Camp Cresset Finley s Brigade Camp #1614 Havana, Florida

Transcription

1 Camp Cresset Finley s Brigade Camp #1614 Havana, Florida Recipient 2011 and 2012 Dr. George R. Tabor Most Distinguished Camp Award "To you, Sons of Confederate Veterans, we will commit the vindication of the cause for which we fought. To your strength will be given the defense of the Confederate soldier's good name, the guardianship of his history, the emulation of his virtues, the perpetuation of those principles which he loved and which you love also, and those ideals which made him glorious and which you also cherish." Recent Event: Annual Lee-Jackson Banquet Finley s Brigade had its 26 th annual Lee-Jackson Banquet on February 3 rd at the Marzuq Shrine here in Tallahassee. The dinner was a success with a hair under one hundred people in attendance. After the social hour was concluded, our color guard posted the U.S. flag, the camp battle flag, Robert E. Lee s Headquarters Flag, and the blue and white headquarters flag of General Finley. After colors were posted our guest speaker, all attendees took part in a delicious meal. After dessert, Mr. Al Arnold gave a wellreceived presentation on what his personal journey after discovering his ancestor was an orderly for Robert E. Lee. Following our speaker there was drawing for two doorprizes, the auction of a fine print, a conclusion, and of course a round of Dixie. Thanks to all those who donated items to the silent auction for the camp s benefit, to all those who came and participated, and to all those who helped set up and put away. It couldn t have been done without you! (Commander Crocker presents our guest speaker, Al Arnold a gift) 1

2 Recent Event: Headstone Installation for Cadet Prospere DeMilly In early January, Commander Crocker and 2 nd Lieutenant Cotton went to Old City Cemetery and installed a VA headstone for Cadet Sergeant Prospere D. DeMilly. DeMilly was one of the West Florida Cadets who saw action at Natural Bridge. Dying in 1904, he was buried without a permanent headstone and so it fell upon Finley s Brigade to procure him one. It had been our hope to collaborate with the FSU Army ROTC program to participate with us in a ceremony. Unfortunately, that failed to come to fruition. Regardless, Cadet DeMilly is now marked permanently with a VA marker proclaiming his service with the West Florida Military Institute. Photo left: 2LT Tim Cotton levels up a new VA Headstone. Recent Event: Headstone Installation for Thomas Owens Not long after Cadet DeMilly received his headstone, another unmarked rebel was attended to by several other members of Finley s Brigade. Thomas W. Owens of the 5 th Florida Cavalry died in 1921 without a stone to mark his burial space in the Bethel UMC Cemetery. Marshall Carroll, Stan Willis, Christopher Miller, and Kelly Crocker went to the churchyard to install the stone. Additionally, they straightened out the stone of his brother Robert Owens who was a Confederate, whose marker was being disturbed by the infringing roots of a tree. The installation was a success and was announced to the congregation the next day that we had successfully found and marked a confederate soldier. Photo right: Compatriots Stan Willis and Chris Miller. 2

3 Recent Event: Old Joe Re-Dedication On the 19 th of January, Finley s Brigade member Larry Thomas along with his wife, Jane attended a re-dedication ceremony for Old Joe. The story of this statue is an all too common one nowadays, he sat on a courthouse lawn in Gainesville for decades, a sole rebel soldier whose likeness was funded by a local UDC chapter. Unfortunately, he was set upon by the enemy and due to a spineless county legislature, he was robbed of the place of honor that Southern blood bought. While it is sad to see a monument moved; as long as we still own our statues no one is to say that one removal need be the end. Perhaps someday Old Joe can be restored to a public forum. Until then he has resumed his northward facing vigil on ground where he is loved, and that in and of itself is a victory. Thanks to the Thomas s for attending the event. Recent Event: Rhodes Cemetery Work Day This month we also had a small work day at the Rhodes Cemetery. Graves Committee Chairman Lamar Cox organized the day. Our members found that a tree needed to be cleared off a fence and that the area around the Confederate graves was getting overgrown. Thankfully it was easily remedied with a little hard-work. Thanks to members Lamar Cox, Mark Bess, Jim Windsor, and Marshall Carroll for coming out and giving up a weekend morning to help maintain the graves of our cherished dead. 3

