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| Joe David Pool |
NEXT MEETING
The next meeting of Captain J.W. Bryan Camp will be from 6-8 p.m., Tuesday, March 11, 2014, in Sulphur at Hollier’s Cajun Kitchen, Ruth Street. At the March meeting the camp membership will address a permanent location for the Sulphur meeting since another organization has reserved the meeting room at the Pitt Grill. Our guest speaker will be Joe David Pool of DeRidder on “A Journal of the 17th Louisiana Infantry Regiment in the Civil War.”
Monthly camp meetings in Lake Charles
have been scheduled and confirmed for Logan’s Road House: Tuesday, April 8;
Tuesday, June 10; Tuesday. August 12;Tuesday October 14.
Battle of Calcasieu Pass 150th
Anniversary Committee
At the last meeting,
the Camp Commander named a Battle of
Calcasieu Pass Commemoration Committee: Mike Jones, Luke Dartez, and Archie
Toombs. Because this event is so huge we are requesting additional members
volunteer to serve on the committee which will be planning the service.
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| Dr. Andy Buckley Cmdr. Camp 1390 |
Finding Your Way Home
Commander's Column March 2014
I noticed a posting on the web-page of the Rivers Bridge Sons of
Confederate Camp #842 in Barker’s Mill, South Carolina recounting the history
of our proud organization:
Within months following the
cessation of hostilities between the North and South in 1865, groups of male
descendants of those who served in the Confederate Army and Navy were formed
throughout the South. Their main objective was the welfare and comfort of the
veterans who had "worn the gray." They soon realized their efforts
would be more effective if they joined together in some sort of federation. In
this way, they could render assistance to support the United Confederate
Veterans which had been organized in New Orleans on June 10, 1889.
Such a federation became a
reality on July 1, 1896 in Richmond, Virginia during the annual re-union of the
United Confederate Veterans. On this date twenty-four "camps" from
five Southern states, approved the formation of the "United Sons of
Confederate Veterans." J.E.B. Stuart, Jr., was elected the first leader.
Because they had initially
formed camps to assist the Confederate veterans, it was only natural that they
were committed “to comfort and assist needy, Confederate Veterans, their wives,
widows and orphans." Their annual meetings were held on the same date and
site as that of the United Confederate Veterans. In 1912 the name was shortened
to "Sons of Confederate Veterans.”
These farsighted young men realized that the day would come when there would be no more veterans, widows or orphans to assist. Therefore one of their declared objectives was to see" ...that the events of the War Between the States are authentically and dearly written..." remembered and defended.
I
am truly grateful to be a member of a national organization which proudly
honors the sacrifices and values of our brave Confederate ancestors and
celebrates Southern history and culture. There truly is no other region in our
great country like the South. Our beloved South remains
generally more conservative than the rest of the United States. Communities in
the South have developed strong attachments to their churches as the primary
community institution and an expression of our faith in God. Etiquette, respect,
honesty, and integrity have traditionally been very important to people living
in the South. This is the way it should be. In his
landmark book entitled Heritage of the
South author Tim Jacobson has written these thoughts about our unique
Southern way of life:
"More than any
other part of America, the South stands apart. Thousands of Northerners and
foreigners have migrated to it...but Southerners they will not become. The
South is still a place where you must have either been born or have 'people'
there, to feel it is your native land. Southerners are proud to be Americans, but they are also proud
to be Louisianans, Virginians, South Carolinians, Tennesseans, Mississippians and Texans. Southerners are loyal too, to
an identity that transcends the usual ties of national
patriotism and state pride. It is a loyalty to a place where habits are strong
and memories are long. If those memories could speak, they would tellstories of a region
powerfully shaped by its history and determined to pass it on to future
generations."
Please be in attendance at
our next monthly meeting March 11, 2014 at Hollier’s Cajun Kitchen on Ruth
Street in Sulphur . Joe David Pool of DeRidder will share about a
project he has been researching and composing for fifty years entitled "A Journal of the Louisiana 17th Infantry
Regiment in the Civil War." It is written through the eyes of one
individual soldier of that unit. His perspective is not presented from the
commanding officers' viewpoints, but from the common combatant. In his
presentation, you will hear about misery and death. You will hear about
friendship and entertainment. Of course, you will hear about their
participation in battle... at Shiloh, Corinth, Chickasaw Bluffs, Port Gibson,
and Vicksburg. He has the rolls of the companies of the regiment and a list of
the dead. Mr. Pool has published five books and four magazine articles. He
likes to write about the people of Louisiana in which his family has lived for
over 200 years. He was Dr. Joe Grey Taylor’s teaching assistant at Mc Neese State University where he earned the
Master of Arts in History. He taught at Barbe, LaGrange, and Sulphur High
schools; and on the Navajo Indian Reservation in New Mexico.
