2nd Lt. Pryor Bryan, Co. F, 5th Texas
Infantry, older brother of Captain James
W. Bryan. (Courtesy of Miss Velma Bryan)
To access the December Calcasieu Greys, click the below green link:CALCASIEU GREYS - December, 2015
Contact SCV.org
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Monday, October 26, 2015
CALCASIEU GREYS - November 2015
Click on green link to open: CALCASIEU GREYS - November 2015
 |
| Pvt. Thomas Booker Thomas' 28th Louisiana Infantry Regiment (Liljenquist Collection, Library of Congress) |
Sunday, October 25, 2015
SONS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS -- A Band of Brothers
|
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
CALCASIEU GREYS -- October, 2015
Click Green Link To Open: CALCASIEU GREYS -- OCTOBER, 2015
 |
| The South's Defenders War Memorial Monument (Photo by M.D. Jones) TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Page 1 – Next Meeting, Commander’s Column.
|
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Calcasieu Greys, September, 2015
Calcasieu Greys-TABLE OF CONTENTS
(Click the above link)
Page 1
Next Meeting
Camp logo stickers available
Finding Your Way Home-Commander's Column
Page 2
Finding Your Way Home, continued
The New Orleans Monuments
Page 3
Louisiana SCV License Plates
Note to Lapsed Members
Jeff Davis Statue Removed
Page 4
Appeals Court Reverses Dismissal of Earlier Chancery Court Ruling
Recent Poll Results on Confederate Flag
Monday, August 3, 2015
CALCASIEU GREYS--August 2015
NEXT MEETING
The next meeting of Captain James W. Bryan Camp 1390, Sons of Confederate Veterans, is 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, August 11 at Logan’s Road House in Lake Charles. Our program will be presented by guest Brandon Shoemaker, Director of the Calcasieu Parish Genealogy Library on Pujo Street. Brandon will be speaking on the subject, “Researching War Between the States Confederate Veteran Ancestors.” Please make every effort to be in attendance and bring a prospect. This is an excellent opportunity for those who may be interested in becoming members to learn how to find their Confederate ancestor.
SCV HERITAGE DEFENSE WEBSITE ESTABLISHED
The Sons of Confederate Veterans has established a special website at SCV Heritage Defense Cmdr.-In-Chief Kelly Barrow wrote, “I am certain I do not need to tell you that we are facing a crisis. In fact, we are facing the greatest threat to our heritage in modern times. The forces arrayed against us are formidable. . . . The radical leftists who are driving this crisis are committed to the complete eradication of all things Confederate. . . . Make no mistake, WE ARE IN A WAR TO SAVE AMERICAN CULTURE. I don’t know how else to say it and we don’t have much time.” Please consider making a donation to the SCV Heritage Defense Fund. You can find it online at SCV-Heritage-Defense. The goal is $100,000 and as of this writing $36,085 has been raised.
Finding Your Way Home
Commander Column August 2015
Several weeks ago I was checking out at the Caboose Hobby Shop, the world’s largest model railroad store located in Denver, Colorado. I was purchasing a used Weaver 0-gauge box car when the clerk, a senior adult woman, asked me, “You aren’t from here are you?” Well, I wanted to know exactly what gave me away. “Why would you think I am not from Colorado?” I asked. “Well, you keep saying yes ma’m and no ma’m, so you must be from the South.”
I love being a Southerner. Here in our beloved south small town values are very important part of our culture and our lives. Never wear your hat inside a building. Say "sir" and "ma'am" to our elders. Christianity is definitely practiced by the majority of us here in the South. Southerners go to church every Sunday or Saturday. Men treat women with special respect and dignity like holding doors open for our wives and daughters. Southerners prefer small government and show great reverence to our ancestors who served in the Confederate Armed Forces. Here in the South we believe monuments should remain unchanged as a part of our history.
In recent days we have successfully defeated a proposal made to the Lake Charles City Council to dismantle the South’s Defender Monument on the grounds of the Calcasieu Parish courthouse. Thanks for every member who participated in the Lake Charles City Council meeting on July15 both by being present and publicly addressing this issue. Our ancestors would be proud. Please be aware I have been assured by key elected officials that the monument issue is dead for now.
Over the past month I have met regularly with Luke Dartez, Scott Romero, Archie Toombs, Greg Newton, Tommy Curtis, Mike Jones, Steve Lanier, and J.W. Helums, as well as UDC president Jan Craven to discuss challenges to our heritage. What I would like to share with our membership in my August Commander’s Column is the collective wisdom of these leaders. I will put my thoughts in the first person, but I have drawn heavily from our discussions and our planning/strategy sessions together as we have prepared to defend the monument.
While there is absolutely nothing on the horizon in the form of a resolution or proposal, any change in the South’s Defender’s Monument’s name, location, or current status must and will be opposed. My conviction regarding the perseveration of this monument is based upon the following eight reasons:
1. This monument has never been directly connected, by 1915 primary historical sources or documents like letters, newspaper articles, or speeches, to the support or maintenance of the oppressive institution of slavery, the promotion of racial segregation, the continuation of Jim Crow laws, the actions of white supremacy groups, nor resistance to civil rights movement.
2. Any name change in the monument would desecrate this honorable war memorial to our local war dead, and serve to mislead and deceive the public about its true meaning and purpose. The United Daughters of the Confederacy erected this statue to memorialize and remember the men from Imperial Calcasieu Parish who fought and died defending their homes and families.
3. The Governor of Louisiana. Thomas Overton Moore, called the men of Southwest Louisiana into military service in 1861. Thousands of men from Imperial Calcasieu Parish responded to this request of the state government therefore the monument belongs on public property.
4. The South’s Defender’s Memorial represents legitimate veterans whose service was recognized by our federal government in the 1958 public law 85-425. Because of this law and other legislation, the Veterans Administration provides, at no cost to families of Confederate veterans, head stones listing birth and death dates, rank and the military unit in which the veteran served.
5. The South’s Defenders Monument has absolutely nothing to do with the national tragedy of the Charleston murders carried out by a hate filled bigot, whose life was steeped in ignorance and consumed with the desire to carry out violence against people of color. He does not represent the men who served in the Confederate armed forces or descendants of Confederate veterans’ today or historical organizations like the United Daughters of the Confederacy or the Sons of Confederate Veterans.
6. All Calcasieu Parish museums are thought to be located on public lands so any proposal to relocate the monument to one of these sites is not a consistent option.
7. The call to remove all things Confederate from our culture is inherently inconsistent at best and hypocritical at worst, further deepening racial division and animosity among us. America is a pluralistic culture and therefore tolerance should be practiced toward all groups including those whose ancestors served in the armed forces of the CSA.
8. The South’s Defender monument was designed to recognize local veterans, together with hundreds of others in towns across the South, to honor approximately 1 million CSA veterans whose 70 million descendants, approximately 25% of our population, are American citizens living in the present. We do not want to dishonor these Americans.
It is for these reasons I encourage our membership and the general public to support the continuation of the South’s Defender Monument in its present location with its original wording. If something comes up regarding the monument from our elected officials, we will let you know. Please do not blanket our elected official with letters and phone calls, until there is actually a challenge. I am confident if this occurs, we will do so in a positive, non- threatening, and gracious way. We will express our convictions in a way that reflects positively upon our ancestors and their great cause. Luke Dartez has shared with me that when we vote on those whose applications are pending, our camp membership will be close to 65 members.
Our next meeting is Tuesday, August 11 at Logan’s Road House in Lake Charles. Our program will be presented by guest Brandon Shoemaker, Director of the Calcasieu Parish Genealogy Library on Pujo Street. Brandon will be speaking on the subject, “Researching War Between the States Confederate Veteran Ancestors.”
Please make every effort to be in attendance and bring a prospect. This month we will vote to approve the following new members: Robert Earl Dartez, Shannon Moon, and Jonathan Duff. Several members have asked if they could purchase our Captain James W. Bryan stickers with our logo. We will discuss this possibility as an item of new business.
Dr. Andy Buckley, camp commander Lake Charles
Members of the Louisiana Division,
As you all must know, many things Confederate have
taken some serious hits recently, be they monuments, the
flag, license plates or even our logo. The bad news is that
I don’t think it is over yet so we must do all in our power
to be prepared, which is the purpose of this mailing. The
Supreme Court decided that the Texas SCV had no right
to a license plate and this decision, along with the hysteria
about all things Confederate, could directly affect us here
in Louisiana pertaining to our state issued plates.
Governor Jindal has said that he was leaving that issue up
to the next session of the State Legislature. At another
time it came out that the issue of the license plates would
be “visited” in the next legislative session. We must do
what we can to try and head this off or at least try to
combat it when the need arises. Currently there are over
900 members of the Louisiana Division, a number that is
rising every day. Less than 200 of our members have an
SCV license plate on their vehicle. This isn’t a very good
average when it comes down to showing an interest in
keeping our plates that were fought for so hard. It would
look so much better when the legislature looks at the
number of SCV plates actually issued if the number was
700 or even 800 instead of less than 200, don’t you think?
This mail out is to implore each eligible member of the
Louisiana Division to get an SCV state issued license
plate before it is too late. There is a cost involved which
is according to your vehicle but this issue is worth the
price paid. Please do not delay as time is short and come
March it may be too late to look back and say, “I wish I
had gotten one of those.” You can download an
application from our website, www.lascv.com. Fill it out,
get a camp officer to sign it, get it notarized, and go to
your local DMV. It is just that easy. You may also go to
www.expresslane.org and enter your plate number, get a
cost for the SCV plate and mail it in. Show your pride in
your organization and be seen with an SCV state issued
license plate on your vehicle. Help us have the kind of
numbers that will attract the attention of lawmakers
when they think about taking it away from us. Thank you
for helping us all. Thank you for being a member of our
Division. Keep up the fight.
Thomas E. Taylor, Commander, Louisiana Division Sons
of Confederate Veterans
CONFEDERATE GRAVES ENDANGERED
Not only are the graves of General Nathan B. Forrest
and his wife in danger of being desecrated by the city
government in Memphis, Tenn., there is now a law in
Congress to ban Confederate flags from being placed
on Confederate graves in federal cemeteries and at
National Parks, such as Gettysburg and Vicksburg. The
bill in the house, an amendment to the Department of
Interior bill, was first passed on a voice vote,
apparently with many congressmen not realizing the
flag ban amendment was even in the bill. When word
got out, some Southern congressmen asked for a
recorded vote. Rep. Steven Palazzo of Mississippi said
he was upset that the flag amendment had been
“slipped into the bill in the dead of night with no
debate.” He added, “Members of Congress from New
York and California cannot wipe away 150 years of
Southern history with sleight-of-hand tactics.” Palazzo
pledged to fight the anti-flag amendments. The bill,
amendment, so far, as of this writing, has not been
brought back up for the recorded vote. The National
Park Service has already reportedly removed
Confederate flag memorabilia from its bookstores and
gift shops.
Lee, Beauregard, Davis monuments threatened
NEW ORLEANS – Mayor Mitch Landrieu in
New Orleans is attempting to remove historic
monuments there honoring Robert E. Lee, P.G.T.
Beauregard and Jefferson Davis. These historic
monuments and works of art have been declared “public
nuisances” by the New Orleans City Council so they can
be removed. The Sons of Confederate Veterans,
Louisiana Division, strongly opposes the desecration
and possible destruction of these priceless historic
treasures. Here a report on a Aug. 1 rally by supporters
at Lee Circle: “Approximately one hundred ardent
supporters of General Lee and the ever-living
Confederate Cause participated in the event, which was
moderated by Lt. Commander Steve Alvarez of the Lt.
J.Y. Sanders Camp No. 2092 of the Louisiana Division
SCV. Confederate flags proudly waved as speaker after
speaker spoke on the importance and significance of Lee
Circle and pointed out that true Southern patriots will
never resort to political maneuvering or “bargaining”
with Mayor Landrieu and his rabble—Southern
monuments should be preserved and protected in
accordance with national state and historic preservation
acts because monuments honoring our history are
themselves now part of history itself!....” Roger Busbice.
CONFEDERATE VETERANS ARE AMERICAN
VETERANS—BY LAW
For those who believe that the Confederate States of America
and the men and women who pledged allegiance to that
constitutionally established government and spilled their blood
and treasure in its defense are somehow illegitimate and not
worthy of honor and protection by the American government,
below are those laws and proclamations honoring them and
their service and which proclaim that they were equal in honor
and worthiness to those who served the Federal cause. Such
official proclamations by the Government of the United States
removes all claims against the Confederacy and those who
served it and protects, defends and honors their symbols,
monuments and heroes. In other words, the current assault
upon all things Confederate is contrary to the laws of the
United States of America and must be resisted vigorously.
Congressional Act of 9 March 1906 ~ We Honor Our
Fallen Ancestors (P.L. 38, 59th Congress, Chap. 631-34
Stat. 56) This act authorized the furnishing of headstones for
the graves of Confederates who died, primarily in Union prison
camps and were buried in Federal cemeteries.
Remarks: This act formally reaffirmed Confederate soldiers as
military combatants with legal standing. It granted recognition
to deceased Confederate soldiers commensurate with the status
of deceased Union soldiers.
U.S. Public Law 810, Approved by 17th Congress 26
February 1929 (45 Stat 1307 - Currently on the books as 38
U.S. Code, Sec. 2306) This law, passed by the U.S. Congress,
authorized the "Secretary of War to erect headstones over the
graves of soldiers who served in the Confederate Army and to
direct him to preserve in the records of the War Department
the names and places of burial of all soldiers for whom such
headstones shall have been erected."
Remarks: This act broadened the scope of recognition further
for all Confederate soldiers to receive burial benefits equivalent
to Union soldiers. It authorized the use of U.S. government
(public) funds to mark Confederate graves and record their
locations.
U.S. Public Law 85-425: Sec. 410 Approved 23 May 1958
Confederate Iron Cross (US Statutes at Large Volume 72,
Part 1, Page 133-134) The Administrator shall pay to each
person who served in the military or naval forces of the
Confederate States of America during the Civil War a monthly
pension in the same amounts and subject to the same
conditions as would have been applicable to such person under
the laws in effect on December 31, 1957, if his service in such
forces had been service in the military or naval forces of the
United States.
