Next
Meeting
The next meeting of
Captain James W. Bryan Camp, 1390, will be from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, July 8, at
Joe’s Pizza & Pasta Restaurant, 1601 Ruth St., Sulphur, La. Our guest
speaker will be Camp 1390 member, Dr. Michael Berger0on, M.D. Please come for
great food and Confederate fellowship.
Be a Confederate Museum Founder
The time has come for us to step
up our efforts toward the building of our Confederate Museum and new office
building. At the GEC meeting on July 21, 2010 the GEC approved a new initiative
to raise funds. Anyone can take part in this, they do not have to be an SCV
member. Camps, Divisions, UDC chapters etc. can also take part.
Donations
can be made by multiple payments over a period of time. To make payment contact
GHQ at 1-800-380-1896.
This
program got off to a resounding start. Several members have already become
Stonewall Jackson level ($1,000) Founders.
One Compatriot has even become a member of the Confederate Cabinet level ($10,000)
Founders. Imagine that during the Bicentennial of the War for Southern
Independence that your descendants can go to a museum where they can learn the
truth about the Confederacy.
There
needs to be at least one place where the people of the South and others can go
to learn an accurate account owhy so many struggled so long in their attempt to
reassert government by the consent of the governed in America!
Finding
Your Way Home
Commander’s Column July,
2014
Dr. Andy Buckley,
camp commander
People not born in our beloved
South find it strange that we Southerners have for 150 years courageously
fought to honor the memory of the soldiers who fought on the side of the
Confederacy. On January 2, 1864, Major General Patrick Cleburne spoke a warning
to Southern people. He wanted them to understand what military defeat would
mean to the South. He stated that Southern children would be taught the
Northern version of the War from text books published in the North; that the
history of the South’s heroic struggle would be “written by the enemy”; and the
North’s version of history would regard our gallant dead as traitors. In
addressing this issue Frank L. Owsley wrote the conquest of the Southern mind
was calculated to remake Southern opinion, to impose the Northern way of life
and thought upon the South; write “error” across the pages of Southern history.
How has this “remaking of the South” worked out? For the most part this attempt has been a
failure. It has been 150 years since General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox and millions of
Southerners across our region proudly
honor the sacrifices and values of our brave Confederate ancestors and
celebrate an accurate Southern history.
Liberal
college history professors (I was not one of them) have succeeded in revising
the causes and the meaning of the War Between the States in the minds of millions
of Americans, young and old. But there is still a significant level
of Southern pride in Southern hearts. I see it at memorial services in the
faces of our fellow Sons of Confederate Veteran members when we place hundreds
of flags on the graves of those Southern heroes who are buried in Calcasieu
Parish. I see it in expressions on the faces of those singing “Dixie” at our
monthly SCV meetings held in public restaurants. I see it in the stories we tell about our
ancestors. This is the way it should be!
Charles
Richardson was scheduled to speak at our June meeting on the Civil War Experiences of Louisiana Governor
Francis T. Nicholls, but was unable to be present due to work
responsibilities. In Charles’ absence I was
privileged to present the program, “Seven
Causes of the War Between the States.” I originally prepared this talk for
the Acadiana Civil War Round Table in May. My purpose was to present the
accurate historical factors which contributed to the War Between the States.
I tried to explain in detail the complex issues which led the eleven states of
the Confederacy to secede from the Union: slavery,
tariff issues, economic competition, religious conflict, state sovereignty
issues, Abolitionism, and the fragmentation
of the two party system.
I based my presentation on three basic
non-Southern sources of historical scholarship: James M.
McPherson, Ante-Bellum Southern
Exceptionalism: A New Look at an Old Question; Charles and Mary Beard, The Rise of
American Civilization and An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution; and Eric Foner, Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men: The
Ideology of the Republican Party Before the Civil War and The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and
American Slavery. Even these pro-Northern scholars agreed there were
significant causes contributing to the War Between the States beyond the
slavery issue. If you would like a copy of Seven Causes of
the War Between the States,” e-mail me at andybuckley 1224@gmail.com and I will forward it
to you.
Yours in Our Great Cause,
Dr. Andy Buckley, Commander
Upcoming Captain James W. Bryan Program Speakers
July 8, 2014: Joe’s Italian Restaurant Sulphur Program.
Speaker: Dr. Michael Bergeron Captain
James W. Bryan Camp Surgeon and Memorial Hospital Oncologist.
