CALCASIEU GREYS-October, 2014

Newsletter of Captain James W. Bryan Camp 1390, Sons of Confederate Veterans, Lake Charles, Louisiana.

NEXT MEETING

           Our October meeting will begin at 6 p.m. Tuesday, October 14, at Logan’s Roadhouse, 3506 Gerstner Memorial Prkwy. (Hwy. 14), Lake Charles, La. Our guest speaker will be the Rev. Shane Kastler, author of “The Redemption of Nathan Bedford Forrest” (Pelican Publishing, 2010). This will be a great program that you don’t want to miss. Please come and enjoy good Confederate fellowship and delicious food.

ANNUAL DUES

           Captain James W. Bryan Camp 1390 annual dues are now due. If you haven’t already paid, please do so as soon as possible. The renewal total is just $42 for the whole year. Checks may be made out of Sons of Confederate Veterans and sent to Camp Adjutant Luke Dartez, 908 Henning Road, Sulphur, La. 70665. Our local camp has been very active and involved in the community in getting out the message about the true history of the South, the War for Southern Independence and the true causes of the war. There has been a concerted “culture war” going on the America for quite some time now to wipe out all aspects of traditional American history and values, especially the history, heritage and moral values of the South. The Sons of Confederate Veterans is and has been battling for the good name of our Confederate ancestors, the values they truly stood for, such as those espoused in the Declaration of Independence, the original U.S. Constitution and the Doctrine of States Rights as formulated by Thomas Jefferson. Membership is vital to our mission. Please renew right away if you haven’t already.

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Finding Your Way Home

Commander’s Column October, 2014

Dr. Andy Buckley, camp commander

                In 1899 four reporters from Denver, Colorado met by chance in a hotel bar. Al Stevens, Jack Tornay, John Lewis, and Hal Wilshire represented the Denver Post, the Denver Times, the Colorado Republican, and the Rocky Mountain News. Each reporter faced the task of finding a scoop for the Sunday addition.

As they discussed their situation in a nearby hotel bar, Stevens suggested they make up a sensational story. They agreed the story would have to be a whopper. It would probably have to describe some event in a place far away to prevent other journalists from investigating and revealing their duplicity. They agreed they would make up a story about China.

The false news story they created claimed American engineers were on their way to China to demolish the Great Wall. To make the story believable Stevens suggested the destruction of the Great Wall would be done as a sign of international goodwill in order to promote foreign trade. By 11:00 P.M. the four reporters had worked out the details of their story and the next day all four Denver newspapers carried the hoax on the front page: “Great Chinese Wall Doomed! Peking Seeks World Trade.”

The entire story was a tall tale made up by four newsmen in a hotel bar. But amazingly their story was taken seriously and soon newspapers across America printed the breaking news. When Chinese nationals heard that American engineers would soon arrive to demolish the Great Wall, riots and protests erupted. Particularly angry were members of a Chinese secret society called the Boxers.
          Moved to action by this false story, the Boxers attacked American and European missionaries, murdering hundreds across China. The Boxers surrounded the U.S., British, Dutch, German, French, Belgium, and Russian embassies in Peking. Their siege of Western embassies lasted for fifty days and was only broken when an army of twelve thousand troops from seven countries invaded China to put down the revolt. The conflict, created by a journalistic hoax fabricated in a Denver saloon, was called the Boxer Rebellion.
          There is great power in the written and spoken word both positive and negative. For 150 years our beloved South has endured the curse of revisionist history assaulting the true and accurate account of the War Between the States and the noble cause for which our ancestors fought. Much like the Denver newspaper men, whose hoax created the Boxer Rebellion, liberal journalists and college professors have used print media to tell an inaccurate story of the War Between the States, denigrating the culture and values of the South.

Let me share with you a contemporary example. The University of Mississippi is renaming a street known as Confederate Drive and adding historical context to Old South symbols that have long stood on the Oxford campus. "Our unique history regarding race provides not only a larger responsibility for providing leadership on race issues, but also a large opportunity - one we should and will embrace," Chancellor Dan Jones wrote in a report that was developed with the help of a university committee and outside consultants.

