The New Year has arrived and it’s time to start planning again for the activities that the camp will be involved in during the first part of the year. Our two biggest events of the year will be in January and April. On Thursday, January 22^nd we’ll have our annual Lee-Jackson Banquet at Sconyers’ BBQ Restaurant to honor two of the South’s greatest military leaders – Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson. The other event, our most important of the year, will be our Confederate Memorial Day Service to be held at Magnolia Cemetery on Saturday, April 24^th, to honor our brave Confederate ancestors who fought to defend their newly and "legally" formed Confederacy from the invading Northern aggressors. This event will require a lot of preplanning and preparation if it is to equal last year’s memorial service, which was the result of tremendous efforts by all of those involved in putting it together. Not only Camp #158 members, but family members of some of our camp members, some UDC ladies, the Musician and also the Artillery, Cavalry and Infantry Re-enactors played a very big part in making last year’s service successful.

As I have dwelled on in past columns, I’m reiterating here that we have to be more aggressive in the recruitment of new members this year. We lost about 25% of our membership due to members that didn’t renew, although these were inactive members. This is a problem that we’re going to face every year. That’s just a reality, folks. Those members need to be replaced with active, enthusiastic members. Each active camp member should strive to recruit at least one new member in 2004. I pledge to do my best to recruit at least two new members during the next year. If we are to continue to be a viable SCV camp we must continue to bring in new members. We will be looking at different ways to make our recruiting efforts more effective. Along those same lines, the other item that is most vital to operating our organization is having money to accomplish our objectives. We will be looking at and discussing ways to raise funds needed for important camp projects. Your ideas and input are always welcomed.

The Georgia Division SCV needs the help of every SCV member in raising funds for the renovation and restoration of the recently purchased Napier-Hoffman house in Forsyth, Georgia, which is to be the future home of the Georgia Division SCV and MOS&B. Future plans also include having a library and a museum in the house. A 501 (c) (3) corporation, the Southern Cultural Foundation, Inc. (SCF), was formed for the purpose of raising money to renovate the house. Every SCV member in the Georgia Division received a letter and an invitation to join the SCF. Every member should join at the $25 level to help defray the cost of restoring this antebellum home. In the near future the camp should consider making a donation to the Southern Cultural Foundation.

We have a lot of work ahead of us in the coming year, gentlemen. In this ongoing fight to defend our Southern heritage we have limited manpower and few resources. In this modern day culture war, which was forced upon us, we are up against a treacherous and powerful enemy. But with the truth of history on our side and a small number of dedicated and determined Southerners, we will continue the fight to defend the good reputation of our Confederate ancestors and make every effort to present the true history of the South to present and future generations.

Representing Camp #158 in Confederate uniforms, David Powell, Ben Creech, Carl T. Miller, Sr., and Fred Bussey participated in an all day Living History presentation given to approximately 900 school children on Friday, December 5^th. Ben Creech (dressed as a damn Yankee) participated in the battle on Saturday, December 6^th, and Sunday, December 7^th.

On Sunday, December 7^th, 2003, Brigadier General E. Porter Alexander Camp #158 proudly marched in the North Augusta, SC, Christmas Parade and displayed our bright Confederate colors. We were well represented and very well received by the patrons along the parade route on Georgia Avenue. We had a total of 24 people representing Camp #158 that came to take part in the parade.

I want to personally thank everyone that marched in the parade for making this event a big success for Camp #158. And I want to especially thank Miss Katie Udell (daughter of Lt Commander Ron Udell) and Camp #158 member Mr. James "Fuzzy" Hair for the use of their pickup trucks in the parade procession.

Brigadier General E. Porter Alexander Camp 158

Ron Udell, Lt Commander (in Confederate uniform)

Katie Udell (daughter of Ron Udell)

Bill Quattlebaum, 2^nd Lt Commander

Dr. John Baxley, Camp Surgeon (in Confederate uniform)

Lee Herron, Treasurer

Tammy Forehand – President, Berry Benson UDC Chapter #2584 (in 1860s period dress)

Courtney & Summer Herron – members of Children of the Confederacy, Jennie Benson Chapter #884 (daughters of Lee Herron) (both in 1860s period dress)

Perry Herron, Judge Advocate

Josh Herron - member of Children of the Confederacy, Jennie Benson Chapter #884 (son of Perry Herron)

Woody Highsmith, Past Commander

Richard Smith, Past Commander

Jesse Price, Steven Price, Hunter Price & Hope Price (sons & daughter of Steve Price)

Wayne Chastain (guest of Steve Price)

Tony L. Carr, Chaplain

Chris Dabrowski – Associate Member of Camp #158 (in Confederate uniform)

Nick Posey, Commander

Four of our camp members attended the 4^th quarter Georgia Division SCV Executive Council meeting on Saturday, December 13^th, in Forsyth. Members in attendance were Ron Udell, Perry Herron, Richard Smith, and Nick Posey. The issues covered at the EC meeting will be discussed at the next camp meeting on 01/08/04.

