ConfederateVeterans Memorial Park Dedication - Tampa, Florida

PARK DEDICATION SET

Saturday, 25 April 2009

The Gen. Jubal A. Early Camp # 556 Sons of Confederate Veterans and the Florida Division SCV are proud to announce the date of the dedication ceremony of the Tampa Flag and Monument Site. Mark your calendars for Saturday, April 25, 2009.

Remember, that this monument and flag site is really much more. It rises to the level of a park. But not just an ordinary park but, truly, a world class and state of the art display of Southern Heritage. This will be a tourist attraction that will dumbfound and befuddle the “powers that be” in the community. Not just the local Tampa Bay community but communities across the land. The nation has voted for change and change it will be. No longer will we be only reactive in our behavior. This is a first magnitude proactive effort that has brought the attention of the nation to bear upon the Sons of Confederate Veterans. For a change, this community is asking to talk and to dialogue with us and the pattern is setting a blueprint for the rest of the American South.

For the day of the dedication we have reserved a great 3 acre plot of land immediately across the road from the actual park site. The site has room enough for a large revival type tent, many sutlers and venders, a couple of hundred re-enactors (living historians) in tents and 10 to 15 cannons. This is and will be a well planned and orchestrated happening. On the day of the event, music and speakers will begin at 10 AM and will continue until 2 PM. At 2 PM the dedication service will begin. Pastor John Weaver will be the keynote speaker. Also, Donnie Kennedy will be one of the speakers. The actual park site will be closed until the dedication service ends with the hoisting of the new “world’s largest flying” Confederate Battle Flag, 40 by 70 feet on the 139 foot flagpole which flies at the junction of two major interstates.

Monument inscription opportunities are still available as well as the following 20 by 30 inch bronze plaques.

National Events

The War against Southern Civilians – SOLD
Black Confederates – SOLD
Confederate POW Experience – OPEN
The Confederate Navy – OPEN
Hispanic Confederates – OPEN
President Jefferson Davis – OPEN
General Robert E. Lee – OPEN
General Nathan B. Forrest – OPEN
General Stonewall Jackson – OPEN
CSS Submarine Hunley - OPEN
Secretary of State Judah P. Benjamin - OPEN
Major John Mosby – OPEN
CSS Alabama – OPEN
Your Choice - OPEN

Florida Events:

Battle of Olustee – SOLD
Battle of Natural Bridge – SOLD
C.S.S. Florida – SOLD
Captain J. J. Dickison – SOLD
Captain John T. Lesley – SOLD
Gen. Stand Watie & Cherokees – SOLD
Battle of Gainesville – SOLD
Naval Sec. Stephen R. Mallory - OPEN
General Kirby Smith – OPEN
Florida in the War - OPEN
General Edward A. Perry - OPEN
Governor John Milton – OPEN
Your Choice – OPEN

These plaques are what will make this site noteworthy and such a profound statement for the common or uninitiated visitor from the community.

For more information or to participate in the monument visit: http://tampaflag.info/This site will be constantly updated with new information as time moves along toward the dedication date. For phone contact call Marion Lambert at (813)892-9418 or email at scvblue@ix.netcom.com.

Your Humble Servant,
Wesley H. Frank, Commander
12th Brigade, Florida Division
Sons of Confederate Veterans
serving the Treasure Coast and
Okeechobee County

The Southern Legal Resource Center eU P D A T E

November, 2008

Published electronically by the Southern Legal Resource Center
P.O. Box 1235, Black Mountain, NC 28711/(828)669-5189/ slrc@slrc-csa.org

ACQUITTED SCV MEMBER PREPARES TO SUE

Judge dismisses charges against SCV member Who hung Battle Flag in hotel room window

CONCORD, NC – A local court judge dismissed charges of criminal trespass against Basil D. (Bazz) Childress, a Sons of Confederate Veterans member who allegedly refused to remove a Confederate flag from his hotel room window when the management demanded that he do so.

The incident occurred at the Wingate Hotel in Concord during the SCV’s 2008 annual National Reunion (Convention). Childress, a bank officer from Lexington, KY, said he had placed the flag in his window to identify his room as the site of an annual social gathering. A desk clerk telephoned the room and asked Childress to remove the flag. Childress said that when he asked the hotel’s manager to explain how having the flag in his window violated his room rental contract, the manager became angry, called police and made the criminal trespass charge. Childress was released on his own recognizance and checked into another hotel.

Prosecution witnesses from the hotel were a no-show at the hearing, so the court dismissed the case.

Childress was represented by Charlotte attorney Christopher McCartan, with Kirk D. Lyons of Black Mountain as co-counsel. Lyons, who is Chief Trial Counsel for the Southern Legal Resource Center, said Childress is now preparing to sue Wyndham Hotels, Inc., which owns the Wingate unit.


