Newsletter of Brigadier General E. Porter Alexander Camp #158, Augusta, Georgia
March 2004
Commander’s Column - By Nick Posey
Our last meeting on February 12th, at Sconyers BBQ Restaurant, was very well attended by members and guests alike. The program speaker Phil Kent, former Editorial Page Editor of The Augusta Chronicle, spoke on his recently published book, "The Dark Side of Liberalism," and emphasized how and why the liberal elites in America are attacking and attempting to eradicate our Southern history, culture and heritage. Phil gave a very informative talk.
A significant number of Southern heritage events, including memorial services and battle re-enactments, have been going on in the Augusta area during the last month. Camp #158 members were well represented at these events. The Battle of Aiken, one the most well known and largest battle re-enactments in the country, was attended by a record number of people this year, which will hopefully generate some curiosity and interest about Southern heritage and history among the general public. You can rest assured that the general population won’t learn true Southern history in the public school systems. And hopefully by attending these types of events people will take the initiative to learn the truth about their Southern history and teach it to their children, which will only help our struggling Southern Cause.
Along with three other members of the camp, I met with Augusta’s Mayor Bob Young last month about getting the funding needed to do the much needed restoration work on Augusta’s 142 year-old Confederate Powder Works Chimney. There’s more about this on page 2, but the bottom line is that if this work is going to ever get done, Brigadier General E. Porter Alexander Camp #158 is going to have to be the driver to make it happen. The next step is to aggressively solicit funding through any available grants and, if necessary, private donations from business and industry in the Augusta area that are willing to help out. We need to strive to get this project completed in the next two years so that Augusta’s Powder Works chimney, the oldest Confederate monument in existence, will be standing well into the 22nd century.
Be sure to put April 24th on your calendar. That’s the date of our Confederate Memorial Day Service at Magnolia Cemetery. We’ll be doing the planning and preparation during the weeks ahead to get ready for that event.
Our next camp meeting is on March 11th. Our program speaker will be Mr. Gary Spottedwolf. He’ll speak about the role of Native Americans in the Confederacy and how they were persecuted by the US government after the War for Southern Independence. This should be an interesting and educational discussion, and I look forward to seeing all of you at the meeting.
The Wig Wag is published monthly and is the official publication of Brigadier General E. Porter Alexander Camp #158, Sons of Confederate Veterans, Augusta, Georgia.
All members are encouraged to submit articles of interest, announcements, and information about events or activities in which camp members have participated. Please submit information to Editor Nick Posey at email address nicholasposey@comcast.net. If you do not have Internet access, call Nick Posey at 706-855-1895.Congratulations are in order to two new Camp #158 members …
We welcome new members Gary Hattaway and Matthew Posey. Both of them petitioned the camp for membership and were accepted at the February 12th meeting.
Tom Stafford recruited Gary Hattaway and Nick Posey recruited Matthew Posey. Camp #158 appreciates the efforts of Tom Stafford and Nick Posey for bringing in these two new members.
On Saturday, February 7th, the Alexander H. Stephens Birthday Memorial was held at the A.H. Stephens State Park in Crawfordville, Georgia. Camp #158 members in attendance were Ron Udell, Woody Highsmith and Lee Herron. Past Commander Woody Highsmith was presented with the Major Patrick R. Cleburne Meritorious Service Award by the Georgia Society MOS&B for his many years of faithful service to that organization. Woody is the Adjutant General of the Georgia Society MOS&B.
Sergeant Berry G. Benson Camp #1672, SCV, & Berry Benson Chapter #2584, UDC, had a birthday memorial celebration on Sunday, February 8th, honoring their namesake, Sergeant Berry Greenwood Benson. The ceremony was held at Sunset Hill Cemetery in North Augusta, South Carolina. About 65 people attended the ceremony, which was very well done. Members from Brigadier General E. Porter Alexander Camp #158 in attendance were Henry Gilmer, Lee Herron, John Baxley, Ron Udell, Fred Bussey, associate member Chris Dadrowski, Carl T. Miller, Sr., Perry Herron, Tony L. Carr and Nick Posey. Lieutenant Commander Ron Udell, Carl T. Miller, Sr., and Quartermaster Fred Bussey were dressed in Confederate uniforms. Being the only re-enactor at the service with a rifle, Lieutenant Commander Ron Udell performed the black powder salute, with Carl T. Miller, Sr., also standing in formation.
On Saturday, February 14th, a special memorial service honoring veterans of all wars was held at the Wade Hampton Veterans Park in North Augusta, SC. In spite of the pouring rain this memorial service was attended by six members of Camp #158. Those in attendance were Tony L. Carr, Allen Johnson, Ron Udell, associate member Chris Dabrowski, Tim Hardin, and Nick Posey. Tim Hardin’s brother-in-law, Jerry Harden, from Rome, Georgia, also attended.