Remarks: While this was only a gesture since the last
Confederate veteran died in 1959, it is meaningful in that only
fifty-seven years ago, the Congress of the United States saw fit
to consider Confederate soldiers as equivalent to U.S. soldiers
for service benefits. But the widows of Confederate veterans
continued getting a government pensions into the 1990s.
By the President of the United States of America ~
A Proclamation
The years 1961 to 1965 will mark the one-hundredth
anniversary of the American Civil War. That war was
America's most tragic experience. But like most truly
great tragedies, it carries with it an enduring lesson and a
profound inspiration. It was a demonstration of heroism
and sacrifice by men and women of both sides who
valued principle above life itself and whose devotion to
duty is a part of our Nation's noblest tradition. Both
sections of our now magnificently reunited country sent
into their armies men who became soldiers as good as
any who ever fought under any flag. Military history
records nothing finer than the courage and spirit
displayed at such battles as Chickamauga, Antietam,
Kennesaw Mountain, and Gettysburg. That America
could produce men so valiant and so enduring is a
matter for deep and abiding pride. The same spirit on
the part of the people at home supported and
strengthened those soldiers through four years of great
trial. That a Nation which contained hardly more than
thirty million people, North and South together, could
sustain six hundred thousand deaths without faltering is
a lasting testimonial to something unconquerable in the
American spirit. And that a transcending sense of unity
and larger common purpose could, in the end, cause the
men and women who had suffered so greatly to close
ranks once the contest ended and to go on together to
build a greater, freer, and happier America must be a
source of inspiration as long as our country may last.
By a joint resolution approved on September 7, 1957 (71
Stat. 626), the Congress established the Civil War
Centennial Commission to prepare plans and programs
for the nationwide observances of the one-hundredth
anniversary of the Civil War, and requested the President
to issue proclamations inviting the people of the United
States to participate in those observances.
Now, Therefore, I, Dwight D. Eisenhower, President of
the United States of America, do hereby invite all of the
people of our country to take a direct and active part in
the Centennial of the Civil War.
I request all units and agencies of government--Federal,
State, and local--and their officials to encourage, foster,
and participate in Centennial observances. And I
especially urge our Nation's schools and colleges, its
libraries and museums, its churches and religious bodies,
its civic, service, and patriotic organizations, its learned
and professional societies, its arts, sciences, and
industries, and its informational media, to plan and carry
out their own appropriate Centennial observances during
the years 1961 to 1965; all to the end of enriching our
knowledge and appreciation of this momentous chapter
in our Nation's history and of making this memorable
period truly a Centennial for all Americans.
In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and
caused the Seal of the United States of America to be
affixed.— President Dwight D. Eisenhower
The next meeting of Captain James W. Bryan Camp 1390, Sons of Confederate Veterans, is 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, August 11 at Logan’s Road House in Lake Charles. Our program will be presented by guest Brandon Shoemaker, Director of the Calcasieu Parish Genealogy Library on Pujo Street. Brandon will be speaking on the subject, “Researching War Between the States Confederate Veteran Ancestors.” Please make every effort to be in attendance and bring a prospect. This is an excellent opportunity for those who may be interested in becoming members to learn how to find their Confederate ancestor.
SCV HERITAGE DEFENSE WEBSITE ESTABLISHED
The Sons of Confederate Veterans has established a special website at SCV Heritage Defense Cmdr.-In-Chief Kelly Barrow wrote, “I am certain I do not need to tell you that we are facing a crisis. In fact, we are facing the greatest threat to our heritage in modern times. The forces arrayed against us are formidable. . . . The radical leftists who are driving this crisis are committed to the complete eradication of all things Confederate. . . . Make no mistake, WE ARE IN A WAR TO SAVE AMERICAN CULTURE. I don’t know how else to say it and we don’t have much time.” Please consider making a donation to the SCV Heritage Defense Fund. You can find it online at SCV-Heritage-Defense. The goal is $100,000 and as of this writing $36,085 has been raised.
Finding Your Way Home
Commander Column August 2015
Several weeks ago I was checking out at the Caboose Hobby Shop, the world’s largest model railroad store located in Denver, Colorado. I was purchasing a used Weaver 0-gauge box car when the clerk, a senior adult woman, asked me, “You aren’t from here are you?” Well, I wanted to know exactly what gave me away. “Why would you think I am not from Colorado?” I asked. “Well, you keep saying yes ma’m and no ma’m, so you must be from the South.”
I love being a Southerner. Here in our beloved south small town values are very important part of our culture and our lives. Never wear your hat inside a building. Say "sir" and "ma'am" to our elders. Christianity is definitely practiced by the majority of us here in the South. Southerners go to church every Sunday or Saturday. Men treat women with special respect and dignity like holding doors open for our wives and daughters. Southerners prefer small government and show great reverence to our ancestors who served in the Confederate Armed Forces. Here in the South we believe monuments should remain unchanged as a part of our history.
In recent days we have successfully defeated a proposal made to the Lake Charles City Council to dismantle the South’s Defender Monument on the grounds of the Calcasieu Parish courthouse. Thanks for every member who participated in the Lake Charles City Council meeting on July15 both by being present and publicly addressing this issue. Our ancestors would be proud. Please be aware I have been assured by key elected officials that the monument issue is dead for now.
Over the past month I have met regularly with Luke Dartez, Scott Romero, Archie Toombs, Greg Newton, Tommy Curtis, Mike Jones, Steve Lanier, and J.W. Helums, as well as UDC president Jan Craven to discuss challenges to our heritage. What I would like to share with our membership in my August Commander’s Column is the collective wisdom of these leaders. I will put my thoughts in the first person, but I have drawn heavily from our discussions and our planning/strategy sessions together as we have prepared to defend the monument.
While there is absolutely nothing on the horizon in the form of a resolution or proposal, any change in the South’s Defender’s Monument’s name, location, or current status must and will be opposed. My conviction regarding the perseveration of this monument is based upon the following eight reasons:
1. This monument has never been directly connected, by 1915 primary historical sources or documents like letters, newspaper articles, or speeches, to the support or maintenance of the oppressive institution of slavery, the promotion of racial segregation, the continuation of Jim Crow laws, the actions of white supremacy groups, nor resistance to civil rights movement.
2. Any name change in the monument would desecrate this honorable war memorial to our local war dead, and serve to mislead and deceive the public about its true meaning and purpose. The United Daughters of the Confederacy erected this statue to memorialize and remember the men from Imperial Calcasieu Parish who fought and died defending their homes and families.
3. The Governor of Louisiana. Thomas Overton Moore, called the men of Southwest Louisiana into military service in 1861. Thousands of men from Imperial Calcasieu Parish responded to this request of the state government therefore the monument belongs on public property.
4. The South’s Defender’s Memorial represents legitimate veterans whose service was recognized by our federal government in the 1958 public law 85-425. Because of this law and other legislation, the Veterans Administration provides, at no cost to families of Confederate veterans, head stones listing birth and death dates, rank and the military unit in which the veteran served.
5. The South’s Defenders Monument has absolutely nothing to do with the national tragedy of the Charleston murders carried out by a hate filled bigot, whose life was steeped in ignorance and consumed with the desire to carry out violence against people of color. He does not represent the men who served in the Confederate armed forces or descendants of Confederate veterans’ today or historical organizations like the United Daughters of the Confederacy or the Sons of Confederate Veterans.
6. All Calcasieu Parish museums are thought to be located on public lands so any proposal to relocate the monument to one of these sites is not a consistent option.
7. The call to remove all things Confederate from our culture is inherently inconsistent at best and hypocritical at worst, further deepening racial division and animosity among us. America is a pluralistic culture and therefore tolerance should be practiced toward all groups including those whose ancestors served in the armed forces of the CSA.
8. The South’s Defender monument was designed to recognize local veterans, together with hundreds of others in towns across the South, to honor approximately 1 million CSA veterans whose 70 million descendants, approximately 25% of our population, are American citizens living in the present. We do not want to dishonor these Americans.
It is for these reasons I encourage our membership and the general public to support the continuation of the South’s Defender Monument in its present location with its original wording. If something comes up regarding the monument from our elected officials, we will let you know. Please do not blanket our elected official with letters and phone calls, until there is actually a challenge. I am confident if this occurs, we will do so in a positive, non- threatening, and gracious way. We will express our convictions in a way that reflects positively upon our ancestors and their great cause. Luke Dartez has shared with me that when we vote on those whose applications are pending, our camp membership will be close to 65 members.
Our next meeting is Tuesday, August 11 at Logan’s Road House in Lake Charles. Our program will be presented by guest Brandon Shoemaker, Director of the Calcasieu Parish Genealogy Library on Pujo Street. Brandon will be speaking on the subject, “Researching War Between the States Confederate Veteran Ancestors.”
Please make every effort to be in attendance and bring a prospect. This month we will vote to approve the following new members: Robert Earl Dartez, Shannon Moon, and Jonathan Duff. Several members have asked if they could purchase our Captain James W. Bryan stickers with our logo. We will discuss this possibility as an item of new business.
Dr. Andy Buckley, camp commander Lake Charles
Members of the Louisiana Division,
As you all must know, many things Confederate have
taken some serious hits recently, be they monuments, the
flag, license plates or even our logo. The bad news is that
I don’t think it is over yet so we must do all in our power
to be prepared, which is the purpose of this mailing. The
Supreme Court decided that the Texas SCV had no right
to a license plate and this decision, along with the hysteria
about all things Confederate, could directly affect us here
in Louisiana pertaining to our state issued plates.
Governor Jindal has said that he was leaving that issue up
to the next session of the State Legislature. At another
time it came out that the issue of the license plates would
be “visited” in the next legislative session. We must do
what we can to try and head this off or at least try to
combat it when the need arises. Currently there are over
900 members of the Louisiana Division, a number that is
rising every day. Less than 200 of our members have an
SCV license plate on their vehicle. This isn’t a very good
average when it comes down to showing an interest in
keeping our plates that were fought for so hard. It would
look so much better when the legislature looks at the
number of SCV plates actually issued if the number was
700 or even 800 instead of less than 200, don’t you think?
This mail out is to implore each eligible member of the
Louisiana Division to get an SCV state issued license
plate before it is too late. There is a cost involved which
is according to your vehicle but this issue is worth the
price paid. Please do not delay as time is short and come
March it may be too late to look back and say, “I wish I
had gotten one of those.” You can download an
application from our website, www.lascv.com. Fill it out,
get a camp officer to sign it, get it notarized, and go to
your local DMV. It is just that easy. You may also go to
www.expresslane.org and enter your plate number, get a
cost for the SCV plate and mail it in. Show your pride in
your organization and be seen with an SCV state issued
license plate on your vehicle. Help us have the kind of
numbers that will attract the attention of lawmakers
when they think about taking it away from us. Thank you
for helping us all. Thank you for being a member of our
Division. Keep up the fight.
Thomas E. Taylor, Commander, Louisiana Division Sons
of Confederate Veterans
CONFEDERATE GRAVES ENDANGERED
Not only are the graves of General Nathan B. Forrest
and his wife in danger of being desecrated by the city
government in Memphis, Tenn., there is now a law in
Congress to ban Confederate flags from being placed
on Confederate graves in federal cemeteries and at
National Parks, such as Gettysburg and Vicksburg. The
bill in the house, an amendment to the Department of
Interior bill, was first passed on a voice vote,
apparently with many congressmen not realizing the
flag ban amendment was even in the bill. When word
got out, some Southern congressmen asked for a
recorded vote. Rep. Steven Palazzo of Mississippi said
he was upset that the flag amendment had been
“slipped into the bill in the dead of night with no
debate.” He added, “Members of Congress from New
York and California cannot wipe away 150 years of
Southern history with sleight-of-hand tactics.” Palazzo
pledged to fight the anti-flag amendments. The bill,
amendment, so far, as of this writing, has not been
brought back up for the recorded vote. The National
Park Service has already reportedly removed
Confederate flag memorabilia from its bookstores and
gift shops.
Lee, Beauregard, Davis monuments threatened
NEW ORLEANS – Mayor Mitch Landrieu in
New Orleans is attempting to remove historic
monuments there honoring Robert E. Lee, P.G.T.
Beauregard and Jefferson Davis. These historic
monuments and works of art have been declared “public
nuisances” by the New Orleans City Council so they can
be removed. The Sons of Confederate Veterans,
Louisiana Division, strongly opposes the desecration
and possible destruction of these priceless historic
treasures. Here a report on a Aug. 1 rally by supporters
at Lee Circle: “Approximately one hundred ardent
supporters of General Lee and the ever-living
Confederate Cause participated in the event, which was
moderated by Lt. Commander Steve Alvarez of the Lt.
J.Y. Sanders Camp No. 2092 of the Louisiana Division
SCV. Confederate flags proudly waved as speaker after
speaker spoke on the importance and significance of Lee
Circle and pointed out that true Southern patriots will
never resort to political maneuvering or “bargaining”
with Mayor Landrieu and his rabble—Southern
monuments should be preserved and protected in
accordance with national state and historic preservation
acts because monuments honoring our history are
themselves now part of history itself!....” Roger Busbice.
CONFEDERATE VETERANS ARE AMERICAN
VETERANS—BY LAW
For those who believe that the Confederate States of America
and the men and women who pledged allegiance to that
constitutionally established government and spilled their blood
and treasure in its defense are somehow illegitimate and not
worthy of honor and protection by the American government,
below are those laws and proclamations honoring them and
their service and which proclaim that they were equal in honor
and worthiness to those who served the Federal cause. Such
official proclamations by the Government of the United States
removes all claims against the Confederacy and those who
served it and protects, defends and honors their symbols,
monuments and heroes. In other words, the current assault
upon all things Confederate is contrary to the laws of the
United States of America and must be resisted vigorously.
Congressional Act of 9 March 1906 ~ We Honor Our
Fallen Ancestors (P.L. 38, 59th Congress, Chap. 631-34
Stat. 56) This act authorized the furnishing of headstones for
the graves of Confederates who died, primarily in Union prison
camps and were buried in Federal cemeteries.
