CALCASIEU GREYS -- March, 2015

NEXT MEETING
     Captain James W. Bryan Camp 1390 will meet
from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, March 10, at Joe’s Pizza and
Pasta Restaurant in 1601 Ruth St., Sulphur, La. Our
program will be on “The History of the 9th Battalion
Louisiana Infantry in the Battle of Baton Rouge and
the Siege of Port Hudson.” Compatriot Mike Jones
will present the program. Please attend and enjoy
great Confederate fellowship and delicious food.

2015 Capt. J. W. Bryan Meeting Dates & Location
Mar. 10 –Joe’s Italian Restaurant – Sulphur
Apr. 14 --Logan’s Roadhouse – Lake Charles
May 12 --Joe’s Italian Restaurant – Sulphur
June 9 --Logan’s Roadhouse – Lake Charles
July 14 --Joe’s Italian Restaurant – Sulphur
Aug. 11--Logan’s Roadhouse – Lake Charles
Sept. 8 --Joe’s Italian Restaurant – Sulphur
Oct. 13 -Logan’s Roadhouse – Lake Charles
Nov.10 -Joe’s Italian Restaurant – Sulphur
Dec. 8- Annual Christmas Party (TBA)

EXCITING NEW SCV TV CHANNEL
     The Sons of Confederate Veterans had instituted
a dynamic new communications tool, SDV TV on the
Internet. If you have Internet access, check it out at
https://vimeo.com/120903649. The current offering
is a brief recap of the SCV Recruiting and Retention
meeting and actions.

UPCOMING EVENTS
Captain Bryan camp is planning to have
recruiting and informational tables at two
Confederate History Month events in April. First,
will be the largest historical reenactment in
Louisiana, the Battle of Pleasant Hill on the actual
battlefield the weekend of April 11 & 12, three miles
north of Pleasant Hill at 23271 Hwy. 175, Pelican,
La.
Schedule:
SATURDAY – April 11, 2015
6-10 a.m., Breakfast at American Legion Hall.
10 a.m., Parade in Downtown Pleasant Hill.
11 a.m., Battle Re-Enactment in town.
2 p.m., Main Battle Re-Enactment.
7 p.m., Period Ball and Court Presentation.
SUNDAY – April 12, 2015.
6-10 a.m., Breakfast at the American Legion Hall
10 a.m.-Noon, Open Camp Activities.
10 a.m. – Church Services (open to all)
After Church, Mail Call.
2 p.m., Battle Reenactment.
      Please consider volunteering at our recruiting
and information table for whatever time you can
spare. We’ll discuss this more at the March meeting.
      Second, Captain Bryan Camp will have a
recruiting and information table at the annual Spring
Fling at Niblett’s Bluff Park, April 18 and 19. There
will be plenty of fun, food and entertainment during
the weekend. Plans are also being made to have
either a War For Southern Independence living
history or reenactment. Please come to the March
meeting for more information on this important
event for our camp.

Pvt. Elijah Leach
Co. B, 31st Va. Inf.
(Liljenquist Collection, Library of Congress)

SCV RECRUITMENT

The Sons of Confederate Veterans has established a

web site on the Internet for recruitment. It is located at

http://www.1800mydixie.com/index.html. The site has

general information about the SCV, a recruitment

video, a statement of our purposes and a link to the

main web site. SCV members with Internet access

should familiarize themselves with this web site and use

it as a recruiting tool.

MY CONFEDERATE ANCESTOR

     Captain James W. Bryan Camp features 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

SCV CONFEDERATE MUSEUM

     The truth about the South's struggle to

form a new nation is under attack as never

before. The National Battlefield Parks have be

taken over by the “it's all about slavery”

provocateurs. Museums have changed their

collections and interpretations to present what

they call the cultural history of the War for

Southern Independence. In reality this new

perspective is nothing more than South

bashing. The forces of political correctness

have gone into high gear. They attempt to ban

any and all things Confederate through their

ideological fascism. Even what was once a

highly respected museum now claims proudly

they are not a museum for the Confederacy,

merely about it.

     There needs to be at least one place where

the people of the South and others can go to

learn an accurate account of why so many

struggled so long in their attempt to reassert

government by the consent of the governed in

America!

     The General Executive Council of the

Sons of Confederate Veterans made the

commitment in October of 2008 to start the

process to erect a new building that will have

two purposes. One of the uses of this new

building will be to give us office space and

return Elm Springs to its original grandeur.

      However the main function is to house The

Confederate Museum. We are planning a

museum that will tell the truth about what

motivated the Southern people to struggle for

many years to form a new nation. At the SCV

Reunion in July of 2009 the GEC set up a

building fund for this purpose. One of the

goals is to provide an accurate portrayal of the

common Confederate soldier, something that is

currently absent in most museums and in the

media.

     You are invited to make your stand for

the future by contributing to this fund.

Send checks to:

Sons of Confederate Veterans

c/o TCM Building Fund

P.O. Box 59

Columbia, TN 38402

CONGRESS AUTHORIZES

BATTLEFIELD FUNDING

     The legislation, part of an omnibus lands

package included in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2015

National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 3979),

reauthorizes a highly successful federal matching

grant program for the preservation of Civil War

battlefields. In addition, the bill expands that

existing program to provide grants for the

acquisition of land at Revolutionary War and War of

1812 battlefields.

      “This is a historic moment for the battlefield

preservation movement,” remarked Civil War Trust

president James Lighthizer. “For 15 years, the Civil

War Battlefield Preservation Program has been an

invaluable tool for protecting the hallowed

battlegrounds of the Civil War. Now, for the first

time, battlefields associated with America’s other

formative conflicts, the Revolutionary War and the

War of 1812, will also benefit from this publicprivate

partnership.”

     The legislation, originally introduced in 2013

as the American Battlefields Protection Program

Amendments Act (H.R. 1033), reauthorizes the Civil

War Battlefield Preservation Program, a matching

grants program that encourages private sector

investment in historic battlefield protection. Since

the program was first funded by Congress in FY

1999, it has been used to preserve more than 23,000

acres of battlefield land in 17 states. The battlefields

protected through the program include some of the

most famous in the annals of America, including

Antietam, Md., Chancellorsville and Manassas, Va.;

Chattanooga and Franklin, Tenn.; Gettysburg, Pa.;

Perryville, Ky.; and Vicksburg, Miss.

The bipartisan bill was sponsored by U.S.

Senators Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Thad Cochran (RMiss.)

and Congressmen Rush Holt (D-N.J.) and

Rob Wittman (R-Va.) in their respective

chambers. In addition, the bill was championed by

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Mary

Landrieu (D-La.) and House Natural Resources

Chairman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.). A complete list

of House and Senate cosponsors can be found on

the Congress.gov website (Senate and House).

     “We owe our Congressional champions in

the House and Senate an enormous debt of

gratitude for believing in this program and guiding

it through an often complicated legislative

process,” Lighthizer noted. “Thanks to their

tireless efforts, thousands of acres of genuine

American history that might have been lost to

development can still be preserved for future

generations.”

