, at what is now known as Midas, near Garrett, Kentucky, and camped on the Joseph Gearhart farm for 2-3 days, before continuing their retreat into Virginia. Confederate forces left the mortally wounded body of Private Cook on the camp ground as they retreated, and the Gearhart family prepared his body for burial on a knoll adjacent to the Gearhart farmhouse, and later at least 2 Gearhart brothers who were Confederate cavalry veterans were buried near his final resting place.

Let us cherish the memory of this gallant soldier of the Confederate States Army who was unknown by the Gearhart family at burial and who remained unknown for nearly 140 years, and whose final resting place was many miles from the place of his nativity. He has finally been made known, and has today received the military rites which he so richly deserves. He now rests with many other Confederate veterans, known and unknown, awaiting the final roll call of the Eternal Commander.

Originally published in the Spring, 2004 The Lost Cause

Unknown Confederate Soldier

2010-04-30T11:01:00.001-04:00

by David Chaltas and Richard G. Brown

On route 80, bordering the boundaries of Breaks Interstate Park, as you begin the ascension up the beautiful mountains of Appalachia from Kentucky into Virginia, rests a soldier only known to God. The plaque reads:

Known But To God

Here rests the body of a soldier of the Confederacy, struck down by an unknown assassin in May of 1865-apparently on way to home in the South. He was buried in a coffin made of boards rived from a great oak by four men of this community. After the turn of the century, a rose bush marked this final resting-place of a soldier who is “Known but to God”.

When I initially encountered the roadside marker, my Confederate American blood became saddened with a longing that I have rarely encountered. I wondered who was this individual that now walks upon the wind? I imagined the families’ broken heart as the mother sat on the porch every evening looking for her son. I could feel her anxiety whenever a person was seen walking over the horizon, as she wondered was that her boy or the bearer of tragic news. I heard the last words of the pitiful little mother and forlorn father as they wondered where their son had fallen. But I could have sworn I heard on the whisper of the wind the joy of the reunion across the shore of that great river between this world and that one that knows no sorrow. My longing has compelled my search in finding more about this man and his family in hopes that closure will be afforded one soldier “known but to God”.

The families of Richard Potter, Henry Potter, George Potter, Zeke Counts and Lazarus Hunt have preserved and passed down the story of this unknown Confederate on his way home. The families were the descendants of the original settlers in the area and possessed a deep pride in their beloved Kentucky and Virginia. The story portrayed a lonely soldier in May of 1865 that stopped at the home of Richard Potter and asked for a drink of water. Mr. Potter obliged the man, as was (and still is) the custom of hospitality in Appalachia. As they talked for a few moments it was revealed that he was making his way home to Carolina (whether North or South Carolina has been lost over the years). After a period of time, the man thanked Mr. Potter and continued on his journey. Shortly George Potter, Henry Potter, Lazarus Hunt and Zeke Counts came to Richard Potter’s home stating that a Confederate soldier had been bushwhacked down the road apiece.

As was the custom of the day the body was brought to someone’s home and the ladies cleansed and prepared the corpse for burial. A watch, cap and a handkerchief were all of the man’s earthly possessions and a kindly old lady was entrusted with the watch in hopes that, “One day his family will come and you are to give them his watch when they do.” One of the misfortunes of the time was that upon the kindly grandmother’s death, vandals entered her cabin looking for loot and then burnt it to the ground. Ironically the path of this heroic lady crossed the same level of low life that assassinated the unfortunate soldier trying to make it home.

The sainted ladies washed his shirt as the good Samaritans felled an oak tree to make the planks for the unfortunate man’s coffin. The funeral was attended by those that not only mourned the passing of an unknown man but the passing of the South. “The families that lived in the Flats were the mourners for this unfortunate son of the South. It is for this reason that he became one of our own. He was entrusted to us for the care and maintenance of his memory.” The care of the gravesite has been passed down from generation to generation. In 1900 Harve, the son of Henry Potter planted a rose bush as a memorial to the unknown soul. On every visit that I have made to that beautiful area, I have noted that a memorial wreath, flower or flag has been placed at the location. To me this is not only a tribute to that unknown man of the South but also one to the family and descendants of those brave men and women that offered a lasting mark of respect of their character as true Confederate Americans. Lest we forget, we must honor all of the brave men and women of yesteryear. Their names and memories must be preserved.

