Volume XXXVII, Issue 1 January, 2017 Camp Officers: Commander: David Rawls 1 st Lt. Commander: David Fisher 2 nd Lt. Commander: Hank Arnold Adjutant/ Treasurer: Pat Acton Chaplain: Jeff Young Color Sergeant: Bill Haas Quartermaster: Tristan Dunn Sergeant At Arms: Sam Nelson Camp Surgeon: Dr. Rick Price Dispatch Editor: Jim Darden Commander Emeritus: Dr. Ira West The Next Camp Meeting will be at 7:00 pm, Tuesday January 10 at The New Merkle House 3278 Cahaba Heights Rd, Birmingham, Ala. SCV CALENDAR January 10 CSA Medical Department Dr. Rick Price January 21 Lee/Jackson Banquet Dr. John Killian February 11 AGCA Gun Show recruiting table with Forrest Camp February 14 Scouts, Skirmishers and Sharpshooters Bob Sorrel March 14 The Jack Hinson Story Ronnie Slack April 11 UDC Sandra Pennington May 9 Nullification Crisis David Rawls Chaplain Emeritus: Dr. Charles Baker June 10 AGCA Gun Show recruiting table with Forrest Camp Fighting Joe Wheeler Camp 1372, Inc. C/O Adjutant P.O. Box 43362 Vestavia Hills, AL 35243 October 14 AGCA Gun Show recruiting table with Forrest Camp http://www.fightingjoewheeler.org SCV Fighting Joe Wheeler Camp 1372 Please send articles or other information for inclusion in The Dispatch to Jim Darden Editor 645 South Sanders Road Hoover, Alabama 35226 Or e-mail km4qr@bellsouth.net FJWCamp1372@yahoogroups.com Alabama: We Dare Defend Our Rights The principal for which we contended is bound to reassert itself, though it may be at another time and in another form. - Jefferson Davis, May 1865
Commander s Report January 2017 Compatriots: When I was younger I used to scoff when my parents would complain how much more quickly time flies as you get older. Now I simply shake my head and admit that I was not as smart as I thought I was. Anyway, it is the beginning of a new year and I hope that everyone has much happiness and success in all of your future endeavors. While there is hope on the horizon, we must still be vigilant. Political hacks unfortunately do not give up and slither away when they lose elections; they simply hide in the brush and await their opportunities to strike. For example, in the recent VA funding bill, Democrats tried to add a rider stating that Confederate Flags (I.e., the 1864 Battle Flag) would not be allowed to fly on any Government property, including national cemeteries. Despite the fact that the Republicans removed this language from the bill, bureaucrats at the VA arbitrarily put into force a rule that such flags would no longer be on anything but graves and even then only for short specific periods of time as they deign to allow. Speaking as a lawyer, there are two major problems with this move: 1) such a rule is in violation of Free Speech; and 2) bureaucrats do NOT have the authority to create rules; it is their job to enforce rules promulgated by the elected politicians. It is garbage like this that makes me cringe at our future if we choose to ignore dictatorial grabs of power by unelected, unaccountable people such as these. Now to get off my soapbox and deal with other matters. First, I would like to announce that all of the elected officers from last year have been re-elected. I personally would like to thank David, Hank and Pat for the wonderful job they did over the past year and hopefully we can keep up the good work as well as improve. Without them, nothing could get done. We do, however, have a number of appointed slots available and if anyone would like to serve in these positions, please let us know; we would love to have all the help we can get. Second, there is quite an agenda of events at the Divisional level for this quarter in which we can participate and enjoy: 1) the Robert E. Lee Day event in Montgomery on January 21; 2) the Executive Committee Meeting in Montgomery on February 18; 3) please remember Flag Day on March 4; 4) the Alabama Education Conference in Prattville on March 25; and 5) remember to observe Confederate Memorial Day on April 26. These events are not only educational and help us remember what and why our ancestors sacrificed so much for us and our children, but also are enjoyable in that we get to meet so many fellow brethren and sisters with whom we share this noble tradition and heritage. Third, I would like to note that our very own 1st Lieutenant Commander, David Fisher, has been inducted into the Honorable Order of the Kentucky Colonels. In my opinion this is a well deserved honor for a noteworthy individual in our camp. Congratulations indeed! Fourth, I look forward to the Camp Meeting on January 10th. I ask that not only everyone come and participate but invite any and all to come and enjoy. Our ancestors fought for a just cause and they deserve far more honor and respect for what they did. Let us always honor their memory! Deo Vindice, David L. Rawls Commander Page 2