     In addition to reauthorizing the existing

Civil War matching grants program, the bill

expands the program’s authority to provide grants

to protect Revolutionary War and War of 1812

battlefields. Similar to the Civil War grants, which

are awarded for priority battlefield land identified

in a 1993 government report on Civil War

battlefields (updated in 2011), funding for

Revolutionary War and War of 1812 battlefields

will target sites listed in a 2007 study by the

American Battlefield Protection Program. Among

the battlefields that could potentially benefit from

the expanded program are: Bennington, N.Y. and

Vt.; Brandywine, Pa.; Cowpens, S.C.; Caulk’s Field,

Md.; Guilford Courthouse, N.C.; Princeton, N.J.;

River Raisin, Mich.; Saratoga, N.Y.; and

Yorktown, Va.

     In his remarks, Lighthizer also noted that

this legislation, by encouraging the protection of

battlefield land, also honors the courage and

sacrifices of all who served in America’s

military. “Preserved battlefields are living

monuments – not just to the soldiers who fought

in those hallowed fields – but to all Americans

who have worn our nation’s uniform. There are

no better places to learn about the human cost of

the freedoms we enjoy today.”

     The combined Civil War, Revolutionary

War and War of 1812 matching program is

authorized at $10 million a year for seven years,

through the end of FY 2021. The FY 2015

Omnibus Appropriations Act (H.R. 83) currently

under consideration by the Congress includes $8.9

million for the program.

THE BATTLE OF BATON ROUGE

A First Hand Account

      Here is the report of Captain Thomas Bynum on the Battle of

Baton Rouge, from the Official Records. Headqrs. Battalion of

Infantry Stewart's Legion, Comite Bridge, La,, August 8, 1862.

      Sirs: I herewith submit a report of participation of this battalion

under command of Lieut. Col. Samuel Boyd, in the action of

the 5th instant: Its force consisted of the following: One field, 3

staff, 9 company officers, and 190 enlisted men. They

composed the center of Colonel Allen's brigade, the 30th

Louisiana Regiment (Colonel Breaux), on the right, and the 4th

Louisiana Regiment (Lt. Col. Hunter) on the left. The line of

battle was formed in the woods back and leftward of the

residence of Capt. E.W. Robins, and about three-fourths of a

mile to the rear of the central portion of Baton Rouge. As soon

as the line was formed it was put in forward motion, feeling its

way, slowly forward. Marching straight to the front through

briars, hedges, and over picket fences, the brigade was halted in

the face of a line of the foe drawn up to receive us and after

giving them two well directed volley's charged upon them, when

they fled. The brigade, having paused a few moments, resumed

its line as well as the nature of the undergrowth would permit,

and marched some 200 or 300 yards forward in a left-oblique

direction. Receiving reports of a battery of the enemy supported

by a regiment right to our front, about 160 yards distant, our

commander, after calling for three cheers for the Confederacy,

ordered us to charge. Alarmed at our shouts and dash the

enemy broke, taking off their battery, but leaving heaps of slain

and wounded. It was here that Captain Chinn fell from a wound

in the leg while gallantly responding at the head of his company

to Colonel Allen's orders. Resuming our course, we soon found

ourselves upon te edge of an old field, on the opposite side of

which is the Benton Ferry road and the inclosures of the racetrack.

Square in front was posted along the road-side a number

of the enemy's skirmishers or sharpshooters, and to the

outskirts of the corporation of Baton Rouge. A regiment (the

Sixth Michigan) supported the battery, and its men were placed

behind the fences, outhouses, and houses in the neighborhood

of Hockney's. Colonel Allen, taking the colors of this command

in his hand, rapidly drew up his command in line, who at his call

and example rushed, under a galling fire of grape, canister, and

Minie, across the field. There was not a shrub even as a screen

on it, and over 300 yards of the open space the foe sent many a

missile of death and shaft of anguish within 100 yards of the

cannon. Lieutenant Causey, of Buffington's company and

commanding it, fell, shot through the brain. No victim in this

great struggle against fanaticism and the principles of rapine and

spoliation leaves to his family and friends a brighter memory for

chivalrous courage and unsullied patriotism. A few yards farther

on Lieutenant Colonel Boyd fell shot through the arm, and was

borne off the field. In a moment or so after the fled, leaving two

cannon and a lieutenant and 8 or 10 privates prisoners in our

hands. In passing beyond the fence inclosing Turner's house

and getting partially into the street the gallant leader fell helpless

from his horse into the arms of his trusty soldiers and was

by them carried from the fiield. It completely paralyzed

his old regiment (the Fourth), at whose head he was even

in the moment of victory. Notwithstanding his repeated

shouts to go forward, it became confused and muddied

up, lost in a maze of stolidity and dismay. At this critical

moment the undersigned first became apprised by

Colonel Breaux, now commanding the brigade, that it was

his duty to assume command of this battalion. With

serious misgivings in his capacity in this emergency and

sorrowful at the necessity he aimed to do his best in

seconding the gallant, fearless, and conspicuous example

of the commanding officer to save his troops from panic

and to rally them into line. His efforts surpasssed by the

daring courage of Lieutenant Barrow, commanding

Captain Chinn's company; by the energy of Lieutenant

Barnett, of Captain Bynum's company, and by the cool

and noble example of Lieutenant Brown, of the same

company. A partial success only rewarded their exertions

-- we were saved a panic; but the annoying fire from the

enemy's sharpshooters left them no other alternative but

to fall back across the field to the shelter of the woods.

Here another effort was made to rally the brigade into

line, now massed confusedly. The commanding officer

employed every incentive and expedient that courage

could suggest, but with haggard results. The men made no

response to his appeals. They were not cowed or panic

stricken. They were exhausted -- hopelessly exhausted --

and seemed to be staggering under the half of that last

ounce which breaks the camel's back of

endurance. Having been under arms more than sixteen

hours; having neither supper, breakfast, nor sleep; having

marched over 12 miles, and having gone through four

hours' hard fighting, it is not a matter of surprise or of

blame that they paid but little heed to the rallying cries of

their leaders. Their conduct was, however, only in

accordance with the example of troops who had been

under fire and were reputed veterans. Many vicissitudes

of this battle must remain unnoticed the undersigned was

not called to command till a late hour, and many events

doubtless noted by the experienced eye of Colonel Boyd

must be chronicled because of his absence. While Colonel

Boyd was in command his promptitude and courage ably

sustained the policy of Colonel Allen. His adjutant,

Lieutenant Breeden, was conspicuous for daring

devotions to duty throughout the trials of the day. The

men generally behaved with coolness and courage. Upon

returning to headquarters, near Ward's Creek Bridge, the

undersigned was relieved of his command by Lieutenant

Barrow.