4 Recent Event: WHO Festival (Compatriot Allen Gerrell in the foreground looks out at visitors to the southern encampment) The same day as our Lee- Jackson Banquet, Finley s was invited out to participate in the Wildlife, Heritage, and Outdoors Festival or WHO for short. It was a small festival at the St. Marks Wildlife Refuge Center attended probably by about two hundred people. Compatriot Tim Cotton brought distributional literature and materials while new compatriot Allen Gerrell generously brought his six-pound field howitzer and limber out. The sight of two uniformed confederates and a cannon proved an irresistible draw for many, especially young children who wore some spare uniform parts and took what will hopefully be cherished pictures in front of the piece. We had the opportunity to have good and positive community outreach, answer questions about who we are, about the Confederacy, and about how it pertains to today. We hope that we ll be able to return next year. Trivia Question of the Month Many people know about Robert E. Lee s horse, Traveller; however, around the middle of the war he was known to keep another pet. What kind of animal was it? What was its name? Last month s trivia question: Which confederate general was killed by a jealous husband after he was discovered carrying on an affair with the man s wife? The answer: General Earl Van Dorn. Confederate Classifieds Compatriot J.R. Miller is looking for any physical copies of pictures of soldiers who were at the Battle of Natural Bridge. He plans to use them as part of an educational display for the battle this year. In addition to the photographs he will need the soldier s name, rank and unit as well as any pertinent information. For more information send an to dogrunner79@yahoo.com Looking for anything or have something you wish to sell or trade? Contact the editor to post an ad. 4

5 Confederate Flag of the Month This month s confederate flag of the month is the first regimental flag of the 11 th Mississippi Infantry. This banner is a take on the first national flag with the unit name 11 th MISS. embroidered on the top bar. Perhaps more unique is that the ladies of Crawford, MS decided to stitch a canton of ten stars in the shape of a traditional Christian cross. The 11 th had several companies, one of which, Company A was the famous University Greys who were raised from what is today Ole Miss and participated in Pickett s Charge with a killed or wounded rate of literally 100%. It was retired shortly after First Manassas and eventually replaced with a conventional square pattern battle flag. Due to its short lifespan, this beautiful emblem has survived and is remarkably well preserved to this day. Currently it rests behind glass in the Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center, donated in May of Anyone seeking to own one themselves can find one from a variety of sources online. However, since it was such a short lived and unit specific flag, those who do take the time to recreate it generally only make it in cotton or nylon for a true quality flag. Confederate Georgia! The Military Organizations Of The Peach State. Written by compatriot J.R. Miller The Georgia Militia: Pre-War to end of 1863 The pre-war militia had existed as an active organization since the days when Georgia was a British colony. However, after the revolution and War of 1812 the militia was more of a ceremonial organization than a military force. Formal musters and drill were scarcely held. There were several units that were better equipped and trained but those were few and far between. About the only time a local militia was mustered was for the celebration of the 4th of July where they may have drilled or fired a celebratory volley of musket or cannon into the air. It was not until just before John Brown s raid that militia training was taken seriously. This new initiative of increasing militia drilling formed the backbone of what would be Georgia s state forces in the war. The Georgia Army: Secession to The C.S.A When the southern states seceded, they became autonomous republics first before voting to join as states in a confederation. Governor Joseph Brown even declared such a thing and sent out delegates stating such. Two regiments were formed and were called the secession regiments. One was raised in the northern part of the state and mustered in Atlanta and the other raised in the southern part of the state in Savanah. These two regiments formed the Georgia Army which would become the First Georgia Regulars when Georgia was admitted as a confederate state. The Georgia State Guard The Georgia State Guard was a short-lived organization that was formed in 1863 (six months troops). Raised in various parts of the state, this organization served as a home guard. There is little known about this organization, most of the organization saw no combat and many records found in other infantry units such as daily muster rolls are not found. 5