We will never know where he served or with whom. We can only imagine that he served bravely with his pardners and was returning to the sanctuary of his home with dignity and honor. Such a tragedy to have endured the horrors of war only to be struck down by the vultures of society as he tried to make it home to his loved ones. Let us recommit our efforts and endeavors at finding the home place of this man so his spirit can finally be at rest in the sweet confines of the Carolinas.

Originally published in the Spring, 2004 The Lost Cause

Independent poll shows that overwhelming majority of Virginians support Confederate History Month

2010-04-26T11:24:00.000-04:00

From Sons of Confederate Veterans Headquarters, Elm Springs, Tennessee

News Release - April 25th, 2010 - For Immediate Release

News Release in PDF format

For more information contact: (more contacts below)
J. A. Davis
Public-Media Relations Committee
Sons of Confederate Veterans
770 297-4788
Gainesville, Georgia

An independent survey poll conducted April 20-21, 2010 reveals that the recent controversy over Virginia Gov. McDonnell's Confederate History Month proclamation was manufactured by a small group attempting to besmirch and censor an important part of Virginia's history and indeed, America's history. The survey was conducted by the Conquest Group and commissioned by the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV). "The poll results cut through the smoke and expose the falsehood of a popular outcry against Confederate History Month," said SCV Commander-In-Chief Charles E. McMichael. "A substantial majority of both native and transplant Virginians have rejected the attempted manipulation---they support more education not less. We stand ready to help," McMichael said.

The survey showed that 66% of Virginians agreed that Confederate History Month (CHM) could encourage more tourism to the state during the upcoming Sesquicentennial. But even more, 69%, believed it could create more educational opportunities for Virginians to more deeply study the complicated historical, cultural and economic issues that led to a war that killed more Americans than all other American wars combined.

"The Sons of Confederate Veterans stand ready to work with Gov. McDonnell and Virginia’s educational system--- or anyone else ---to meet the public demand for greater understanding and perspective," McMichael said. "It is long past time for a balanced presentation of this period without the hyperbole and censorship of the 'Confederate history deniers' who insist that Virginia's history during the period does not merit our interest or study. The poll proves that their simplistic smears and hostile vitriol have been rejected by Virginians," McMichael added.

The poll shows a whopping 86% of Virginians want Confederate memorials and monuments protected by law from the divisive hard core 4% who want them removed. Only 16% of Virginians had an unfavorable opinion of CHM. The SCV believes this can be reduced down to the 4% of hard core heritage deniers through the better education mentioned above.

The corporate media has earned its reputation as anti-Confederate and anti-Southern by its inclusions and exclusions. The poll reveals that 31% view the media as "anti-Confederate" where only 28% saw media coverage as 'fair and balanced.' Hysterical claims of pro-Confederate media bias came in at 13%. These figures demonstrate that most people see that the hard core heritage deniers are attempting to play the victim when they are in fact the aggressors. "Southern heritage advocates do not lobby governors to edit any other group's history month proclamations, nor do we go on TV to insult and smear their sponsors. People of goodwill generally demonstrate better manners," adds McMichael.

"I'm happy to report that this year’s Confederate History Month has been the most successful ever with a record number of proclamations, observances and memorials taking place," McMichael said. "The 50 million Confederate descendents all over America, and especially those fighting in our distant wars, can rest assured that the Sons of Confederate Veterans will fight all attempts to smear the good name of the Confederate soldier who has been honored and studied in military college’s all over the world for 150 years. We welcome all Americans to visit us at www.scv.org or www.confederate150.com and join with us in honoring the struggles and sacrifices of our ancestors through the ongoing Sesquicentennial commemorations," McMichael added. The 150th anniversary of the war commences in 2011.