Remarks: This act formally reaffirmed Confederate soldiers as
military combatants with legal standing. It granted recognition
to deceased Confederate soldiers commensurate with the status
of deceased Union soldiers.
U.S. Public Law 810, Approved by 17th Congress 26
February 1929 (45 Stat 1307 - Currently on the books as 38
U.S. Code, Sec. 2306) This law, passed by the U.S. Congress,
authorized the "Secretary of War to erect headstones over the
graves of soldiers who served in the Confederate Army and to
direct him to preserve in the records of the War Department
the names and places of burial of all soldiers for whom such
headstones shall have been erected."
Remarks: This act broadened the scope of recognition further
for all Confederate soldiers to receive burial benefits equivalent
to Union soldiers. It authorized the use of U.S. government
(public) funds to mark Confederate graves and record their
locations.
U.S. Public Law 85-425: Sec. 410 Approved 23 May 1958
Confederate Iron Cross (US Statutes at Large Volume 72,
Part 1, Page 133-134) The Administrator shall pay to each
person who served in the military or naval forces of the
Confederate States of America during the Civil War a monthly
pension in the same amounts and subject to the same
conditions as would have been applicable to such person under
the laws in effect on December 31, 1957, if his service in such
forces had been service in the military or naval forces of the
United States.
Remarks: While this was only a gesture since the last
Confederate veteran died in 1959, it is meaningful in that only
fifty-seven years ago, the Congress of the United States saw fit
to consider Confederate soldiers as equivalent to U.S. soldiers
for service benefits. But the widows of Confederate veterans
continued getting a government pensions into the 1990s.
By the President of the United States of America ~
A Proclamation
The years 1961 to 1965 will mark the one-hundredth
anniversary of the American Civil War. That war was
America's most tragic experience. But like most truly
great tragedies, it carries with it an enduring lesson and a
profound inspiration. It was a demonstration of heroism
and sacrifice by men and women of both sides who
valued principle above life itself and whose devotion to
duty is a part of our Nation's noblest tradition. Both
sections of our now magnificently reunited country sent
into their armies men who became soldiers as good as
any who ever fought under any flag. Military history
records nothing finer than the courage and spirit
displayed at such battles as Chickamauga, Antietam,
Kennesaw Mountain, and Gettysburg. That America
could produce men so valiant and so enduring is a
matter for deep and abiding pride. The same spirit on
the part of the people at home supported and
strengthened those soldiers through four years of great
trial. That a Nation which contained hardly more than
thirty million people, North and South together, could
sustain six hundred thousand deaths without faltering is
a lasting testimonial to something unconquerable in the
American spirit. And that a transcending sense of unity
and larger common purpose could, in the end, cause the
men and women who had suffered so greatly to close
ranks once the contest ended and to go on together to
build a greater, freer, and happier America must be a
source of inspiration as long as our country may last.
By a joint resolution approved on September 7, 1957 (71
Stat. 626), the Congress established the Civil War
Centennial Commission to prepare plans and programs
for the nationwide observances of the one-hundredth
anniversary of the Civil War, and requested the President
to issue proclamations inviting the people of the United
States to participate in those observances.
Now, Therefore, I, Dwight D. Eisenhower, President of
the United States of America, do hereby invite all of the
people of our country to take a direct and active part in
the Centennial of the Civil War.
I request all units and agencies of government--Federal,
State, and local--and their officials to encourage, foster,
and participate in Centennial observances. And I
especially urge our Nation's schools and colleges, its
libraries and museums, its churches and religious bodies,
its civic, service, and patriotic organizations, its learned
and professional societies, its arts, sciences, and
industries, and its informational media, to plan and carry
out their own appropriate Centennial observances during
the years 1961 to 1965; all to the end of enriching our
knowledge and appreciation of this momentous chapter
in our Nation's history and of making this memorable
period truly a Centennial for all Americans.
In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and
caused the Seal of the United States of America to be
affixed.— President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Monday, July 6, 2015
CALCASIEU GREYS, July 2015
NEXT MEETING
The next meeting of Captain James W. Bryan Camp
1390, Sons of Confederate Veterans, will be from 6-8 p.m.
Tuesday, July 14, at Joes Pizza and Pasta Restaurant at
1601 Ruth St. in Sulphur. The guest speaker will be
Compatriot Fred Adolphus, commander of Major Jesse M.
Cooper Camp 1665 in DeRidder. His topic will be “The
Equine Factor: Harnessing Horse Power for Southern Logistics.”
Please come and enjoy great Confederate fellowship and
good food.
Despite torrential rains on Saturday, June 13th, the
100th anniversary of the South’s Defender’s Monument
on the grounds of the Calcasieu Parish Courthouse was
an event Southwest Louisiana will remember for many
years to come. Special thanks to Luke Dartez, Archie
Toombs, Mike Jones, Tommy Curtis, Nelson Fontenot,
Ed Sherwood, J.W. Helums, Scott Romero, Greg
Newton, Jan Craven, Michael Wayne Clanton, Rev. Ben
Lyons, Bob Couch, and Steven Lanier. All of these
members worked hard to make this event a success. Luke
Dartez assumed the largest part of the load in working to
bring together all the details of this event. The Captain
James W. Bryan Camp 1390 owes Luke a tremendous
debt of gratitude for all he did in coordinating the
logistics of this event.
At the conclusion of the commemoration Luke
counted 54 people in attendance. I believe this was a
good number considering the bad weather. Many of our
members were in attendance and we thank you for being
a part of this event. John Bridges did a great job in
promoting the commemoration through the Louisiana
Traveler on KPLC and we received good coverage in the
American Press. The ladies of the UDC provided
wonderful refreshments. Dr. James W. White, our
keynote speaker was absolutely incredible and made us all
proud. We are grateful for those who supported the
program with their financial gifts and presence. The only
thing I would have changed was the weather.
The next meeting of Captain J.W. Bryan Camp will
be from 6-8 p.m., Tuesday, July14 at Joe’s Pizza and
Pasta Restaurant, 1601 Ruth St. in Sulphur. We will be
inducting new members Gregg Holder, Charles
Greathouse, and Wendell Greathouse.
Fred Adolphus Commander of Sons of Confederate
Veterans Major Jesse M. Cooper Camp #1665 De Ridder
will present the program. He will speak on "The Equine Factor:
Harnessing Horse Power for Southern Logistics." Fred is the
Director of the Fort Polk Army Museum. Fred earned the
BA degree in History, Texas A&M University and the MA
degree in American Strategic Studies, LSU. Fred has
authored numerous publications about Confederate
uniforms which have been featured in the Confederate
Veteran magazine and the Military Collector and Historian
Journal.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your
commander. Please let me know if I can be of assistance to
you or a member of your immediate family. We are truly in
this together.
Yours in Our Great Cause,
Dr. Andy Buckley
Commander
COLOR SERGEANT APPOINTMENT
Dr. Andy Buckley, camp commander, has appointed
Compatriot Mike Jones to fill the position of color sergeant
for the rest of the term of Compatriot Jonathan Buckley,
who has other commitments at this time.
Anyone who would like to serve in the camp’s
uniformed, Confederate color guard, please contact
Compatriot Jones at m4082jon@msn.com. Any type of
Confederate uniform will do.
MESSAGE FROM LA. DIV. CMDR.
I have been contacted by Division members and I'm sure
others have been contacted also. Past CIC McMichael was
interviewed on KSLA TV in Shreveport and handled their
questions with dignity and truth which is all we can do.
I was contacted by WDSU TV in New Orleans and
asked for a statement regarding Mayor Landrieu looking at
removing Confederate monuments from the city. I sent
them a statement and a fair portion of it was read on the
air. By the way, in a poll about removing the monuments the
TV station did it was 69 % no and 30 % yes to removal. No
politician wants to deal with those kind of negative numbers.
Please remember if you are asked by any media to
respond to the hubbub about Confederate symbols or
monuments to respond politely and positively. It doesn't do
any of us any good to get angry and spout off. To
paraphrase Past Commander Brode, "Respond like General
Lee would want you to."
Thank you, gentlemen, for what you do. Keep the faith
and keep the skeer on 'em.
Thomas E. Taylor
Commander, Louisiana Division, SCV
A MESSAGE FROM OUR CIC
Compatriots: I am certain I do not need to tell
you that we are facing a crisis. In fact, we are facing
the greatest threat to our heritage in modern times.
The forces arrayed against us are formidable. Their
first declared goal is to remove the Confederate
Battle flag which flies beside the Confederate
Soldier’s monument in Columbia, South Carolina.
It was put there in 2000 as part of a political
compromise. But do not be fooled into thinking
they will stop there. The radical leftists who are
driving this crisis are committed to the complete
eradication of all things Confederate.
I will not belabor the point with a long list of
examples; suffice it to say that if it’s Confederate,
they are after it. One liberal group is already
cataloging every Confederate monument, street
name, and memorial in America. If you have any
doubts about the seriousness of this just turn on
the news. And don’t think these folks will be
satisfied with just Confederate memorials. Many of
these same ideologues have just as negative a view
of our Revolutionary War heroes and the United
States flag. Make no mistake, WE ARE IN A
WAR TO SAVE AMERICAN CULTURE. I
don’t know how else to say it and we don’t have
much time. From what we know, the S.C. General
Assembly will meet July 6 to vote on this issue, we
must move quickly.
Charles Kelly Barrow, Commander-in-Chief
Firing a salute at the South's Defenders centennial.
(Photo by Al Cochran)
SHANE KASTLER BLOG
Compatriot Shane Kastler has an excellent blog site
on which he has written some enlightening articles
on the Confederate flag. His web site is at
http://shanekastler.typepad.com/. Check it out.
SOUTH’S DEFENDERS HISTORY
[Here is the short history of the South’s Defenders Memorial
Monument given by Compatriot Mike Jones at the centennial
ceremony June 13, 2015]
The green Confederate soldier on top of the ornate
marble pedestal on the front lawn of the Old Calcasieu
Parish Courthouse in Lake Charles, Louisiana, has been a
part of the local landscape for a century now. It is a
dignified, stately symbol of the area's history and heritage
of defending home and family in the most perilous of
times.
The statue and monument honor the soldiers from
Southwest Louisiana who marched off to war in 1861
and died in bloody battle, or of camp diseases, in defense
of the Southland. Those who survived returned home in
1865 beaten, but determined to rebuild their lives and the
prosperity of their community.
Those young Confederate soldiers of 1861 who
survived, became the farmers, businessmen and political
leaders who worked hard to make Southwest Louisiana
the thriving, growing region it had become by the end of
the 19th Century. Their wives, children and grateful
members of the population of the area raised the funds
for the monument and dedicated it to those old veterans
in 1915, who they really saw as "The South's Defenders."
The theme of peace and reconciliation between North
and South came at a critical time for the U.S. just prior to
World War I.
Not only is it a tribute to those soldiers of long ago,
but an inspirational work of art and beauty that is one of
the crown jewels of Calcasieu Parish. The base and
pedestal are finely made of Southern marble from the
Columbus Marble Works in Columbus, Mississippi.
The bronze statue of the soldier atop the memorial is
an extraordinary and exceptional example of sculpting
that was crafted in the same ancient method as the Statue
of Liberty in New York Harbor. Like the youth carrying
a banner through a dangerous mountain pass in
Longfellow’s immortal poem “Excelsior!” The young
soldier is marching with his flag held high, showing the
courage and determination of the youth to achieve a goal
that seems impossible, but he continues on, no matter
the hardships.
Enjoy this magnificent gift from a past generation of
100 years ago; cherish it; preserve it and pass it on to the
next generation so they too can learn to appreciate and
honor their own history and heritage. Thank you.
The South's Defenders War Memorial
Monument (Photo by Mike Jones)
ORIGINAL SPEECH BY H.C. GILL
June 3, 1915.
[Here is the original speech given by Hardy C. Gill,
Calcasieu Parish Clerk of Court and Confederate
veteran given at the unveiling of the monument. He
served as a second lieutenant in Co. B, 1st. Louisiana
Infantry. He fought at the battles of Malvern Hill,
Chantilly, Harper’s Ferry, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg,
Chancellorsville (severely wounded), Winchester,
Gettysburg, Payne’s Farm, Wilderness (severely
wounded), Shepherdstown, Smithfield, Winchester
(captured). Tommy Curtis read his speech at the
centennial ceremony]:
Mr. Chairman, R.E. Lee Chapter, United Daughters of the
Confederacy, Comrades, Ladies and my Fellow Citizens:
The Daughters of the Confederacy, having charge of
these dedicatory ceremonies, have placed the
responsibility upon me of responding on behalf of the
veterans, and having closed all avenues of retreat there
was nothing left me to do but capitulate.
Back in the eighties, when our western frontiers were
infested and dominated by a restless, reckless, desperate,
lawless, wild and woolly element of daredevil cowboys and
rustlers, on one of their carnival occasions at the end of a
gun play one of the gang quit the trail and they laid him in
the little village cemetery. His friends erected a little modest
memorial over his grave. Strolling through the little
cemetery, and coming to the plain marble slab, I found this
simple inscription: “Bill Boone,” and underneath this unique
epitaph, “Bill always done his derndest.” Catching the
inspiration of the thought that brought out that inscription I
pulled off my hat to that epitaph, and my hat is off to it still.
Search the literature and classics of the world, could you
find five words and group them that would give a higher or
loftier encomium to human endeavor? If the drapery should
be removed from that statue and there should be anything
lacking to make it complete and I were called upon to supply
it, I would say copy the epitaph in the little village cemetery,
and write on that shaft “They always done their derndest.”
And now to this splendid band of women, the R.E. Lee
Chapter, United Daughters of the Confederacy, who have
been so faithful and worked so hard, consistently,
persistently and successfully to this end, and to every donor
to the fund that has made this splendid memorial possible,
on behalf of these veterans and on behalf of our fallen
comrades, whose graves lie in the green bosom of every
battlefield from the Rio Grande, and the Round Tops of
Gettysburg, I sincerely, reverently and affectionately extend
our thanks.