6 The Georgia State Line The Georgia State Line was the governors attempt to keep an organized fighting force in the state of Georgia. The State Line consisted of two regiments; the First and Second organically formed to guard the railway lines in the state. The state line would become the shock troops or the special forces of the state of Georgia, fighting in many of the Georgia battles and also in the Carolinas. The Georgia Militia: 1863 To the End of The War By the end days of 1863 the militia system in Georgia was in shambles manly due to volunteering of her men in confederate units. The Georgia legislature recognized this and passed legislation to reorganize the state militia. The state issued a census to record all the available men that were not already serving in state or confederate units. The census came up with about 30,000 men; the men were divided into the militia proper and militia reserve according to age. However, the third confederate conscription act took the militia proper and made them regular confederate army forces. The Georgia militia was the primary force that met Sherman in his march to the sea and fought a deadly battle at Griswoldville, Georgia. After the disaster of Griswoldville the militia fell back and made its way to Thomasville. The militia would fight in South Carolina and struck a stunning victory at the Battle of Honey Hill. After the battle, the militia would return to the state and were surrendered in The Georgia Reserves The Reserves were a short-lived unit that served until the end of the war. The Reserve Force was formed in They were commanded by General Cobb and many served in the defense of Atlanta. Several companies were stationed in the Carolinas and surrendered there. Other served as prison guards and in some places acted as a constabulary. Georgia was very concerned with providing for its own defense independent of the protection offered to it by the confederate government. The state government was always butting heads with the Richmond over supplies and manpower and did what it could to protect itself from the Yankees and torries that were in the state. Governor Brown did have ups and downs with his people over the various organizations that were formed and disbanded. In the end with the abandonment of confederate forces in the state, Sherman was left as a fox in the henhouse to commit acts of rapine and plunder. The few militiamen and reserves left tried but could not protect Georgia from the dogs of war. Upcoming Event: Adopt a Road On Saturday February the 24 th, we have our quarterly Adopt-A-Road commitment on Natural Bridge Road. We pick up litter on the last two miles before the battlefield. Of all the Adopt-A-Roads this is the most important because it happens the week before the re-enactment. The condition we leave the road in when we go home is the condition most visitors to the re-enactment weekend will see it in when they go. If you can come, even if it s only for half an hour please do so. We will start showing up at nine and work until about noon or when the job gets done. We hope to see you all there. Upcoming Event: Natural Bridge Weekend As many of you know, Natural Bridge is less than a month away. This is without a doubt our seminal event for public outreach. We will have a booth up on Saturday and Sunday with our color guard participating 6

7 during the Sunday ceremony put on by the UDC at the monument. Come out and see our booth, if you can participate in any way please consider doing so. This is a great time to tell people about our group and recruit new members, having a uniform is not necessary to help. We are blessed to have a battle reenactment in our backyard, let s take full advantage of it and make sure the SCV has a good showing on our home turf! Upcoming Event: Woodville Founders Day Finley s Brigade will participate in the 5 th Annual Woodville Founders Day. The event is held at the Woodville Branch Library at 8000 Old Woodville Hwy. Men and women of Finley s are invited to attend. We will continue our efforts to educate the public on the truth about the Confederate Soldier and his cause. Heritage Opportunities February 13 Regular Camp Meeting February Battle of Olustee Reenactment weekend in Lake City February 17 Stephen Dill Lee Institute in Shreveport, Louisiana February 24 Adopt a Road March 2-4 Natural Bridge Re-enactment weekend. March 10 Woodville Founders Day March 13 Regular Camp Meeting April 10 Regular Camp Meeting April 21 Confederate Memorial Day in Soldier s Cemetery in Quincy. For times, locations, and details for the following events please contact Commander Crocker at kvcroadking@yahoo.com or For comments, questions, concerns, or submissions to the newsletter please contact the editor at timothy.d.cotton.27@gmail.com Our meetings are always held on the second Tuesday of each and every month at the Golden Corral restaurant on North Monroe Street across from Lake Ella. The program will start promptly at 6:45 so be sure to arrive early (6:00) to enjoy a fine meal and socialize before the meeting starts. The Camp Cresset Newsletter is the official publication of Camp 1614, Finley s Brigade Sons of Confederate Veterans. No content may be reproduced in part, or in whole, without the expressed written authorization from the Editor-in-Chief. All parts herein remain the sole property of SCV Camp