Many states (AL, FL, GA, MS, TX) officially observe April 26th as Confederate Memorial Day. In Tennessee, the governor proclaimed April 26th as “Confederate Decoration Day.” Virginia observes Confederate Memorial Day in May with the federal holiday, however North Carolina and South Carolina observe it May 10th (the date Thomas ‘Stonewall’ Jackson died in 1863). Kentucky and Louisiana observe it with Jefferson Davis' birthday on June 3rd.

For more information contact:
J. A. Davis
Public-Media Relations Committee
Sons of Confederate Veterans
770 297-4788
Gainesville, Georgia

News Release in PDF format

ADDITIONAL CONTACTS:
Charles E. McMichael
Commander-in-Chief
Sons of Confederate Veterans
CiC@scv.org
318-936-7161
Shreveport, Louisiana

Bragdon R. Bowling, Jr.
Commander Army of Northern Virginia
Sons of Confederate Veterans
804-658-1785
Richmond, Virginia

B. Frank Earnest
Chief of Heritage Defense
Sons of Confederate Veterans
chd@scv.org
757-474-0624
Virginia Beach, Virginia

END

The Kentucky Military Heritage Act: Putting It to Work Preserving History

2010-04-23T10:57:00.002-04:00

On March 12th, 2002, surrounded by SCV members, legislators and others interested in our military and historic preservation, Governor Patton signed into law the Kentucky Military Heritage Act. It was the culmination of two years’ hard work by many people, and signing day was truly a celebration. However, the really hard work remains before us. Historic objects and sites must be nominated for preservation and voted on by the Kentucky Military Heritage Commission.

Almost two years after the signing, the vast majority of our Kentucky Confederate objects and sites remain unprotected. Partly this is due to the lengthy “promulgation” process required by law to set up the regulations for the commission. But it is also due to the fact that very few objects have been nominated for protection. Our camps must make this a high priority over the next few months and years, for it is inevitable that threats from environment to political correctness will come.

The form for nomination is available from Kentucky Civil War Sites Coordinator Tom Fugate at: tom.fugate@mail.state.ky.us, or Kentucky Heritage Council, 300 Washington Street, Frankfort, KY 40601

The form is not short (21 pages); the reason for this is that protecting our historic objects and sites goes beyond just fending off people afflicted with political correctness; time and the elements also take a toll in addition to people who want to move statues for construction projects and other non-politically correct reasons, and the KMHA is intended to be a complete preservation program. That means detailed information on ownership, exact (as in UTM) position, composition etc. are required to do the job right. The best general advice is to fill out the form to the best of your ability— if there are items like the position numbers that you can’t provide, the staff at the Kentucky Heritage Council (which handles the administrative aspects of the KMHA) will take it from there. A few points to keep in mind:

¨ Permission— proving ownership of the object or site, and gaining permission from the property owner is the single most important task. It is possible under the law for the commission to protect without the owner’s permission, but it is much less likely that they will do so. Typically a statue is on the county courthouse lawn, making the county the owner, meaning that you must approach the Judge Executive or a county commissioner or appropriate county official. There is an area in the form for the owner to sign, but obtaining a separate letter of support from the owner is also very helpful. If you are dealing with a local government and you aren’t sure of what support you will get, do a little leg work. For instance, if you find out that the mayor isn’t interested in signing (maybe reelection is coming up and he/she wants that NAACP endorsement), but the parks commissioner thinks it’s a great idea, have the parks commissioner sign it—as long as it is an official who could reasonably be said to represent the local government. It is better to emphasize when talking with local officials that this is an effort to preserve an important object of local art and history (and that if the state ever provides funding for preserving these types of objects they will most likely use the KMHA registration to determine who gets money) - rather than saying you want to snub the politically correct.

¨ Depending on whether you are submitting an object or a site, some of the questions on the form won’t apply, so don’t worry about them. If it is a site, then you have considerations like legal descriptions of the property boundaries, chain of title, deed restrictions, etc. (which, KMHA registration in effect becomes a deed restriction itself).

¨ Pictures—take plenty of pictures from different angles to give a complete view of all sides, the condition, etc. Put the pictures in a plastic photo sheet and number them. Then give corresponding detailed descriptions on the application.