Ringgold defendants insist Depot display

Should not be interpreted as a memorial

RINGGOLD, GA – Attorneys for the City of Ringgold are insisting that the area in front of historic Ringgold Depot where the Confederate Battle Flag once flew is not a memorial in the legal sense of the term.

The city made its position known in its attorneys’ response to a first request for admissions submitted by attorneys for the Ringgold Sons of Confederate Veterans camp and the SCV’s Georgia division, who are co-plaintiffs in the case. The SCV, through the SLRC and local attorneys, is suing the city to have it replace the flag, which it removed in 2005 and replaced with a relatively unfamiliar Hardee pattern Confederate corps flag. The SCV contends that the area is indeed a memorial, that the battle flag was intended to be a permanent fixture there, and that the city, by removing it, violated the integrity of memorial.

In responding to the 52 separate requests for admission, the city’s attorneys denied a total of 16 times that the display area at the depot is a memorial. “It’s certainly clear that the city is staking a great deal of its defense on the concept that the monument area at the depot is not to be considered a memorial,” said SLRC Chief Trial Counsel Kirk D. Lyons, “In fact, after the suit had already been filed, and three years after the fact, the city council adopted a resolution saying they never intended for that area to be a memorial.”

That resolution, which was passed on April 28, 2008, just three days after the suit was filed, also maintains that “flying of the Confederate battle flag … was only a temporary flying for a special purpose and should not in any way be construed as a permanent flying …” However, Ringgold Mayor Joe Barger and councilman O. C. Adcock, both of whom were serving at the time the battle flag was removed, declined to endorse the resolution. “That [the language of the resolution] is not true,” Adcock said at the time.


Congressman who didn’t vote for slavery apology

Says ‘just moving on is best’ for Southerners

A Kentucky congressman who was not a co-sponsor of last summer’s congressional apology for slavery has nevertheless sidestepped a constituent’s request to introduce a similar apology to the descendants of Confederate noncombatants.

In all, 121 members of congress co-sponsored the apology resolution, which was formally adopted by voice vote in July. In August the SLRC wrote to the Southern co-sponsors – 28 in all – and asked if they would, in a similar vein, consider an apology, and possibly reparations, for the families of Southern civilians who suffered loss of life and property at the hands of Union military forces during 1861-65. In its September newsletter the SLRC reported it had not received a single reply to its letter.

Several SLRC supporters indicated they had put the apology/reparations question to their Congressional representatives individually. One such reader was John W. Young of Kirsey, KY, who contacted Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY) by letter on September 3. Whitfield’s response, dated September 19, is a model of the balancing act many Southerners say they have come to expect from their elected officials when they are confronted with Southern heritage issues:

“I certainly appreciate your suggestion to offer this legislation [an apology to Southern noncombatants] in light of the House of Representatives passing a resolution apologizing for slavery and Jim Crow laws. Of course, there have been many dark days in the short history of this nation. Such tribulations reflect trying times for the United States, and many in Congress believe we must continue to be apologetic for the actions of our forefathers. While I believe that forgetting history almost ensures we repeat it, I also believe that just moving on is the best way to deal with these things, so that we may address the pressing issues of today and tomorrow.”

In a cover letter to the SLRC, Young said, “May I suggest that you urge individuals to write to their own representatives … Although the SLRC should be commended for initiating this important dialog, I believe it will have more impact for the concerns to be voiced by individual citizens.”


Two words for readers of our newsletter:

PLEASE HELP.

In 2002 the ironically-named Southern Poverty Law Center (estimated endowment: $152 million) gleefully reported that the SLRC had sent out an urgent plea for funds to keep its doors open. Two years later, in a similar vein, the SPLC stated that we were “financially shaky.” Well, we sure can’t argue that. And since the inhabitants of the Poverty Palace eagerly keep tabs on the SLRC’s doings, they have no doubt seen and are gloating over our latest fundraising appeal (September-October Update) in which we reported that the state of the U. S. economy and resultant consumer belt-tightening is making our own financial situation even more precarious than usual.

And, as fate would have it, the SLRC’s – and the country’s – cash crunch is occurring at the very time when the task of defending Southern heritage and culture, which has become increasingly challenging with each passing year, is about to become more arduous still. Most analysts agree that as the country’s political axis shifts further and further to the left, anti-Southernism in America will become fully institutionalized. Southerners who suffer adverse action for seeking to assert their Southern-ness will find that about their only chance for redress is through the courts. And the SLRC is the only organization on the planet devoted exclusively to advocating for wronged Southerners.