I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

Tom. Bynum Captain, Comdg. Battalion

Infantry, Stewart's Legion

CALCASIEU GREYS -- February, 2015

NEXT MEETING
The next meeting of Captain James W. Bryan Camp 1390
will be from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 10, at Logan’s Roadhouse,
3509 Gerstner Memorial Boulevard (Hwy. 14), Lake Charles, La.
Our guest speaker will be Richard H. Holloway, director of the
Forts Bulow and Randolph State Historic Site, Pineville, La. His
program will be "Louisiana Troops Serving Under Stonewall
Jackson", a talk he has given to SCV groups across Texas
and Louisiana.
Captain James W. Bryan was stationed at Fort Randolph in
the last year of the War for Southern Independence. Many of
our men from Lake Charles were in Captain Bryan’s unit,
Company I, “Calcasieu Tigers,” 28th (Thomas’) Louisiana
Infantry Regiment. Captain Bryan was often in command of the
regiment as the senior captain, throughout the war. They fought
at the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou, the Siege of Vicksburg, and
were stationed at Fort Randolph the last year of the war. See
Richard’s complete biography on page 2.

Finding Your Way Home

Commander’s Column February, 2015

Dr. Andy Buckley, 
camp commander

Did you know there are millions of “closet
Confederates” in the United States? I have met dozens of
them right here in Lake Charles during the past year.
These men do not display the Battle Flag or other
Confederate symbols. They may have never heard of the
SCV, but they do have a sympathy and love for the
Confederacy. Many have proudly stated they have
Confederate ancestors and consider themselves “Sons of
the South.”
      Most of the “closet Confederates” I have met are
open to hear about the existence of the SCV.
Most want to know who we are, what we do, and
what we stand for. They may join our ranks, but even if
they chose not to do so, most of these men are glad to
know an organization like the Sons of Confederate
Veterans is defending the Southern Cause and the honor
of our Confederate forefathers.
      For over a hundred an fifteen years, the Sons of
Confederate Veterans have upheld the honor of the
South and boldly proclaimed pride in our heritage. We
are not ashamed of our Confederate ancestors who
sacrificed so much to defend our home. To the contrary,
we are honored to be their descendants. Indeed, we are
privileged to be the Sons of Confederate Veterans.
Here are some thoughts I have been pondering in the
days following our Lee-Jackson Banquet.
      First, I believe we should be sensitive when we stand
up to defend our Southern way of life and celebrate our
Confederate ancestors. If we are not careful our voices
will sound like "the hate speech of racists." There are no
hard core “racists” in our Captain James W. Bryan Camp
1390 therefore we should make every effort to minimize
this perception and make certain it never becomes reality.
Those who have sympathy for the Confederacy should
be attracted to our great cause, not repulsed. This is what our
ancestors would want.
Second, I do not suggest we change our core beliefs and
values. These principles are defined in our SCV charge and
are non-negotiable. I do believe we must adjust the way we
communicate our message. There is a way to present the
defense of our Southern way of life and the true history of
the War Between the States without sounding combative,
judgmental, condescending, or critical. It is not what we
defend, but our methodology and our attitude toward those
who fundamentally disagree with us.
Third, our treatment of other races and ethnic groups
reflects upon the character and values of our ancestors. Two
of my Confederate ancestors, John H. Drennan and J.
Thomas Garrett, had their funerals conducted in their
homes. Based upon newspaper reports, large numbers of
African American men and women stood outside during
their funerals to honor these former Confederate soldiers.
There was something in the character of my ancestors and
their treatment of their fellow man that was attractive to
people of color in Calvert, Texas. Because our ancestors
were true Christians, they treated people of color with
dignity, friendship, and respect. Can we afford to do any
less?
     Fourth, the future of the SCV depends upon reaching
younger adults, ages 20-39. Sadly, many of our SCV camps in
Louisiana are not gaining but losing ground. Three camps
disbanded this fall. Many would blame this decline on
revisionist history, secular culture, or political correctness. I
think our failure to grow is related to our failure to attract
younger members.
     About two-thirds (66%) of all Americans born before
1946 are practicing Christians. These are our parents and
grandparents. We call this generation, “The Greatest
Generation.” In contrast to the Greatest Generation, only
15% of the Millennial Generation, people born between
1980 and 2000, are practicing Christians. The Millennials
represent the largest generation in American History,
surpassing the Baby Boomers, who were born between 1946
and 1968. The Protestant Church in America has all but lost
the Millennial Generation. In 2015 both churches and our
SCV must reach younger people in order to survive.
We need to enlist for our Captain James W. Bryan Camp
1390 a record number of young adult men this year. We’ll
take the old ones too. See you Tuesday, February 10th at
Logan’s in Lake Charles.
     In the words of our distinguished Adjutant, Luke Dartez,
“I’m a Rebel. That’s my story and I am sticking to it.”
Yours in our Great Cause,
Dr. Andy Buckley
Commander

Richard Holloway, Feb. meeting guest speaker.

HOLLOWAY TO GIVE FEB. PROGRAM
     Our February program speaker is Richard
Holloway, Director of the Fort Randolph and
Buhlow State Historic Site in Pineville, Louisiana.
Richard is an accomplished War Between the States
historian and re-enactor as well as a longtime SCV
member. He will be speaking on the subject
"Louisiana Troops Serving Under Stonewall Jackson", a
talk he has given to SCV groups across Texas and
Louisiana.
     Richard H. Holloway is a native of Alexandria
and is a member of the Lieutenant Governor’s
Louisiana Sesquicentennial Civil War and
Reconstruction Task Force and currently serves as
2nd Vice President of the Louisiana Association of
Museums. He has been President of the Civil War
Round Table of Central Louisiana since 2008 and
also served as a founding Board of Director
member of the Confederate Memorial Hall of New
Orleans Foundation and the Republic of West
Florida Historical Society. Richard is also a member
of the Louisiana Historical Association and Team
Red, White, and Blue. In 2009, he represented the
State of Louisiana at the U.S. Capitol and Library of
Congress for a Civil War commemoration as a
guest of the United States Congress. He
participated in Governor Edwards’ trip to Paris in
1984 where he was introduced to French President
Francois Mitterrand and Jacques Chirac, mayor of
Paris. Richard was a founding member of the Jena
SCV camp and is currently rejoined as a member of
the Alexandria SCV camp.
      Richard has been a Civil War reenactor for 35 years
and has participated at events across the United States
and England. He has also reenacted at Spanish Colonial,
Revolutionary War, Seminole War, Mexican War and
World War II events. Most recently Richard was involved
in the Chalmette National Battlefield’s celebration of the
200th Anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans, where
he also participated in 1815 era social functions at the US
Mint and the Cabildo.
       Richard’s first appearance onscreen was in
“Louisiane” with Margot Kidder in 1983 and has been in
over 20 movies, 15 documentaries, and two country
music video’s since then in various capacities. He has a
vast collection of Louisiana historical items which he
often loans to museums around the state.
Richard has received a Legion of Merit medal from
the Louisiana National Guard and was given the
Louisiana Museum Professional Award for 2014. He was
given the key to the parish in Jefferson Parish for his
work in genealogy. Richard has worked at the Louisiana
State Archives where he researched Louisiana’s history
and did all of the integral research for the state attorney
general’s $800 million dollar lawsuit pertaining to
asbestos. He gave tours in Liverpool, England pertaining
to the American Civil War there as well as serving as the
University Records Manager for The George Washington
University in Washington, DC. During his tenure at the
university, he trained over 400 office managers and
completely restructured the facility’s entire archives using
modern procedures. During this time, Richard was a
writer and co-editor for the Mid-Atlantic Regional
Archives Conference’s newsletter and was a member of
the prestigious Washington Rare Book Group, which met
in the Library of Congress. Before returning to Louisiana,
he worked for the Texas Society of Professional
Engineers and also was a campaign manager for a Texas
senator and worked with George W. Bush’s 1st
gubernatorial campaign. After a short stint as the director
of the Louisiana Cotton Museum at Lake Providence,
Richard moved back to Alexandria to became a land title
researcher for Chesapeake Oil Company. He worked
four years as an interpretive ranger at Fort Jesup State
Historic Site in Many until the long drive forced him to
find more local work. He was an archivist for the
Louisiana National Guard for almost a decade and during
that time he was director of Louisiana Native American
Library and Museum located at Camp Beauregard. As a
member of the Louisiana State Guard, he worked to
preserve the state’s military records and other emergency
services during Hurricanes Katrina and Gustave. He was
put in charge of the records recovered from Jackson
Barracks until they were removed back to New Orleans
which led to him reapplying with Louisiana State Parks
to work at their new Forts Randolph and Buhlow
facility.
      He has taught classes on Louisiana during the
American Civil War as an adjunct professor at
Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and LSU at
Alexandria.

