AUGUST 2012 -- CALCASIEU GREYS

NEXT MEETING

          The next meeting of Captain James W. Bryan

Camp 1390 will be from 6-8 p.m. with business beginning at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, August 14, at A-MAZEN SEAFOOD AND STEAK, 339 W. Prein Lake Road, Lake Charles La.  The guest speaker will be Ted Brode, the La. Division Commander, who will speak on the Confederate Constitution. Come early and enjoy a great meal, visit with your brothers of the confederacy and pass a good time. The place is located right across the street from Long John Silvers at the Mall. The food is excellent the service is great. The meeting room can hold 40 people easy and has its own A C thermostat, and will be quiet so we can hear what the speaker is saying.

R. Michael Givens

GIVENS REELECTED C in C

MURFREESBORO, Tn. – R Michael Givens of South Carolina was reelected for another two year term as commander-in-chief of the Sons of Confederate Veterans at the 117^th annual reunion of the organization in July. Also reelected as lieutenant commander was Kelly Barrow of Georgia. Here are complete results of the reunion:

*Proposed constitutional amendments one and two pertaining to allowing camps to secede from their divisions were defeated. Proposed constitutional amendment three dealing with a minor wording change to section 13.4 dealing with discipline was approved.

*Proposed standing order amendment number one was withdrawn by the author, and proposed standing order amendment number two, clarifying language dealing with the prohibition of SCV members, camps and divisions from filing lawsuits without prior express consent of the GEC, was approved.

*A paper ballot was used to select Richmond, Virginia as the 2015 site of the 120th SCV Annual General Reunion.

Officers elected for 2012-2014

Commander in Chief- R. Michael Givens

Lt. Commander in Chief- C. Kelly Barrow

Army of Trans-Mississippi

Commander- M. Todd Owens

Councilman- Charles E. Lauret

Army  of Tennessee

Commander- Thomas V. Strain, Jr

Councilman- Larry Allen McCluney

Army of Northern Virginia

Commander- Britton Frank Earnest ,Sr

Councilman-Randall B Burbage

Also selected to serve on the General Executive Council:

Chief of Staff- Charles L. Rand III

Adjutant in Chief- Stephen Lee Ritchie

Chief of Heritage Defense- Eugene G Hogan II

Chaplain in Chief- Mark W. Evans

Judge Advocate in Chief- Roy Burl McCoy

2012 National Awards
*Dr. George R. Tabor Award is presented to the most distinguished camp in the SCV. The winner of this prestigious award, which is an extremely close competition every year, is the Finley's Brigade Camp 1614 of Havana FL, Graham F. Smith, Commander.
*Scrapbooks - Dr. B. H. Webster Award for the best Scrapbook for camps with fewer than 50 members was not awarded in 2012 as no entries were received.
*Judah P. Benjamin Award for the best Scrapbook for camps with 50 or more members is the Robert E. Lee Camp 239 of Fort Worth TX, James B. Turnage, Commander.

*Dr. James B. Butler Award for the best historical project was won by Litchfield Camp 132, Conway, SC, James E. Graham, Commander.
*General Stand Watie Award winner for the camp making the largest contribution to the Stand Watie Scholarship Fund was not awarded in 2012. 

*Best Web Site- General Samuel Cooper Award for the best website is the William Kenyon Australian Confederates Camp 2160, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. http://www.scvau.com/ James M. Gray, Commander.
Newsletters-
*Dr. Paul Jon Miller Award winner for the best newsletter among camps with fewer than 50 members is The Round Mountain Report which is produced by the COL Daniel N. McIntosh Camp 1378, Tulsa OK, Kenneth H. Cook, Editor.
*S.A. Cunningham Award for the best newsletter among camps with 50 or more members is The Louisiana Tiger which is produced by the LTG Richard Taylor Camp 1308, Shreveport LA, Bobby G. Herring, Editor.
*Dewitt Smith Jobe Award for the best Division newsletter is a tie and two awards were given to The Carolina Confederate, North /Carolina Division, Ron Perdue, Editor and the Palmetto Partisan, South Carolina Division, Bill Norris, Editor. 

Recruiting- 

*Edward R. Darling Award for the top recruiter in the Confederation is awarded to Kyle Sims, a member of the COL Middleton Tate Johnson Camp 1648, Arlington TX. Compatriot Sims recruited 37 new members.

Membership-
*General Nathan Bedford Forrest Award for the camp with the greatest gain in membership (plus 39 net) goes to COL W. M. Bradford/COL J. G. Rose Camp 1638, Morristown TN, Michael L. Beck, Commander.
*General A. P. Hill Award is a tie with five new camps each, and is awarded to the North Carolina Division, Thomas M. Smith Jr, Commander and the Georgia Division, Jack Bridwell, Commander.
*General Albert Sydney Johnston Award for the Army with the greatest gain in new camps, a total of 12, goes to the Army of Trans-Mississippi, W. Danny Honnoll, Commander.
Individual Awards

Hoover Law and Order Medal was presented to Sheriff Larry Dever, Cochise County, AZ.