On Saturday, December 20^th, 2003, Ron Udell and Nick Posey raked leaves and cut grass in the Confederate Dead section and the Generals’ Walk. On Tuesday, December 23^rd, Nick Posey and his son Matthew raked Magnolia leaves and cones around the platform. Perry Herron plans to rake leaves in the Confederate Dead section again on Saturday, January 3^rd. One item that was missed in the last newsletter was that on Sunday, November 16^th, 2003, Dr. John Baxley and Perry Herron worked in the Confederate Dead section for 2 to 3 hours straightening up leaning headstones. This will be an ongoing job until all 337 headstones in this section are vertically leveled, which should greatly improve the appearance of that section.

Please bring all raffle ticket stubs and money collected from the sale of raffle tickets to the next camp meeting on January 8^th. Raffle ticket stubs and money should be turned over to Lt Commander Ron Udell. The drawing for this raffle will take place on Thursday, January 22^nd, 2004, at our Lee-Jackson Banquet, so it’s very important to get all money and ticket stubs turned in at the next meeting, instead of waiting until the night of the drawing.

Don’t forget about the Hunley Funeral Procession on Saturday, April 17^th, in Charleston, SC. This will probably be the biggest Southern heritage event of our lifetime.

10) Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God. Thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness. 11) Revive me, O Lord, for thy

name’s sake; for thy righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble. 12) And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul; for I am thy servant.

"He who feels no pride in his ancestors is unworthy to be remembered by his descendants." -- Major David F. Boyd, CSA

If we do not defend ourselves none will defend us; if we yield we will be more and more pressed as we recede; and if we submit we will be trampled under foot. -- John C. Calhoun

"It is to me simply incredible, that a people so shrewd and practical as those of the United States, should expect us to have discarded, through the logic of the sword merely, the convictions of a lifetime; or that they could be deceived by us, should we be base enough to assert it of ourselves. They know that the people of the South were conquered, and not convinced; and that the authority of the United States was accepted by us from necessity, and not from preference." "… The people of the South went to war, because they sincerely believed (what their political fathers had taught them, with one voice, for two generations) that the doctrine of State-sovereignty for which they fought, was absolutely essential as the bulwark of the liberties of the people." -- R. L. Dabney

"Posterity…you will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it."--John Quincy Adams

"Let us be certain that our children know that the war between the States was not a contest for the preservation of slavery, as some would have them to believe, but that it was a great struggle for the maintenance of Constitutional rights, and that men who fought were warriors tried and true, who bore the flags of a nation's trust, and fell in a cause, though lost, still just, and died for me and you." -- J. Taylor Ellyson

"My religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death. I do not concern myself about that, but to always be ready, no matter when it may overtake me."-- Stonewall Jackson

The dead covered more than five acres of ground about as thickly as they could be laid."
- A Confederate survivor so described the Union dead at the Battle of Cold Harbor in 1864.

"We must realize that our party's most powerful weapon is racial tension. By propounding into the consciousness of the dark races that for centuries they have been oppressed by the whites, we can mould them to the program of the Communist Party. In America we will aim for subtle victory. While inflaming the Negro minority against the whites, we will endeavor to install in the whites a guilt complex for their exploitation of the Negroes. We will aid the Negroes to rise in prominence in every walk of life, in the professions and in the world of sports and entertainment. With this prestige, the Negro will be able to intermarry with the whites and begin a process which will deliver America to our cause."

Israel Cohen, A Racial Program For The 20th Century (1912) quoted by Congressman Abernathy, Congressional Record (1957), page 8559

(Taken from the book Valor in Gray, by Gregg S. Clemmer, page 93)

January 1^st, 1863 – At the Battle of Galveston, Texas, Confederates recapture that important port city.

January 6^th, 1861 – New York City Mayor Fernando Wood proposes that if the Union is dissolved, New York should become a free city, trading with both North and South.

January 19^th, 1807 – Birthday of General Robert E. Lee

January 19^th, 1861 – Georgia becomes the fifth state to secede from the union.

January 21^st, 1824 – Birthday of Lieutenant General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson

January 24^th, 1861 – Georgia state troops take control of the Federal arsenal in Augusta.

Brigadier General E. Porter Alexander Camp #158