New Members to be voted forSCV Membership February 10th

     Ed Sherwood, has attended our meetings for the
past 3 years so by now he should know what he’s
getting in to. Ed is a native of Port Arthur Texas and
earned the MA in History from Lamar University. For
the past 7 years Ed has taught U.S. History at McNeese
and SOWEA Technical Community College. His
Confederate ancestor is Private Alfred Sherwood,
Company C, 8th Texas Calvary.
     Robert Couch retired after a career in the U.S.
military. Robert’s ancestor is James Nichols Brashear,
Company B, 13th Kentucky Calvary. His ancestor’s
family was brutalized by Union soldiers and were
therefore forced to resist the abuse of power by an
invading force. Robert has been researching the War
Between the States for over 25 years and is ready to go
to work in our camp.
     Brittian Daniel Briggs works for Halliburton
Corporation in Galveston, Texas and lives in Victoria.
His Confederate ancestor is Lt. W.C. Easterwood, 27th
Texas Infantry 1st Regiment Company B from Milam
County, Texas. Easterwood also served in 4th Texas
State Calvary Company B and is Brigg’s Great
Grandfather’s adoptive father.
     Wayne Prouse has transferred into the Bryan
Camp as an associate member. Wayne continues to
serve as the chairman of the SCV Confederate Grave
Registry in Texas and as the Assistant to the Texas
Congressman in Beaumont.

2015 Capt. J. W. Bryan Meeting 
Dates & Location

Feb. 10 – Logan’s Roadhouse – Lake Charles
Mar. 10 –Joe’s Italian Restaurant – Sulphur
Apr. 14 --Logan’s Roadhouse – Lake Charles
May 12 --Joe’s Italian Restaurant – Sulphur
June 9 --Logan’s Roadhouse – Lake Charle
July 14 --Joe’s Italian Restaurant – Sulphur
Aug. 11--Logan’s Roadhouse – Lake Charles
Sept. 8 --Joe’s Italian Restaurant – Sulphur
Oct. 13 -Logan’s Roadhouse – Lake Charles
Nov.10 -Joe’s Italian Restaurant – Sulphur
Dec. 8- Annual Christmas Party (TBA)

Confederate Medal Changes

     The media company requires purchase of 100 two
inch medals at $5.34 per medal. We originally voted to
purchase 25 medals, so this will have to be presented to
the camp in the February meeting. This would put our
final price at $534.00 which includes the grey/red ribbon.
The medals will be solid bronze with no color. Adding
color would increase the price to $10.00 per medal
($1534.00 total), which is cost prohibitive. The company
could not deliver full color medals until the summer
anyway, due to overseas manufacturing.

Pvt. William Kniep,
Creuzbaur’s Battery, 5th Texas Light
Artillery, killed in the battle of Calcasieu
Pass and buried on Monkey
Island, Cameron Parish. The site
of the battlefield cemetery may
be endangered by a major
construction project. (Photo
courtesy of Kniep family)

CALCASIEU PASS BATTLEFIELD
CEMETERY TO BE PROTECTED

      State Archaeologist Charles “Chip” McGimsey,
recently told the Lake Charles American Press that state law
requires that the Calcasieu Pass battlefield cemetery, on
the former LeBoeuf property, must be protected during
an LNG plant project being built on Monkey Island in
Cameron Parish, where the battle was fought May 8, 1864.
He was quoted as saying, “I had a conversation with
[SCT&E] on Wednesday [Jan. 29] and explained to them
the new situation.” McGimsey added, “If this is in an area
where they have no plans to develop it and they commit
to leaving it as green space, then it’s not an issue.”
      The final site for the SCT&E [Southern California
Telephone & Energy] has yet to be determined.
After Hurricane Rita, representatives from the Federal
Emergency Management Agency visited Monkey Island
and researched the state’s land purchase records for the
area, McGimsey said. In an 1859 Track Book, he added,
FEMA agents discovered the approximate location of the
LeBoeuf property in the northwest section of the island.
“It very clearly shows that their tract of land and
presumably their house is in the northwestern half of the
island,” McGimsey said. “They could be off by 15 to 25
feet, but it’s clearly going to show that the LeBoeuf’s
property and farmhouse, and thus the cemetery, are in the
western half of the island and pretty close to the Calcasieu
River, too.”
     The LNG plant is being built on 230 acres and is so
large it would take up about a third of the island.
A site sketch map the American Press obtained from
McGimsey’s office shows the LeBoeuf property in the
northwest section of the island, as delineated in the 1859
Trac Book. The LeBoeuf “Farmstead and Cemetery” is
also shown at that site on an 1898 nautical chart. The
farmhouse appears to have stood just north of where
SCT&E’s mock ups show the LNG plant’s line of six
liquefaction trains.
      Desecrating a historic cemetery in Louisiana is a
crime and state law provides for both fines and
imprisonment upon conviction.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
also has regulations safeguarding historic cemeteries
such as the one at Calcasieu Pass. Richard
McGuire, FERC’s acting director of its Division of
Gas—Environment and Engineering, said if
SCT&E moves ahead with its proposal, it will have
to go through the commission’s pre-filing process.
As part of that process, SCT&E will be required to
hire independent archaeologists to conduct land
surveys on Monkey Island in the “area of potential
effect.”
     He added that FERC’s first priority is to get
applicants to avoid cemeteries completely.
McGimsey said the cemetery is not something
that will stop the project. He added, however, that
if human remains are unearthed at any time during
construction, his office will shut down the
immediate area. Work can then continue outside
the discovery site.
If approved by federal officials, SCT&E’s
estimated $9.2 billion facility seeks to export up to
12 million metric tons of LNG each year to
countries worldwide. The project is expected to
create up to 2,000 construction jobs during peak
times. The original press story was by Frank
DiCesare.