This newsletter’s circulation is about 2,500. If everybody on our mailing list contributed $10 a month, we would be able to meet our expenses and even begin to grow to meet our challenges, but usually our response rate is less than 10%. Please, if you can, help us get that percentage up by sending us a contribution for as much as you can spare today. To paraphrase what we usually say about ourselves, if you don’t help us, who will?

-- Roger McCredie
Executive Director

The Southern Legal Resource Center is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization, and contributions to it are fully tax deductible. Credit card and PayPal donations may be made at our website by clicking on “How You Can Help.” Checks payable to the Southern Legal Resource Center should be mailed to P.O. Box 1235, Black Mountain, NC 28711. “Thumbs Up for Dixie” stickers are available for SLRC and local heritage fundraising projects. Contact us for details at slrc@slrc-csa.org, (866) 564-8747 (toll free) or (828)669-5189.

Jefferson Davis: Death of American Patriot and Southern Hero

By Calvin E. Johnson, Jr.
cjohnson1861@bellsouth.net

What will Historians say about the Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan ?

We should never forget the hateful treatment some people showed our brave Servicemen and women as they returned home from Vietnam in the 1970s. And, now, some people would malign the honorable name of the Confederate soldier and his ‘blood stained’ battle flag. Isn’t it about time we to speak-out for our American Veterans, living and dead, and to proclaim that disrespecting some Veterans is dishonoring all Veterans?

There was a time when Union and Confederate Veterans were honored by the American people and the world. Before the invention of radio and television, parents told their children stories about their American ancestors. The history of those men and women, who fought under the United States and Confederate flags, was also taught in public schools.

Saturday, December 6th, 2008, is the 119th anniversary of the death of Jefferson Davis.

In 2008, the mainstream media reported a renewed interest among the American people in the War Between the States as the 200th birthday of Jefferson Davis was celebrated. The Sons of Confederate Veterans, www.scv.org, proclaimed 2008 as the “Year of Davis.” And the Virginia Division SCV is also planning a dedication of a statue depicting Davis and two of his sons-Joseph and black adopted son Jim Limber.

The New York Times reported the death of Jefferson Davis:

New Orleans, December 8, 1889 – "A careful tally of the visitors shows that about 40,000 persons, mostly women and children, viewed the remains today. This crowd included, in solemn and respectful attendance, all conditions of Whites, Blacks, ex-Confederates, ex-Federals, and even Indians and Chinamen."

Davis' death was also the lead story in Southern newspapers:

December 1889, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution – "The Great Chieftain passes over the river...and rests with Jackson under the shade of the trees. The hearts of a great and loving people, crushed by the death of a great leader. The Hero of hard-fought fields in Mexico . The peerless Statesman in Federal Councils. Jefferson Davis is no more!"

Who was Jefferson Davis?

Jefferson Davis graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, served valiantly during the War with Mexico , served as Secretary of War under President Franklin Pierce, served as United States Senator from Mississippi and was President of the Confederate States of America.

Jefferson Davis was a Christian father and husband. He and wife Varina were blessed with seven children who were; Margaret, Jeff Jr., Varina Anne, Bill, Joseph, Samuel and their adopted African-American son---Jim Limber.

The Christmas of 1889 was a sad time for the people of the South.

During November, 1889, Jefferson Davis left his home to attend to family business at Brierfield Plantation. On his way through New Orleans the weather turned colder and he was exposed to the rain and cold. He came down with a severe cold and bronchitis that was further complicated by Malaria.

Milo Cooper, a former servant of the Davis family, traveled a great distance to be by Davis ’ side. It has been written that when Copper entered Davis ’ sick room in New Orleans , he fell on his knees in tears and prayed God would spare the life of Jefferson Davis and bless his family.

Varina was by her husband's side when Jefferson Davis died at a friend's home on the morning of December 6, 1889.

All New Orleans’s newspapers led with praises and tributes that echoed throughout the South:

"Throughout the South there are lamentations and tears; in every country on the globe where there are lovers of liberty there is mourning; wherever there are men who admire heroic patriotism, dauntless resolution, fortitude, or intellectual power and supremacy, there is sincere sorrowing. The beloved of our land, the unfaltering upholder of constitutional liberty, the typical hero and sage, is no more; the fearless heart that beats with sympathy for all mankind is stilled forever, a great light is gone---Jefferson Davis is Dead!”

The mortal body of Jefferson Davis lay in state at the City Hall of New Orleans from midnight on December 6th to the 11th, 1889. The US and Confederate flags hung from the walls.

It is written that two hundred thousand people lined the streets of New Orleans when the funeral procession carried Davis ' body to Metairie Cemetery for temporary burial.

On December 13, 1889, the New York Times reported the Davis Funeral being the grandest ever seen in the South. The Sermon at Metairie Cemetery was delivered by Bishop Thompson of Mississippi. Bishop Gallaber delivered a brief sketch of Jefferson Davis' life...And a Church Choir sang an old time favorite "Rock of Ages" to end the service.