Beginning last month our Calcasieu Greys has added a new feature
highlighting the story of a James W. Bryan Camp member’s Confederate Ancestor
on a monthly basis. Please be willing to share your ancestor’s story.
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 150 year Battle of Calcasieu Pass on
Saturday, May 10 on the grounds of the Cameron Parish Courthouse, 10:00
am-12:00 noon. This will be the first time our camp has attempted to conduct an
event on such a large scale. We are
counting on you to make this event a great success.
Dr. Andy Buckley
Commander, andybuckley1224@g mail.com
My
Confederate Ancestor
The Calcasieu Greys will soon feature the
story of a James W. Bryan Camp member’s Confederate Ancestor on a monthly
basis.
Beginning this spring our Captain
James W. Bryan Camp will feature the stories of camp member’s Confederate
ancestors in our monthly newsletter Calcasieu
Greys. We would like to invite members to submit a brief biography of your
ancestor for our upcoming issues. The
biography should be 750 words or less and include all service information,
rank, place of enlistment, branch and unit, the battles in which your ancestor
fought, final resting place, family information, and any anecdote concerning
your ancestor. Please include a photograph of yourself and your ancestor. Send
your biography to Mike Jones, Editor at m4082@msn.com or Dr. Andy Buckley
Commander at andybuckley1224@gmail.com.
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| Brig. Gen. Matthew C. Butlert |
CONFEDERATE
OF THE MONTH
Brigadier General Matthew C.
Butler of South
Carolina served as a captain in
Hampton’s
Legion and then as colonel of the
2nd South Carolina Cavalry. He was wounded at the Battle of Brandy Station and his left
foot amputated. He was then promoted to the rank of brigadier general.
Executive
Committee Recommendation.
The Executive committee met on Friday 21
with Dr. Andy Buckley commander, Luke Dartez Adjutant, Al Cochran, Historian,
Mike Jones, Editor, and Archie Toombs Past Commander in attendance.
The committee discussed the $500.00 of the
spring semester scholarship due Shelby Wolfe. Due to difficulty in obtaining
applicants the scholarship committee had agreed and requested in April 2012 the
amount of the scholarship be raised from $500.00 per year to $1000.00 per year.
Scott Thorn agreed to this request and paid McNeese Financial Aid/Scholarship
Department $500.00 with a personal check. No receipt of the scholarship award
was provided the Captain James W. Bryan Camp from McNeese, as the scholarship
check was a personal check from Scott.
When contacted by Dr. Andy Buckley in December for the second
scholarship payment of $500.00, Scott indicated he initially misunderstood the
request to raise the scholarship and had moved the funds to a new account and
could not make a second withdrawal due to loss of interest. The second half of
the scholarship payment for the spring semester of $500.00 has therefore not
been paid. The Executive Committee strongly feels the integrity of our promise
to Shelby Wolfe requires the Camp to honor its agreement to fully fund the
scholarship payment.
The Executive Committee will recommend the
Camp provide the $500.00 promised Shelby Wolfe out of our funds and terminate
future participation with the Ben W. Burns Scholarship. The Ben W. Burns
Scholarship is under the control Scott Thorn, who although is a past Camp
Commander, is not an SCV Member, and has not been for a number of years.
Because there is no direct relationship in
the management or oversight of the Ben W. Burns Scholarship with the Sons of
the Confederate Veterans or the Captain James W. Bryan Camp #1390, and to
protect the good name of the Sons of the Confederate Veterans, we believe the
Camp should not continue to participate in the recruitment of applicants,
publicity/promotion, or distribution of scholarship funds for which we
have no direct institutional oversight or involvement.
If Scott Thorn desires to continue to
offer the Ben W. Burns Scholarship funds at McNeese he may do so as the
executor of the Burns estate, but not in the name of the Captain James W. Bryan
SCV Camp 1390.
