NEXT MEETING
August 12, 2014: Logan’s Roadhouse Restaurant, Lake Charles Program. Speaker: Charles
Lauret former Louisiana Division State SCV Commander and Commander Army of
Trans-Mississippi. 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 12.
Charles Lauret |
Charles Lauret – Biography
Member of the SCV since 2000.
Brig. Gen. J.J. Alfred A. Mouton Camp #778 of Opelousas, La.
·
1st
LT Commander
·
Commander
·
Adjutant
Louisiana Division
·
Southwest
Brigade Commander
·
1st
LT Commander
·
Division
Commander
National SCV
·
Chief
Aide de Camp
·
ATM
Councilman
·
ATM
Commander (present)
Finding
Your Way Home
Commander’s Column
August, 2014
What is basic and fundamental to our unity as a local SCV
camp? I believe the basis of our unity is found in the SCV Charge which we read
publicly at every meeting:
“To you, Sons of
Confederate Veterans, we will commit the vindication of the Cause for which we
fought. To your strength will be given the defense of the Confederate soldier's
good name, the guardianship of his history, the emulation of his virtues, the
perpetuation of those principles which he loved and which you love also, and
those ideals which made him glorious and which you also cherish.”
General Stephan Dill Lee
It is the SCV Charge that defines, motivates,
challenges, and unites us as SCV brothers. Our whole purpose for existence is
found in this historic statement. We exist to defend the good name of our
Confederate ancestors, protect the true history of the War Between the States,
and perpetuate the ideals and values of our forbearers. This is our purpose. If
we ignore the SCV Charge and focus upon secondary, non-essential issues, then
we will see our unity shattered and our effectiveness diminished as a camp. We
do not have to like each other to be unified. It is nice when we all like each
other, but it is not necessary. We do not all have to have the same personality
to work together There will be personality clashes in our SCV Camp but such
should not destroy unity. We have to respect each other, even when the
personalities of some of our members drive the rest of us up the wall. Why?
Because the SCV Charge challenges to emulate the virtues of our Confederate
ancestors, who fought side by side with our us fellow soldiers who had
different personalities. We do not have to agree on every issue to be unified.
But we must focus upon fulfilling the SCV Charge even when we disagree with our
fellow members. Interests outside the SCV should not divide us. I am a Baylor
Bear. There are members in our Camp who are great LSU, McNeese, University of
Houston, Texas A. & M., and UL Lafayette fans. We can have some fun with
each other in this area but the support of our favorite college football team
should not divide us or cause strife in the Camp. Contemporary politics
should not divide us. Our religious preferences should not divide us. We
do not all have to dress alike to be united. We do not all like to
hunt and fish in order to be united. And we do not have to be Republicans
or Democrats to be united in the SCV. The core values set forth by the SCV Charge
are basic to our unity. Our responsibility is to work together to implement the
principles set forth in the SCV Charge. Any significance issue or
position that does not come out of the SCV Charge should not be allowed to
divide us. If secondary issues arise, then such issues should be addressed in private,
outside of our monthly meeting, not in front of guests or potential members.
The recent issue over the banner is a prime example of a divisive issue which
negatively impacts our fellowship and unity. As your commander
allow me to address this issue within the context of our SCV Charge. I prefer
to display in public, banners or flags without the “heritage not hate on it.” I
personally don’t think we need any slogan or phrase on a banner or flag
representing the SCV which seeks to define us apart from our historic Charge.
There are fellow SCV members who like the “heritage not hate” phrase. I will
respect their opinion, but to quote our distinguished adjutant, “that’s my
opinion, and like a true rebel, I’m sticking to it.” Placing a phrase on a
banner or flag is a secondary issue which must not divert us from our historic
purpose as established by the SCV Charge:
1. To vindicate the Cause for which our Confederate
ancestors fought.
2. To defend the Confederate soldier's good name.
3. To guard of the true history of
the War Between the States.
4. To emulate of the virtues of
our ancestors.
5. To perpetuate of the principles loved by the Confederate
soldier.
6. To support those ideals which made the Confederate
soldier glorious.
I want to work
with every member of the camp to fulfill our historic purpose. We cannot
vindicate, defend, guard, emulate, perpetuate, or support our great cause and
our beloved ancestors if we are diverted by division and conflict over
secondary issues. Please help our camp work together as a unified team. In this
way we truly honor the ancestors who fought to defend our freedom and our dear
Southern way of life.
Reaching out
to enlist new members to join the Sons of Confederate Veterans is critical
during this time of the year. Please make every effort possible to encourage perspective
members to join. No organization including the Sons of Confederate Veterans can
continue to be healthy without a constant inflow of new members.