These veterans assembled here have all reached their
three score years and ten and better, and in a few more
years, at best, will be the lost generation. Their faces are
turned toward the sunset of life, and as they move across the
stage of action, with warped frames and halting gait, and
whitening crowns and visions growing dim, you may catch
the faint echo of their receding steps, as they enter upon
their last campaign the thin gray line growing shorter and
thinner and thinner and thinner as the years go by until they
reach the border land and, as the rear guard of the heavy
battalions straggle over the line, taps will be sounded, lights
extinguished and the thin gray line will fade forever into a
memory. The rear guard will cross over the river and
mingling with the spirits of their comrades, who have gone
on before, together they will lie down to rest under the
shade of the trees, on “Fame’s eternal camping ground, the
bivouac of the dead.”
2nd Lt. H.C. Gill, 1st La. Inf.
SCV is Anti-KKK
Press Release from CiC Kelly Barrow
concerning the position of the SCV towards the
Hate Group KKK. The SCV has a strict Hate
Policy.
The Sons of Confederate Veterans IS NOT a
hate group and the South Carolina Division, SCV
DOES NOT knowingly allow anyone with ties to
racial hate groups to join. The SCV has removed
and will remove any member who expresses racist
sentiments. Specifically, the following is not
allowed and will be grounds for immediate
dismissal:
*Membership in or attempting to recruit SCV
members for racist organizations such as the Ku
Klux Klan, American Nazi Party or National
Alliance
*Disseminating racist literature to fellow SCV
members by mail or in person
*Membership in any organization promoting the
violent overthrow of the United States government
The next meeting of Captain James W. Bryan Camp
1390, Sons of Confederate Veterans, will be from 6-8 p.m.
Tuesday, July 14, at Joes Pizza and Pasta Restaurant at
1601 Ruth St. in Sulphur. The guest speaker will be
Compatriot Fred Adolphus, commander of Major Jesse M.
Cooper Camp 1665 in DeRidder. His topic will be “The
Equine Factor: Harnessing Horse Power for Southern Logistics.”
Please come and enjoy great Confederate fellowship and
good food.
Finding Your Way Home
Commander Column June, 2015
 |
| Camp Cmdr. Dr. Andy Buckley |
Despite torrential rains on Saturday, June 13th, the
100th anniversary of the South’s Defender’s Monument
on the grounds of the Calcasieu Parish Courthouse was
an event Southwest Louisiana will remember for many
years to come. Special thanks to Luke Dartez, Archie
Toombs, Mike Jones, Tommy Curtis, Nelson Fontenot,
Ed Sherwood, J.W. Helums, Scott Romero, Greg
Newton, Jan Craven, Michael Wayne Clanton, Rev. Ben
Lyons, Bob Couch, and Steven Lanier. All of these
members worked hard to make this event a success. Luke
Dartez assumed the largest part of the load in working to
bring together all the details of this event. The Captain
James W. Bryan Camp 1390 owes Luke a tremendous
debt of gratitude for all he did in coordinating the
logistics of this event.
At the conclusion of the commemoration Luke
counted 54 people in attendance. I believe this was a
good number considering the bad weather. Many of our
members were in attendance and we thank you for being
a part of this event. John Bridges did a great job in
promoting the commemoration through the Louisiana
Traveler on KPLC and we received good coverage in the
American Press. The ladies of the UDC provided
wonderful refreshments. Dr. James W. White, our
keynote speaker was absolutely incredible and made us all
proud. We are grateful for those who supported the
program with their financial gifts and presence. The only
thing I would have changed was the weather.
The next meeting of Captain J.W. Bryan Camp will
be from 6-8 p.m., Tuesday, July14 at Joe’s Pizza and
Pasta Restaurant, 1601 Ruth St. in Sulphur. We will be
inducting new members Gregg Holder, Charles
Greathouse, and Wendell Greathouse.
Fred Adolphus Commander of Sons of Confederate
Veterans Major Jesse M. Cooper Camp #1665 De Ridder
will present the program. He will speak on "The Equine Factor:
Harnessing Horse Power for Southern Logistics." Fred is the
Director of the Fort Polk Army Museum. Fred earned the
BA degree in History, Texas A&M University and the MA
degree in American Strategic Studies, LSU. Fred has
authored numerous publications about Confederate
uniforms which have been featured in the Confederate
Veteran magazine and the Military Collector and Historian
Journal.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your
commander. Please let me know if I can be of assistance to
you or a member of your immediate family. We are truly in
this together.
Yours in Our Great Cause,
Dr. Andy Buckley
Commander
Dr. Andy Buckley, camp commander, has appointed
Compatriot Mike Jones to fill the position of color sergeant
for the rest of the term of Compatriot Jonathan Buckley,
who has other commitments at this time.
Anyone who would like to serve in the camp’s
uniformed, Confederate color guard, please contact
Compatriot Jones at m4082jon@msn.com. Any type of
Confederate uniform will do.
MESSAGE FROM LA. DIV. CMDR.
I have been contacted by Division members and I'm sure
others have been contacted also. Past CIC McMichael was
interviewed on KSLA TV in Shreveport and handled their
questions with dignity and truth which is all we can do.
I was contacted by WDSU TV in New Orleans and
asked for a statement regarding Mayor Landrieu looking at
removing Confederate monuments from the city. I sent
them a statement and a fair portion of it was read on the
air. By the way, in a poll about removing the monuments the
TV station did it was 69 % no and 30 % yes to removal. No
politician wants to deal with those kind of negative numbers.
Please remember if you are asked by any media to
respond to the hubbub about Confederate symbols or
monuments to respond politely and positively. It doesn't do
any of us any good to get angry and spout off. To
paraphrase Past Commander Brode, "Respond like General
Lee would want you to."
Thank you, gentlemen, for what you do. Keep the faith
and keep the skeer on 'em.
Thomas E. Taylor
Commander, Louisiana Division, SCV
A MESSAGE FROM OUR CIC
Compatriots: I am certain I do not need to tell
you that we are facing a crisis. In fact, we are facing
the greatest threat to our heritage in modern times.
The forces arrayed against us are formidable. Their
first declared goal is to remove the Confederate
Battle flag which flies beside the Confederate
Soldier’s monument in Columbia, South Carolina.
It was put there in 2000 as part of a political
compromise. But do not be fooled into thinking
they will stop there. The radical leftists who are
driving this crisis are committed to the complete
eradication of all things Confederate.
I will not belabor the point with a long list of
examples; suffice it to say that if it’s Confederate,
they are after it. One liberal group is already
cataloging every Confederate monument, street
name, and memorial in America. If you have any
doubts about the seriousness of this just turn on
the news. And don’t think these folks will be
satisfied with just Confederate memorials. Many of
these same ideologues have just as negative a view
of our Revolutionary War heroes and the United
States flag. Make no mistake, WE ARE IN A
WAR TO SAVE AMERICAN CULTURE. I
don’t know how else to say it and we don’t have
much time. From what we know, the S.C. General
Assembly will meet July 6 to vote on this issue, we
must move quickly.
Charles Kelly Barrow, Commander-in-Chief
Firing a salute at the South's Defenders centennial.
(Photo by Al Cochran)
SHANE KASTLER BLOG
Compatriot Shane Kastler has an excellent blog site
on which he has written some enlightening articles
on the Confederate flag. His web site is at
http://shanekastler.typepad.com/. Check it out.
SOUTH’S DEFENDERS HISTORY
[Here is the short history of the South’s Defenders Memorial
Monument given by Compatriot Mike Jones at the centennial
ceremony June 13, 2015]
The green Confederate soldier on top of the ornate
marble pedestal on the front lawn of the Old Calcasieu
Parish Courthouse in Lake Charles, Louisiana, has been a
part of the local landscape for a century now. It is a
dignified, stately symbol of the area's history and heritage
of defending home and family in the most perilous of
times.
The statue and monument honor the soldiers from
Southwest Louisiana who marched off to war in 1861
and died in bloody battle, or of camp diseases, in defense
of the Southland. Those who survived returned home in
1865 beaten, but determined to rebuild their lives and the
prosperity of their community.
Those young Confederate soldiers of 1861 who
survived, became the farmers, businessmen and political
leaders who worked hard to make Southwest Louisiana
the thriving, growing region it had become by the end of
the 19th Century. Their wives, children and grateful
members of the population of the area raised the funds
for the monument and dedicated it to those old veterans
in 1915, who they really saw as "The South's Defenders."
The theme of peace and reconciliation between North
and South came at a critical time for the U.S. just prior to
World War I.
Not only is it a tribute to those soldiers of long ago,
but an inspirational work of art and beauty that is one of
the crown jewels of Calcasieu Parish. The base and
pedestal are finely made of Southern marble from the
Columbus Marble Works in Columbus, Mississippi.
The bronze statue of the soldier atop the memorial is
an extraordinary and exceptional example of sculpting
that was crafted in the same ancient method as the Statue
of Liberty in New York Harbor. Like the youth carrying
a banner through a dangerous mountain pass in
Longfellow’s immortal poem “Excelsior!” The young
soldier is marching with his flag held high, showing the
courage and determination of the youth to achieve a goal
that seems impossible, but he continues on, no matter
the hardships.
Enjoy this magnificent gift from a past generation of
100 years ago; cherish it; preserve it and pass it on to the
next generation so they too can learn to appreciate and
honor their own history and heritage. Thank you.
The South's Defenders War Memorial
Monument (Photo by Mike Jones)
ORIGINAL SPEECH BY H.C. GILL
June 3, 1915.
[Here is the original speech given by Hardy C. Gill,
Calcasieu Parish Clerk of Court and Confederate
veteran given at the unveiling of the monument. He
served as a second lieutenant in Co. B, 1st. Louisiana
Infantry. He fought at the battles of Malvern Hill,
Chantilly, Harper’s Ferry, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg,
Chancellorsville (severely wounded), Winchester,
Gettysburg, Payne’s Farm, Wilderness (severely
wounded), Shepherdstown, Smithfield, Winchester
(captured). Tommy Curtis read his speech at the
centennial ceremony]:
Mr. Chairman, R.E. Lee Chapter, United Daughters of the
Confederacy, Comrades, Ladies and my Fellow Citizens:
The Daughters of the Confederacy, having charge of
these dedicatory ceremonies, have placed the
responsibility upon me of responding on behalf of the
veterans, and having closed all avenues of retreat there
was nothing left me to do but capitulate.
Back in the eighties, when our western frontiers were
infested and dominated by a restless, reckless, desperate,
lawless, wild and woolly element of daredevil cowboys and
rustlers, on one of their carnival occasions at the end of a
gun play one of the gang quit the trail and they laid him in
the little village cemetery. His friends erected a little modest
memorial over his grave. Strolling through the little
cemetery, and coming to the plain marble slab, I found this
simple inscription: “Bill Boone,” and underneath this unique
epitaph, “Bill always done his derndest.” Catching the
inspiration of the thought that brought out that inscription I
pulled off my hat to that epitaph, and my hat is off to it still.
Search the literature and classics of the world, could you
find five words and group them that would give a higher or
loftier encomium to human endeavor? If the drapery should
be removed from that statue and there should be anything
lacking to make it complete and I were called upon to supply
it, I would say copy the epitaph in the little village cemetery,
and write on that shaft “They always done their derndest.”
And now to this splendid band of women, the R.E. Lee
Chapter, United Daughters of the Confederacy, who have
been so faithful and worked so hard, consistently,
persistently and successfully to this end, and to every donor
to the fund that has made this splendid memorial possible,
on behalf of these veterans and on behalf of our fallen
comrades, whose graves lie in the green bosom of every
battlefield from the Rio Grande, and the Round Tops of
Gettysburg, I sincerely, reverently and affectionately extend
our thanks.
These veterans assembled here have all reached their
three score years and ten and better, and in a few more
years, at best, will be the lost generation. Their faces are
turned toward the sunset of life, and as they move across the
stage of action, with warped frames and halting gait, and
whitening crowns and visions growing dim, you may catch
the faint echo of their receding steps, as they enter upon
their last campaign the thin gray line growing shorter and
thinner and thinner and thinner as the years go by until they
reach the border land and, as the rear guard of the heavy
battalions straggle over the line, taps will be sounded, lights
extinguished and the thin gray line will fade forever into a
memory. The rear guard will cross over the river and
mingling with the spirits of their comrades, who have gone
on before, together they will lie down to rest under the
shade of the trees, on “Fame’s eternal camping ground, the
bivouac of the dead.”
2nd Lt. H.C. Gill, 1st La. Inf.
SCV is Anti-KKK
Press Release from CiC Kelly Barrow
concerning the position of the SCV towards the
Hate Group KKK. The SCV has a strict Hate
Policy.
The Sons of Confederate Veterans IS NOT a
hate group and the South Carolina Division, SCV
DOES NOT knowingly allow anyone with ties to
racial hate groups to join. The SCV has removed
and will remove any member who expresses racist
sentiments. Specifically, the following is not
allowed and will be grounds for immediate
dismissal:
*Membership in or attempting to recruit SCV
members for racist organizations such as the Ku
Klux Klan, American Nazi Party or National
Alliance
*Disseminating racist literature to fellow SCV
members by mail or in person
*Membership in any organization promoting the
violent overthrow of the United States government
Sunday, May 31, 2015
CALCASIEU GREYS -- June, 2015
NEXT MEETING
The next meeting of Captain James W. Bryan
Camp 1390 will be held from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, June
9, at Logan’s Roadhouse in Lake Charles. Our speaker
will be Dr. Andy Buckley: “Confederate Cavilers and Crackers;
the South’s Population at the Outbreak of the War Between the
States” will be his topic. Y’all come and enjoy great
Southern food and fellowship. Please see Page 2, Col. 2,
for information on our big Centennial ceremony for the
South’s Defenders Memorial Monument at 10 a.m.
Saturday, June 13, at the Calcasieu Parish Courthouse.
CONFEDEDERATE MEMORIAL DAY
Here is the schedule with this year's dates:
Monday, June 1 - West of the River:
Big Woods Cemetery, Antioch Cemetery, Nibletts Bluff
Cemetery, Dutch Cove Cemetery, Farquah Cemetery
Roher Cemetary (Houston River), Five graves in Westlake.