THE BATTLEFIELD DEAD

      The following sailors and soldiers were killed at
the Battle of Calcasieu Pass on May 6, 1864,
according to a monument in front of the Cameron
Parish Courthouse:
U.S. Navy sailors:
Quartermaster John W. Tindall; Seaman Joseph
Johnson; Ensign Henry Jackson; Ensign S.R.
Tyrrel; Seaman John Scott; Quartermaster John
Jacobs; Ord. Seaman William Hayden; Ensign A.
H. Berry.
Confederate States soldiers:
Pvt. William Kneip; Cpl. Ferdinand Fahrrenthold;
Pvt. John Lynch; Pvt. Henry Foestermann; Pvt.
Aaron Russell; Pvt. J. d. Lancaster; Sgt. R. M. Jones;
Pvt. A. Scrinkle; Pvt. W. A. Jackson; Pvt. P.
Whittenberg; Pvt. N. Yvarro; Pvt. Jackson J.
Risinger; Pvt. William Ingle; Pvt. William Guehrs.
Guehrs was posthumously awarded the
Confederate Medal of Honor for his self-sacrificing
gallantry at the Battle of Calcasieu Pass. The medal
is on display at the Imperial Calcasieu Museum.

CALCASIEU GREYS - January, 2015

LEE – JACKSON BANQUET 2015

      Captain James W. Bryan Camp 1390 and Calcasieu Chapter 1513, United Daughters of the Confederacy, will hold a joint Lee-Jackson Banquet in honor of generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson beginning at 6 p.m. Saturday, January 24, at Pat’s of Henderson Restaurant at 1500 Siebarth Drive, Lake Charles.

     We will have live traditional Southern music played by violist Susan Jones in the prelude before the banquet 6:15-6:45 p.m. The banquet program, beginning at 7 p.m., will include tributes to Lee and Jackson,  and Cmdr. M.F. Maury. General Stephen Dill Lee’s “Charge to the Sons of Confederate Veterans” will be read.  Paul Gramling, current ATM Councilman & NE La. Brigade cmdr. will be our guest speaker. Also in the course of the evening we’ll have installation of 2015 officers and our candlelight tribute to our own individual Confederate ancestors.

     The menu for the meal this year includes a seafood platter, at no extra cost, and our appetizer, popcorn catfish and shrimp.  The cost will be the same as last year, $30 per person. Please send your check, payable to Sons of Confederate Veterans, to Camp Adjutant Luke Dartez, 908 Henning Road, Sulphur, La. 70665-7673. Please have your check to Luke by Jan. 17 so he can give an accurate count to Pat’s. 

Dr. Andy Buckley

Finding Your Way Home

Commander's Column January, 2015

I laughed at this. A young preacher was contacted by the local funeral director to hold a grave side committal service at a small local rural cemetery for a man with no family or friends. The preacher started early but quickly got himself lost, making several wrong turns. He arrived an hour late, the hearse was nowhere in sight, and the workmen were eating lunch. The pastor went to the open grave and found the vault lid already in place. Taking out his book, he read the memorial service and prayed. As he was returning to his car, he overheard one of the workmen say: "Maybe we'd better tell him it's a septic tank."  

      By the end of August, 1864, General Lee's army around Petersburg were on reduced rations. Soon Lee received a report that there was no more corn in the Confederate stores to feed his troops. To address this critical situation, a local scout, George Shadburne, informed Wade Hampton that there were some 3,000 head of cattle behind the Union lines, some five miles from Grant's headquarters. The cattle were lightly guarded by 120 Union soldiers and some 30 civilians. Hampton sought and received Lee's approval of a plan to capture the herd. At 1 a.m. on September 14, Hampton and some 3,000 troopers headed south, around the Union army. Hampton had taken the precaution of taking with him a detachment of cavalry troopers from Texas who had prior experience in both herding cattle and liberating cattle from their previous owners.

     Two days and thirty miles later found Hampton some four miles from the cattle. At 5 a.m. Rosser's men charged into a camp of startled Yankees and in 30 minutes killed and captured 219. An hour later the entire force overwhelmed the small group guarding the herd. After calming the frightened cattle, Hampton and his men started south with the cattle and a bonanza of other supplies. 
        The column was over 7 miles long and the choking clouds of dust told the whole world where they were headed.

      The Confederates made it to safety two days later with only 10 killed and 47 wounded and 2,500 head of cattle. For days the Rebels would taunt the Yanks with offers of steak and beef for dinner, inviting them to come over and eat. The Prince George County Historical Society in Virginia has an annual steak dinner on the anniversary of the raid to commemorate the event.

     As we look forward to our annual Lee-Jackson Banquet on Saturday, January 24th, I would challenge every member of the Captain James W. Bryan Camp to consider bringing a friend, a family member, or a possible new member to the banquet. It might be your next door neighbor, a friend or fellow church member, or a relative.

      The Lee-Jackson Banquet is always one of the highlights of the ear and represents a great opportunity to recruit potential new members. The program will be outstanding with Paul Gramling serving as our keynote speaker, Charles Richardson presenting the Lee Tribute, Nelson Fontenot presenting the Jackson Tribute, and Greg Newton presenting the Year in Review. This year we will be honored to have as our special guests the ladies of the Calcasieu Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

Yours in Our Great Cause,

Dr. Andy Buckley, Commander

PAUL GRAMLING

LEE-JACKSON BANQUET

BANQUET SPEAKER

     Our guest speaker for this year’s Lee-Jackson Banquet is Paul Gramling, an excellent orator and long-time member of the Gen. Richard Taylor Camp 1308 in Shreveport, the second largest camp in the Army of the Trans-Mississippi, ATM.

      He has served as camp adjutant, three terms as commander of his camp; 2^nd Lt. Cmdr., 1994-96, of the Louisiana Division; 1^st Lt. Cmdr., 1996-1998, Louisiana Division; Commander of the Louisiana Division, 1998-1990; Army of Trans-Mississippi Commander 2000-2002; National Chief of Heritage Defense, 2004-2006; Louisiana and ATM Heritage Defense chairman, 2006-2008; Sesquicentennial Committee, 2007-Present; Chairman, Heritage Promotion Committee 2010-2014; Northwest Brigade Cmdr., Louisiana Division, 2014-Present; and ATM Councilman, 2014-Present.

       Paul Gramling is also a living history reenactor and has taken part in many major events nationwide.