The Battle of Aiken was on Saturday, February 21st, and Sunday, February 22nd. Three members of Camp #158 participated in the battle re-enactment. Ben Creech and David Powell fought in the battle on
Saturday and Sunday, and Ron Udell also fought on Sunday. Other Camp #158 members that attended the
Battle of Aiken were Ed Strickland, Fred Bussey, Lee Herron, Mark Cook, Henry Gilmer, Tony Carr, Eddie Flanders and associate member Chris Dabrowski. Jerry and Diann Grigsby, Stan (future member) and Debbie Scritchfield, and Wayne and Kathy Grubbs, regular visitors at our camp meetings, were also at the Battle of Aiken.
On Friday, February 27th, four members of Brigadier General E. Porter Alexander Camp #158 met with Mayor Bob Young to discuss getting assistance from the city of Augusta in obtaining grant money for the restoration of the Confederate Powder Works Chimney. This work is going to cost well over $150,000. Mayor Young was quite receptive to the idea and agreed that this was a very important project that should be undertaken. He understands the historical significance of the Confederate Powder Works Chimney and said that the city would work with Camp #158 in acquiring the funds needed to complete the restoration work on the Chimney. The meeting was very productive for Camp #158. Members representing Camp #158 were Commander Nick Posey, Lieutenant Commander Ron Udell, Treasurer Lee Herron and Judge Advocate Perry Herron.
A "flagging" at Flag City took place on Sunday, February 29th. Flag City is a new store recently opened by Past Commander Woody Highsmith on 218 South Bel Air Road, which offers all types of Confederate flags and a good assortment of Confederate memorabilia and apparel. A few members of Camp #158 decided to have a flagging before the March 3rd flag referendum to show the real Georgia flag, the true flag of the people of Georgia. Passing motorists were very favorable and receptive to real Georgia flags, as usual. Camp #158 members participating were Woody Highsmith, Carl T. Miller, Sr., Ron Udell and Richard Smith. Katie Udell, Ron’s daughter, and co-owner of Flag City, Bud Dickson, also participated in the afternoon flagging.
The next Camp #158 Meeting will be on Thursday, March 11th, 2004, at Sconyers BBQ Restaurant, 7:00 p.m. For our program speaker, we are very fortunate that we will have Mr. Gary Spottedwolf from Marietta, Georgia, coming to speak to us. This is a direct quote from Mr. Spottedwolf, a Native American, regarding his subject of discussion:
" I will give a lecture on the service that Confederate Native Americans offered during the War Between the States and the effect our participation had on the War. I will cover topics from the years of 1861 through 1865, and why we chose to fight for the Confederate States of America. I'll also touch on why those that fought for the Union lost their rights. Remember, we as a people (Southerners and Native Americans) were both beaten down by the BLUE COATS while fighting for our Independence and Freedoms."
This should be a very interesting and informative discussion on a subject that is not very often discussed.
The next Adopt-A-Highway Litter Pickup will be on Saturday, March 20th, 2004. Meet at 9:00 a.m. in the parking lot across the street from the Miyabi Kyoto Japanese Steakhouse Restaurant on Augusta West Parkway. It will take us about an hour to cleanup the litter along this roadway.
The Wrens Gourd Festival will be on Saturday, March 27th, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., in Wrens Georgia. Take U.S. Highway No. 1 South to Wrens, which is about 30 miles from Augusta.
Our April 8th Camp #158 Meeting will be at the Warren Road Community Center on 300 Warren Road at 7:00 p.m. This will be during Masters week and as most of you already know, we can’t meet at Sconyers during that week. They don’t allow any groups or organizations to reserve any of their meeting rooms during the week of the Masters. This will be a short camp meeting and we will not have a program speaker. We’ll probably be discussing the details of the upcoming Confederate Memorial Day Service on April 24th, and bringing up any last minute items that need to be addressed before the service.
Items of Interest
Scripture for Thought:
Psalms 46:1
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
John 16:33
These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Proverbs 22:1
A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favor rather than silver and gold.
Matthew 10: 32 & 33
32) Whosoever, therefore, shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father, who is in heaven. 33) But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father, who is in heaven.
"Quotes"
"You have no reason to be ashamed of your ancestors. See to it that they have no reason to be ashamed of you!" -- Charlie Reese
Dixie's Not Down yet! She lives and thrives through her history and those who love her history will save it so that others can bring some of it back to life. – Maury Morris, a Virginian
Patrick Henry, that patriot and Founding Father of our country said, "It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians, not on religions but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ."