The report says Confederate Drive, a short street near Fraternity Row, will be renamed Chapel Lane and plaques will be installed to explain the history of symbols such as a Confederate soldier statue near the main administrative building. The report recommends that the university do more to tell the history of slavery, secession, segregation and their aftermath in Mississippi. You see, from the perspective of the Chancellor of Ole Miss, what the overwhelming majority of Southerners, like you and me,  believe is not true and must be revised.

Two things make me very angry.  The first thing that makes me angry are liberal, politically correct attacks made upon all things Southern. I am more than a rebel. I am a Southern Confederate rebel! I am proud to be the ancestor of honorable and courageous men who fought on the side of the Confederacy. I am deeply committed to the vindication of the cause for which my ancestors fought, the defense of my ancestor’s good name, the guarding of their virtues, and the perpetuation of the precious principles my ancestor’s loved. An attack upon all things Southern is an attack upon my ancestors, my life, and my family.

The second thing that makes me angry is the idea that what we are doing through the SCV is unimportant and insignificant. In the last issue of the Louisiana True Delta, our Second Lt Commander, J.A. Hanna made the statement: “As we all know, some of our camps have either stopped having meetings or closed entirely due to a lack of membership.” If there was ever a time when the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the Captain James W. Bryan Camp #1390 needed our wholehearted involvement, it is now. Other camps have become inactive and closed their doors but may it never be with SCV Camp 1390.

Our camp needs each member to be personally active in our meetings, willing to use personal leadership gifts through service, and generous financial support of our programs.  The enlistment of new members is probably our most significant need at this time. If the curse of revisionist history and the degradation of all things Southern is to be resisted and turned, it requires every able bodied Southerner to stand and fight with all our strength.  Will you join with me in doing all you can do in this great cause?

Dr. Andy Buckley, Commander, Camp 1390

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Guest Speaker for October Meeting

Rev. Shane Kastler

Rev. Shane Kastler, a local pastor, SCV Captain James W. Bryan member, and published Southern author will present our October program, Tuesday, October 14, 6: 00 pm at Logan’s Roadhouse Restaurant Hwy 14 in Lake Charles. Shane will speak on the subject   "Nathan Bedford Forrest's Redemption" which tells the true story of Forrest's Christian conversion after the War.

Shane Kastler serves as Pastor of Heritage Baptist Church in Lake Charles, Louisiana. He is a graduate of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Master of Divinity) and Northeastern State University (Bachelor of Business Administration.). In addition to pastoring, he is the Co-Host of "Church and State" heard every Thursday from 8-10 AM on KELB, 100.5 FM in Lake Charles.

Rev. Shane Kastler

He writes a weekly newspaper column called "Seeking Higher Ground" and has contributed articles to "Sword & Trowel" magazine, the "Economic Policy Journal", LewRockwell.com, and the "Reformed Libertarian.” He is the author of "Nathan Bedford Forrest's Redemption" (Pelican Publishing, 2010) a biography of the great Confederate general. Shane also teaches at Covenant Grace Academy, a Christian school in Lake Charles.  He and his wife Erin are both native Oklahomans, who now make their home in Lake Charles with their 3 children.

Shane will have some signed copies of his book on hand if anyone would like to purchase a copy for $20.

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U.S. Naval Raid on Lake Charles

It was 152 years ago this month that a raiding party from the U.S.S. Kensington, a blockading gunboat, ascended the Calcasieu River to capture the blockade running steamboat Dan, owned by Captain Daniel Goos of Lake Charles, Louisiana.   The gunboat was too large to come up, but Lt. Frederick Crocker, 2 other officers and  12 sailors sailed up on a sloop with a boat howitzer on Oct. 3, 1862. They succeeded in capturing the Dan, burned the schooners Conchita, Eliza and Mary Ann, bombarded Lake Charles and captured Col. Nathaniel Clifton of the Calcasieu Regiment. There were no killed or wounded on either side.

