CALCASIEU GREYS - Newsletter of Captain James W. Bryan Camp 1390, SCV

June 2011

NEXT MEETING

The next meeting of Captain James W. Bryan Camp 1390 will be from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, June 15, at the Seafood Palace, 2218 Enterprise Blvd. in Lake Charles. Our guest speaker will be Duane Clemmons who will present a program on the causes of the War Between the States. This should be an informative program that you'll want to hear. Please come for good fellowship and delicious food.

CONFEDERATE MEMORIAL DAY

Captain James W. Bryan Camp 1390 will observe Confederate Memorial Day with a wreath-laying ceremony at The South's Defenders Monument at the Calcasieu Parish Courthouse at 6 p.m. Friday, June 3. We will also decorate Confederate graves throughout the parish for the special holiday, which is an official Louisiana state holiday. For those who would like to help distribute flags in Lake Charles, meet at Orange Grove-Graceland Cemetery, at the west entrance off Broad Street) at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 2. If you'd like to help distribute flags in the West Calcasieu cemeteries, contact Luke Dartez at 583-7727.

The annual event is held in honor of President Jefferson Davis, who was born on June 3, 1808 in Kentucky. Confederate Memorial Day is a special day for honoring all of our Confederate ancestors who sacrificed so much in the defense of their homes and families, as well as the noble cause of Southern Independence. Over 260,000 brave Southern men laid down their lives on the alter of their country, and hundreds of thousands more were wounded and maimed. And we also remember the noble sacrifices made the the courageous women of the South served in many capacities, from spies and couriers, to nurses and keeping the families together during this most tragic period of our history. By honoring them and keeping their memory alive, we pass on a worthy and honorable heritage to our children and future generations.


UPDATE ON I-10
CONFEDERATE MEMORIAL
     Compatriot Granville Block sent the following update on the planned I-10 Confederate Memorial in Orange Texas:
     The "Confederate Memorial of the Wind" project is doing very well. The total estimated cost of the memorial is $60,000. The new funds received have brought our total of money raised to over $33,000, with an additional $2,200 pledge not yet received. I recently submitted a request to the GEC for support of $20,000. If these funds are received our project will be complete for all the visitors passing to and from the Texas/ Louisiana State line to see what Confederate Pride looks like within the next 14 months.

   This is definitely not a done deal, the GEC has been extremely supportive of the project by donating add space in the "Confederate Veteran" and I know they are behind the project 100%. But, there are many worthy projects, and as usual funds are limited.

   Please continue your support for our ancestor’s memorial. Follow the examples of the 13th Texas Infantry Regiment Camp, Road to Session Board, and the Texas Society Order of Confederate Rose. Have Camp or Brigade sponsor a flag, or at least a brick. Honor your ancestor by placing his name below the flags that he loved.

At your service,
Granvel J. Block , Lieutenant Commander, Texas Division Sons of Confederate Veteran

Keith Coleman
Rest in Peace

Compatriot Norman Keith Coleman, 57, died Saturday, May 21 and was buried in the Hyatt Cemetery in Fields following funeral services May 25 in Lake Charles. Keith was a longtime member of Captain James W. Bryan Camp 1390. He established our camp's presence on the World Wide Web about 15 years ago and faithfully maintained the site and did the computer work on our newsletter month after month, year after year, since then.

We shall miss Keith's devotion to and support of our camp and Confederate heritage. He was very talented in his computer work and deserves the credit for the professional look that our award winning newsletter, Calcasieu Greys, has had all these years. He was a pharmacist who worked for many years at St. Patrick Hospital. Please keep Keith and his family in your prayers.

COMMANDER'S COMMENTS

      It was with much sadness that I read of the death of our very talented Web master, Keith Coleman Saturday, May 21. I had worked with him for these many years on a monthly basis on the newsletter. He took care of the computer layout work while I supplied the copy material for the newsletter. Keith was quiet and unassuming but always there to do the newsletter and maintain our camp web site. Since he had our newsletter on his personal web site, http://www.carvingdude.com/, I have established a Web site for the camp at http://www.calcasieugreys.blogspot.com/. He was also a very talented pumpkin carver. While we can never replace Keith's skill and talent, hopefully our new site will at least satisfactorily keep us on the World Wide Web to get our message across to members and the general public. While it is too late to personally thank Keith for his many years of faithful service to this camp, at least I can acknowledge the major role he played to building this camp into the successful institution it has become. Thank you Keith, we will miss you very much.

Susan Jones with her viola at the Mouton House.