Captain James W, Bryan Camp # 1390
Executive Committee
NEW GEORGIA LICENSE
PLATE CELEBRATES SOUTHERN HERITAGE
(ATLANTA – February 18,
2014) As of February 1, 2014, the Ga. Div. Sons of Confederate
Veterans has a totally new Special License Plate available to all Georgians.
The new design has already been approved and is now available as part of the
state’s new form which allows for digital images for license plates instead of
the traditional raised letter format.
The new design of the SCV’s special
license plate features a much more prominent logo of the organization with
larger stars and a beautiful Confederate battle flag image in the background
and covering the entire size of the plate. Additionally, the plate features a
gold frame with the words “Sons of Confederate Veterans” displayed where the
county name was previously featured on the plates.
The design for the new plate
previously submitted by the SCV also featured the carving on Stone Mountain,
the largest Confederate monument in existence; however, Silver Dollar City
which has leased the Park from the state of Georgia claims to have the carving
trademarked and refuses to allow other entities to use it. At present, the Sons
of Confederate Veterans has challenged the right of any private corporation to
trademark a symbol which belongs to the people and state of Georgia and is
considering further action to void the trademark claim of Silver Dollar City;
but the new alternate license plate design was submitted by the SCV so as not
to delay its production.
In addition to the promotion of Southern Heritage
which comes from every license plate which is on the roads, a financial
contribution of $10 from the tag fee is made to the Georgia Division of the
Sons of Confederate Veterans to promote Southern Heritage through educational
activities and preservation efforts around the state. Since the program’s
inception several years ago, hundreds of thousands of dollars from the sale of
the SCV specialty plates have gone toward such projects as the cleaning and
maintenance of statues and monuments, the preservation of the last standing
chimney of the Confederate Powderworks in Augusta, the erection of numerous
other monuments across the state, the production of educational literature and
posters, and even Southern history segments on radio and television across the
state as part of the Sesquicentennial commemoration of the War for Southern Independence.
150-years-ago
RED RIVER CAMPAIGN
STARTS WITH ATTACK ON FORT DERUSSY March 14, 1864
(National Park Service summary)
The
Union launched a multi-purpose expedition into Rebel Gen. E. Kirby Smith’s Trans-Mississippi
Department, headquartered in Shreveport, Louisiana, in early 1864. Maj. Gen.
Nathaniel P. Banks and Rear Adm. David D. Porter jointly commanded the combined
force. Porter’s fleet and Brig. Gen. A.J. Smith's XVI and XVII Army Corps detachments
of the Army of the Tennessee set out on March 12, 1864, up the Red River, the
most direct route to Shreveport. Banks with the XIII and XIX Army Corps
advanced by way of Berwick Bay and Bayou Teche. After removing various
obstructions that the Rebels had placed in the river, the major impediment to
the Union expedition was the formidable Fort DeRussy, an earthen fortification
with a partly iron-plated battery designed to resist the fire of Union
ironclads that might come up river. Union Brig. Gen. A.J. Smith’s command had
embarked on transports at Vicksburg and then disembarked at Simsport, on the
12th, about thirty miles from Fort DeRussy. Smith sent out some troops on the
morning of the 13th to determine if any enemy was in their path. This force dispersed
and chased an enemy brigade, after which, Smith set his men in motion up the
Fort DeRussy road. They did not proceed far before night. Early the next
morning, the 14th, they continued the march, discovering that a Confederate
division threatened their advance. Always mindful of this threat, Smith had to
place part of his command in a position to intercept these Rebel forces if they
attacked. Upon arriving at the fort, the enemy garrison of 350 men opened fire.
Smith decided to use Mower’s division, XVI Army Corps, to take the fort and set
about positioning it for the attack. Around 6:30 pm, Smith ordered a charge on
the fort and about twenty minutes later, Mower’s men scaled the parapet,
causing the enemy to surrender. Fort DeRussy, which some had said was
impregnable, had fallen and the Red River to Alexandria was open.
DATES OF IMPORTANCE
March 28-29 Battle of Port Hudson Commemoration
April 4-5 Battle of Pleasant Hill Commemoration
April 25-27 Battle of Mansfield Commemoration
May 10 Commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Battle of
Calcasieu Pass.
May 23-24 SCV Division Reunion DeRidder
Gun Show dates?
Nibblet’s Bluff Festival date?
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