¨ The form no longer has the question about “what are immediate threats” to the object or site, but there is a section to describe the significance of the object or site which is important not to understate. The Commission should be given a clear reason why this object/site is significant enough to preserve.

Now—get out there and get those important statues, monuments, flag displays and other objects and sites nominated!

Originally published in the Spring 2004 The Lost Cause

SCV Rejects False and Unfair Smears of SCV and their Kinfolk

2010-04-19T10:12:00.002-04:00

Sons of Confederate Veterans Rejects False and Unfair Smears of SCV and their kinfolk, the late Confederate Veterans

From Sons of Confederate Veterans Headquarters, Elm Springs, Tennessee

Press Release - April 18th, 2010 - For Immediate Release

Press Release in PDF format

For more information contact:
J. A. Davis
Public-Media Relations Committee
Sons of Confederate Veterans
770 297-4788
Gainesville, Georgia

The Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) and the historical truth have come under attack from media outlets like MSNBC, CNN, syndicated columnists such as Roland S. Martin (Creators.com) and Leonard Pitts, Jr., of the Miami Herald. They are attempting to lynch Virginia Gov. McDonnell and others of goodwill who recognize April as Confederate History Month --- which has been observed for many years in states across the country.

We applaud the recognition of various groups and organizations interested in the study of their heritage and their part in American history. Black History Month (February), Women’s History Month (March), Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (May), Native American History Month (November), Hispanic Heritage Month (Sep.15-Oct.15) and many others stand as examples.

Governors and mayors often issue proclamations observing such events and virtually always without controversy of any kind. Why is it that a Virginia governor is singled out for public pillory and character lynching for recognizing Confederate history? Where is the “tolerance” for diversity these malicious voices profess to revere?

The SCV is a strictly historical and educational organization, and neither embraces nor espouses acts or ideologies of racial and religious bigotry. Membership in the Sons of Confederate Veterans is open to all male descendants of any veteran who served honorably in the Confederate armed forces, regardless of race, colour or creed.

Our Jewish SCV members, like the rest of us, take exception to being labeled as ‘Nazis.’ Our SCV members of Native American, African and Hispanic ancestry, like the rest of us, take exception to being called ‘racists’ and having our ancestors falsely called ‘terrorists.’

CNN’s Roland Martin has repeatedly referred to Confederate soldiers and officials as “terrorists,” both on televised talk shows (CNN) and in syndicated columns (Creators.com). Martin’s April 9th column was entitled, “Confederates, Al-Qaida are the Same: Terrorists.” Comparing Confederate soldiers, recognized as American veterans by an Act of Congress (1958), to Al-Qaida terrorists is over-the-top, absurd and offensive. All Americans of goodwill should condemn this outrage, but it seems that too many media outlets consider it acceptable discourse to smear certain groups.

Syndicated columnist Leonard Pitts, Jr., of the Miami Herald, recently authored a commentary contending that “The South fought to keep slavery, period.” In it, Pitts refers to the Confederate government as a “white racist government” guilty of “high treason.” Pitts’ assertions are as false as they are malicious. Pitts cannot explain why President Lincoln and the U.S. Congress repeatedly asserted that the purpose of the war was to “preserve the Union” and denied any linkage to slavery. Pitts makes no effort to explain why Confederate President Jefferson Davis was held in prison for two years without trial after the war. The U.S. government realized that it could NOT convict Davis of treason in a public trial without convicting the Founders of treason for the Declaration of Independence.

In letters to various newspaper editors, SCV Commander in Chief Charles E. McMichael directly refutes Pitts’ nonsense:

“Pitts projects a biased and false motivation on the part of Confederates and their union attackers which is not supported by the historical record. The South did NOT fight to preserve slavery nor did the North attack to abolish it. Despite the relentless repetition of absurd distortions by Pitts and other revisionists, the truth doesn’t change.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans stands ready, willing and able to defend the true historical record and the good name of Confederate soldiers who are officially American veterans by Act of Congress. We unequivocally refute and condemn any suggestion that they were “traitors” or “terrorists” as recent revisionists have maliciously asserted.”