Tuesday, June 2 (tentative)-East of the River
Orange Grove, Sallier, Catholic Cemetery, Corporate
Cemetery, Biblo Cemetery (apparently closed by city due
to vandalism). Anyone who knows of other graves
throughout Southwest Louisiana and can decorate them
on their own, please do so.
Those wanting to help: West of the River, meet at
Farquah Cemetery at 5 p.m. Monday, June 1; East of the
River, 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 2 (tentative, verify time on our
web site, http://calcasieugreys.blogspot.com Monday,
June 1).
Finding Your Way Home
Commander Column June, 2015
On March 17, 2012 Bill Maher, the host of Real Time
on HBO, spent much of his program bashing the South
and its proud people. Maher took direct aim at
Southerners by saying that we should only celebrate
Confederate heritage once a year. During the program
Maher: established a new rule for Americans from the
South in celebrating their historical and cultural heritage.
The Maher Rule goes like this: if Irish Americans can
manage to celebrate their heritage on just one day (St.
Patrick’s Day), then Southerners should be able to do
also.” With great sarcasm, Maher stated that instead of
spending the whole year flying the Confederate Flag and
saying “The South Will Rise Again,” Southerners should
get just one day. He called call it “St. Cracker's Day.”
Maher suggested Southerners, that’s me and you, have
commemorative t-shirts printed up for “St. Cracker Day”
with the message “Kiss Me I’m Yer Sister”. Maher’s
monologue produced great laughter and applause from
the audience and is typical of the ignorance of the
rampant anti-confederate thinking in our society.
For most of us who were born in the Deep South
between the years of 1950 to 1960, the term cracker was
a badge of pride because it meant we were native to the
region, as opposed to snowbirds or Yankees who moved
here from the North. (Did you noticed I did not add the
D word to Yankee?) The most prevalent historical
explanation of the word cracker, is that it is a shortened
form of “corn cracker,” which was a term for Southern
poor white folks, mostly Scotch-Irish, who subsisted on a
corn based diet. The term cracker probably originated
with occupying Federal officers during the War Between
the States in their description of local Southerners.
Eventually the term “cracker” came to be seen as a term
of derision.
There is also another explanation. Many liberals in the
news media incorrectly believe that the term refers to the
cracking of the slave driver’s whip and thus a negative racial
context. Those who embrace this slant on the term fail to
acknowledge that less than 7% of all Southerners owned
slaves. This is an example of why we need to reinforce an
accurate history and cultural interpretation of the South and
its peoples. If we do not defend the truth about our CSA
ancestors, who will?
This month I will be privileged to speak at our June 9
SCV Captain James W. Bryan meeting at Logan’s Road
House Restaurant on the subject of Confederate Cavaliers
and Crackers. I hope you’ll be in attendance and invite
friends and potential members. I will deal primarily with the
social structure and demographic composition of the
antebellum South. It is very important to understand the
social and economic makeup of the South’s population at the
outbreak of the War Between the States.
I am a great admirer of the late Southern historian
Grady McWhiney, who is known for his writings on the
Celtic roots of Southern identity. McWhiney was born in
Shreveport, Louisiana. He attended Centenary College,
earned an M.A. in history from Louisiana State University,
and the Ph.D. in history from Columbia University in New
York. He taught U.S. history at Troy State University,
Millsaps College, University of California, Berkeley,
University of Alabama, Texas Christian University, and the
University of Southern Mississippi.
In Cracker Culture: Celtic Ways in the Old South, and Attack
and Die McWhiney argued that 60% of antebellum
Southerners descended from Scots-Irish, Irish, Scottish,
Welsh ancestors as opposed to Anglo-Saxon. McWhiney
contended much of the Southern planter class resembled the
English gentry in lineage, religion, and social structure. I look
forward to sharing my slant on this interesting historical
theory.
Dr. Andy Buckley
Commander
CENTENNIAL CEREMONY
Captain James W. Bryan Camp 1390, Sons of
Confederate Veterans and United Daughters of the
Confederacy Chapter 1519 will mark the 100th
anniversary of the South’s Defenders Memorial
Monument with ceremonies beginning at 10 a.m.
Saturday, June 13, on the Caslcasieu Parish
Courthouse grounds in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
The keynote speaker will be Texas State Rep.
James White, R-Woodville.
White was a teacher and now serves as principal.
In 2000, he obtained a Master of Education degree
from Prairie View. In 2010 and 2012, respectively, he
received a Master of Science and a Ph.D. from the
University of Houston.
White is a member of the Sons of Confederate
Veterans, American Legion, the Masonic lodge, the
National Rifle Association, and Veterans of Foreign
Wars.
The South’s Defenders Monument was originally
dedicated June 3, 1915, Confederate Memorial Day in
Louisiana, on the courthouse grounds at its current
location. More than 12,000 Louisiana Confederate
soldiers died in the War Between the States, 1861-65,
more than all other American wars combined. About
1,000 Confederate veterans are believed to be buried in
Southwest Louisiana cemeteries. The monument
was dedicated June 3, 1915, during the 50th
anniversary year of the War Between the States.
Presiding at the ceremony was Lake Charles Mayor
George Riling and many other dignitaries were
present.
Please make every effort to attend this
important ceremony. We need to make an
impressive showing.
CENTENNIAL CEREMONY
The South’s Defenders Memorial Monument
(Preliminary Agenda)
Time: 10 a.m. Saturday, June 13, 2015
Place: Calcasieu Parish Courthouse Lake Charles,
Louisiana.
Master of Ceremonies: John Bridges Executive Producer
KPLC Television Morning Show Anchor
SCV Color Guard Posting of Colors: Greg Newton
Judge Advocate, Michael Wayne Clanton, 1st Lt.
Commander, Archie Toombs, State Captain Louisiana
SCV Mechanized Calvary,Bob Couch, all members
Captain James W. Bryan Camp #1390
Welcome: Dr. Andy Buckley Commander Captain James
W. Bryan Camp #1390
Prayer: J.W. Helums Member Captain James W. Bryan
Camp #1390
Pledges: Greg Newton, United States Flag, Louisiana Flag
and Salute to the Confederate Flag
Sons of Confederate Veterans, Stephen D. Lee Charge:
Nelson Fontenot Member Captain James W. Bryan Camp
#1390
Greetings from the United Daughters of the
Confederacy: Calcasieu Chapter 1519, Jan Cravens,
President
Brief Greetings from SCV Camps and National/State
Organizations: Archie Toombs, Southwest Brigade
Commander James W. Bryan Camp #1390.
SONS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS
REPLACE FLAGS AT UNION SPRINGS
Gary Carlyle, Commander of the Alabama Division
of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, announced that
May 23rd, the SCV replaced the memorial flags which
were recently removed from a Confederate cemetery in
Union Springs, Alabama by an individual in that town.
In a statement, Carlyle said that he wished to thank
Mayor Saint T. Thomas, Jr. and the City Council of
Union Springs for working together with the Sons of
Confederate Veterans on the restoration project.
"The Mayor and the Council have been very
understanding and co-operative with us," said Carlyle.
"He has been very helpful in making this happen."
Ben Jones, Chief of Heritage Operations for the
30,000 member Sons of Confederate Veterans, an
international organization of men who are directly
descended from those who fought for the
Confederacy, praised the Mayor for "taking a clear
stance for healing and reconciliation."
"The removal of these flags from the graves of our
ancestors was a terribly wrong-headed, provocative and
divisive action," said Jones. "No amount of political
sanctimony can excuse it. Our membership asks that
this ceremony on Saturday will be given the respect and
reverence it deserves by all.
CAPT. BRYAN CAMP
REPRESENTED
AT HERITAGE RALLY
SHREVEPORT – A rousing Confederate Heritage Rally
was held the Saturday, May 30, at the Caddo Parish
Courthouse in Shreveport, Louisiana, with hundreds
attending.
Captain James W. Bryan Camp 1390 was represented by
four members, former camp commanders Archie Toombs,
Steve Travis Lanier, Mike Jones, and Camp surgeon Dr.
Michael Bergeron, M.D.
The rally marked the final national Sons of
Confederate Veterans Rally for the 150th anniversary
commemorations of the War For Southern
Independence. Shreveport was chosen for the final rally
because it was there on May 26, 1865 that the last
Confederate flag representing the Confederate States of
America was lowered. Shreveport was the wartime capital
of Confederate Louisiana and the headquarters for the
Confederate Army’s Trans-Mississippi Department.
The event was attended by numerous national, state
and local SCV dignitaries, including Commander-in-Chief
James Kelly Barrow, Louisiana Division Commander
Thomas Taylor and United Daughters of Confederacy
Louisiana Division President A.J. Taylor. The keynote
speaker was former National Commander-in-Chief
Charles “Chuck” McMichael, who also headed the SCV
Sesquicentennial Committee. Charles “Chuck” Rand,
former national chief-of-staff and Louisiana Division
Commander, acted as master of ceremonies.
A parade of members carrying Confederate flags
marched from Shreveport’s historic Oakland Cemetery,
where numerous Confederate Veterans are buried, to the
Caddo Parish Courthouse where the ceremony was held
at the impressive Confederate Monument there.
Commander McMichael recounted the history of
Confederate heritage from the post-war
“Reconstruction” – which he noted was nothing but
brutal and corrupt military occupation – to the present
persecution of all things Confederate. He urged all
present to never give up or surrender their precious
Confederate Heritiage!
The next meeting of Captain James W. Bryan
Camp 1390 will be held from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, June
9, at Logan’s Roadhouse in Lake Charles. Our speaker
will be Dr. Andy Buckley: “Confederate Cavilers and Crackers;
the South’s Population at the Outbreak of the War Between the
States” will be his topic. Y’all come and enjoy great
Southern food and fellowship. Please see Page 2, Col. 2,
for information on our big Centennial ceremony for the
South’s Defenders Memorial Monument at 10 a.m.
Saturday, June 13, at the Calcasieu Parish Courthouse.
CONFEDEDERATE MEMORIAL DAY
Here is the schedule with this year's dates:
Monday, June 1 - West of the River:
Big Woods Cemetery, Antioch Cemetery, Nibletts Bluff
Cemetery, Dutch Cove Cemetery, Farquah Cemetery
Roher Cemetary (Houston River), Five graves in Westlake.
Tuesday, June 2 (tentative)-East of the River
Orange Grove, Sallier, Catholic Cemetery, Corporate
Cemetery, Biblo Cemetery (apparently closed by city due
to vandalism). Anyone who knows of other graves
throughout Southwest Louisiana and can decorate them
on their own, please do so.
Those wanting to help: West of the River, meet at
Farquah Cemetery at 5 p.m. Monday, June 1; East of the
River, 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 2 (tentative, verify time on our
web site, http://calcasieugreys.blogspot.com Monday,
June 1).
Finding Your Way Home
Commander Column June, 2015
 |
| Dr. Andy Buckley Camp Cmdr. |
On March 17, 2012 Bill Maher, the host of Real Time
on HBO, spent much of his program bashing the South
and its proud people. Maher took direct aim at
Southerners by saying that we should only celebrate
Confederate heritage once a year. During the program
Maher: established a new rule for Americans from the
South in celebrating their historical and cultural heritage.
The Maher Rule goes like this: if Irish Americans can
manage to celebrate their heritage on just one day (St.
Patrick’s Day), then Southerners should be able to do
also.” With great sarcasm, Maher stated that instead of
spending the whole year flying the Confederate Flag and
saying “The South Will Rise Again,” Southerners should
get just one day. He called call it “St. Cracker's Day.”
Maher suggested Southerners, that’s me and you, have
commemorative t-shirts printed up for “St. Cracker Day”
with the message “Kiss Me I’m Yer Sister”. Maher’s
monologue produced great laughter and applause from
the audience and is typical of the ignorance of the
rampant anti-confederate thinking in our society.
For most of us who were born in the Deep South
between the years of 1950 to 1960, the term cracker was
a badge of pride because it meant we were native to the
region, as opposed to snowbirds or Yankees who moved
here from the North. (Did you noticed I did not add the
D word to Yankee?) The most prevalent historical
explanation of the word cracker, is that it is a shortened
form of “corn cracker,” which was a term for Southern
poor white folks, mostly Scotch-Irish, who subsisted on a
corn based diet. The term cracker probably originated
with occupying Federal officers during the War Between
the States in their description of local Southerners.
Eventually the term “cracker” came to be seen as a term
of derision.
There is also another explanation. Many liberals in the
news media incorrectly believe that the term refers to the
cracking of the slave driver’s whip and thus a negative racial
context. Those who embrace this slant on the term fail to
acknowledge that less than 7% of all Southerners owned
slaves. This is an example of why we need to reinforce an
accurate history and cultural interpretation of the South and
its peoples. If we do not defend the truth about our CSA
ancestors, who will?
This month I will be privileged to speak at our June 9
SCV Captain James W. Bryan meeting at Logan’s Road
House Restaurant on the subject of Confederate Cavaliers
and Crackers. I hope you’ll be in attendance and invite
friends and potential members. I will deal primarily with the
social structure and demographic composition of the
antebellum South. It is very important to understand the
social and economic makeup of the South’s population at the
outbreak of the War Between the States.
I am a great admirer of the late Southern historian
Grady McWhiney, who is known for his writings on the
Celtic roots of Southern identity. McWhiney was born in
Shreveport, Louisiana. He attended Centenary College,
earned an M.A. in history from Louisiana State University,
and the Ph.D. in history from Columbia University in New
York. He taught U.S. history at Troy State University,
Millsaps College, University of California, Berkeley,
University of Alabama, Texas Christian University, and the
University of Southern Mississippi.
In Cracker Culture: Celtic Ways in the Old South, and Attack
and Die McWhiney argued that 60% of antebellum
Southerners descended from Scots-Irish, Irish, Scottish,
Welsh ancestors as opposed to Anglo-Saxon. McWhiney
contended much of the Southern planter class resembled the
English gentry in lineage, religion, and social structure. I look
forward to sharing my slant on this interesting historical
theory.
Dr. Andy Buckley
Commander
 |
| Tex. Rep. James White R-Woodville, Tex. |
CENTENNIAL CEREMONY
Captain James W. Bryan Camp 1390, Sons of
Confederate Veterans and United Daughters of the
Confederacy Chapter 1519 will mark the 100th
anniversary of the South’s Defenders Memorial
Monument with ceremonies beginning at 10 a.m.