August 12, 2014: Logan’s Roadhouse Restaurant, Lake Charles Program. Speaker: Charles
Lauret former Louisiana Division State SCV Commander and possible Commander
Army of Trans-Mississippi.
September 9, 2014: Joe’s Italian Restaurant Sulphur Program. Speaker: James Ronald
Kennedy, former Louisiana Division State SCV Commander and author of The South Was Right. Topic:
"Post Appomattox: Reconciliation or
Vindication?"
October 14, 2014: Logan’s Roadhouse Restaurant, Lake Charles Program. Speaker: Rev.
Shane Kastler member Captain James W. Bryan Camp and author.
November 11, 2014: Joe’s Italian Restaurant Sulphur Program. Speaker: Texas State
Representative James White (invited)
December 9,
2014: Captain James W. Bryan Camp Christmas Party.
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| 31st Tennessee Infantry Battle Flag |
William
Timmons: My Confederate Ancestor
By Shane Kastler
[Captain James W. Bryan Member, Pastor,
and Author]
Southern pride ran deep in the Timmons family. In 1860, John Morgan Timmons, a respected
Baptist minister, would represent his county at the South Carolina Secession
Convention. Being the first state to
secede from the Union, John would sign his name to the historic South Carolina
Ordinance of Secession, which was a link in the process that led to the War's
first battle at Fort Sumter some four months later.
John's
cousin (and my great-great grandfather) was named William Robert Monroe
Timmons. He was an orphan when the War Between
the States began in 1861. Having lived in South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi,
and Arkansas by the age of 19, William eventually found himself in Trenton,
Tennessee on September 13, 1861 being
mustered in as a Private into the 31st
Tennessee Infantry Regiment, Company G.
For the next year, the 31st Tennessee was stationed at
various posts from Fort Pillow, Tennessee to Corinth, Mississippi.
In
the Fall of 1862, as a part of General Braxton Bragg’s Army of Mississippi, the
31st
participated in the Confederacy’s much ballyhooed
“Invasion of Kentucky.” The apex of the
Kentucky campaign was reached in the Battle of Perryville on October 6-7, 1862
near the city of Perryville, a battle which is most remembered for its
confusion, and its savagery. Of the 31st
Tennessee’s 765 members, 100 casualties were reported, one of which was William
Timmons. When first discovered on the
battle field, his wound to the face appeared to be mortal. But he survived the Perryville wound and was
back in battle six weeks later. As the Confederates retreated back into
Tennessee, now "Corporal" Timmons remained in a Perryville hospital,
having been captured as Prisoner of War.
Records show that six weeks later on November 15, 1862, he was exchanged
for Union P.O.W.’s in a trade aboard the Union Steamer “Maria
Denning” on the Mississippi River, near Vicksburg, Mississippi.
By March 1865, the 31st
Tennessee was in North Carolina struggling valiantly to regain an
advantage. By early April word reached
Gen. Joe Johnston that Robert E. Lee had surrendered to U.S. Grant at
Appomattox, Virginia. Johnston
surrendered to William Sherman, effectively ending the War. Corporal Timmons, along with the rest of the
31st Tennessee, was granted parole by the United States government
as a part of the Army of Tennessee’s terms of surrender on May 1, 1865 in
Greensboro, North Carolina.
After the war ended, Timmons moved back to Tippah
County, Mississippi where he married Mahalla Jane Roten in 1866. They would eventually move to Arkansas and
then settle in Clarksville, Texas. In
1905, William Timmons succumbed to pneumonia, while visiting his son in
Johnston County, Oklahoma. There he was laid to rest; having served in defense
of his Southern nation for all four years of the savage war. His family, including me, remember and honor
his faithful service.
BOOK OF THE MONTH
Louisiana author Danny Brown has written a biography of one
of the heroes of the Battle of Mansfield, Colonel James Hamilton Beard of the
Consolidated Crescent Regiment. Brown tells the whole story of Beard’s superlative
life. He was born July 28,
Beard married the love of his
life, Kate Tomkies on Sept. 30, 1857 and the couple were blessed with a
daughter and a son. The son died infancy. They had moved to Shreveport by 1860,
where he was in a mercantile business. His younger brother, Ned, 16 years old,
moved in with them about that time and later served in his units in the war.