The complete letter from Commander McMichael is reproduced below.

McMichael adds, “My great grandfather was a poor Georgia farm boy of 16 whose family owned no slaves and who endured four years of disease, starvation and deprivation, not to mention being shot at. It borders on the absurd to suggest that he suffered the ordeal of war to defend slavery for the benefit of six percent of the population. “

“The 30,000 members of the SCV will never accept the falsehoods of these malicious revisionists seeking to smear Confederate soldiers as ‘traitors’ or their proud descendants as ‘racists,’” McMichael said. “We challenge media outlets to give the SCV fair opportunity to respond to such smears and distortions with equal space and air time,” McMichael added.

For more information about the Sons of Confederate Veterans, its members, and activities please visit: www.scv.org

Charles E. McMichael
Commander-in-Chief
Sons of Confederate Veterans
CiC@scv.org

For more information contact: J. A. Davis
Public-Media Relations Committee
Sons of Confederate Veterans
770 297-4788
Gainesville, Georgia

Press Release in PDF format

LETTER FROM SCV Commander-In-Chief CHARLES E. MCMICHAEL FOLLOWS:

Sons of Confederate Veterans
General Headquarters
P.O. Box 59
Columbia, Tennessee 38402-0059

April 17, 2010

Dear Editors:
Leonard Pitts, Jr. of the Miami Herald opines that “The South fought to keep slavery, period.” Please indulge a contrary view.

Confederate soldiers fought to defend their families and homes from an invading and destructive army. President Lincoln and the U.S. Congress made clear that the purpose of their invasion and blockade was to “preserve the union” and preserve federal revenues.

Lincoln in his first inaugural address expressed support for the constitutional amendment to permanently preclude federal legislation abolishing slavery. He stated that he had no intent or desire to interfere with slavery where it existed. The only thing not negotiable to Lincoln was payment of the newly doubled federal tariffs of which the South paid over eighty percent.

The British and European press saw Lincoln’s invasion of the south for what it was, “a fiscal quarrel” and the north’s desire “for economic control of the South.”

The U.S. House passed a resolution July 25th, 1861 to specify the war’s purpose. It explicitly stated the war’s purpose was NOT to interfere with “established institutions” of the states, but rather to “preserve the Union”---meaning tariff revenues.

Lincoln, in letters to Horace Greeley in August 1862, again reiterated that his war’s purpose was to “preserve the union” and that slavery was not a priority issue. “If I could save the Union without freeing any slaves, I would do it,” Lincoln wrote. With the Emancipation Proclamation published Sept. 1862 (well over a year into the war), Lincoln essentially promised that slavery would continue in all states(including union slave states) IF the seceded states would merely rescind their secession and return to the union before January 1st 1863. The Confederate states declined – clearly indicating motivations more involved than Pitts’ simplified fabrication.

Everyone is thankful that chattel slavery ended in America, but no war was necessary to end it. No other country in the world required war to abolish it. America certainly didn’t.

Pitts projects a biased and false motivation on the part of Confederates and their union attackers which is not supported by the historical record. The South did NOTfight to preserve slavery nor did the North attack to abolish it. Despite the relentless repetition of absurd distortions by Pitts and other revisionists, the truth doesn’t change.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans stand ready, willing and able to defend the true historical record and the good name of Confederate soldiers who are officially American veterans by Act of Congress. We unequivocally refute and condemn any suggestion that they were “traitors” or “terrorists” as recent revisionists have maliciously asserted.

Respectfully,

Charles E. McMichael
Commander-in-Chief
Sons of Confederate Veterans
Email: cic@scv.org

Frederick C. Hibbard—Master Sculptor

2010-04-16T10:53:00.007-04:00

Frederick C. Hibbard was born June 15, 1881, on a farm in Canton, Missouri. The farm was near the banks of the Mississippi River. As a child, Hibbard spent a great deal of his time exploring the area, pausing to explore sticky clay that he found in nearby muddy ditches. Working with the clay, he sculpted some of his favorite animals. The clay ignited his fascination for the art of sculpture, a passion that remained with him for the rest of his life.