Yours in Our Great Cause,
Dr. Andy Buckley
Commander
FUTURE MEETING SPEAKERS
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.
Recumbent state of Gen. Lee at the
Lee Memorial Chapel at Washington &
Lee University with the flags surrounding
the statue before they were ordered
removed by the university president.
(Library of Congress)
SONS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS ACCUSE UNIVERSITY OF "NARROW MINDED
PREJUDICE"
A recent event
at Washington and Lee University has underscored the growing phenomenon of
"South-bashing" in the media and in academia. At the behest of
several young law students, that school's President made a decision to remove
two St. Andrews Cross battle flags from the Lee Chapel on the campus. Lee
Chapel is the burial place of Robert E. Lee, who led the Army of Northern
Virginia. General Lee became President of what was then Washington College
after the War Between the States and is generally credited with saving the
school. The Chapel is a beloved and honored place to the more than 65 million
Americans who are descended from those who fought for the South in that
conflict.
The law
students, who call themselves "The Committee", delivered an ultimatum
to President Kenneth Ruscio threatening civil disobedience unless certain
demands were met. One of those demands was the removal of Confederate symbols
from the Chapel, saying that the Christian Cross flags made them feel
"unwelcome". On July 8th, Ruscio announced that the flags would be
removed from the Lee Chapel. We cannot fathom why anyone would attend a school
named after Robert E. Lee and then say they were offended by the St. Andrews
Cross flag. Nor we cannot fathom how anyone could take them seriously and cave
in to their threats. But in the current climate of 'South bashing', such a
radical act as this seems to be accepted as some sort of litmus test for the
"politically correct police".
It appears that
those who have a very simplistic view of American history have decided that the
150th anniversary of The Civil War is the right time to demonize the Southern
culture, to intensify their vilification of Confederate heritage, and to
continue to act as if their actions are some sort of moral crusade.
We who are of
Confederate heritage honor our ancestors for their sacrifice, their
perseverance and their astonishing courage against overwhelming odds. These men
were our family, our kinfolks, and their blood runs in our veins. But the new
bigots of political correctness are exhibiting the same kind of narrow minded
prejudice and knee-jerk bias that has always been the enemy of brotherhood and
understanding.
This latest example is the breaking point for
us. Our patience with this new McCarthyism is exhausted. These mean spirited
attacks upon us come from the same sad place as do all racial, religious, and
regional prejudices. They are rooted in an ignorance combined with a sense of
superiority.
Over 50 years
ago, that courageous Southerner Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "I have
a dream that someday on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and
the sons of former slave owners will be able to dine together at the table of
brotherhood." And that has happened. We have done that for decades now in
the South, in great part because Dr. King did not qualify that dream or put
asterisks on it. He did not say that we would dine together in brotherhood only
if we dishonored our ancestors or if our family could routinely be called
bigots, traitors, and racists. He was a far better and wiser man than that. He
meant that we would dine together by accepting our past as it is and that we
would understand each other by our shared culture of work and weather and food
and music and memory. That way we could strive together to heal the wounds of
the past and thus build a proud and loving South, where folks are judged only
by the content of their characters.
Slavery was not the sin of the South, but of
the Nation. Chattel slavery existed throughout every colony and state for
almost two centuries. Slavery was funded mainly by the Northern banks. The
greatest profits went to the North. The North built the slave ships and manned
them. The cotton also went North, to the vast textile mills in New England. The
North's complicity in prolonging and profiting from slavery is one of the best
kept secrets of American history. The work of the slaves helped to build America,
both North and South. And yet the South has long been the scapegoat of these
attacks from academia and the media.
The South is the fastest growing economic region in our
nation. African-Americans are returning to the South in record numbers, finding
a more traditional way of life here and according to many, better race
relations.
It is long past the time for the new bigots of political correctness to get over their condescending
sanctimony and to enter into the real world of brotherhood and fellowship. And
it is time they understand that insulting our heritage is not the way to build
bridges of progress.
Ben Jones
Chief of Heritage Operations
Sons of Confederate Veterans
Ben Jones
Chief of Heritage Operations
Sons of Confederate Veterans
Message from Our New
Commander-In-Chief Barrow
Compatriots and Friends,
Let me take this time to tell you what an honor it is to be elected as your Commander-in-Chief. Words cannot adequately describe my feelings. I am humbled to hold an office that only seventy-three men before me have held. It is my pleasure to be a thirty-five year member of the SCV. I remember attending my first Lee-Jackson Banquet at Aunt Fanny's Cabin in Smyrna, Georgia where all of my family was inducted into the SCV, UDC and CofC. It was a special moment for me but little did I know what the future held.