Saturday, June 13, on the Caslcasieu Parish
Courthouse grounds in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
The keynote speaker will be Texas State Rep.
James White, R-Woodville.
White was a teacher and now serves as principal.
In 2000, he obtained a Master of Education degree
from Prairie View. In 2010 and 2012, respectively, he
received a Master of Science and a Ph.D. from the
University of Houston.
White is a member of the Sons of Confederate
Veterans, American Legion, the Masonic lodge, the
National Rifle Association, and Veterans of Foreign
Wars.
The South’s Defenders Monument was originally
dedicated June 3, 1915, Confederate Memorial Day in
Louisiana, on the courthouse grounds at its current
location. More than 12,000 Louisiana Confederate
soldiers died in the War Between the States, 1861-65,
more than all other American wars combined. About
1,000 Confederate veterans are believed to be buried in
Southwest Louisiana cemeteries. The monument
was dedicated June 3, 1915, during the 50th
anniversary year of the War Between the States.
Presiding at the ceremony was Lake Charles Mayor
George Riling and many other dignitaries were
present.
Please make every effort to attend this
important ceremony. We need to make an
impressive showing.
CENTENNIAL CEREMONY
The South’s Defenders Memorial Monument
(Preliminary Agenda)
Time: 10 a.m. Saturday, June 13, 2015
Place: Calcasieu Parish Courthouse Lake Charles,
Louisiana.
Master of Ceremonies: John Bridges Executive Producer
KPLC Television Morning Show Anchor
SCV Color Guard Posting of Colors: Greg Newton
Judge Advocate, Michael Wayne Clanton, 1st Lt.
Commander, Archie Toombs, State Captain Louisiana
SCV Mechanized Calvary,Bob Couch, all members
Captain James W. Bryan Camp #1390
Welcome: Dr. Andy Buckley Commander Captain James
W. Bryan Camp #1390
Prayer: J.W. Helums Member Captain James W. Bryan
Camp #1390
Pledges: Greg Newton, United States Flag, Louisiana Flag
and Salute to the Confederate Flag
Sons of Confederate Veterans, Stephen D. Lee Charge:
Nelson Fontenot Member Captain James W. Bryan Camp
#1390
Greetings from the United Daughters of the
Confederacy: Calcasieu Chapter 1519, Jan Cravens,
President
Brief Greetings from SCV Camps and National/State
Organizations: Archie Toombs, Southwest Brigade
Commander James W. Bryan Camp #1390.
SONS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS
REPLACE FLAGS AT UNION SPRINGS
Gary Carlyle, Commander of the Alabama Division
of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, announced that
May 23rd, the SCV replaced the memorial flags which
were recently removed from a Confederate cemetery in
Union Springs, Alabama by an individual in that town.
In a statement, Carlyle said that he wished to thank
Mayor Saint T. Thomas, Jr. and the City Council of
Union Springs for working together with the Sons of
Confederate Veterans on the restoration project.
"The Mayor and the Council have been very
understanding and co-operative with us," said Carlyle.
"He has been very helpful in making this happen."
Ben Jones, Chief of Heritage Operations for the
30,000 member Sons of Confederate Veterans, an
international organization of men who are directly
descended from those who fought for the
Confederacy, praised the Mayor for "taking a clear
stance for healing and reconciliation."
"The removal of these flags from the graves of our
ancestors was a terribly wrong-headed, provocative and
divisive action," said Jones. "No amount of political
sanctimony can excuse it. Our membership asks that
this ceremony on Saturday will be given the respect and
reverence it deserves by all.
 |
| Representing Captain James W. Bryan Camp 1390 at the Confederate Heritage Rally in Shreveport were former camp commanders Archie Toombs, left, Steve Lanier, Mike Jones and Dr. Michael Bergeron, M.D., camp surgeon. |
CAPT. BRYAN CAMP
REPRESENTED
AT HERITAGE RALLY
SHREVEPORT – A rousing Confederate Heritage Rally
was held the Saturday, May 30, at the Caddo Parish
Courthouse in Shreveport, Louisiana, with hundreds
attending.
Captain James W. Bryan Camp 1390 was represented by
four members, former camp commanders Archie Toombs,
Steve Travis Lanier, Mike Jones, and Camp surgeon Dr.
Michael Bergeron, M.D.
The rally marked the final national Sons of
Confederate Veterans Rally for the 150th anniversary
commemorations of the War For Southern
Independence. Shreveport was chosen for the final rally
because it was there on May 26, 1865 that the last
Confederate flag representing the Confederate States of
America was lowered. Shreveport was the wartime capital
of Confederate Louisiana and the headquarters for the
Confederate Army’s Trans-Mississippi Department.
The event was attended by numerous national, state
and local SCV dignitaries, including Commander-in-Chief
James Kelly Barrow, Louisiana Division Commander
Thomas Taylor and United Daughters of Confederacy
Louisiana Division President A.J. Taylor. The keynote
speaker was former National Commander-in-Chief
Charles “Chuck” McMichael, who also headed the SCV
 |
| Caddo Parish Courthouse Confederate Monument. (Photo by Mike Jones) |
Sesquicentennial Committee. Charles “Chuck” Rand,
former national chief-of-staff and Louisiana Division
Commander, acted as master of ceremonies.
A parade of members carrying Confederate flags
marched from Shreveport’s historic Oakland Cemetery,
where numerous Confederate Veterans are buried, to the
Caddo Parish Courthouse where the ceremony was held
at the impressive Confederate Monument there.
Commander McMichael recounted the history of
Confederate heritage from the post-war
“Reconstruction” – which he noted was nothing but
brutal and corrupt military occupation – to the present
persecution of all things Confederate. He urged all
present to never give up or surrender their precious
Confederate Heritiage!
 |
| Confederate Honor Guard fires salute. (Photo by Mike Jones) |
 |
| Camp Cmdr. Dr. Andy Buckley presented the Capt. Bryan Camp U.S. History Medal to Denasia Fontenot of Washington-Marion High School. |
 |
| Capt. Bryan Camp Cmdr, Dr, Andy Buckley presented the Bryan Camp's U.S. History Medal to Bailey Payne of East Beauregard High School. |
Monday, May 4, 2015
CALCASIEU GREYS -- May 2015
 |
| Capt. Bryan Camp Cmdr., Dr. Andy Buckley Presented Bryan Camp's History Medal to John Thomas Stewart of DeRidder High School. |
NEXT MEETING
The next meeting of Captain James W. Bryan
Camp 1390 will be held from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, May
12, at Joe’s Pizza and Pasta Restaurant at 1601 Ruth
St. in Sulphur, La. Our speaker will be Compatriot
Charles Richardson, who will speak on : “The Legacy of
Governor Francis T. Nichols: Louisiana War Hero and
Reform Governor.” Please come and enjoy great
Confederate fellowship and excellent food.
2015 Capt. J. W. Bryan Meeting Dates & Location
(Please mark these dates on your calendar.)
May 12 --Joe’s Italian Restaurant – Sulphur
June 9 --Logan’s Roadhouse – Lake Charles
July 14 --Joe’s Italian Restaurant – Sulphur
Aug. 11--Logan’s Roadhouse – Lake Charles
Sept. 8 --Joe’s Italian Restaurant – Sulphur
Oct. 13 -Logan’s Roadhouse – Lake Charles
Nov.10 -Joe’s Italian Restaurant – Sulphur
Dec. 8- Annual Christmas Party (TBA)
SESQUICENTENNIAL EVENT
The Sons of Confederate Veterans will host a national
Confederate Heritage Rally at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 30,
2015 at the Confederate Monument in front of the Caddo
Parish Court House in Shreveport. Let’s have a big turnout
from Captain James W. Bryan Camp. For details check out
the web site at http://confederate150.com/2015.html.
More information is also available on Page 2 of this
edition of Calcasieu Greys.
Finding Your Way Home
Commander Column May, 2015
Camp Cmdr. Dr. Andy Buckley
By the time our May edition of the newsletter is sent
to our membership, we will have presented 19 students in
13 area high schools with our 2015 SCV James W. Bryan
History medal. The reception has been overwhelmingly
well received. As of Tuesday, May 5th we have only Bell
City, Grand Lake, Hackberry, and Johnson Bayou
remaining on the list. I would love for any of our
members to travel with me to these schools. Bell City will
be Monday, May 11 and Johnson Bayou, Thursday, May
14. I have not heard from the other school principals.
At LaGrange, Starks, Barbe, and Sulphur we
presented medals to both regular history and advanced
placement history students. Actually Sulphur nominated
four students, two from regular history, one from
advanced placement history, and one from gifted history.
We are grateful approximately $344.00 dollars has been
given toward the history award medal and certificate
project. All expenses for the artist renderings, certificate
folders, and plastic boxes were paid by a generous donor.
We need twelve (12) financial sponsors from our
membership for the balance of the expense of $335.00
for following schools: La Grange; Sulphur, Starks; De
Qunicy; Vinton; Washington-Marion; Sam Houston;
Barbe; Hackberry; Johnson Bayou; Grand Lake; and
Saint Louis Catholic. Our Adjutant Luke Dartez will
answer any questions you may have about the cost of the
medal and certificate and how you can help.
Please make every effort to be present for our next
two monthly meetings during the months ahead. We’ll
have great programs presented and will plan for our
annual placing of flags on Confederate graves in
Calcasieu Parish on the Saturday, May. We have just two
monthly meetings (May, June) before our 100th anniversary
of the South’s Defender’s Monument at the Calcasieu
Parish Court House in Lake Charles. Can we count on you to
help us in these two events?
Upcoming Programs and Speakers: Mark your calendar
and bring a friend.
May 12 Joe’s Italian Restaurant Sulphur, Charles
Richardson: “The Legacy of Governor Francis T. Nichols: Louisiana
War Hero and Reform Governor.”
June 9 Logan’s Roadhouse Lake Charles, Dr. Andy
Buckley: “Confederate Cavilers and Crackers; the South’s Population
at the Outbreak of the War Between the States.”
July 14 Joe’s Italian Restaurant Sulphur, Fred Adolphus,
“How Southern Armies Acquired, Maintained, and Utilized Horses.
August 11 Logan’s Roadhouse Lake Charles, Brandon
Shoemaker, Director of the Calcasieu Genealogical Library
on Pujo Street will speak on a War Between the States topic
related to research.
September 8, Joe’s Italian Restaurant Sulphur, Dr.
Tommy French of Baton Rouge and longtime SCV member,
will speak about the exploits of his CSA Ancestor.
When I joined the SCV in 2010 several of our longtime
members gave this advice: “Attend the meetings you can,
participate as much as you can, and have fun.” I think I have
only missed one Lee-Jackson Banquet due to a family
vacation and have been present for every monthly meeting
(60) since I joined. I have volunteered to do as much as I
have been asked to do and more. Without question I have
had the greatest time of my adult life. It has been fun! My
only regret is not joining the SCV 15 years ago.
If each of us will commit ourselves to attending every
meeting we can, volunteering to do everything we can, and
enlisting as many new members as we can, our camp will
continue to proper. The result will be new members who
want to have fun celebrating our Southern culture and
history, and honoring our CSA ancestors. Nothing unusual,
nothing extraordinary, just fun. The catch is every member
must participate. Remember, the James W. Bryan Camp is
made up of our members, all of us. You make a difference,
as always!
Thanks for the good response at the recent Niblett's Bluff
Park Festival.
Dr. Andy Buckley, Commander
APPEAL FOR HERITAGE RALLY
Compatriots:
The 2015 Louisiana Division Sesquicentennial Event will
be held on Saturday, May 30, 2015, and will coincide with the
2015 Sons of Confederate Veterans National
Sesquicentennial Event to be held at the Caddo Parish
Confederate Monument on the grounds of the Caddo Parish
Confederate Monument on the grounds of the
Caddo Parish Courthouse in Shreveport.
The program will kick off at 11 a.m. from
Historic Oakland Cemetery on Milam Street with a
3-4 block march to the courthouse. Parking will be
available at the Shreveport Municipal Auditorium
located at 705 Elvis Presley Blvd. and the 1st
United Methodist Church at 500 Common St.
If anyone needs more precise directions, please
contact someone with the Taylor camp that lives in
Shreveport (cause I am way down here in Baton
Rouge and haven't been to Shreveport in 15 years).
I encourage all Louisiana Division members to
make every effort to be present for this historical
event.
"He who feels no pride in his ancestors is
unworthy to be remembered by his
descendants" Major David French Boyd, 9th
Louisiana Infantry, Confederate States Army
"Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does
not mean to stand by the President." Theodore
Roosevelt
"Any man who thinks he can be happy and
prosperous by letting the American Government
take care of him better take a closer look at the
American Indian" Henry Ford
CHIP LANDRY
Southeast Brigade Commander
Louisiana Division
Sons of Confederate Veterans
Chairman,
Louisiana Division Sesquicentennial Committee
SOUTHERN CROSS GRAVE MARKERS
The Southern Cross of Honor, also known as
the “SCV Iron Cross,” will always be the defining
symbol to honor the graves of Confederate
Veterans.
Each marker is a two-sided solid cast iron
replica of the medal and measures 14” x 14” plus a
ground spike 14” long and weighs approximately 17
pounds. These high-quality castings will weather to
a natural surface rust but require no long-term
maintenance. SCV Iron Cross grave markers are
cast exclusively by Clarsksville Foundry – one of
the South’s oldest, on-going metal foundries dating
to 1847 – that cast cannons and munitions for the
Confederacy.
Over the years, thousands of these markers
have been placed on Confederate graves; however,
thousands more are deserving of this sacred tribute.
SCV Camps receive a 25 percent discount upon
ordering a minimum of 10 markers directly from the
Frank P. Gracey Camp 225 Commander, Don Horton.
Retail Price: $108.50 per marker; Discounted price: $82
per marker (plus shipping). For further information or to
place an order contact Don Horton at (931) 542-0140 or
by email: drhorton40@bellsouth.net.
Individual units can be purchased on the National
SCV website: www.scv.org.