Let’s Not Forget Our American Heroes!!

WHOSE WAR ?

by Bob Hurst

We have all become familiar with the concept of "spin" through the overexposure of expert (?) "talking heads" on the 24-hour television news channels and the use of these same people on the older television networks. Spin takes place when a proponent of one viewpoint (be it political, environmental, historical, or whatever) is asked for commentary relating to a certain topic and "spins" that commentary in such a way as to give credence (hopefully) to his or her own point of view while tearing down the viewpoint of anyone who has an opposite perspective.

I singled out television in the opening paragraph but, of course, spin is applicable to any type of information distribution system be it radio, newspapers, magazines, the internet, books (including textbooks) or whatever. I began this month's column with a brief discussion of "spin" because I want to discuss an issue that has been subject to "spin" (and not analysis, except by a few) for almost 150 years.

The topic I will elaborate upon is who started the great struggle of 1861-1865 between the states of the North and the states of the South.

There has been so much spin regarding that struggle that there are even different names by which the epic event is known. The official name of the war, by act of Congress, is "The War Between the States". The generally accepted nomenclature for referencing the conflict is "The Civil War", but this is an inaccurate description since a civil war occurs when two or more factions are fighting for control of a single government and the South was not fighting to control the North but merely to be independent from any governmental association with it. That is why those Southerners (and I include myself among them) who have not drunk the national kool-aid prefer to refer to the conflict as "The War for Southern Independence".

It would take an entire book (or two, or dozens) to detail the background of events over many years which set the stage for the War. Many textbooks (and many commentaries) simplify the process by declaring that the South "started" the War (apparently without provocation) by firing on the Union-held Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor and the American flag that was flying at the fort. Case closed, right? Well, not exactly!

By the time of the firing on Fort Sumter on April 12,1861, seven states had already seceded from the Union. It was the desire of these states - South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas - to leave the Union in peace. It was also the consensus of most Northerners and Northern newspapers that secession was a constitutional right. An editorial in one newspaper, The Bangor DAILY UNION, on November 12, 1860, seemed to sum up this belief well when it stated: "Union depends for its continuance on the free consent and will of the sovereign people of each state... A state coerced to remain in the Union is a 'subject province' and can never be a co-equal member of the American Union".

A Supreme Court justice, Samuel Nelson, even advised the U.S. Secretary of State that it would be a violation of the Constitution if the president used coercion against any state.

So why, then, did the Southern troops stationed in Charleston fire upon Fort Sumter when public opinion in both the North and the South seemed to be on the side of the Southern Confederacy?

It all goes back to the purpose of Fort Sumter and that was the collection of tariffs from ships entering the harbor at Charleston. You see, the Great War of 1861-65 was fought, like all wars, for economic reasons. Abraham Lincoln had been asked shortly after his inauguration why the Southern states should not be allowed to leave the Union in peace. His response was a question: "Let them go? Let them go? Then where would I get my revenues?" (paraphrased) Lincoln knew that approximately 75% of federal revenues were collected at Southern ports in the form of tariffs and Charleston was a major collection point.

In early December of 1860, President James Buchanan had signed an agreement with South Carolina congressmen that forts Moultrie and Sumter would not be reinforced nor would they take aggressive action against Charleston. In return, the forts would not be attacked by South Carolina forces.

Shortly after South Carolina seceded on December 20, 1860, Major Robert Anderson moved his troops that were stationed at Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter in an action that disturbed and puzzled the officials in Charleston.

Previous to this, in early December of 1860, President-elect Abraham Lincoln had instructed General Winfield Scott, head of all Federal forces, to prepare a plan to hold or retake the forts after Lincoln's inauguration on March 4, 1861 despite the agreement signed by President Buchanan.

Unbeknownst to Pres. Buchanan, Gen. Scott sent a ship on January 7, 1861 with supplies and 200 concealed troops to reinforce Fort Sumter. This ship, the "Star of the West", was turned back by fire from South Carolina artillery batteries but it proved a major embarrassment to Pres. Buchanan who wished to avoid war.

In early February, a very aggressive attack plan was presented to again reinforce Fort Sumter. Pres. Buchanan would not agree to this plan and his Cabinet agreed that such a plan would constitute an act of war and would be interpreted as such by the South.

On February 25, President Jefferson Davis of the Confederacy sent a three-man Peace Commission to Washington to discuss many issues including the transition of Fort Sumter from Union to Confederate control.

Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated on March 4, 1861 as President of the United States. He refused to talk with the members of the Peace Commission who were still trying to make headway in Washington. Lincoln also announced that tariffs would continue to be collected at Fort Sumter regardless of the secession of South Carolina. He also made it clear that, unlike previous presidents, he regarded secession to be illegal and was willing to use military force to prevent secession. (Note: This is the same Lincoln who would later suspend habeas corpus and have thousands of Northern civilians, including newspaper publishers and even state legislators, arrested and imprisoned. Certainly an interesting reading of the U.S. Constitution.)

The Confederate Peace Commission had been meeting with several justices of the Supreme Court and Secretary of State Seward who had continually assurred them that Fort Sumter would be evacuated. Despite this, on March 9 Lincoln proposed that Fort Sumter be reinforced. His Cabinet overwhelmingly opposed this action because it was believed that this would lead to war.

Interestingly, on March 3 Jefferson Davis had appointed General Pierre G.T. Beauregard as commander of Confederate forces in Charleston. In one of those interesting anomalies that occurred throughout the War, Gen. Beauregard and Major Anderson, the commander of Fort Sumter, were good friends. Anderson had been an instructor of Beauregard when the latter was a student at West Point.

Lincoln continued to attempt to persuade his Cabinet to approve reinforcing Fort Sumter. He failed again at a Cabinet meeting on March 15 but finally was able to convince the Cabinet to approve his plan on March 29 although the Cabinet members knew it would lead to war. On April 6 Lincoln gave the order to reinforce Fort Sumter.

Lincoln then started distributing stories to supportive Northern newspapers that the Federal troops at Fort Sumter were near starvation and in desperate need of provisions. This was an outright lie that was refuted by the communications and records of Major Anderson himself. Additionally, the merchants in Charleston were daily selling foodstuffs to the garrison at Fort Sumter.

Nonetheless, Lincoln's ploy worked and there was outrage in the North over the "starving" of troops at Fort Sumter. He knew he would need Northen public opinion behind him to engage in a war with the South. Lincoln then ordered a force of three warships to Charleston to reinforce Sumter with an estimated date of arrival of April 15.

This action left President Jefferson Davis in a quandary. Through reports he was aware of all this activity by Lincoln. What he wanted to avoid was being goaded into a situation where the South fired the first shot which was exactly what Lincoln wanted. Legally the aggressor in such an action is not necessarily the side firing the first shot but the side causing the first shot to be necessary. Regardless, it would be a public opinion boost for Lincoln's war plan if the South appeared to be the aggressor.

Meanwhile, Gen. Beauregard was aware that a Union fleet of warships was approaching Charleston. On April 9 he sent emissaries to Fort Sumter to demand surrender and evacuation of the facility. His friend, Major Anderson, indicated that he was honor bound to resist.

At 4:30 A.M. on April 12, after sending word to the fort earlier that firing was about to begin, the bombardment began. I use the term "bombardment" but it was more like firing a shot across the bow. During the entire period of shelling the fort, some 30-odd hours, there was not one single Union casualty. In fact, the only casualty occurred when, after the surrender of the fort, the Union forces were firing a salute as they lowered their flag and an ember fell into some gunpowder causing an explosion which resulted in one death and five injuries.

As a ship carrying Union soldiers left the harbor to rendezvous with the force that had arrived, Confederate soldiers lined the beaches of Sullivan's Island and other areas around the harbor and removed their caps in a salute to the departing forces, many of whom they had come to know.

Despite the goodwill between the combatants, Lincoln now had what he wanted and the news of Confederate firing on the American flag was quickly distributed to Northern newspapers with the resulting fervor for punishing the South that was expected.

President Jefferson Davis later explained the situation: "The order for the sending of the fleet was a declaration of war. The responsibility is on their shoulders, not on ours." Despite the truthfulness of this logic, the fact that the North won the War meant that they got to write the history of the conflict.

Mr. Lincoln got the war he wanted and schoolchildren are taught that the war started because Fort Sumter was fired upon without provocation by Southern forces. How sad.

DEO VINDICE

Bob Hurst is the Commander of the Col.David Lang Camp, Sons of Confederate Veterans, in Tallahassee and is 2nd Lt. Commander of the Florida Division, SCV. You can contact him at confederatedad1@yahoo.com or 850-878-7010.

The League of the South

Post Conference Press Release

Killen, Alabama: 4 November 2008 - Concerns over a “lesser of two evils” choice in today's presidential election, a staggering financial market implosion, and foreign policy failures spur continued and growing interest in the alternative message of the League of the South.

The League of the South, the premiere Southern Nationalist organization, held its 15th Annual National Conference over the weekend. The theme of the conference was “Surviving The Empire’s Collapse.” A number of experts in the fields of constitutional government, finance, banking, precious metals investing, and political science provided attendees with valuable and practical information to help them prepare for a potentially serious collapse of the system. The conference was well attended by both veteran LS members and a sizeable number of people who sense that a serious change is on the horizon. According to League President, Dr. J. Michael Hill, the League’s message is one “whose time has come.”