With the War for Southern
Independence on the horizon, James raised Shreveport’s first military company,
the Shreveport Greys, of which he became captain. They went to Pensacoa, Fla.
and then to Virginia as Compnay D, 1st Special Battalion (Dreux’s) Louisiana
Infantry. The battalion commander, Lt. Col. Charles Dreaux, became the first
Louisiana officer killed in action when he died in a skirmish with the Yankees
near Newport News, Va. on July 5, 1861. Beard was promoted to major on July 15,
1861.
Beard did routine duty in
Virginia until he returned to Monroe, Louisiana in early 1862 to help organize
a new unit. He was made major of the 11th Battalion, Louisiana Infantry
on May 15, 1862. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel and commander of the
battalion on August 3, 1863. On Nov. 3, 1863, the 11th and 12th
battalions were consolidated with the 24th (Crescent) regiment, and
Beard was promoted to colonel and
commander of the new Consolidated Crescent Regiment. The regiment was placed in
Brig. Gen. Alfred Mouton’s Louisiana infantry brigade.
Beard then led the Crescents in
Mouton’s famous charge at the Battle of Mansfield where he died a heroic
death carrying the regimental battle in
the successful assault on the Yankee line on April 8, 1864.
The
book is loaded with photographs and letters written by Beard and other people
in his life. Lives That will Not Rust is co-published
by BMC-BIC Media Alliance. The book is
now available online from Amazon.com and BIC Alliance (www.bicalliance.com);
$12, 100 pages, trade paperback.
Gen. ROBERT E. LEE quote
September 9, 1861 address to his
men:
“Keep
steadily in the view of the great principles for which you contend . . . . The
safety of your homes and the lives of all you hold dear depend upon your
courage and exertions. Let each man resolve to be victorious, and that the
right of self-government, liberty and peace shall find him a defender.”
150-years-ago
Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia
[National Park Service]This position covered Marietta, the Western and Atlantic Railroad, which at this point passed between Kennesaw and Brush Mountains, and the bridges across the Chattahoochee River which would be indispensable if the Confederates were compelled to withdraw. Proceeding east from New Hope Church, Lost Mountain is approximately 71/2 miles, Kennesaw Mountain 14 miles, and Brush Mountain 17 miles distant. Several days of rainy weather checked military operations. By June 14, however, a portion of the Federal Army had worked close to the Confederates on Pine Mountain. Generals Johnston, William Hardee, and Leonidas Polk rode to the summit of Pine Mountain that day to observe the enemy's line, and while there a battery of Federal guns, three-quarters of a mile distant, fired, one of the shots killing Polk instantly. The Confederate line of 10 miles or more was too long for the number of available troops, and Johnston soon concentrated them on Kennesaw Mountain.
The main Federal force now advanced toward Kennesaw Mountain, and as the Confederate position was neared, Sherman's men spread out on a line paralleling it and extending south. There was continuous skirmishing, but the operations were hindered by heavy rains which converted streams into torrents and roads into ribbons of mud. Discerning that the Federals were attempting to envelop his flank by the movement to the south, Johnston moved Hood from the right to the left of his line in an effort to strike the Federals as they maneuvered for position. On the morning of June 22, Federal troops advanced toward Marietta along the Powder Springs Road. By noon they had reached the intersection of the Macland and Powder Springs Roads, situated on a ridge which offered a strong defensive position.
The Federal troops were massed in the woods around the road intersection, only a portion of them entrenching. During the morning, Hood had concentrated his troops on the Powder Springs Road, and in the afternoon they were ordered to attack. From Confederate prisoners it had been learned that such a movement was intended, and the Federals had a little time to prepare for the assault. It began at 5:30 p. m., the Federal skirmish line being quickly engulfed, but failed to reach the main line owing to heavy artillery fire.
Prior to the Confederate assault, Hooker, in command of the Federal column, established his headquarters in the home of Valentine Kolb, which stands on the Powder Springs Road, 4.5 miles southwest of Marietta. Many of the fortifications erected during this engagement are also still in existence.
Indecisive
skirmishing continued for several days. Sherman had the choice of making a
frontal assault, or attempting another turning movement. The heavy rains and
the all but impassable roads would make the turning movement especially
difficult. Furthermore, the troops were tired of marching and wanted to fight.
Lincoln, running for reelection, needed a Federal victory to bolster his policy
of continuing the war. If the frontal assault succeeded, all military
resistance in north Georgia might be ended ; if it failed, the flanking movement
still could be attempted. These considerations determined Sherman to risk a
frontal attack.