STATE CONVENTION COMING UP
Compatriots,
It is once again time to join together for our Louisiana
Division Reunion.
This year we will meet in Monroe on May 23. We are
going to meet at the Courtyard by Marriot Hotel which is
a new facility.
The Division Executive Council meeting will be on
the night of the 22nd at the same facility at which all are
welcome to attend.
The hotel has a block of rooms set aside for the Sons
of Confederate Veterans with a room rate of $119 per
night for a king or queen double room. The phone
number for the hotel is 318-388-0034 for reservations.
Ask for the Sons of Confederate Veterans rate.
I hope that you will all attend. I also ask that you will
attend the awards banquet on the night of the
23rd beginning at 6:00 P.M. The meal will be catered by
Kayla's Kitchen from West Monroe. The buffet style
meal will consist of: brisket or pulled pork, twice baked
potatoes, green beans, and corn casserole. For desert
there is peach cobbler. Tea to drink or water.
Our speaker that night will be Ronnie Kennedy
speaking on "Our past and our future." I feel sure that
you will want to be there as Ronnie is always interesting
and entertaining.
Thank you and I look forward to seeing you there.
Thomas E Taylor
Commander, Louisiana Division
Sons of Confederate Veterans
tcrusader@juno.com
318-376-2898
.jpg) |
| Capt. Bryan Camp Cmdr. Dr. Andy Buckley presented the Bryan Camp's U.S. History Medal to Destiny Mock at DeQuincy High School.
Our Camp Namesake
CAPTAIN JAMES WESLEY BRYAN
Capt. James W. Bryan, circa 1890
[Excerpted from the Southwest Louisiana Biographical and
Historical by Wm. Perrin, New Orleans, La. 1891]
CAPT. J. W. BRYAN, Lake Charles Capt. J. W. Bryan is
descended from good old Irish ancestry, but the family has been
so long in this country, and become so thoroughly
Americanized, that few of the Irish traits now appear upon the
surface. One characteristic that remains, however, is that of
sterling honesty. His great-grandfather O'Brien immigrated to
America when a boy and settled in Virginia; married and raised
a family there. Luke Bryan, one of his sons, and the grandfather
of the subject of our sketch came to Louisiana early in life and
married Miss Rebecca W. Berwick, in 1802: from her family
Berwick's Bay derives its name. One of the sons born to them
was John Bryan, the father of Capt. Bryan, who was reared and
educated there. In early manhood he married Miss Nancy A.
Lyons, and, about 1832, settled in Calcasieu parish. In 1839 he
removed to Texas, and resided there until his death, in 1844,
when the family returned to Calcasieu parish. Here Mrs. Bryan
was married a second time, to Mr. Jacob E. Harmon, by whom
she had three children.
Capt. Bryan, whose name stands at the head of this sketch,
was born in this parish, December 28, 1834. Early educational
facilities were limited, and he belongs to that very numerous
class of prominent men who owe their education to their own
aspirations and unaided exertions to rise above the station in
which they were born to one of greater exertions and more
extensive and higher usefulness. Up to the time of his mother's
death, young Bryan spent his time farming and attending the
country schools, when here were any to attend, which in his
early days were few and far between. Not content with an
occupation in which his chances for development and
usefulness were so restricted, he determined to obtain a mental
discipline which would fit him for literary pursuits.
In this good republican country of ours, where organic laws
denounce hereditary patents to nobility most men indulge the
vanity of pride at achievements so marked and great as those
which lead and direct a Clay or a Lincoln from the humblest
walks of life to the highest position in the councils of the
nation. The great ambition of young Bryan was to fit himself
for literary work. To this end he attended school and
pursued a literary course, teaching and studying
alternately, until he attained the age of twenty-five years.
His course had not yet been completed when the civil
war came on and caused such confusion and
derangement in all the affairs of life. Laying aside all
selfish claims and personal desires, that he might serve
his country- unfettered, he quit school and in 1861
organized the militia of Calcasieu parish, for the purpose
of home protection. Early in 1862, being called on for
four companies, he organized the four volunteer
companies, and within twenty days from the time of
receiving the requisition, he was on the march to
Opelousas with these companies to report for duty,
from whence the command proceeded to New Orleans,
and thence to Camp Moore, and it was there that the
Twenty-eighth Louisiana Infantry, under Col. Allen
Thomas, which distinguished itself in the Battle of
Chickasaw Bayou, and the memorable Siege of
Vicksburg, which began on the 21st of May and was
raised on the 4th of July. During the siege Capt. Bryan,
being the ranking officer of his regiment, commanded it.
Col. Thomas having been promoted to brigadier general.
Capt. Bryan sheathed his sword when the cause was lost,
returned home and cast about him for "ways and means
"" to repair the ravages of the war. He resumed teaching,
which he continued for about four years, the last three in
the town of Lake Charles, studying and improving his
mind in the meantime. In 1869 he opened a mercantile
business in the' town, which he followed up to 1884. In
1871 he became editor and proprietor of the Lake
Charles Echo, which he conducted with great ability
until the 14th of March, 1890, when he sold the paper
and retired from its editorship. Under his management
the Echo became one of the ablest and most popular
country weeklies in Louisiana and contributed greatly to
the building up and development of Lake Charles and
Calcasieu parish. For some time Capt. Bryan has been
engaged in the real estate business. He has always taken
an active interest in the local affairs of the town and
parish, and he is especially noted for the interest he has
manifested in school work. To him, perhaps, more than
any one man is due the credit of the efficient school
system of Lake Charles. At different times Capt. Bryan
has served as mayor and councilman of the town, and
several times has represented his parish in the board of
police jurors, as well as General Assembly of the State.
Capt. Bryan was married to Miss Delia K. Singleton,
September 9, 1869.
They have three promising sons and five bright and
lovely daughters. The eldest of the latter is the wife of J.
C. F. Kyger. President of the Commercial College, of the
Baylor University, Waco, Texas.
[Editor’s note: Capt. Bryan died June 17, 1897 in Lake
Charles, La. and was buried in Orange Grove Cemetery.
He was so beloved and honored by the community that
the businesses closed for his funeral.]
|
Monday, April 6, 2015
CALCASIEU GREYS April 2015
NEXT MEETING
Captain James W. Bryan Camp 1390 will meet
from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, April 14, at Logan’s
Roadhouse, 3509 Gerstner Memorial Blvd. (Hwy. 14),
Lake Charles, La. Our program will be presented by
Compatriot Travis Lanier on his Confederate
Ancestor. Please attend and enjoy great food and
Confederate fellowship.
2015 Capt. J. W. Bryan Meeting Dates & Location
(Please mark these dates on your calendar.)
Apr. 14 --Logan’s Roadhouse – Lake Charles
May 12 --Joe’s Italian Restaurant – Sulphur
June 9 --Logan’s Roadhouse – Lake Charles
July 14 --Joe’s Italian Restaurant – Sulphur
Aug. 11--Logan’s Roadhouse – Lake Charles
Sept. 8 --Joe’s Italian Restaurant – Sulphur
Oct. 13 -Logan’s Roadhouse – Lake Charles
Nov.10 -Joe’s Italian Restaurant – Sulphur
Dec. 8- Annual Christmas Party (TBA)
SESQUICENTENNIAL EVENT
The Sons of Confederate Veterans will host a
national Confederate Heritage Rally at 1 p.m.
Saturday, May 30, 2015 at the Confederate Monument
in front of the Caddo Parish Court House in
Shreveport. Let’s have a big turnout from Captain
James W. Bryan Camp. For details check out the web
site at http://confederate150.com/2015.html.
Dr. Andy Buckley, cmdr.
Bid Farwell to Ben Lyons, Jr. Longtime SCV
Member.
Ben Lyons, Jr. age 92 longtime SCV Captain James W.
Bryan member passed away Saturday, March 21 in a
Groves Texas care facility. Ben was a native of DeQuincy
and a resident of Sulphur for most of his adult life. He
and my Dad, Andrew J. Buckley, Jr. were ordained
deacons in the First Baptist Church Sulphur in 1954. Ben
was proud of his Confederate ancestor, our beloved
Southland, and his family. His son Rev. Ben Lyons III is
an active member of our camp. It was an honor and a
privilege to preach Ben’s memorial service. He was a
servant of Christ and a great patriot. Although Ben had
been unable attend meetings for the past decade, due to
his failing health, we will miss him.
Enlistment of New Members Keeps Our Camp
Growing.
Several weeks ago Luke Dartez forwarded me the
Louisiana Divisional report. If I remember correctly the
Captain James W. Bryan Camp is now the second largest
in Louisiana with 50 members. We have received five
new members in recent weeks: Ed Sherwood, Robert
Couch, Jessie Harrell, Don Lavender, and Daniel Britain
Briggs. But we have lost two longtime members to death,
Olan Bunch and Ben Lyons. Dr. Charles White, Jack
Crist, and Evan Ellis were dropped from our roster in
January. We need to replace these five former members. I
would challenge every member of the Captain James W.
Bryan Camp to consider bringing a friend, a family
member, or a potential new member to our next meeting,
Tuesday, April 14 at Logan’s Roadhouse. It might be
your next door neighbor, a friend or fellow church
member, or a relative. Our monthly meetings represents a
great opportunity to recruit potential new members.
Captain James W. Bryan History Medal Report.
To date seventeen high schools are participating in our
U.S. History medal program. Listed below are the students
who will receive our first history medal and certificate.
Several schools have requested we give two medals, one for
regular history and a second for Advanced Placement
history, so we’ll actually be awarding 20 medals. If you
pledged to contribute toward the purchase of a medal for
your favorite high school, please send a check for $12.00 to
Luke Dartez as soon as possible.
1. Johnson Bayou High School: Haleigh Jinks.
2. Grand Lake High School: Emily Lemoine.
3. Vinton High School: Mohamed Alikhan
4. De Quincy High School: Destiny Mock
5. LaGrange Senior High School: Dalen Simien – AP history
and John Peters – Regular history
6. Washington Marion High School: Denasia Fontenot
7. Sam Houston High School: Logan Olsen
8. South Beauregard High School: Nicholas Puzon
9. DeRidder High School: John Thomas Stewart
11. Bell City High School: Richard Curtis Broussard
12. Sulphur High School: Aaron Pena-Regular history; AP
history (TBA)
13. Starks High School: Caleb Seneca- Regular history;
Ashton Says- AP US History
14. Hackberry High School: Sarah Elizabeth Lyons
15. Saint Louis Catholic High School: Josephine Hawkins
16. Barbe High School: Alec McGee
17. East Beauregard High School, Bailey Payne.
Upcoming Speakers and Programs.
April 14, Logan’s Roadhouse: Travis Lanier will speak on
his Confederate Ancestor.
May 12, Joe’s Italian Restaurant: Charles Richardson will
speak on Governor Francis T. Nichols.
June 9, Logan’s Road House, Dr. Andy Buckley will speak
on Confederate Crackers and Cavaliers.
July 14, Joe’s Italian Restaurant local educator Robin
Semple will speak on engineers in the War.
We Need Your Presence for Two Important
Events.
This spring will be a busy time for our camp. We need
all the members of our Captain James W. Bryan Camp to be
present for commemorating the Battle of Pleasant Hill April
12-13 – This annual event recreating the battles of Mansfield
and Pleasant Hill and the Spring Festival at Niblett's Bluff
Park April 18-19 in Vinton. Please help us, we are counting
on you to make these events a great success.
I Laughed At This One.
Not wanting to leave the confessional
unattended, a Catholic priest called his rabbi friend
from across the street and asked him to cover for
him. The rabbi told him he wouldn't know what to
say, but the priest told him to come on over and
he'd show him what to do. The rabbi comes and he
and the priest are in the confessional. In a few
minutes a woman comes in and says "Father
forgive me for I have sinned. I lied." Priest says:
"How many times?" Woman: "Three times." Priest
says, "Say three Hail Marys, put $5.00 in the box,
and sin no more."
A few minutes later a man enters the
confessional. He says, "Father forgive me for I have
sinned." Priest says, "What did you do?" Man says,
"I stole." Priest asks, "How many times?" Man
replies, "Three times." Priest says, "Say three Hail
Marys, put $5.00 in the box, and sin no more."
The Rabbi tells the priest that he thinks he's got
it so the priest leaves. A few minutes later another
woman enters and says, "Father forgive me for I
have sinned." Rabbi says, "What did you do?"
Woman replies, "I committed adultery." Rabbi
asks, "How many times?" Woman says "Once."
Rabbi says, "Go do it two more times, we have a
special this week, three for $5.00."
Yours in Our Great Cause,
Dr. Andy Buckley Commander
UPCOMING EVENTS
Captain Bryan camp is planning to have
recruiting and informational tables at two
Confederate History Month events in April. First,
will be the largest historical reenactment in
Louisiana, the Battle of Pleasant Hill on the actual
battlefield the weekend of April 11 & 12, three
miles north of Pleasant Hill at 23271 Hwy. 175,
Pelican, La.
Schedule:
SATURDAY – April 11, 2015
6-10 a.m., Breakfast at American Legion Hall.
10 a.m., Parade in Downtown Pleasant Hill.
11 a.m., Battle Re-Enactment in town.
2 p.m., Main Battle Re-Enactment.
7 p.m., Period Ball and Court Presentation.
SUNDAY – April 12, 2015.
6-10 a.m., Breakfast at the American Legion Hall
10 a.m.-Noon, Open Camp Activities.
10 a.m. – Church Services (open to all)
After Church, Mail Call.
2 p.m., Battle Reenactment.
Please consider volunteering at our recruiting and
information table for whatever time you can spare. We’ll
discuss this more at the March meeting.
Second, Captain Bryan Camp will have a recruiting
and information table at the annual Spring Fling at
Niblett’s Bluff Park, April 18 and 19. There will be plenty
of fun, food and entertainment during the weekend.
Plans are also being made to have either a War For
Southern Independence living history or reenactment.
Please come to the March meeting for more information
on this important event for our camp.
STATE CONVENTION COMING UP
Compatriots,
It is once again time to join together for our Louisiana
Division Reunion.
This year we will meet in Monroe on May 23. We are
going to meet at the Courtyard by Marriot Hotel which is
a new facility.