January 2017 Camp, Welcome to the New Year! I think America should be on an upswing. I like the way the elections turned out. Tired of the hope & change BS. For you Bammers I hope it brings #17! Please review your options and advise your thoughts for the date, time, and place for the Lee - Jackson banquet. I have heard negative comments on the past years venue and the cost of the banquet. What I'm not hearing is any plans to replace or upgrade the event. Please give this your thoughts, it's your camp, how do you want to make it better? If you don't have constructive ideas don't gripe!! I made that sound nice. We need men to step up and offer ideas and actions to improve the camp. We need officers to serve in 2 positions, Volunteers please? Pending events are: Lee Jackson Banquet. Dalton relic show. AGCA February gun show with recruiting table. Division Reunion in June. Please be a part of the above events. Again this camp is honoring your Confederate ancestors, show your hero how you will step up and be proactive. Make them as proud of you as you are of them. Thank you and Happy Confederate New Year!! Hank Arnold 2ed Lt Cmdr FJW 1372
Robert E. Lee January 19, 1807 October 12, 1870 Do your duty in all things, like the old Puritan. You cannot do more; you should never wish to do less. ~ R. E. Lee Edited from : http://www.civilwar.org Robert Edward Lee was born to Revolutionary War hero Henry "Light-Horse Harry" Lee in Stratford Hall, Virginia. Despite financial hardship that caused his father to depart to the West Indies, young Robert secured an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he graduated second in the class of 1829. Two years later, he married Mary Anna Randolph Custis, a descendant of George Washington's adopted son, John Parke Custis. Yet with for all his military pedigree, Lee had yet to set foot on a battlefield. Instead, he served seventeen years as an officer in the Corps of Engineers, supervising and inspecting the construction of the nation's coastal defenses. Service during the 1846 war with Mexico, however, changed that. As a member of General Winfield Scott's staff, Lee distinguished himself, earning three brevets for gallantry, and emerging from the conflict with the rank of colonel. From 1852 to 1855, Lee served as superintendent of West Point, and was therefore responsible for educating many of the men who would later serve under him - and those who would oppose him on the battlefields of the War Between The States. In 1855 he left the academy to take a position in the cavalry and in 1859 was called upon to put down abolitionist John Brown s raid at Harpers Ferry. Because of his reputation as one of the finest officers in the United States Army, Abraham Lincoln offered Lee the command of the Federal forces in April 1861. Lee declined and tendered his resignation from the army when the state of Virginia seceded on April 17, arguing that he could not fight against his own people. Instead, he accepted a general s commission in the newly formed Confederate Army. His first military engagement of the War occurred at Cheat Mountain, Virginia (now West Virginia) on September 11, 1861. It was a Union victory but Lee s reputation withstood the public criticism that followed. He served as military advisor to President Jefferson Davis until June 1862 when he was given command of the wounded General Joseph E. Johnston's embattled army on the Virginia peninsula. Lee renamed his command the Army of Northern Virginia, and under his direction it would become the most famous and successful of the Confederate armies. This same organization also boasted some of the Confederacy's most inspiring military figures, including James Longstreet, Stonewall Jackson and the flamboyant cavalier J.E.B. Stuart. With these trusted subordinates, Lee commanded troops that continually manhandled their blue-clad adversaries and embarrassed their generals no matter what the odds. Yet despite foiling several attempts to seize the Confederate capital, Lee recognized that the key to ultimate success was a victory on Northern soil. In September 1862, he launched an invasion into Maryland with the hope of shifting the war's focus away from Virginia. But when a misplaced dispatch outlining the invasion plan was discovered by Union commander George McClellan the element of surprise was lost, and the two armies faced off at the battle of Antietam. Though his plans were no longer a