In spite of having landed his first job as an electrician, Hibbard's interest did not lie in this area. He wanted to become a sculptor and, at that time, there was no better place to study than in Chicago. In 1901, at the age of twenty, he enrolled at the Art Institute of Chicago to study under Lorado Taft, a master sculptor. He became an assistant to Taft and by 1904, had established his own studio in Chicago.

One of Hibbard's first major successes came during World War I when he was selected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy to erect a monument on the battlefield at Shiloh.

Hibbard's prolific career spanned almost a half a century, from 1904 until 1948. During this time he produced over seventy sculptures for the American people to enjoy. One of these masterpieces is a twelve-foot statue of Jefferson Davis unveiled in 1936 in Frankfort, Kentucky, of course, but this would not be the only statue of the Confederate president by Hibbard. In 1940, a second statue of Jefferson Davis was unveiled - this one in Montgomery, Alabama

Originally published in the Spring 2004 The Lost Cause

Camp Feature: Camp 1834

2010-04-09T22:54:00.003-04:00

Fort Heiman Camp No. 1834, S.C.V. started 2003, as usual, with our Lee-Jackson supper in Murray. This year, our speaker was Dr. Lonnie Maness, professor emeritus of History at the University of Tennessee at Martin. His topic was Forrest’s career and the missed opportunities when the Confederate high command ignored his advice It was an excellent talk and a fine potluck supper.

Much of our effort all year was devoted to the preservation of Fort Heiman. On several occasions, political figures visited Murray and brought checks. The last was for six hundred thousand dollars. To call us pleased is an understatement. Later in the year, we met in the Courthouse to watch as the Fort Heiman property was purchased (with that six hundred thousand, plus some more) from the major landowner. At approximately the same time, a local resident was moved to donate an acre of land near the entrance to the proposed park to the Fort Heiman Camp and the SCV, for future use as a Confederate visitor’s center. Work progresses on this.

We marked a number of graves in Marshall, Calloway, and Graves Counties. Perhaps the largest single event was the marking of Lieutenant Colonel Alfred Johnston’s grave. Lt. Col Johnston was the highest ranking citizen of Marshall County on either side of the late unpleasantness. More than 200 people attended the ceremony. On the 4^th of July, we set up a booth on the square in Murray during Amerifest, and represented the organization there. Later in July, we marked the grave of the Adjutant of the 7^th Kentucky, Lt. Roulhac, who was murdered by Union guerillas after the Battle of Paducah.

We also participated in a major grave marking effort in Fulton, at Confederate Memorial Day, and we co-ordinated the annual memorial service at Columbus during the re-enactment there, in October, and continued to find and mark the graves of members’ ancestors.

We added several new members during the year, and are currently engaged in an effort to get everyone re-enlisted before the end of the year. Our meeting attendance has been fairly constant, but we have not yet outgrown our room at the Murray First United Methodist Church, for which we continue to be eternally grateful.

Several members continue to be active re-enactors, and this gives us a fairly regular firing squad for ceremonies. Most also remain active in “living history” efforts among local schools. Speaking of schools, with the help of our Brigade Commander, we were able to score one heritage violation victory in our local Middle School, this year, getting a ban on Confederate symbols removed. Deo Vindice!

Originally published in the Spring 2004 The Lost Cause

SCV on Confederate History Month Proclamations

2010-04-08T15:32:00.000-04:00

Sons Of Confederate Veterans
Columbia, Tennessee

For Immediate Release

SONS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS COMMENTS ON CONFEDERATE HISTORY MONTH

Commander-in-Chief Chuck McMichael of the Sons of the Confederate Veterans issued the following statement in light of the recent proclamation by the governor of Virginia restoring the observance of Confederate History Month in Virginia.

"While we are pleased to see heightened media attention to Confederate History Month resulting from the proclamation we are dismayed to see political implications or political correction zeal placed on it. We applaud Govenor McDonnell for his courage to do the right thing, as well as all the other officials across the country who have done likewise.