The Division Executive Council meeting will be on
the night of the 22nd at the same facility at which all are
welcome to attend.
The hotel has a block of rooms set aside for the Sons
of Confederate Veterans with a room rate of $119 per
night for a king or queen double room. The phone
number for the hotel is 318-388-0034 for reservations.
Ask for the Sons of Confederate Veterans rate.
I hope that you will all attend. I also ask that you will
attend the awards banquet on the night of the
23rd beginning at 6:00 P.M. The meal will be catered by
Kayla's Kitchen from West Monroe. The buffet style
meal will consist of: brisket or pulled pork, twice baked
potatoes, green beans, and corn casserole. For desert
there is peach cobbler. Tea to drink or water.
Our speaker that night will be Ronnie Kennedy
speaking on "Our past and our future." I feel sure that
you will want to be there as Ronnie is always interesting
and entertaining.
Please fill out the registration form included in this
issue as soon as possible so that I can have a reasonable
count on those expected to attend.
Thank you and I look forward to seeing you there.
Thomas E Taylor
Commander, Louisiana Division
Sons of Confederate Veterans
tcrusader@juno.com
HERITAGE ATTACK RESPONSE
Compatriots,
The opinion column by Charles Dean of the
Huntsville (Alabama) Times is dated April 1, 2015, but
it is not an April Fool's joke. The fool is Mr.
Dean. This man's attack on the symbol under which
our ancestor's fought and died is as hateful as it is
uninformed.
I suggest that each of us send Mr. Dean an e-mail
(cdean@al.com), and let him now that he, not us, is the
one guilty of bigotry here. Please compose your letters
to him as gentlemen of a great tradition, taking the high
road in the way of General Lee.
Chief of Heritage Operations Ben Jones' letter:
Mr. Dean,
You are practicing what serious historians call
"presentism", i.e., assuming that folks who lived
150 years ago can be judged in a modern context. And
apparently you have not read Mr. Lincoln's First
Inaugural, where he said that he had no desire to end
slavery in the South. He said in that address that it was
Constitutionally protected.
He also said he supported the Corwin Amendment,
which would re-enforce that position.
Apparently too, you have not read his letter to
Horace Greeley written well into the second year of the
War, when he said that if he could preserve the Union
with slavery, that would be fine.
And you have forgotten that slavery was not the
Southern sin, but the National sin. For the cotton, and
most of the profits went North. Read "Complicity" or
"The Half Has Not Been Told."
I hear the sound of jerking knees, Mr. Dean. Do
your homework. Read the full history of slavery in this
nation.
Accept that our nation's Capital is named after
Virginia's biggest slaver, whose picture is probably in
your wallet.
Accept that our Declaration of Independence was
written by another slaver, and that the "Father of our
Constitution" and the force behind our Bill of Rights
also bought and sold human beings.
Understand that they were of the previous
generation of Southern leadership, and were of the
same mind as their sons and grandsons.
Your sophomoric simplification of a very complex
issue is terribly amateurish, and is an insult to the 70
million Americans whose ancestors took up arms for
the Southern Cause.
Ben Jones
Washington, Virginia
Captain James W. Bryan Camp 1390 will meet
from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, April 14, at Logan’s
Roadhouse, 3509 Gerstner Memorial Blvd. (Hwy. 14),
Lake Charles, La. Our program will be presented by
Compatriot Travis Lanier on his Confederate
Ancestor. Please attend and enjoy great food and
Confederate fellowship.
2015 Capt. J. W. Bryan Meeting Dates & Location
(Please mark these dates on your calendar.)
Apr. 14 --Logan’s Roadhouse – Lake Charles
May 12 --Joe’s Italian Restaurant – Sulphur
June 9 --Logan’s Roadhouse – Lake Charles
July 14 --Joe’s Italian Restaurant – Sulphur
Aug. 11--Logan’s Roadhouse – Lake Charles
Sept. 8 --Joe’s Italian Restaurant – Sulphur
Oct. 13 -Logan’s Roadhouse – Lake Charles
Nov.10 -Joe’s Italian Restaurant – Sulphur
Dec. 8- Annual Christmas Party (TBA)
SESQUICENTENNIAL EVENT
The Sons of Confederate Veterans will host a
national Confederate Heritage Rally at 1 p.m.
Saturday, May 30, 2015 at the Confederate Monument
in front of the Caddo Parish Court House in
Shreveport. Let’s have a big turnout from Captain
James W. Bryan Camp. For details check out the web
site at http://confederate150.com/2015.html.
Finding Your Way Home
Commander Column April, 2015Dr. Andy Buckley, cmdr.
Bid Farwell to Ben Lyons, Jr. Longtime SCV
Member.
Ben Lyons, Jr. age 92 longtime SCV Captain James W.
Bryan member passed away Saturday, March 21 in a
Groves Texas care facility. Ben was a native of DeQuincy
and a resident of Sulphur for most of his adult life. He
and my Dad, Andrew J. Buckley, Jr. were ordained
deacons in the First Baptist Church Sulphur in 1954. Ben
was proud of his Confederate ancestor, our beloved
Southland, and his family. His son Rev. Ben Lyons III is
an active member of our camp. It was an honor and a
privilege to preach Ben’s memorial service. He was a
servant of Christ and a great patriot. Although Ben had
been unable attend meetings for the past decade, due to
his failing health, we will miss him.
Enlistment of New Members Keeps Our Camp
Growing.
Several weeks ago Luke Dartez forwarded me the
Louisiana Divisional report. If I remember correctly the
Captain James W. Bryan Camp is now the second largest
in Louisiana with 50 members. We have received five
new members in recent weeks: Ed Sherwood, Robert
Couch, Jessie Harrell, Don Lavender, and Daniel Britain
Briggs. But we have lost two longtime members to death,
Olan Bunch and Ben Lyons. Dr. Charles White, Jack
Crist, and Evan Ellis were dropped from our roster in
January. We need to replace these five former members. I
would challenge every member of the Captain James W.
Bryan Camp to consider bringing a friend, a family
member, or a potential new member to our next meeting,
Tuesday, April 14 at Logan’s Roadhouse. It might be
your next door neighbor, a friend or fellow church
member, or a relative. Our monthly meetings represents a
great opportunity to recruit potential new members.
Captain James W. Bryan History Medal Report.
To date seventeen high schools are participating in our
U.S. History medal program. Listed below are the students
who will receive our first history medal and certificate.
Several schools have requested we give two medals, one for
regular history and a second for Advanced Placement
history, so we’ll actually be awarding 20 medals. If you
pledged to contribute toward the purchase of a medal for
your favorite high school, please send a check for $12.00 to
Luke Dartez as soon as possible.
1. Johnson Bayou High School: Haleigh Jinks.
2. Grand Lake High School: Emily Lemoine.
3. Vinton High School: Mohamed Alikhan
4. De Quincy High School: Destiny Mock
5. LaGrange Senior High School: Dalen Simien – AP history
and John Peters – Regular history
6. Washington Marion High School: Denasia Fontenot
7. Sam Houston High School: Logan Olsen
8. South Beauregard High School: Nicholas Puzon
9. DeRidder High School: John Thomas Stewart
11. Bell City High School: Richard Curtis Broussard
12. Sulphur High School: Aaron Pena-Regular history; AP
history (TBA)
13. Starks High School: Caleb Seneca- Regular history;
Ashton Says- AP US History
14. Hackberry High School: Sarah Elizabeth Lyons
15. Saint Louis Catholic High School: Josephine Hawkins
16. Barbe High School: Alec McGee
17. East Beauregard High School, Bailey Payne.
Upcoming Speakers and Programs.
April 14, Logan’s Roadhouse: Travis Lanier will speak on
his Confederate Ancestor.
May 12, Joe’s Italian Restaurant: Charles Richardson will
speak on Governor Francis T. Nichols.
June 9, Logan’s Road House, Dr. Andy Buckley will speak
on Confederate Crackers and Cavaliers.
July 14, Joe’s Italian Restaurant local educator Robin
Semple will speak on engineers in the War.
We Need Your Presence for Two Important
Events.
This spring will be a busy time for our camp. We need
all the members of our Captain James W. Bryan Camp to be
present for commemorating the Battle of Pleasant Hill April
12-13 – This annual event recreating the battles of Mansfield
and Pleasant Hill and the Spring Festival at Niblett's Bluff
Park April 18-19 in Vinton. Please help us, we are counting
on you to make these events a great success.
I Laughed At This One.
Not wanting to leave the confessional
unattended, a Catholic priest called his rabbi friend
from across the street and asked him to cover for
him. The rabbi told him he wouldn't know what to
say, but the priest told him to come on over and
he'd show him what to do. The rabbi comes and he
and the priest are in the confessional. In a few
minutes a woman comes in and says "Father
forgive me for I have sinned. I lied." Priest says:
"How many times?" Woman: "Three times." Priest
says, "Say three Hail Marys, put $5.00 in the box,
and sin no more."
A few minutes later a man enters the
confessional. He says, "Father forgive me for I have
sinned." Priest says, "What did you do?" Man says,
"I stole." Priest asks, "How many times?" Man
replies, "Three times." Priest says, "Say three Hail
Marys, put $5.00 in the box, and sin no more."
The Rabbi tells the priest that he thinks he's got
it so the priest leaves. A few minutes later another
woman enters and says, "Father forgive me for I
have sinned." Rabbi says, "What did you do?"
Woman replies, "I committed adultery." Rabbi
asks, "How many times?" Woman says "Once."
Rabbi says, "Go do it two more times, we have a
special this week, three for $5.00."
Yours in Our Great Cause,
Dr. Andy Buckley Commander
UPCOMING EVENTS
Captain Bryan camp is planning to have
recruiting and informational tables at two
Confederate History Month events in April. First,
will be the largest historical reenactment in
Louisiana, the Battle of Pleasant Hill on the actual
battlefield the weekend of April 11 & 12, three
miles north of Pleasant Hill at 23271 Hwy. 175,
Pelican, La.
Schedule:
SATURDAY – April 11, 2015
6-10 a.m., Breakfast at American Legion Hall.
10 a.m., Parade in Downtown Pleasant Hill.
11 a.m., Battle Re-Enactment in town.
2 p.m., Main Battle Re-Enactment.
7 p.m., Period Ball and Court Presentation.
SUNDAY – April 12, 2015.
6-10 a.m., Breakfast at the American Legion Hall
10 a.m.-Noon, Open Camp Activities.
10 a.m. – Church Services (open to all)
After Church, Mail Call.
2 p.m., Battle Reenactment.
Please consider volunteering at our recruiting and
information table for whatever time you can spare. We’ll
discuss this more at the March meeting.
Second, Captain Bryan Camp will have a recruiting
and information table at the annual Spring Fling at
Niblett’s Bluff Park, April 18 and 19. There will be plenty
of fun, food and entertainment during the weekend.
Plans are also being made to have either a War For
Southern Independence living history or reenactment.
Please come to the March meeting for more information
on this important event for our camp.
STATE CONVENTION COMING UP
Compatriots,
It is once again time to join together for our Louisiana
Division Reunion.
This year we will meet in Monroe on May 23. We are
going to meet at the Courtyard by Marriot Hotel which is
a new facility.
The Division Executive Council meeting will be on
the night of the 22nd at the same facility at which all are
welcome to attend.
The hotel has a block of rooms set aside for the Sons
of Confederate Veterans with a room rate of $119 per
night for a king or queen double room. The phone
number for the hotel is 318-388-0034 for reservations.
Ask for the Sons of Confederate Veterans rate.
I hope that you will all attend. I also ask that you will
attend the awards banquet on the night of the
23rd beginning at 6:00 P.M. The meal will be catered by
Kayla's Kitchen from West Monroe. The buffet style
meal will consist of: brisket or pulled pork, twice baked
potatoes, green beans, and corn casserole. For desert
there is peach cobbler. Tea to drink or water.
Our speaker that night will be Ronnie Kennedy
speaking on "Our past and our future." I feel sure that
you will want to be there as Ronnie is always interesting
and entertaining.
Please fill out the registration form included in this
issue as soon as possible so that I can have a reasonable
count on those expected to attend.
Thank you and I look forward to seeing you there.
Thomas E Taylor
Commander, Louisiana Division
Sons of Confederate Veterans
tcrusader@juno.com
HERITAGE ATTACK RESPONSE
Compatriots,
The opinion column by Charles Dean of the
Huntsville (Alabama) Times is dated April 1, 2015, but
it is not an April Fool's joke. The fool is Mr.
Dean. This man's attack on the symbol under which
our ancestor's fought and died is as hateful as it is
uninformed.
I suggest that each of us send Mr. Dean an e-mail
(cdean@al.com), and let him now that he, not us, is the
one guilty of bigotry here. Please compose your letters
to him as gentlemen of a great tradition, taking the high
road in the way of General Lee.
Chief of Heritage Operations Ben Jones' letter:
Mr. Dean,
You are practicing what serious historians call
"presentism", i.e., assuming that folks who lived
150 years ago can be judged in a modern context. And
apparently you have not read Mr. Lincoln's First
Inaugural, where he said that he had no desire to end
slavery in the South. He said in that address that it was
Constitutionally protected.
He also said he supported the Corwin Amendment,
which would re-enforce that position.
Apparently too, you have not read his letter to
Horace Greeley written well into the second year of the
War, when he said that if he could preserve the Union
with slavery, that would be fine.
And you have forgotten that slavery was not the
Southern sin, but the National sin. For the cotton, and
most of the profits went North. Read "Complicity" or
"The Half Has Not Been Told."
I hear the sound of jerking knees, Mr. Dean. Do
your homework. Read the full history of slavery in this
nation.
Accept that our nation's Capital is named after
Virginia's biggest slaver, whose picture is probably in
your wallet.
Accept that our Declaration of Independence was
written by another slaver, and that the "Father of our
Constitution" and the force behind our Bill of Rights
also bought and sold human beings.
Understand that they were of the previous
generation of Southern leadership, and were of the
same mind as their sons and grandsons.
Your sophomoric simplification of a very complex
issue is terribly amateurish, and is an insult to the 70
million Americans whose ancestors took up arms for
the Southern Cause.
Ben Jones
Washington, Virginia
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