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New Secession Poll

                A new Reuters/Ipsos Poll shows that 25 percent of Americans agrees that their states should have the right of secession – the right to withdraw from the Union. That right was among the God-given rights outlined in the U.S. Declaration of Independence.

                The poll showed that support for secession is strongest in the Southwest, with 34 percent supporting it, and least popular in New England at 19 percent. The Southeast section, which included Louisiana, favors secession by 25 percent; the Far West, 22 percent; Rocky Mountain states, 26 percent; Plains, 21 percent; Great Lakes region, 22 percent; Middle Atlantic state, 21 percent.

                The Southwest section included Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona and New Mexico. Louisiana was lumped in the poll with states as far north as Virginia and to the east, Florida, which have become demographically very different from traditional Southern states, that haven’t changed that dramatically. It is likely Louisiana would  fit in with the 34 percent category like its neighbor Texas.

                The poll included 9,000 Americans, a large sampling even for a national poll, that was taken in September.

                The Declaration of Independence clearly states that when a government fails to protect the essential interests of its people, those people have the right to withdraw and create a new government that better accommodates the needs of that people.—Mike Jones

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SOUTH HAD PRECEDENTS FOR SECESSION

                October 2, 1835 marks the beginning of the War for Texas Independence with the skirmishing and capture of Mexican soldiers by Texas settlers at Gonzales, Texas. The war lasted less than seven very eventful months until the Texan victory at the Battle of San Jacinto April 21, 1836  gained Texas Independence. The Republic of Texas lasted for 10 years when the people voted to join the United States in 1845. It is just one example of a successful secession by people exercising their God given right to govern themselves under a government of their own choosing. That is a right very well recognized and spelled out by the great secession document, the Declaration of Independence.

                And of course possibly the greatest example of successful secession was the War for American Independence, 1775-1783. Another, less known example, was the West Florida Republic, which was formed in what is now Southeast Louisiana when the people of the Spanish colony of West Florida seceded from the Kingdom of Spain in 1810 to form their own independent nation. The West Florida Republic lasted only three months before the United States took it over peacefully, claiming it was rightfully part of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. The national flag of the West Florida Republic was the Bonnie Blue Flag, a banner that made a deep impression on the people of the South. The Bonnie Blue Flag was one of the banners that represented the Texans battling for their independence, and was incorporated into the Texas state flag and its nickname, "Lone Star State."

So, when the people of the Southern states exercised their God-given right to govern themselves under a government of their own choosing in 1861, they had those successful examples of secession in mind and every reason to believe that their quest for freedom and independence would be successful too. The Bonnie Blue flag became a popular secession banner.  And, many leaders of the War for Southern Independence were the sons of veterans of the War for American Independence, including President Jefferson Davis, General Robert E. Lee, and General Joseph E. Johnston. – Mike Jones.

Harry Macarthy's popular hit song of 1861, "The Bonnie Blue Flag" spread the popularity of the flag that was made originally for the secessionist West Florida Republic in 1810 by Melissa Johnson. (Library of Congress)

OLE MISS AND THE NEW BIGOTS

By Ben Jones

SCV Chief of Heritage Operations

The brilliant editor H.L. Mencken had a way of being succinct that sparkled with wit. "There is no idea so stupid that you can't find a professor who will believe it," he remarked.  Mencken would have a field day with the recent actions of the University of Mississippi. If you have ever wondered why academia is often the butt of ridicule and humor, you need only to read the report from Ole Miss President Dan Jones entitled, "Action Plan on Consultant Reports and Update on the Work of the Sensitivity and Respect Committee."

We are told that the Extended Sensitivity and Respect Committee has decided that the new Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion will work with the Institute for Racial Diversity and the Inclusion and Cross Cultural Engagement.