"Hillary Clinton is a museum-quality specimen of a Yankee – self-righteous, ruthless, self-aggrandizing" -- Dr. Clyde Wilson
"…. it does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds." --Samuel Adams
Ronald J. Rychlak, professor of law at the University of Mississippi School of Law in Oxford wrote: "Whereas most northern cities have neighborhoods flavored by cultural identities, that is missing in the South. Southern cities have no European ethnic centers. There is no Greek-town, no Little Italy and no German neighborhood. For the average Southerner, the 'old country' is neither Poland nor France; it is the Confederacy."
Senator William H. Seward, speaking out against the idea of war, says, "I do not know what the Union would be worth if saved by the sword."
The Chief Surgeon of camp Elmira was overheard to boast, before resigning to avoid court martial, he had killed more rebels than any Union soldier. Bottom line, there was 3,866 more Confederate soldiers who died in Union prisons than Union soldiers in Confederate prisons.
Valor In Gray
Confederate Medal of Honor
Citation
Major General Patrick Ronayne Cleburne
Cleburne’s Division, C.S.A.
Battle of Franklin, Tennessee
30 November 1864
"With the words, ‘If we are to die, let us die like men,’ General Cleburne led his division forward in the great charge against a waiting enemy protected by three lines of heavy entrenchments. Upon the capture of the first line, General Cleburne, riding across his division and perilously exposed to an intense fire of artillery and musketry, urged his men onward against the second line. Despite his horse being killed by artillery fire, General Cleburne found a second horse and was in the process of mounting when it was killed by a cannonball. Waving his cap and with utter disregard for his own safety, he then advanced on foot, leading the charge against the enemy’s second line where he perished. "
(Taken from the book Valor in Gray, by Gregg S. Clemmer, page173)
Important dates during the War for Southern Independence
March 1st, 1862 –
President Jefferson Davis proclaims martial law in Richmond, and pro-northern sympathizers are arrested.March 4th, 1861 – Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated president, and newspaper editorials in the South proclaim that this means war.
March 11th, 1861 – The Confederate Congress unanimously adopts the Constitution of the Confederate States of America.
March 13th, 1865 – President Jefferson Davis signs the legislation allowing Negroes in the Confederate Army. General Lee acts promptly and soon black troops are seen in Confederate uniforms in Richmond.
March 16th, 1861 – Jefferson Davis arrives in Montgomery, Alabama, to accept the post of Provisional President of the newly organized Confederate States of America.
March 18th, 1862 – President Jefferson Davis appoints Judah P. Benjamin as Confederate Secretary of State.
March 22nd, 1864 – After a heavy snowfall in Richmond, Virginia, Confederate soldiers engage in a huge snowball fight.
March 24th, 1864 –Confederate cavalry under General Nathan Bedford Forrest captures Union City, Tennessee.
March 29th, 1865 – Appomattox campaign begins. Near Petersburg, Virginia, there is heavy fighting near the junction of Boydton and Quaker Roads.
Interesting Facts About Slavery
In his recent book, Myths & Realities of American Slavery, John C. Perry, introduces thirty-one "Slavery Facts." These are summary statements regarding some aspect of slavery. To many they may be very surprising, but they are true. For the most part, each "Slavery Fact’ is an undisputedly true "nugget" of information about American slavery. This is the fifth in a series of "Slavery Facts" presented each month until all thirty-one are listed in subsequent issues of the newsletter.
Slavery Facts 22 - 26:
22) The medical care received by most slaves was superior to that of the Southern whites.
23) By state law slaves were not permitted to learn to read or write, but due to their own initiative, often aided by their slave owner, many did so.
24) Period data suggests that, at least from a financial sense, free Africans were better off in the South versus the North.
25) Thousands of free Africans in the South owned their own slaves.
26) Abraham Lincoln was elected in 1860 strictly on a regional vote, receiving less than 40 percent of the overall popular vote. In some Southern states not a single vote was cast for Lincoln.
The Southern Soldier
There is a soldier. This soldier represents all those who have fought for freedom, liberty, and the God-given right of self-determination. In our history as a people, this soldier is a Southern man. He may be well educated, or he may have never learned to read and write, but he has given his all for love of family and country, always believing that he acted out of a sense of duty, and with honor.
Close your eyes and picture in your mind this soldier. He could be a colonial soldier holding his musket in his bloody hands, tired from fighting the British army. He might be a Confederate soldier grasping a rifle that had once served to only feed his family rather than defending their home.
He stands barefoot in the snow, starved from lack of food, wounded from months of battle and emotionally scarred from the eternity away from his family, surrounded by nothing but death and carnage of war. He stands tough, with fire in his eyes and the knowledge of the righteousness of his cause in his heart. He looks at us now in anger and disgust and tells us this...
"I gave you a birthright of freedom born in the Declaration of Independence and documented in the Constitution. I fought to defend those rights when the British and the Yankees came to take them away. And now your children graduate too illiterate to read the documents that explain their freedoms. I fought in the snow barefoot to give you the freedom to vote and you stay at home because it rains. I left my family destitute to give you the freedom of speech and you remain silent on critical issues, because it might be bad for business. I orphaned my children to give you a government to serve you and you sat and watched as it stole your liberties."