"The SCV is non-political with a primary interest in seeing to it that the accurate history of the Confederacy is observed along with proper respect shown for the
Confederate Military personnel who served and died during four years of war against overwhelming odds of more than three to one."

"These observances have been going on for more than a hundred years so it should be no surprise to anyone they continue to grow in scope with each passing year."

"Several states by state law observe a state holiday for Confederate Memorial Day. Others have state laws establishing Confederate History and Heritage Month.
Still others set forth Confederate History Month by proclamation."

"The SCV has set a goal of over one thousand instances of observance of Confederate history in states, counties, parishes, cities and towns throughout America. In some cases beyond the boundaries of the original Confederacy.
These events include proclamations at all levels of government, parades, banquets, balls, re-enactments, school living histories, radio and television interviews, newspaper articles and a series of historical minutes for the media which include each day of Confederate History and Heritage Month.

There are observances at cemeteries where Confederate soldiers graves are decorated. Many of our local camps participate in securing proclamations in several communities in their individual areas.

END

Contact information:

J. A. Davis, Chairman, Sons of Confederate Veterans Public Relations and Media Committee
770 297-4788

Commander in Chief Patrick J. Griffin, III visits Louisville

2010-04-05T22:49:00.002-04:00

By Gary Davis

Due to the invitation of Jim Hicks, past commander of the John Hunt Morgan Camp and presently the Aide to Camp of the international SCV headquarters, The Commander in Chief of the Sons of Confederate Veterans was the quest speaker at the annual Lee / Jackson Dinner of the John Hunt Morgan Camp in Louisville on January 15, 2000. The Commander-in-Chief was meet at the airport by Central Brigade Commander Curt Carter, Past Commander Jim Hicks and Commander Gary Davis. They all enjoyed a light lunch and escorted the commander to his suite at the Executive Inn in Louisville. The commander was presented with a “Blue grass is gray” T-shirt and a “ Morgan’s raid on Georgetown “ T-shirt. Commanders, Carter, Hicks and Davis were about to supply refreshments to the commanders room. At 5 PM the Commander-In-Chief we escorted to the main dinning room at the Executive Inn where the dinner was to take place. A casual cocktail hour was held, and the C-I-C was introduced to those attending. The C-I-C was very impressed with the flag collection of John Bersot, Commander of the Capt. Thomas Henry Hines camp of Westpoint. Over 100 regimental battle flags adorn the room. State Division Commander Sam Flora was in attendance as well as commanders Tim Bowmen and Jim Bowen. The Commander in Chief was fresh back from the flag rally in Columbia South Carolina the weekend before. A large contingent of Kentuckians were at the rally and enjoyed rehashing the events of the weekend before. The Commander spoke on the SCV, where we came from, where we are now, and the future of the SCV. The Commander was presented a plaque to remember his visit to Kentucky and a bottle of Confederate Makers Mark whiskey from our 1993 convention in Lexington. State Commander Sam Flora spoke about our Confederate Kentucky Monument project in Vicksburg. However, I think the biggest rebel yell came after Central Brigade Commander Curt Carter gave his “ Hit’em again” speech. A hospitality room was rented at the Executive Inn and everyone was invited to come and enjoy the fellowship after the dinner. The C-I-C was in attendance and enjoyed conversation with everyone there. Commander Griffin was one of the last to leave the party and really enjoyed our Kentucky hospitality. Jim Hicks meet Commander Griffin for breakfast the next morning, and was escorted back to the airport. A letter was received by Commander Gary Davis a few days after his visit again thanking us for the Kentucky hospitality, the accommodations and professional way that the Kentucky Division is run. He also looks forward to coming to Kentucky in the future. As a foot note, commander Griffin had contacted the people in South Carolina who are hosting the convention and insisted that Commander John Bersot’s flag collection be there. After a few phone calls and E-mails with the Commander in Chief and the people in South Carolina, Commander Bersot’s entire regimental battle flag collection will line the main room at the convention and will be marched in during the opening ceremonies. Kentucky is on the move!

Originally published in the Spring 2000 The Lost Cause