Dr. Hill added, “Most folks have sensed that something was very wrong with the system for a long time, but the ugly truth was revealed in a way that was impossible to ignore recently. Congress totally disregarded the objections of a majority of their constituents by moving forward with a plan that saddled tax payers with the crushing burden of paying hundreds of billions of dollars to bail-out failing banks and save the hides of incompetent and corr upt bank executives— who are really no better than common thieves.” Dr. Hill continued, “The Federal government in general and Congress in particular are the bought and paid for servants of the mega-corporations and not of the people.”

However, the banking crisis is only one item in a long list of troubling examples of government abuse of power, incompetence, and special interest pandering. At the top of the list is the Washington regime’s foreign policy. The lives of thousands of young men and woman continue to be placed in harm’s way month after month in Iraq and Afghanistan. They, like thousands of their brave but unfortunate fellow soldiers who have already paid the ultimate price, are required to risk their lives for a military action that was justified with a lie and continued without any discernible mission that is even tangentially connected to the actual defense of these United States. Coupled with other troubling signs such as the steep decline of the stock market, the steep rise in the price of basic necessities, and the decline of the dollar, the only logical conclusion is this: the system is broken and cannot be fixed. It is hopelessly corrupt and led by criminals who serve moneyed interests.

LoS
http://DixieNet.org

I AM THE SOUTH

by MRS LOUISE WEEKS, DECEASED, 95 YRS YOUNG
15 AUGUST, 1999
HAMPTON, GEORGIA
CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA

I was born April 12, 1861, in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina and the Constitution of the Confederate States of America is my Birth Certificate. The blood lines of the South run through my veins, for I offer freedom that each State should regulate her own affairs, according to its best interest. I am many things to many people.

I am the South. I am millions of living souls, and ghosts of thousands who died for me. I am the farmer-made soldier who did not turn his back during Pickett’s Charge. I am the Rebel Yell that was heard across many of my rolling fields, protecting our homeland. I am Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson: I stood at Ft. Sumter and fired the shot heard through our young nation. I am Longstreet, Hood and Patrick R. Cleburne. I am General’s Johnson, Beauregard and President Jefferson Davis. I remember how we fought at Gettysburg, Cold Harbor, Vicksburg, and Atlanta. When duty called I answered and stayed until it was over. I left my herioc dead at Chickamauga, in the fields of Shiloh, on the bloody hills of Mannassas and the mountains of Kennesshaw.

I am The South. I am the Mississippi River, and the cotton fields of Alabama and the piney woods of the Carolinas. I am the coal fields of Virginia and Kentucky, the Florida coast and the Louisiana bayou. I am Richmond, the Capitol of the Confederacy. I am the forest, field, mountain and rivers. I am the quiet villages and the cities that never sleep. I am the Heritage that’s been forgotten, the dying memory of a way of life that is being still. You see me in the twilight and hear me in DIXIE, as the past continues to fade away each year.

Yes, I am the South, and these are the things I represent. I was conceived by force, and God willing, I’ll spend the rest of my days remembering my birth. May I always possess the integrity and the courage, and the strength to keep my Heritage alive, to remain a Loyal Southerner and to stand tall and proud to the rest of the world. Do not forget; who we are and where we come from ... that is my goal, my hope, my prayer. (Mrs Weeks died two weeks later.)

Copied by: Chester L. McWhorter Sr
Lecanto, Occupied Florida
For Southern Independence (F S I)
God Will Vindicate (Deo Vindice)
chetmcwhortersr@embarqmail.com

Jefferson Davis' Speech at Washington, D.C.

City Hall grounds, July 9, 1860

Our Cause is Onward!

Happy am I to greet this vast multitude, assembled in the cause of our common country. I deeply regret that my physical inability to address you as my hear prompts, requires me to be exceedingly brief. Here for many years it has been my fortune to spend a portion of my time. For four years I was connected with you continually; learned to know your moral attributes; learned to know your peculiar characteristics. I knew how to labor for your natural interests. I trust, therefore, I may be allowed to speak to you of the people of Washington. Some entertain the foolish idea that because you have no vote, therefore you have no right to interfere in the national politics of the day. But you have the deepest interest; that high intelligence which sends forth its promptings to every portion of the country. Why then should not you assemble? Why should you not speak to your fellow-citizens of every portion of the country? Who else so deeply interested in the affairs of the Federal Government? Who else so dependent upon just administration of federal affairs? Who else so deeply interested in having the government administered with full and equal justice to all; and that it should be preserved in those vital energies which give protection whereever legislation exists? But we have heard it said that the democratic party is dead. Dead!