Rev. J. William Jones Christian Service Award is presented to Reverend Eric Gray Rudd (NC), Reverend David Andrew Taylor (AR), and a posthumous award to Reverend Jack Ray Griffin (AZ) all three of whom have emulated and perpetuated the orthodox Christian faith demonstrated by the soldiers and citizens of the Confederate States of America.
*Robert E. Lee Gold Medal, the second highest award which can be given to a SCV member, has been presented to Eugene G. Hogan II (SC), B. Frank Earnest Sr. (VA), and Thomas Y. Hiter (KY) for their exceptional contributions and service to the SCV.   

*Jefferson Davis Chalice has been presented to Bragdon R. Bowling Jr. (VA).  This is the highest award which may be bestowed on a member for service to the SCV and consists of an engraved silver chalice, a medal and a certificate.

 Non Member Awards

*The S. D. Lee Award, the SCV's highest award for nonmembers of the SCV was presented to Pam Trammell of Arkansas. 

The Horace L. Hunley Award, the SCV's second highest award for nonmembers was presented to Allen Roberson of South Carolina. The Dixie Defender Award, the SCV's third highest award for nonmembers was presented to Sarah Mosley of South Carolina.

Jones, Cochran Receive National Awards

            Camp 1390 compatriots Michael Dan Jones and Alfred Perry Cochran received national awards at the 117^th annual reunion of the Sons of Confederate Veterans in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Jones received the “Meritorious Service Medal” and certificate. Cochran received the “Commendation Medal” and certificate. Both awards are signed by Commander-In-Chief R. Michael Givens.

            The Meritorious Service Medal is in recognition of exceptionally meritorious service to the sons of Confederate Veterans. The Commendation Medal is in recognition of meritorious service on the Camp, Brigade, or Division Level. This award is in grateful acknowledgement for service to the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

            Compatriot Jones, past camp commander, is currently the camp editor. Compatriot Cochran is currently the camp historian.

Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest

SCV RESPONDS TO  BECK ATTACK ON FORREST

Compatriots: 

           Radio and TV talk show personality  Glenn Beck recently made allegations about General Nathan Bedford Forrest.  Below is the response by SCV Chief of Heritage Defense Gene Hogan:

Dear Mr. Beck:

Recently, on GBTV, with WallBuilders' Founder and President David Barton present, you displayed what you claim was the sword belonging to Nathan Bedford Forrest - an example of "tremendous American evil," in your words. You spoke of the War Between The States' engagement at Ft. Pillow and perpetuated Rev. Barton's conjecture (which I'd never before heard) that the sword "skinned people alive."  Perhaps you and Rev. Barton should actually read the Congressional inquiry into the matter -- it is inconclusive, neither exonerating nor condemning Forrest. Ft. Pillow was the typical "fog of war" circumstance that makes it impossible to sort out events as they actually occurred. However, don't feel compelled to accept my opinion. Lt. Col. Edwin L. Kennedy, Jr. is an Assistant Professor, Department of Command and Leadership, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. His review of the events at Ft. Pillow follows:

http://www.armchairgeneral.com/nathan-bedford-forrest-and-the-battle-of-fort-pillow-1864.htm  

              Only two weeks after the battle, a U.S. Congressional inquiry could not conclusively determine exactly what happened. Both sides failed to control the action, and only Forrest's direct, personal intervention to stop the shooting saved many of the Union defenders left standing on the beach. Not satisfied with the Congressional inquiry, Union General William T. Sherman convened a not-so-impartial inquiry. He openly stated that he would try and convict General Forrest. However, Sherman's inquiry also ended without substantive evidence to find Forrest culpable. Northern newspapers criticizing Forrest's effort "to explain away the Fort Pillow affair," however, seem especially disingenuous since the sensationalist accounts by the partisan Northern press bears a large share of the burden for creating and perpetuating the "massacre" claim in the first place. Forrest always disputed claims that his Fort Pillow victory was a "massacre." Any fair-minded judgment as to whether it was truly the racism-inspired, premeditated massacre claimed by the Northern press and Union leaders at the time must also take into consideration the inevitable confusion of desperate, hand-to-hand combat and the many contributing factors that created and exacerbated the disastrous Union rout. Of course, wartime events concerning Forrest cannot be considered in a vacuum - he has become unfairly associated with the actions of the KKK. Again, a bit of digging instead of accepting "flat earth history" will give the intellectually honest person a different perspective. Consider the findings of the Anti-Defamation League:

 http://www.adl.org/learn/ext_us/kkk/history.asp?LEARN_Cat=Extremism&LEARN_SubCat=Extremism_in_America&xpicked=4&item=kkk   

           By 1869, internal strife led Klansmen to fight against Klansmen as competing factions struggled for control. The Klan's increasing reputation for violence led the more prominent citizens to drop out and criminals and the dispossessed began to fill the ranks. Local chapters proved difficult, if not impossible, to monitor and direct. In disgust, Forrest officially disbanded the organization and the vast majority of local groups followed his lead. If the treatment of Forrest was not bad enough, to follow it up with a reference to Herman Goering amplified the insult, effectively equating Forrest to a Nazi. From a practical standpoint, why would you alienate Southerners by doing this? The South has obviously been very accepting of your message - we value the Constitution and eschew progressivism. In the first chapter of the Gospel of John, we are told that Jesus came "full of grace and truth" (v.14). While you and Rev. Barton are "Restoring Love," why not restore some grace to the Southern people and some truth for their history?

Gene Hogan
Chief of Heritage Defense
Sons of Confederate Veterans
(866) 681 - 7314
http://scv.org