     

Gen. Stephen D. Lee

Author of the SCV "CHARGE"

MESSAGE FROM OUR HERITAGE CHIEF

      This new year is the 150th anniversary of the end of the fighting between the armed forces of the United States of America and the Confederate States of America. May it also be the end of the ongoing mendacious attacks on the honored heritage and history of the men who carried that fight for the Southern cause.
     May this be the year when the national media recognizes that the War Between the States was about the cultural, political, economic and Constitutional differences that had evolved from the shared national experience and not about the single issue of slavery in the Southern region. 
     May this be the year when the full truth about slavery as the "American Sin" and not the "Southern Sin", be fully understood. May Americans learn that slavery was financed in the North, controlled by the Northern slave traders, and that the profits from the trade and from the cotton went mainly to the North.
     May this be the year when the divisive demagoguery of "political correctness" is exposed as the idiocy that it is and becomes a thing of the past, remembered only as a sad and silly period when decisions were made by an odd and distorted view of relationships, sensibilities, and common sense. May it be the year when people go back to making decisions based on the admonitions of our great religious teachings, and not on appeals to victimhood or prejudice. May this be the year when we begin to judge people by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin. 
     May this be the year when the 70 million American descendants of those who fought for the Confederacy proudly stand up and be counted. May our voices be heard in such numbers that it will turn the tide of hatred and ignorance that comes daily against us.
     May this be the year when those bigots who use the beloved symbols of our courageous ancestors to spread a gospel of racial hatred and superiority be exposed as the fools they are. May this be the year when the flags of our forefathers once again stand for that which is the best within us, rather than the worst.
      May this be the year when we counter-attack the demagogues who wish to destroy every vestige of our Confederate heritage. May this be the year when our statues, monuments and gravestones are not attacked by vandals of every stripe, and when our flags fly more than ever in places of deserved honor.
     May this be the year when every member of our brotherhood becomes more involved as spokesmen for the Cause, and when all of us do something of active service every day to carry a positive message about our ancestry. 
     May this be the year when the national media stops portraying our ancestors as "traitors" and portraying us as "Nazis", "white supremacists" and "racists". May this be the year when they recognize their own sanctimonious posturing and when they realize the stupidity of anyone assuming a moral superiority in matters of the heart.   

           May this be the year when our national leaders transcend the weary, mean-spirited and divisive politics of yesterday and break through to policies that bring Americans together in mutual respect and purpose. 

     May this be the year when we Sons of Confederate Veterans lead a victorious struggle for an honest modern understanding of the extraordinary and exemplary courage of our honored and beloved ancestors. May this be the year when we stand fearlessly together against the orchestrated smear campaign of those who would "culturally cleanse" the nation of any positive thought of our forefathers. 
     May this be the year when our membership puts aside our petty differences and our personal ambitions and solidly unite for a higher and more important cause.
     May this be the year when we Sons of Confederate Veterans restores the good name of Robert E. Lee and the million men who left home and hearth to follow him. May our nation realize that the men of the Confederacy were thoroughly American, and that they were of many ancestries and races and creeds, and that they did what they did in their time because their forefathers had done the same.
    And above all, may this be the year when a Loving Creator guides all of us in every moment as we face the challenges of protecting our heritage while building our future. May the Great Healer intervene in the hearts and souls of all of us, and bring to closure the ancient wounds of our Nation's past.
Ben Jones, Chief of Heritage Operations

Cmdr. Matthew F. Maury

     Matthew Fontaine Maury was born Jan. 14, 1806 in Virginia and rose to international fame for his pioneering work in navigation, hydrology and meteorology. He became known as the “Pathfinder of the Seas.” He served 36 years in the U.S. Navy, but when his native state seceded in 1861, he resigned and offered his services to Virginia. Gov. John Letcher appointed him a commander in the Virginia Navy, which was soon incorporated into the Confederate States Navy.

     In 1861 he began experiments with underwater mines, then called torpedoes. His research led to the first successful use of electric mines in naval warfare. Maury also advocated the building of an inexpensive fleet of shallow-water gunboats with large caliber guns in large numbers, to protect Southern ports and inland rivers. However, with the success of the Ironclad C.S.S. Virginia, the government decided to go with that more expensive alternative. He was sent to Europe in late 1862 to purchase ships for the Confederate government. He also used his worldwide fame to promote the cause of Southern Independence. Maury was successful in purchasing two ships for the Confederacy, including the C.S.S. Georgia. He also continued improving electric mines. Following the war, Maury went into voluntary exile for a while in Mexico, then in 1868 took a position as a professor of physics at the Virginia Military Institute until his death in 1873. In his private life, Maury married Ann Hull Herndon in 1835 and they were blessed with eight children. His oldest son, Richard Launcelot Maury, joined the Confederate Army in 1861 and was commissioned a second lieutenant with the 21^st Virginia Infantry, and received promotions to major and lieutenant colonel with the 24^th Virginia Infantry. Colonel Maury was wounded twice in the war, in 1862 at the Battle of Fair Oaks and in 1864 at the Battle of Drewry’s Bluff. He surrendered with Gen. Lee at Appomattox Court House April 9, 1865.

NEW BOOK

A FINE BODY OF MEN

As armies formed across the country in early 1861, the call to the colors sounded and volunteer groups began to assemble. One such unit formed in New Orleans was the Orleans Light Horse, an independent light cavalry troop described by the New Orleans Daily Picayune as a “fine body of men all splendidly mounted.” It is a thoroughly researched Civil War regmental history. Donald P. Moriarty follows their service with the Confederate States Army to the war’s end in 1865. As the escort company to Lieutenant General Leonidas Polk and later Lieutenant General Alexander P. Stewart, the Orleans Light Horse was an integral part of the Army of Mississippi and the Army of Tennessee. A Fine Body of Men provides service records and additional biographical information for the company’s 215 cavalrymen, while inviting readers to experience the major campaigns of the Civil War’s Western Theater alongside these brave soldiers. [Soft Cover, 304 pages]

Published by The Historic New Orleans Collection.

A CONTEMPORARY DESCRIPTION

OF STONEWALL JACKSON

[Editor’s note: The below is a contemporary description of Stonewall Jackson by Field-Marshall Viscount Wolseley of the British Army. In October, 1862, he visited the camp of the Army of Northern Virginia, while on leave from the British Army in Canada, and interviewed both Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. He gave his impressions in his auto-biography,  The Story of a Soldier’s Life, 1904. Here are his impressions of Jackson.]

      “Shortly afterwards I had the advantage of an interview

with General Jackson, always spoken of then and to be

remembered for all time as ‘Stonewall Jackson:’ a man of stem principles, who took seriously whatever he had to do and in whom the beautiful side to his character had been developed by this war. What a hero! and yet how simple, how humble-minded a man! In manner he was very different from General Lee, and I can class him with no one whom I have ever met or read of in history. Like the great commander whom he served with such knightly loyalty, he was deeply religious, but more austere, more Puritan in type. Both were great soldiers, yet neither had any Goth-like delight in war. He did not, as Lee did, give one the idea of having been born to the hereditary right of authority over others. General Lee, the very type, physically and socially, of a proud Cavalier, would certainly have fought for his king had he lived when Rupert charged at Naseby; Jackson would have been more at home amongst Cromwell's Ironsides upon that fatal June 14. More than any one I can remember, Jackson seemed a man in whom great strength of character and obstinate determination were mated with extreme gentleness of disposition and with absolute tenderness towards all about him.