     Susan and I had a  great time May 14 at the Mouton House's Sesquicentennial event in Lafayette. Susan played traditional Southern music on her viola while I donned my Tiger Rifles zouave uniform to tell people about the original Louisiana Tigers, from whom Louisiana State University got its team mascot name, Tigers. Also taking part in the event were the 18th Louisiana/114th New York living history reenactment group and the Louisiana Pelican Battery with their cannon and caisson. The weather was cool, clear and sunny. We also paraded around the neighborhood and showed the colors and talked to  the public at a near by arts festival. I enjoyed the event immensely.



Mike Jones with the Louisiana
Independence (Secession) flag.



The Mouton House was the home of the prominent Mouton family of Lafayette. Alexandre Mouton served the state as its governor, U.S. senator and the president of the Louisiana Secession Convention. His son, Brig. Gen. Alfred Mouton, was a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. as well as a Confederate general. Gen. Mouton was severely wounded at the Battle of Shiloh whilecommanding the 18th Louisiana Infantry as its colonel. While recovering, he was promoted to brigadier general and led a brigade of Louisiana troops in the Bayou Lafourche campaign in the fall of 1862 and then the Bayou Teche campaign of spring 1863. At the Battle of Mansfield, April 8, 1864, he led a division which broke the Federal line in one of most famous andsuccessful charges of the war. Mouton was killed just as the Federals were routed by Yankees who treacherously picked up their muskets and fired after faining surrender.

The Mouton House has several photographs and paintings of Gen. Mouton, as well as other artifacts and the original Louisiana secession document.

Your obedient servant,

Mike Jones, camp commander.

CAMP MOORE'S SESQUICENTENNIAL

Tangipahoa - On June 5, beginning at 2:00 p.m. Camp Moore will have an open house.this is to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the Confederate training base of Camp Moore. The program will begin at 2 p.m. with the  introduction of guest speaker will be given by board member Wayne Cosby.at 2:15 p.m., Professor Charles Elliott from Southeastern Louisiana University will speak on Louisiana's role in the war. At 2:45 a short ceremony will take place in the Camp Moore cemetery. Refreshments will be available in the museum.

Camp Moore from an engraving. (From Camp Moore's web
site)

(From Camp Moore's Web site) 

Camp Moore was the largest Confederate training camp in Louisiana and the only Confederate training camp still open to the public.  The above is a copy of a lithograph done by Adrian Persac in 1861 and is the only known image of Camp Moore during the war.  In the background may be seen the New Orleans, Jackson and Great Northern Railroad.  The garrison flag floats proudly above the parade ground in the center.  Men are seen in various stages of drill in the center, in the parade ground.  Along the left or south border may be seen rows of tents in typical company street style.  Visitors are seen in the foreground, which was a very common sight at Camp Moore.  Visitors flocked from New Orleans and other places to see their sons and husbands.  It was a pleasant 4-hour train ride from New Orleans. Not quite visible in this picture would have been the sutlers, restaurants and photographer, located in the right distance of the tree line, along Beaver Creek.  The orientation of this picture is taken looking west from the interior of Camp Moore looking across the parade ground.

CIVIL WAR TRUST 2011 AWARDS

Chantilly, Va. – During the organization’s annual conference in Chantilly, Va., Civil War Trust president James Lighthizer announced the winners of the 2011 Preservation Awards, recognizing extraordinary individual and organizational achievements in the cause of Civil War preservation.

“The work done by the Civil War Trust would simply not be possible without the efforts of men and women like those we honor this weekend,” Lighthizer said. “They are often the unsung heroes of historic preservation, but I am confident that their work will be felt for generations to come.”

Over the years, the Trust has honored a wide variety of individuals and groups for their work to preserve endangered Civil War battlefields. Previous winners include historians, National Park Service personnel, celebrities and even residential developers.  Despite such disparate backgrounds, all have made unique and lasting contributions to historic preservation.

The 2010 award winners are:
Shelby Foote Preservation Legacy Award:  This honor was given to three individuals who have demonstrated exceptional merit in Civil War battlefield preservation:
Julian Bibb is one of the driving forces behind the dramatic resurgence of historic preservation in Franklin, Tenn.  Through his leadership, prominent law firm Stites & Harbison has contributed more than $1 million in pro-bono work to battlefield preservation.

As chief counsel for the plaintiffs in the “Wilderness Walmart” lawsuit, Robert Rosenbaum led an Arnold & Porter legal team in a $2.5 million pro-bono effort that ultimately resulted in Walmart’s decision to seek an alternate location in Orange County, Va. The creative director behind the “What Will Be Your Legacy?” campaign aimed at preventing approval of a casino near the Gettysburg Battlefield, Jeff Griffith oversaw a wholly volunteer video and advertising effort that reinvigorated the historic preservation movement in Pennsylvania.

