It’s that time of year again to pay tribute to the valor of our Confederate ancestors with a special memorial service that was started in the state of Georgia unofficially in 1866. It was made official when the Georgia Legislature, in 1874, set aside the 26th day of April as a legal holiday called Confederate Memorial Day. The purpose of this day was for honoring the brave soldiers in gray who made the ultimate sacrifice for the Southern Cause during the 1861 – 1865 War for Southern Independence. During the month of April most SCV camps and probably about one third of the SCV members in the state of Georgia will take time to honor their Confederate ancestors by attending their annual Confederate Memorial Day Services. Our memorial service this year will be on Saturday, April 29th. We’ll assemble at the Confederate monument on Broad Street at around 11:30 a.m. for our traditional Heritage March to Magnolia Cemetery that will begin promptly at noon. The memorial service will start at 12:45 p.m. at the speaker’s platform adjacent to the Confederate Dead section.

I’m requesting that all of our members and their families support the service. If you’re unable to march from the monument to the cemetery, that’s fine, but that shouldn’t stop you from attending the service at Magnolia Cemetery at 12:45 p.m. I consider this our most important event of the entire year, and hopefully our members will enthusiastically support it. Although our ancestors lost their valiant, hard-fought struggle for an independent Southland, free of Yankee domination and oppression, the Cause for which they fought in the 1860s is, over 140 years later, still being defended by us, the descendants of those Confederate soldiers.

Another upcoming event that our camp is supporting is the dedication of a new Confederate monument by Major General Ambrose Ransom Wright Camp #1914 in Evans. The location of this newly erected, almost 20ft high monument, is in the Memorial Gardens behind the Columbia County Justice Center and on the left side of the new Columbia County Public Library at the government complex in Evans. The new library is located at Ronald Reagan Drive and North Belair Road. The dedication ceremony for the monument will be at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 22nd. Camp #158 re-enactors will perform the black powder salute. Men, women and children attending the ceremony are encouraged to wear a Confederate uniform or period dress.

Don’t forget about the upcoming 109th Georgia Division SCV Reunion to be held Friday, June 16th thru Sunday, June 18th in Gainesville. The business session will be held on Saturday, June 17. Some of us will probably go up on Saturday morning for the business session only and return on the same day. Camp #158 is eligible to send nine delegates, and that’s how many we need to have at the reunion to be fully represented and take care of Georgia Division business.

At our meeting this Thursday night, we are very fortunate to have as our program speaker Mr. Randy Burbage from Charleston, SC. Mr. Burbage is the newly elected commander of the South Carolina Division SCV. Commander Burbage is also a member of the prestigious Hunley Commission. As you correctly guessed it, Commander Burbage will give a slide presentation and speak on the Hunley. The title of his presentation is "The History, Recovery and Restoration of the Confederate Submarine Hunley." This is a presentation I’m certainly looking forward to and I hope all of you will plan to attend and give South Carolina Division SCV Commander Burbage a good reception. I hope to see you this Thursday night for a pleasant evening of Southern fellowship.

Saturday, March 11th – A Grave Marker Dedication Service in Blitchton, Georgia, located in Bryan County. The service was at the Smith Cemetery in honor of Major Albert W. Smith who served in the 25th Regiment Georgia Volunteer Infantry. Major Smith was killed on August 7, 1864 in the fighting around Atlanta.

Saturday, March 18th & Sunday, March 19th – Battle of Manassas Reenactment near Claxton, Georgia.

Saturday, March 25th – Camp #158 members had a booth at the Barnyard Flea Market of Augusta to sell Confederate memorabilia, raffle tickets, and recruit new members.

Tuesday, March 28th – Eleven Camp #158 members and their family members attended the funeral of Anna Alexander Whitney at Magnolia Cemetery at 3:00 p.m. Mrs. Whitney, 102, was the granddaughter of Confederate Brigadier General Edward Porter Alexander. Mrs. Whitney was buried in the Alexander-Whitney family plot along with her husband, Charles Barry Whitney, Sr., her grandfather and grandmother –

Edward Porter & Bettie Alexander, and other relatives. Flowers were sent to the family of Mrs. Whitney from Camp #158.