    “I had expected to see in Stonewall Jackson something of the religious moroseness we find attributed to the Commonwealth Puritan in our Restoration literature; but he was, instead, most genial and forthcoming during the extremely pleasant hour I spent in his tent. In repose it might be said there was something sad about the expression of this most remarkable man's face. As his impressive eyes meet yours unflinchingly, you knew that his was an honest heart. His closely compressed lips might have lent a harsh coldness to his features had not his face been lit up by a fascinating smile which added to the intense benignity of expression that his Maker had stamped upon it. In all the likenesses I have seen of him this marked characteristic is wanting. But how rare it is to find it even in the pictures of saints and angels by the greatest artists. In their endeavours to represent it on canvas or in marble most have missed that bright light of highly gifted benevolence and spiritual contentment which, without doubt, must have pre-eminently distinguished the face of ‘Him whom they crucified.’ ”

CALCASIEU GREYS - December, 2014

MERRY CHRISTMAS
                 &
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
     The December meeting of Captain James W. Bryan Camp
1390, Sons of Confederate Veterans is our annual Christmas
party beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday, December 9, at 2019 21st St.
in Lake Charles. Chaplain Tommy Curtis and his sister Phyllis
will be our host and hostess. Wayne and Andrea Prouse, our
special friends from Orange will present a brief slide show of
their recent visit to Andersonville Cemetery in Americus,
Georgia. We will also have our sing-a-long of traditional
Christmas carols accompanied by violist Susan Jones.
Our Christmas party feast will include the following: baked
ham, provided by Tommy Curtis; roasted turkey, Mike and
Susan Jones; deviled eggs, sweetened tea, and mac and cheese,
Maxine Cousins; boudin, Wes Beason; seven layer taco salad,
Nelson and Rosalind Fontenot; rice dressing, Andy Buckley;
green bean casserole, Jonathan Buckley; candied yams & dessert,
Liz Dartez; potato salad, Charles Richardson; and dessert, Dr.
Michael Bergeron.
     We are expecting about 30 people to attend this very special
Christmas party. Hope to see you all there.

Dr. Andy Buckley
Camp Commander

Finding Your Way Home

Commander’s Column December, 2014
Dr. Andy Buckley, camp commander

Paul Harvey’s career in radio spanned more than seven
decades. My favorite Harvey program was “The Rest of the
Story” in which Paul sought to share a familiar story from
American History from an unfamiliar but accurate perspective.
Allow me to share a familiar story in our history which is no
longer accurate. It is a story we all know very well.
We have been taught since elementary school that
Thanksgiving originated with the Pilgrims in Plymouth,
Massachusetts. Do you remember the school plays where we,
as children, were dressed as Pilgrims and Indians and acted out
the story of the first Thanksgiving? The historical
circumstances surrounding the holiday have been revised just
enough to skew the history of the first Thanksgiving and its
traditions. Plymouth was the site of a great three day feast
between the Pilgrims and Indians in 1621. But it was actually
not Thanksgiving, but a harvest festival. Given what we know
about the religious convictions and practices of the early
Puritan settlers, their thanksgiving was a very solemn assembly,
focused almost entirely on prayer, not a celebration.
Such a day did take place along the banks of the James
River just east of Richmond on December 4, 1619. After the
first winter in the Jamestown Colony, following the brutal
“starving time,” John Woodlief and his crew, which included a
shoemaker, cook, and gun maker, docked their ship, Margaret,
and climbed a grassy slope where they dropped to their knees
and gave thanks. Marking that spot today on the Berkeley
Plantation in Charles City, Virginia is a historical marker
commemorating the site of our nation’s first true Thanksgiving
celebration. Inside a brick gazebo is a plaque with the following
words etched: “We ordained that the day of our ships' arrival at
the place in the land of Virginia shall be yearly and
perpetually kept holy as a day of Thanksgiving to God.” As
in much of our nation’s history, especially of our Southern
region, the first Thanksgiving actually occurred in Virginia,
not in Massachusetts. And as Paul Harvey used to say, now
you know the rest of the story.
As we all know most men in the South at the outbreak
of the War Between the States were religious hardworking
family men. Much of their philosophy of life and values
came from their involvement in their local churches. Our
Southern ancestors were Baptists, Catholics, Methodists,
Church of Christ, Episcopal, and Presbyterian Christians.
Their faith in God was very important to them. When a
family migrated to another place to put down their roots
some things had to be left behind, but faith was not one of
them. I believe faith was a prominent factor motivating a
man volunteer to fight and defend his Southern homeland.
Our forbearers had to have faith the Lord would keep
them safe and take care of his wife and children while they
were away. Although we live in a different time today I
believe most of our SCV members recognize the great
value of faith in shaping our philosophy of life and values.
I hope you’ll make a special effort to be in attendance at
our Christmas Party, Tuesday, December 9 at 6:00 pm.
Printed in this issue of the Calcasieu Greys is the list of the
food assignments. Please bring what you have signed up to
provide so we won’t run out. Wayne and Andrea Prouse,
our special friends from Orange will present a brief slide
show of their recent visit to Andersonville Cemetery in
Americus, Georgia.
We will have a short business session to approve the
SCV Captain James W. Bryan Camp U.S. History medal
award for the 15 public and 2 private high schools in
Calcasieu and Cameron Parishes. The total production
costs will be about $275.00 and will provide another
unique opportunity to get our story out to the public. (See
medal depiction below)
Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your
commander this year. All effective leadership is servant
leadership and I have sought to faithfully serve our camp
with honor, exercising my gifts to further the cause which
we support. Regular feedback is essential in order for our
program to meet the needs of our members. Please let me
hear from you at andybuckley1224@ gmail.com.

Yours in Our Great Cause,
Dr. Andy Buckley

Pvt. William C. Annis
(Copy Print,M.D. Jones Collection, attributed)

MY CONFEDERATE ANCESTOR

                    By Mike Jones
      I joined the Sons of Confederate Veterans on the
record of my maternal great-grandfather, William C.
Annis. He was born July 12, 1840 in Iberville Parish,
Louisiana to John C. Annis and the former Sarah Brister.
He moved to Baton Rouge in 1852 and began his long
association with newspapers. At the beginning of the war
he was married and joined the Confederate Army in July
1862, soon after he and his wife were blessed with their
first child. He enlisted at Camp Moore, Louisiana in
Company B, Baton Rouge Invincibles, 9th Battalion
Louisiana Infantry. About a month after he enlisted, he
fought in his first battle at the Battle of Baton Rouge,
La., Aug. 5, 1862. Annis then served throughout the
Siege of Port Hudson, La., May 21,-July 9, 1863, and was
surrendered at the end of the siege. After being paroled,
he was exchanged in 1864. He then joined the remnants
of his battalion which became Co. D, Gober’s Mounted
Louisiana Infantry and fought in a number of cavalry
skirmishes and the Battle of Liberty, Miss. Near the end
of the war his company was reorganized as Co. B, 9th
Louisiana Cavalry Regiment. He surrendered with his
command at the end of the war and was paroled May 5,
1865 at Gainsville, Alabama.
       Returning home to Baton Rouge, he soon became
publisher of the Bayou Sarah Ledger newspaper near St.
Francisville. He then purchased the Baton Rouge Daily
Advocate and published that newspaper until 1882.
During his tenure with that newspaper, he campaigned
to have the state capital moved back to Baton Rouge
from New Orleans, where the Yankee occupation
authorities had moved it. He also served as treasurer of a
committee to raise funds for the Baton Rouge
Confederate Soldier Monument. Annis was a co-founder
of the Louisiana Press Association. After selling the
Advocate in 1882, he became publisher of the Baton
Rouge Capital-Item newspaper. Annis was elected to the
Baton Rouge City Council and the Democrat Central
Committee. He was married four times, his first three
wives predeceasing him, and fathered 12 children.
William C. Annis died Oct. 21, 1903 in Baton Rouge..