It's the soldier not the reporter who defends your freedom of the press.
It's the soldier not the poet who defends your freedom of speech.
It's the soldier not the campus organizer who protects your right to demonstrate.
We Southerners owe much to our ancestors who were willing to go into harms way and defend our rights. They gave their material wealth as well as their very lives so we could have freedom. Much was sacrificed, but much was gained. What are you doing today to honor their efforts? Memorials aren't enough. Rallies aren't enough. You need to become a
From Up From Slavery, by Booker T. Washington:
"Though I was but little more than a youth during the period of Reconstruction, I had the feeling that mistakes were being made, and that things could not remain in the condition that they were in then for very long. I felt that the Reconstruction policy, so far as it related to my race, was in a large measure on a false foundation, was artificial and forced. In many cases it seemed to me that the ignorance of my race was being used as a tool with which to help white men into office, and that there was an element in the North which wanted to punish the Southern white men by forcing the Negro into positions over the heads of the Southern whites. I felt that the Negro would be the one to suffer for this in the end.
Besides, the general political agitation drew the attention of our people away from the more fundamental matters of perfecting themselves in the industries at their doors and in securing property. "New Orleans Daily Crescent-1861
"They (the South) know that it is their import trade that draws from the peoples’ pockets sixty or seventy millions of dollars per annum, in the shape of duties, to be expended mainly in the North, and in the protection and encouragement of Northern interest.... These are the reasons why these people do not wish the South to secede from the Union. They (the North) are enraged at the prospect of being despoiled of the rich feast upon which they have so long fed and fattened, and which they were just getting ready to enjoy with still greater gout and gusto. They are as mad as hornets because the prize slips from them just as they are ready to grasp it
Sergeant William Henry von Eberstein
from North Carolina fought for the Confederacy as a member of the Washington Grays, Heavy Artillery, until promoted to Sergeant Major, Field and Staff of the 61st Regiment NC State Troops. Sgt. von Eberstein wrote his memoirs before his death in 1890. He owned no slaves. He fought for the land that belonged to his family. In his memoirs, he notes one of the instances, which Northern historians and writers refuse to admit, which was the United States Colored Troops being used as cannon fodder during a battle near Petersburg. "After a short while the Yankees made a heavy charge against the break they had made. They charged with their Negroes in front and the White Yankees behind them with bayonets fixed. It was certain death for a Negro not to advance upon the charge."Why Do They Hate Me?
I’m just the Confederate Battle flag, not a political stance
I was born to save lives, and I often got the chance
Nowhere did I stand for Politics, but flew in battles proud
My people easily recognized me as I stood out from the crowd
Against all odds my people fought, many gave their all
Many died trying to save me; their banner could not fall
I was honored by their devotion; you should have seen them fight
They fought for GOD, home and country, they knew that they were right
Battlefields filled with blood, so many lost their lives
Never again to see children, nor feel the touch of their wives
Too many times I was the last sight my men would ever see
They didn’t want to conquer anyone; they just sought to be free
At a place called Appomattox, the war would finally end
No more family killing family, no more friends killing friends
General Lee addressed our troops, in a voice soft and kind
We were never defeated men, we just ran out of time.
I was retired with honor, but my people felt disgrace
But no man could ever be ashamed, to look upon my face
I was often there at reunions, when veterans would meet and cheer
At the sight of this old battle flag, many would shed a tear.
Many years later I was honored once again
Many old Confederate States wanted to honor their fallen men
I would be part of State Flags; my people could look on my face
No longer in defeat, no longer in disgrace
Sadly today I’m unjustly attacked; people say I’m a symbol of hate
I just honor sacred dead; can this really be my fate?
How can I be labeled by people who don’t even know from whence I came?
How can people hate me, who don’t even know my name?
Yet there are still some of my people, out there fighting for me
I fly over Patriots dead and alive, being what I was created to be
A banner standing tall and proud, my people in trouble draw near
I still am the Confederate battle flag; my people gather here.
Dr. William H. Swann, January 12, 2004
Sons of Confederate Veterans
Brigadier General E. Porter Alexander Camp #158
P. O. Box 3694, Hill Station
Augusta, GA 30904
"Truth crushed to the earth is truth
still and like a seed will rise again."
-- President Jefferson Davis
---Next Camp #158 Meeting ---
March 11th, at
Sconyers’ BBQ Restaurant, 7:00 pmCome join us at around 6:30 to eat Barbeque before the meeting
Wig Wag -
March 2004 EditionThe Official Monthly Newsletter of
Brigadier General E. Porter Alexander Camp #158
Sons of Confederate Veterans
Augusta, Georgia