Tuesday, March 28th – The Fourth Annual Lieutenant General Wade Hampton Birthday Celebration was held at the Wade Hampton Veterans Park on Georgia Avenue. Sergeant Berry G. Benson Camp #1672 hosted the ceremony. Camp #1672 Color Sergeant Frank Odom was the program speaker.

Saturday, April 1st – Magnolia Cemetery Workday in Confederate sections, 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. This workday was rained-out for everybody, except Lt. Commander Ron Udell who worked in the rain.

Saturday, April 8th, 2006 - Fifth Annual National Confederate Memorial Service held at Stone Mountain Memorial Park in front of the Memorial Carving. 

Thursday, April 13th –Brigadier General E. Porter Alexander Camp #158 Meeting will be at 7:00 p.m. at Sconyers Bar-B-Que Restaurant. Our program speaker will be Mr. Randy Burbage from Charleston, South Carolina. His presentation will be on "The History, Recovery and Restoration of the Confederate Submarine Hunley."

Saturday, April 15th – Confederate Memorial Service at 11:00 a.m. hosted by Waynesboro’s Margaret Jones UDC Chapter #27. The service will be at the Magnolia Cemetery in Waynesboro.

Saturday, April 15th – Magnolia Cemetery Workday, 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. This workday is in preparation for our Confederate Memorial Day Memorial Service on April 29th.

Saturday, April 15th – Living History Presentation at Augusta Canal Interpretive Center located in Enterprise Mill at 1450 Greene Street in Augusta. Confederate Re-enactors from Brigadier General E. Porter Alexander Camp #158 will give living history presentations from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.

Sunday, April 23rd – Brigadier General John C. Carter Camp #207 will have their annual Confederate Memorial Day Service at the Waynesboro Memorial Confederate Cemetery at 3:00 p.m.

Saturday, April 22nd – Confederate Monument Dedication at 3:00 p.m. hosted by Major General Ambrose R. Wright Camp #1914. The new monument was recently installed in the Memorial Gardens at the new Columbia County Public Library, at the government complex in Evans, which is located at Ronald Reagan Drive and North Belair Road. The monument is located behind the new Justice Center and on the left side of the newly completed library.

Saturday, April 29th – Camp #158 Confederate Memorial Day Service at Magnolia Cemetery in Augusta. The Heritage March from the Confederate monument on Broad Street to Magnolia Cemetery will begin at noon. The memorial service at the Confederate Dead section starts at 12:45 p.m. The keynote speaker will be Mrs. Betty Jane Miller, Edisto District Director of the SC Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

Sunday, April 30th – Wilson Tigers Camp #245 in Hephzibah will hold their annual Confederate Memorial Day Service at the Hephzibah-Vance Cemetery at 1:30 p.m.

Thursday, May 11th – Brigadier General E. Porter Alexander Camp #158 Meeting will be at 7:00 p.m. at Sconyers Bar-B-Que Restaurant. Our program speaker will be Commander Nick Posey. He’ll speak on "The Life of Edward Porter Alexander."

Saturday, May 13th – SCV Camp #158’s Adopt-A-Highway Litter Pickup: Meet at 9:00 a.m. in the parking lot across the street from the Miyabi Kyoto Japanese Steakhouse Restaurant on Augusta West Parkway.

Friday, June 16th – Sunday June 18th – Georgia Division 109th State Reunion in Gainesville: The Registration Fee is $25.00 until June 10th; after June 10th it increases to $45.00. The business session will be on Saturday, June 17th. For more information, visit this website:

http://gadivisionreunion2006.org/reunion.phtml

Luke 6:45 – A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

John 12:26 – If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.

Psalm 51:10 – Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

Psalm 121:1-2 – I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.