Through the unity of our organization and the strength of our Confederate Ancestors, we shall continue to move forward to be the preeminent authority on Southern heritage. There are many days ahead of us in the Sesquicentennial and beyond that give us opportunities to promote and honor the heroic deeds of the men and women of 1861-1865. By their examples we can learn a considerable amount; it is our ancestors who endured "Total War" from an illegal invader. Today, like our ancestors, we must also choose to stand fast or retreat? They knew their duty, do we know ours? General Robert E. Lee once said, "Duty then is the sublimit word in the English language, you should do your duty in all things, you can never do more; you should never wish to do less."
The Confederate soldiers we honor and whose DNA flows in our veins took a stand to proclaim to the world the values of our American Liberties and their commitment to its Cause. Those Principles of 1776 and 1861 are still alive today. Friends, let us reconfirm our commitment to those liberties and the Cause which we hold so dear.
I would like to close with a quote from Jefferson Davis' proclamation from April 5, 1865 in the capitol in Danville, Virginia. "Let us not, then, despond, my countrymen; but relying on the never-failing mercies and protecting care of our God, let us meet the foe with fresh defiance, with unconquered and unconquerable hearts."
I now ask you to make a stand as they did, to be unified with others of the same mindset and lineage. As with anything in life, a unified group is more effective than any individual could ever be. I hope you will join me as we honor our Confederate ancestors and as we re-dedicate ourselves to those Principles of 1776 and 1861. May God Bless You and My God Bless the Sons of Confederate Veterans,
Deo Vindice!
Charles Kelly Barrow
Commander-in-Chief
Sons of Confederate Veterans
Let me take this time to tell you what an honor it is to be elected as your Commander-in-Chief. Words cannot adequately describe my feelings. I am humbled to hold an office that only seventy-three men before me have held. It is my pleasure to be a thirty-five year member of the SCV. I remember attending my first Lee-Jackson Banquet at Aunt Fanny's Cabin in Smyrna, Georgia where all of my family was inducted into the SCV, UDC and CofC. It was a special moment for me but little did I know what the future held.
Through the unity of our organization and the strength of our Confederate Ancestors, we shall continue to move forward to be the preeminent authority on Southern heritage. There are many days ahead of us in the Sesquicentennial and beyond that give us opportunities to promote and honor the heroic deeds of the men and women of 1861-1865. By their examples we can learn a considerable amount; it is our ancestors who endured "Total War" from an illegal invader. Today, like our ancestors, we must also choose to stand fast or retreat? They knew their duty, do we know ours? General Robert E. Lee once said, "Duty then is the sublimit word in the English language, you should do your duty in all things, you can never do more; you should never wish to do less."
The Confederate soldiers we honor and whose DNA flows in our veins took a stand to proclaim to the world the values of our American Liberties and their commitment to its Cause. Those Principles of 1776 and 1861 are still alive today. Friends, let us reconfirm our commitment to those liberties and the Cause which we hold so dear.
I would like to close with a quote from Jefferson Davis' proclamation from April 5, 1865 in the capitol in Danville, Virginia. "Let us not, then, despond, my countrymen; but relying on the never-failing mercies and protecting care of our God, let us meet the foe with fresh defiance, with unconquered and unconquerable hearts."
I now ask you to make a stand as they did, to be unified with others of the same mindset and lineage. As with anything in life, a unified group is more effective than any individual could ever be. I hope you will join me as we honor our Confederate ancestors and as we re-dedicate ourselves to those Principles of 1776 and 1861. May God Bless You and My God Bless the Sons of Confederate Veterans,
Deo Vindice!
Charles Kelly Barrow
Commander-in-Chief
Sons of Confederate Veterans
Compatriots,
In light of the issues at Washington Lee University, I feel it is important to let the membership know who I appointed to the position of Chief of Heritage Operations. Mr. Ben Jones, currently from Virginia, was a former US Congressman from the state of Georgia. His expertise in dealing with high profile situations is one of the many reasons he was chosen. His diplomatic skills will prove to be invaluable in this position.
On many occasions he has proven that he loves his Southern heritage by the fights he has already participated in. One of the most recent that many may remember is when he took on Warner Brothers after they announced they would remove the Confederate Battle Flag off the General Lee, a car he repaired in the Dukes of Hazard. Yes, Mr. Jones is none other than "Cooter" in the hit TV series that still captivates audiences throughout the world. He won that battle, as he has many, and brought awareness to the history of the flag, as well as the Southern people. I hope you will join with him as he guides us through the future heritage issues.
Deo Vindice!
Charles Kelly Barrow
Commander-in-Chief
Sons of Confederate Veterans