150-YEARS-AGO
THE BATTLE OF FRANKLIN, TN, NOV. 30, 1864
[Editor’s note: Excerpted from “Company AYTCH, Maury
Grays, First Tennessee Regiment, or a Sideshow of the Big
Show,” by Sam Watkins. (Columbia, TN, 1900). This is
considered one of the best memoirs of a Confederate soldier
in existence.]
     The death-angel gathers its last harvest.
     Kind reader, right here my pen, and courage, and ability
fail me. I shrink from butchery. Would to God I could tear
the page from these memoirs and from my own memory. It
is the blackest page in the history of the war of the Lost
Cause. It was the bloodiest battle of modern times in any
war. It was the finishing stroke to the independence of the
Southern Confederacy. I was there. I saw it. My flesh
trembles, and creeps, and crawls when I think of it to-day.
My heart almost ceases to beat at the horrid recollection.
Would to God that I had never witnessed such a scene!
I cannot describe it. It beggars description. I will not
attempt to describe it. I could not. The death-angel was there
to gather its last harvest. It was the grand coronation of
death. Would that I could turn the page. But I feel, though I
did so, that page would still be there, teeming with its scenes
of horror and blood. I can only tell of what I saw.
Our regiment was resting in the gap of a range of hills in
plain view of the city of Franklin. We could see the battleflags
of the enemy waving in the breeze. Our army had been
depleted of its strength by a forced march from Spring Hill,
and stragglers lined the road. Our artillery had not yet come
up, and could not be brought into action. Our cavalry was
across Harpeth river, and our army was but in poor
condition to make an assault. While resting on this hill-side, I
saw a courier dash up to our commanding general, B. F.
Cheatham, and the word, "Attention !" was given. I knew
then that we would soon be in action. Forward, march. We
passed over the hill and through a little skirt of woods.
The enemy were fortified right across the Franklin pike,
in the suburbs of the town. Right here in these woods a
detail of skirmishers was called for. Our regiment was
detailed. We deployed as skirmishers, firing as we advanced
on the left of the turnpike road. If I had not been a
skirmisher on that day, I would not have been writing this
to-day, in the year of our Lord 1882.
      It was four o’clock on that dark and dismal December
day when the line of battle was formed, and those devoted
heroes were ordered forward, to "Strike for their altars and
their fires, For the green graves of their sires, For God and
their native land."
     As they marched on down through an open field toward
the rampart of blood and death, the Federal batteries began
to open and mow down and gather into the garner of death,
as brave, and good, and pure spirits as the world ever saw.
The twilight of evening had begun to gather as a precursor
of the coming blackness of midnight darkness that was to
envelop a scene so sickening and horrible that it is impossible
for me to describe it. "Forward, men, is repeated all along the
line. A sheet of fire was poured into our very faces, and for a
moment we halted as if in despair, as the terrible avalanche of
shot and shell laid low those brave and gallant heroes, whose
bleeding wounds at tested that the struggle would be
desperate. Forward, men! The air loaded with death-dealing
missiles. Never on this earth did men fight against such
terrible odds. It seemed that the very elements of heaven and
earth were in one mighty uproar. Forward, men! And the
blood spurts in a perfect jet from the dead and wounded. The
earth is red with blood. It runs in streams, making little
rivulets as it flows. Occasionally there was a little lull in the
storm of battle, as the men were loading their guns, and for a
few moments it seemed as if night tried to cover the scene
with her mantle. The death-angel shrieks and laughs and old
Father Time is busy with his sickle, as he gathers Cleburne's
division was charging their works. I passed on until I got to
their works, and got over on their (the Yankees) side. But in
fifty yards of where I was, the scene was lit up by fires that
seemed like hell itself. It appeared to be but one line of
streaming fire. Our troops were upon one side of the breast
works, and the Federals on the other. I ran up on the line of
works, where our men were engaged. Dead soldiers filled the
entrenchments. The firing was kept up until after midnight,
and gradually died out. We passed the night where we were.
But when the morrows sun began to light up the eastern sky
to reveal its rosy hues, and we looked over the battlefield, O,
my God! what did we see! It was a grand holocaust of death.
Death had held high carnival there that night. The dead were
piled the one on the other all over the ground. I never was so
horrified and appalled in my life. Horses, like men, had died
game on the gory breastworks. General Adams horse had his
fore feet on one side of the works and his hind feet on the
other, dead. The general seems to have been caught so that he
was held to the horse’s back, sitting almost as if living,
riddled, and mangled, and torn with balls. General Cleburne’s
mare had her fore feet on top of the works, dead in that
position. General Cleburne’s body was pierced with fortynine
bullets, through and through. General Strahl’s horse lay
by the roadside and the general by his side, both dead, and all
his staff. General Gist, a noble and brave cavalier from South
Carolina, was lying with his sword reaching across the
breastworks still grasped in his hand. He was lying there dead.
All dead! They sleep in the graveyard yonder at Ashwood,
almost in sight of my home, where I am writing to-day. They
sleep the sleep of the brave. We love and cherish their
memory. They sleep beneath the ivy-mantled walls of St.
John’s church, where they expressed a wish to be buried. The
private soldier sleeps where he fell, piled in one mighty heap.
Four thousand five hundred privates! all lying side by side in
death! Thirteen generals were killed and wounded. Four
thousand five hundred men slain, all piled and heaped
together at one place. I cannot tell the number of others killed
and wounded. God alone knows that. We’ll all find out
on the morning of the final resurrection.

FRANKLIN BATTLEFIELD

     An event long desired by battlefield preservationists

throughout the United States began recently with

commencement of the demolition of the Cameron Strip

Center on the Franklin battlefield. The property,

acquired by the Civil War Trust and Franklin’s Charge in

partnership with the State of Tennessee in December

2012, is located at the epicenter of the Franklin

battlefield.

     The Civil War Trust and Franklin’s Charge intend to

restore the property to its 1864 appearance, eventually

incorporating the site into a battlefield park. The two

groups also worked with strip center tenants to provide

them with additional time to relocate their

businesses. The Domino’s pizza franchise plans to

relocate to a new shopping center under construction

nearby (another occupant has already relocated to a

different location).