1 Timothy 6:6-10 - But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Psalm 118:8 - It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.

"The issue today is the same as it has been throughout all history, whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or be ruled by a small elite." – Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) was from Virginia. He was author of the Declaration of Independence (1776) and third President of the United States (1801-1809).

"Let us compare what we already possess with what we are offered for it." – A remark in 1788 by Rawlins Lowndes (1721-1800) in opposition to the scrapping of the Articles of Confederation for the new Constitution. Rawlins Lowndes was a lawyer and politician from South Carolina, and at one time had served as governor of the Palmetto State.

"Here lies the man who opposed the Constitution, because it was ruinous to the liberty of America." – Self composed epitaph of Rawlins Lowndes

"The states south of the Potomac will be little more than appendages to those to the northward of it if the Constitution should be adopted." – A statement made in 1788 by Benjamin Harrison (1726-1791) of Virginia on his opposition to ratification of the Constitution. Benjamin Harrison was a member of the Continental Congress, and was twice elected governor of Virginia.

"Secession belongs to a different class of remedies. It is to be justified upon the basis that the States are sovereign. There was a time when none denied it." – Jefferson Davis (1808-1889), Senator from Mississippi – Excerpt from his farewell speech to the United States Congress on January 21, 1861

"The Senator from Kentucky comes to your aid and says he can find no constitutional right of secession. Perhaps not; but the Constitution is not the place to look for States rights. If that belongs to the independent States, and they did not cede it to the Federal Government, it is reserved to the States, or to the people." – Robert A. Toombs (1810-1885), Senator from Georgia – Excerpt from a speech to the United States Congress in 1861, shortly before Georgia withdrew from the Union

"It is said that the right of secession, if conceded, makes our Government a mere rope of sand…better, far better, a rope of sand than chains of iron, and shackles of steel." – Judah P. Benjamin (1811-1884), Senator from Louisiana – From a speech given in the U.S. Senate on February 4, 1861

"This step, secession, once taken, can never be recalled. We and our posterity shall see our lovely South desolated by the demon of war." – Stated in January 18, 1861, by Alexander Stephens (1812-1883) , future Vice-President of the Confederacy.

A special thanks from Camp #158 goes to Shannon Herron for placing a new silk flower arrangement on the the grave of Miss Mary Hall in Magnolia Cemetery.

Anna Alexander Whitney

Homemaker AUGUSTA, Ga. - Mrs. Anna Alexander Whitney, 102, wife of the late Charles Barry Whitney went to be with the Lord, Saturday, March 25, 2006. Graveside Services will be held at 3:00 PM Tuesday, March 28, 2006 in Magnolia Cemetery with the Reverend George Robertson officiating. Mrs. Whitney, a life long resident of Augusta, was an active member of First Presbyterian Church where she taught Sunday school for many years. She was an initial supporter of Child Evangelism Fellowship and taught children's classes for over thirty years. She and her late husband were among the founders of Augusta Christian Schools. She was a member of the Mary Warren Foundation, past president of the Flower Study Club and one of the founding members of the Augusta Rose Society. She enjoyed her large garden of more than 125 roses from which she won many awards. Mrs. Whitney was the granddaughter of Confederate General Edward Porter Alexander, one of the initiators of the wigwag signal system. Alexander Hall, Fort Gordon, Ga. is named in his honor. General Alexander will be inducted into the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame April 29, 2006. Survivors include her son, Charles Barry Whitney, Jr. and his wife Laure Bailie Whitney of Augusta; a granddaughter, Cynthia Hite Johnston, Decatur, Alabama; a grandson, Mark Wayne Hite of Augusta, and four great grandchildren. The family extends special appreciation and thanks to loving companions and caregivers, Amelia Singleton and Isle Adams and the caring personnel at Forest Lake Care Facility. Published in The Augusta Chronicle from 3/27/2006 - 3/28/2006.

-- President Jefferson Davis

Sconyers Bar-B-Que Restaurant - April 13th, 7:00 pm