Here I lay my hand upon its heart, and in its quick pulsations feel that vitality that sends it to victory. No, it is not dead. Born of the oppression of the mother country, when democracy arose to assert equal rights; baptised in the blood of the Revolution, rocked in the cradle of civil and religious liberty since 1800, it has lived, and lives to-day, with all its vital energies to fulfil the duties of this government, and meet the requirements of 1860. [Applause.] The speaker then proceeded briefly to contrast all the other parties in the country with the democratic. First, he said, came that spurious and decayed off-shoot of democracy, which, claiming that this Federal government has no power, leaves the people our next greatest evil, despotism; and denies protection to our Constitutional rights. Next comes the party that proclaims the Union and the Constitution, but that dares not tell what the Constitution is--a mere catchword, sounding, but meaning nothing. Then, my friends, there is the "rail-splitter," aptly selected for the purpose, first proclaiming there was an "irrepressible conflict" between the sections; and having proved himself able to rend the yoke, who so fit as he, with such a theory as that, to be selected for the accursed performance of rending the Union?

Then, my friends, comes the true democracy, proclaiming the Constitution and the Union, and what the Constitution is; writing your opinions on your banner, throwing it to the winds, and inviting all who believe to command worship at the altar of truth. [Applause.] This banner proclaims the futility of Abe Lincoln's efforts to rend the Union. Though he did rend the yoke, he will find the Constitution and the Union worse than any black gum in the forest. Our cause is onward. Our cause the Constitution; our fires are up; let all who would ride into the haven of a peaceful country come on board, and those who will not, I warn that the cow- catcher is down--let stragglers beware! [Cheers.

We have before us in this canvass the highest duty which can prompt the devoted patriot. Our country is in danger. Our Constitution is assailed by those who would escape from declaring their opinions--by those who seek to torture its meaning, and by those who would trample upon its obligations. What is our Union? A bond of fraternity, by the mutual agreement of sovereign States; it is to be preserved by good faith--by strictly adhering to the obligations which exist between its friendly and confederate States.

Otherwise we should transmit to our children the very evil under which our fathers groaned--a government hostile to the rights of the people, not resting upon their consent, trampling upon their privileges, and calling for their resistance. But I place my trust in democracy--in that democracy which has borne this country on from its commencement, which has illustrated all its bright passages of history, which has contributed to it all which is grand and manly, all which has elevated and contributed to its progress--the democracy of Washington, of Jefferson, of Jackson, and of Buchanan [great applause] shall be the democracy of the next four years. [Renewed applause.]

During the entire period of my intercourse with the people of Washington, I do not recollect of ever having seen such a multitude of citizens as those assembled here this evening. But more than that--during the time I have been speaking, as my eye runs over the vast throng before me, I can say never have I seen so quiet, so orderly, so patriotic a concourse of people (judging from the expression of their countenances) as is assembled here to-night. [Applause.]

The national democracy present a ticket to the country which may well inspire the most lofty patriotism. The name of Breckinridge comes down by lineal descent from one who asserted the great principles of 1798, as reaffirmed at Baltimore; and as for Lane, he is too modest to boast of the deeds of his younger days. No doubt he has split a hundred rails to Lincoln's one! [Laughter and cheers.] Let us then be encouraged to go into the conflict, determined to succeed, and transmit to our children the rich inheritance we have received from our fathers unimpaired. [Applause.]

From The Papers of Jefferson Davis, Volume 6, pp. 357-60. Transcribed from the Washington Evening Star, July 11, 1860. Back to Secessionist Times Now!

ANOTHER HERITAGE VICTORY

Duval County School Board Votes 5-2 To Keep Jacksonville's Nathan Bedford Forrest High School Name.

For the past several years a small contingent of black residents has continued a campaign to change the name of the high school which was established in the 1950's

Their opposition has been based on charges of General Forrest being the leader of the Ku Klux Klan, which was refuted by an overflow crowd of graduates
going back the founding of the high school in the 1950's.

Typical of similar school name change campaigns, the event attracted news coverage which rather than focus on the school and the students, played up the unsubstantiated charges against General Forrest which also included charges of an alleged massacre at Fort Pillow. The Associated Press failed to clarify these charges were heard in a trial following the War Between the States presided over by Union General Sherman which found the charges groundless, exonerating General Forrest.

Buried deep in the AP story was a notation that General Forrest's activities with the Klan were largely to disband it as well as mentioning the charges used to disparage General Forrest were heard and dismissed by the U. S. Congress.

Forrest High School today has more than half its student body represented by black students. It has undergone considerable attention from Florida school authorities as it has been graded with an "F" for the past two consecutive evaluations.