Carrington Williams Battlefield Preservationist of the Year Award:  This award, named for the first chairman of the Civil War Trust, was presented to the “Wilderness Walmart” Plaintiffs: Curtis Abel, Dale Brown, Sheila Clark, Susan Caton, Dwight Mottet, Craig Rains, and Friends of Wilderness Battlefield.  These individuals and organization made a courageous and very public stand on behalf of the Wilderness Battlefield.

National Preservation Leadership Award:  This recognition for federal policymakers who have made significant contributions to preservation was awarded to Rep. Frank Wolf of Virginia.  Rep. Wolf is a staunch advocate of battlefield preservation, helping guide legislation through Congress to protect the Manassas National Battlefield as well as create the Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park and the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Heritage Area.

Brian C. Pohanka Preservation Organization of the Year Award: This award was named after the late Brian Pohanka, an outstanding historian and one of the founders of the modern battlefield preservation movement. This year’s award went to No Casino Gettysburg for the outstanding grassroots activism that prevented a second attempt to bring casino gambling within a mile of Gettysburg National Military Park.

National Park Service Preservationist of the Year Award: This award, which is presented to outstanding NPS personnel, went to John Howard, recently retired Superintendent of Antietam National Battlefield. During his fifteen years at Antietam, Howard worked closely with the Trust to permanently protect 200 acres of the battlefield, while also increasing landscape and historic structure restoration efforts, establishing an active education program and increasing partnerships with the local community.

Preservationist Teacher of the Year Award:  Every year, the Trust recognizes an outstanding teacher for motivating students to become more involved in battlefield preservation. This year, the Trust recognized Mr. Richard Deardoff of Kettle Run High School and Lord Fairfax Community College, Fauquier County, Va.  Part of his rigorous curriculum, which emphasizes primary sources and local impact, requires students to volunteer at nearby sites. 

Discovery Trail Site of the Year Award: The White Oak Museum in Falmouth, Va., was honored as the top site on the Civil War Discovery Trail, a network of more than 600 historic sites in 32 states.  The museum displays the personal collection of D.P. Newton — potentially the finest private assortment of Civil War artifacts — inside a completely hand-restored building.

Reenactment Unit of the Year Award: Across the nation, many living history groups are actively involved in land and artifact preservation.  For the first time, the Trust has recognized a “civilian” organization with this honor.  The Civil War Dance Foundation and its performing troupe, the Victorian Dance Ensemble, have contributed more than $100,000 to preservation initiatives through outright donations and fundraisers.
 
Civil War Roundtable of the Year Award:  This award was presented to the Bull Run Civil War Round Table for its commitment to excellence and battlefield preservation.  The Bull Run Civil War Roundtable has been a loyal member of the Trust since 1995, taking a particular interest in preservation efforts at nearby battlefields like Bristoe Station, Centreville, Chancellorsville, Chantilly and Manassas.

The Civil War Trust is the largest nonprofit battlefield preservation organization in the United States.  Its mission is to preserve our nation’s remaining Civil War battlefields and to promote appreciation of these hallowed grounds through education and heritage tourism.  Since 1987, the organization has helped save more than 30,000 acres of battlefield land in 20 states.  Learn more by visiting http://www.civilwar.org/, the home of the Sesquicentennial.

Lucius Lamar Moss
25th SCV C-in C

Photo of former SCV C-in-C found


Compatriot Tommy Curtis recently found this excellent photo of Lucius Lamar Moss at an estate sale. The photo is dated 1911 when Moss was 26-years-old. He is the only man from Lake Charles to ever serve as the Commander-In-Chief of the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

Moss was the son of Sgt. Oliver Ryan Moss of Company K, 10th Louisiana Infantry Regiment. Moss., a native of Calcasieu Parish, fought in most of the major battles in the Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania with the Army of Northern Virginia. He served under generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. He died in Lake Charles Feb. 23, 1928 at age 91.

The son,  Lucius Lamar Moss was the 25th commander-in-chief and his term was for 1926-27. He was the first of four Louisianians who have served as national commander, the other three being John Roy Price of Shreveport, Bernard Eble of New Orleans and Chuck McMichael of Shreveport.

Moss was the longtime Tax Assessor of Calcasieu Parish. He was married to  Miriam Locke and died in 1968 at age 83.

Oliver Ryan Moss, left, of Company K, 10th
Louisiana Infantry, and his cousin, George Ryan
of the 7th Louisiana Cavalry. The photo was taken
shortly after the war.