secret, Lee nevertheless managed to fight McClellan to a stalemate on September 17, 1862. Following the bloodiest one-day battle of the war, heavy casualties compelled Lee to withdraw under the cover of darkness. The remainder of 1862 was spent on the defensive, parrying Union thrusts at Fredericksburg and, in May of the following year, Chancellorsville. The masterful victory at Chancellorsville gave Lee great confidence in his army, and the Rebel chief was inspired once again to take the fight to enemy soil. In late June of 1863, he began another invasion of the North, meeting the Union host at the crossroads town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. For three days Lee assailed the Federal army under George G. Meade in what would become the most famous battle of the entire war. The Confederate war effort reached its high water mark on July 3, 1863 when Lee ordered a massive frontal assault against Meade's center, spear-headed by Virginians under Maj. Gen. George E. Pickett. The attack known as Pickett's charge was a failure and Lee, recognizing that the battle was lost, ordered his army to retreat. Taking full responsibility for the defeat, he wrote Jefferson Davis offering his resignation, which Davis refused to accept. After the simultaneous Union victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg, Mississippi, Ulysses S. Grant assumed command of the Federal armies. Rather than making Richmond the aim of his campaign, Grant chose to focus the myriad resources at his disposal on destroying Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. In a relentless and bloody campaign, the Federal juggernaut bludgeoned the under-supplied Rebel band. In spite of his ability to make Grant pay in blood for his aggressive tactics, Lee had been forced to yield the initiative to his adversary, and he recognized that the end of the Confederacy was only a matter of time. By the summer of 1864, the Confederates had been forced into waging trench warfare outside of Petersburg. Though President Davis named the Virginian General-in-Chief of all Confederate forces in February 1865, only two months later, on April 9, 1865, Lee was forced to surrender his weary and depleted army to Grant at Appomattox Court House, effectively ending the War. Lee returned home on parole and eventually became the president of Washington College in Virginia (now known as Washington and Lee University). He remained in this position until his death on October 12, 1870 in Lexington, Virginia. In all my perplexities and distresses, the Bible has never failed to give me light and strength. ~ R. E. Lee
Thomas Jonathan Stonewall Jackson January 21, 1824 May 10, 1863 You may be whatever you resolve to be. ~ Stonewall Jackson Edited from : http://www.civilwar.org Thomas Jonathan Stonewall Jackson was born in Clarksburg, Virginia. He graduated from West Point in 1846 and began his official military career with the US Army as a brevet second lieutenant in the Mexican-American War from 1846-1848, where he first met Robert E. Lee. After many successful shows of leadership in the war, he was promoted to rank of major. In 1851, Jackson resigned his military commission and accepted a teaching position at Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia. His style as a professor was controversial, but nonetheless invaluable, as VMI continues to use many of his philosophies today. At the war s outbreak, Jackson accepted orders as a Colonel of Virginia militia and commanded at Harper s Ferry. Jackson then took on the title of Brigadier general and led troops in the epic battle of First Manassas, where he and his brigade earned him the title Stonewall. In November of 1861 he was promoted to major general and dispatched to the Shenandoah Valley to defend the South from Federal troops headed towards Richmond. Jackson organized extremely successful military maneuvers at Front Royal, Winchester, Cross Keys, and Port Republic in the spring of 1862. These led up to the Seven Days Battle around Richmond, where Jackson s nonplussed performance on the outset gradually gained momentum. He made more epic showings at Second Manassas and then again in Sharpsburg at the Battle of Antietam. Following these events the Army of Northern Virginia was reorganized and Jackson was designated lieutenant general. In December of 1862, Jackson commanded a victory at Fredericksburg, and then the famous flank march at Chancellorsville in May. The same night as that victory, May 2, 1863, Jackson was wounded by friendly fire while making a reconnaissance with a member of his staff. He died eight days later on May 10 from pneumonia, a complication of having his left arm amputated from the incident. Thomas Stonewall Jackson was with his wife and only surviving daughter when he died, and is buried in Lexington, Virginia. Captain, 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 be always ready, no matter when it may overtake me. Captain, that is the way all men should live, and then all would be equally brave. ~ Stonewall Jackson