With the name change campaign over perhaps efforts for the improvement of the academic atmosphere for all students and faculty can be improved. General Forrest would be for that.

Compatriots and Camps within the Florida Division and diligent individual SCV members worked hard in bringing this important decision about.

Big Heritage Victory in Trimble, Tennessee

Compatriots,

For those who haven't heard the details of the victory in Trimble, Tennessee, we're pleased to provide them for you.

For six months now SCV members in Trimble, Dyer County and nearby camps have been going through the due process of getting approval for a 80 foot flagpole at the Parks Ridge Confederate Memorial.

Their application met some resistance from a very small cadre of protesters who managed to create delay and debate in the process.

Even so, The Board of Commissioners approved the application. It then had to go to the Board of Zoning Appeals for an exception in the zone. With overwhelming support from members and citizens throughout the area, the flagpole was approved.

Billy J. Foster, Brigade Commander of the SCV expressed thanks on behalf of all the compatriots involved in day to day battle. Included in the involvement is the support provided by the national SCV.

At national headquarters we are pleased with both the arduous campaign and the tenacity of those involved in this great victory. We shall now be looking forward to the completion of a beautiful 80 foot flagpole at Parks Ridge Cemetery Ridge Memorial Plaza.

Deo Vindice

Chuck McMichael
Commander-in-Chief
scvcic72@gmail.com

Captain Wirz Memorial Set for Sunday

By Calvin E. Johnson, Jr.
cjohnson1861@bellsouth.net

Some people ask who Studs Terkel who died last week was.

Should it surprise you that some people don’t recognize the name of Terkel? To a greater surprise and shame should be the fact many folks don't know who George Washington, George Washington Carver or Robert E. Lee was. Would it surprise that some people don’t even know what the “War Between the States”, also called Civil War in the North, was about? There are some who cannot even name the men who served as president of the Union or Confederacy during that tragic war. There was a time when Americans knew their history and told their children and grandchildren stories about their ancestors.

A century ago, 100 years last May 12, 2008, the United Daughters of the Confederacy unveiled a monument to the memory of Captain Henry Wirz in Andersonville, Georgia . Wirz, who was Commandant of Andersonville Prison, was born in Zurich Switzerland in 1822.

They teach our children of the infamous Andersonville Prison but what about the infamous Union prison camps in Chicago and New York . Andersonville is but short distance from historic Americus, Georgia.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans invite you to attend a 33rd Annual Captain Henry Wirz Memorial Service to be held in the town of Andersonville , this Sunday, November 9, 2008 at 2 PM. The guest speaker will be Reverend Walter Blackman, immediate past Chaplain of the Military Order of Stars and Bars.

Who was Captain Henry Wirz?

In April 1864, Wirz was appointed Commandant of Andersonville Prison. It has been written that the Union prisoners numbered 32,000 at Andersonville in August 1864. During this time food and medical supplies were scarce for both Union prisoners and their Confederate guards. The blockade of Southern ports was also very effective and Union President Abraham Lincoln halted the exchange of prisoners.

On August 18, 1864, Union General Ulysses S. Grant said: quote:

“It is hard on our men in Southern prisons not to exchange them, but it is humanity to those left in the ranks to fight our battles. At this particular time to release all Rebel prisoners north, would insure Sherman ’s defeat and compromise our safety.” Unquote

Why wasn’t Captain Henry Wirz given a fair trial?

In August 1865, President Andrew Johnson ordered that the charges against Confederate generals and public servants should be dropped but not for Captain Henry Wirz. The Wirz trail was a mockery with witnesses allowed to testify for the prosecution but not for the defense. Captain Wirz was hung in Washington , D.C. on November 10, 1865. It is written that Wirz was offered a deal to save his life, which was to testify against the former Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Wirz, being a man of honor, refused.

Captain Henry Wirz, in the last letter to his wife—dated November 10th, said in the concluding sentence, quote “Lord, thou callest me, here I am…And, now, farewell, wife children, all; farewell, farewell; God be with us.” Unquote

Those words don’t sound like that of a villain!!

In 1977, at the National Convention of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, this Historical- Fraternal group declared Captain Henry Wirz a Confederate Martyr and Hero. A posthumous Medal of Honor was also presented in honor and memory of Captain Wirz and is on display at the Andersonville Welcome Center.

“When time shall have softened passion and prejudice, when reason shall have stripped the mask of misrepresentation, then justice holding even scale, will require much of the past censure and praise to change places.”—December 1888, former Confederate President Jefferson Davis.

The time is long overdue to exonerate the good name of Captain Henry Wirz. Wouldn’t it, after 143 years, be the compassionate-Christian thing to do?

God Bless the men and women of the United States Armed Forces and God Bless America!!