          Fellow compatriots, I am not making this up. This is not a satire, this is what the taxpayers of Mississippi are dishing out their hard-earned money to pay for.
          President Jones further stated, "It is my hope that the steps outlined here reflecting the hard work of University committees and our consultants will prove valuable in making us a stronger and healthier university, bringing us closer to our goal of being a warm and welcoming place for every person, every day, regardless of race, religion, preference, country of origin, ability, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or gender expression."
          In my opinion, this is an as astounding a demonstration of politically correct, "feel-good", unadulterated hogwash as has ever been uttered by a man on the public payroll. And having spent four years in the United States Congress, I have heard some world-class hogwash in my day.
          President Jones, sounding a lot like Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, has listed every possible group that might be sensitive to not being "included" in this unlimited "diversity", even one I've never heard of: "gender expression." Well, whatever that means, I figure it is o.k. if one expresses their gender at Ole Miss.

          There is one very large group that is not included, however. It is those of us whose ancestors fought for the Confederacy during the War Between the States. There are over 70 million of us, but it is as if we do not exist, or have deep feelings toward our forefathers.
           In fact, without a straightforward explanation, the famous Oxford Street named Confederate Drive is being renamed by these academics in the name of "inclusion". That intentional insult puts the lie to any pretense of "inclusion" or of respect or of diversity on the part of the University of Mississippi.

            The Confederacy existed. Thousands of young Mississippians died for it. That conflict has been the crucible event of American history. Everything before led up to it. Everything after has been influenced by it.

           The entire student body of the University of Mississippi enlisted in the Confederate Army and those young men suffered 100% casualties. That war is an historical reality and we do not flinch from that reality and its consequences. Those men and their descendants built the University and kept it going through good times and bad, and through the social changes of the past 150 years.
            That street was named for those brave young students. The University, in its narrow-minded rush to be politically correct, has banished that little bit of respect by renaming Confederate Drive. In their sanctimonious zeal, they have demeaned the honor and reputation of our ancestors.

            In the last fifty years or so we have witnessed a truly remarkable revolution in race relations in the South. Where once there was Jim Crow and strict segregation, there is now new center for a multi-cultural society that has the fastest growing economy in the United States. Men and women of good hearts have come together in brotherhood and cooperation to enjoy racial relations that are an exemplar for other regions. This "bridge-building" has been built on an acceptance of the past and the promise of a shared future, not the divisive finger-pointing of the academics and the politicians.

            These politically correct crusaders are practicing a new kind of bigotry. It is a movement that demonizes the Confederacy and lays the sins of America entirely upon the South. If they continue to have their way, they would eradicate every vestige of our cultural history. They ask for respect but give none.

              Once again, we must make our voices heard in every way possible. We must demand the respect that our families deserve. We are the last line of defense for the dignity that our ancestors earned.

OCTOBER EVENTS

Port Hudson State Historic Site:

                October 11, 2014     Time: 11.00 AM

“Smack dab inta reb country!” This program will take John Ford’s 1958 film “The Horse Soldiers,” and discuss the actual events of Colonel Benjamin Grierson’s Civil War raid through Tennessee, western Mississippi, and ending in Baton Rouge during April and May, 1863.

            Port Hudson Ghost Stories     October 25, 2014     Time: 11:00 AM & 3:00 PM. A Port Hudson SHS ranger, in conjunction with Halloween, will regale site visitors with a plethora of ghost and ‘things that go bump in the night’ stories associated with the Port Hudson battlefield. The tours will start at the museum and then proceed down the trail to Fort Desperate.

Address: 236 Hwy. 61, Jackson, LA 70748.

Mansfield State Historic Site:

On October 25, from 7:30pm to 9:30pm, costumed performers will re-create the tragic and grisly aftermath of a Civil War battlefield. You will be led on a candlelight night tour of the actual battlefield, where almost 30,000 men made war on each other. Frightening and educational at the same time! 
Is the battlefield HAUNTED?
COME SEE FOR YOURSELF!
•A Safe Halloween Environment
•Park Rangers on Duty
•Static Scenes; No Grabbing or Chasing
•Staff Assisted Parking
Admission is FREE to this event!
Mansfield State Historic Site is located on State Highway 175, three miles south of Mansfield. Admission is $4.00 per person; children 12 and under and seniors 62 and over are admitted free.