Wirz Memorial Set for Sunday, November 7th

By Calvin E. Johnson, Jr., Speaker, Writer, Author of book “When America Stood for God, Family and Country”—looking to re-publish and member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans

How many Talk Show hosts or politicians speak about the men and women who helped make America the “Land of the Free and Home of the Brave?” Glenn Beck, of the Fox News channel, often speaks about the Constitution, Bill of Rights and those who stood for America’s Independence.

Is anyone talking about the upcoming War Between the States Sesquicentennial? The 150th Anniversary of the War for Southern Independence will be commemorated by such groups as the Georgia Division Sons of Confederate Veterans. See more information at: http://www.150wbts.org/

Do young people know the truth about Henry Wirz?

The 35th annual Captain Henry Wirz Memorial Service (a tradition started by the Alexander H. Stephens Camp 78 Sons of Confederate Veterans and Americus Chapter United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1976) will take place on Sunday afternoon, November 7th at 3 PM in the town of Andersonville, Georgia.

The guest speaker for the event will be Dr. Richard Rhone from Tuscaloosa , Alabama who is the Lieutenant Commander General of the Military Order of Stars and Bars. John Carroll will lead those assembled in the singing of “ Dixie ” and Andersonville Mayor Marvin Buagh will bring welcome.

For more information about the event contact James Gaston by email at: gaston7460@bellsouth.net

Captain Henry Wirz was born, Hartman Heinrich Wirz in November 1823, in Zurich , Switzerland where his father, Abraham Wirz was highly respected.

At the outbreak of the War Between the States, Wirz enlisted in the Fourth Louisiana infantry on June 16, 1861. He was promoted to sergeant a year later and was wounded at the Battle of Seven Pines. He never recovered from the injury to his left wrist and it caused him great pain for the rest of his life.

Wirz was promoted to Captain on June 12, 1862 and was first detailed to General John Winder where he was given command of a Confederate military prison in Richmond, Virginia.

After serving a year as special emissary to President Jefferson Davis in Paris and Berlin , on March 27, 1864, he was installed as commandant of Andersonville Prison at Fort Sumter in Georgia. Wirz did the best he could do with many Union prisoners and very little food and medicine. It is written that the guards got the same food and medicine as the prisoners.

The Confederacy sent a distress message to Union President Abraham Lincoln and Union General Ulysses S. Grant. The South pleaded for an exchange of Confederate and Union prisoners. Lincoln and Grant, however, refused believing the Union prisoners might go home but the Confederate prisoners might go back to fight another day.

Captain Henry Wirz was unfairly charged of war crimes and even though witnesses for the defense could testify, his fate was already decided. Among those who knew of Wirz’s innocence was a Union soldier who was a prisoner at Andersonville.

Wirz was executed in Washington, D.C. on November 10, 1865.

The Confederate Reenactors and Honor Guard of the Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 78 (Muckalee Guards) will perform the closing ceremony at the monument to Wirz in Andersonville placed there by the United Daughters of the Confederacy (Georgia Division).

The Spiritual Cause and Effect of the War to Prevent Southern Independence

by David Ware

European immigrants settled in America in areas suited to their lifestyles and world views. Our ancestors settled in the South because the area provided the best conditions for them to live and raise a family, providing for themselves with the fruits of creation garnered from fertile land and bountiful water. People did this in all regions of the continent. The Northern colonies became entrenched in the doctrine of progress and expansion while the South settled into agriculture and subsistence. These cultures have a set of values and world views that are distinct and pronounced. What we have today is a product of the northern Yankee industrialist/expansionist doctrine pretty much extended into every corner of the nation and being extended into all parts of the Earth as well. The theme runs like this: The idea is to make as much money as possible and spend as little as possible. “As much” and “as little” have no terms or limits. On a micro level the individual is on an endless quest for more, on a macro level, the nation state is on an endless quest for markets and raw materials to exploit in order to sustain the doctrine of the nation’s culture. The nation and the individuals who make it up become parasitic, feeding on fellow citizens of the nation and the world.

In days of yore, our ancestors were those being fed upon. Their culture was mainly one of sustenance, with the goal of providing home and food for the family and community. The North regarded our region as a colonial state to provide it with a source for raw materials for its factories, a market for its manufactured goods and the chief source of the nation’s tax revenue to promote the infrastructure needed to expand its doctrine of progress.

In 1860, the Southern states were paying some 80% of the Federal till. This, in itself, would have been an important reason for war on both sides. After the war, the North continued its domination of the South as a colonial dependent but expanded its doctrine of progress in our region, indoctrinating our people to leave their farms, go to cities and towns and take up the mantle of the expansionist/progressive system.

Our land and culture have been pretty much destroyed. Our banks, media, schools, churches, insurance companies, stores and places of employment are all chiefly owned and controlled by Northern interests where propaganda and political correctness take precedence over facts, the community and empirical evidence. Our region provides a far disproportionate share of cannon fodder for expansionist/imperialist wars of aggression fought to placate the banking/warfare/welfare interests that are now ruling this country. Our region has been over run by Northern hordes who have sold their houses “up North” to buy cheaper houses “down South.” Many of these invaders have brought their puritan “holier-than-thou-this-is-how-we do-it-up-North” belief system into the political process bringing us a new wave of carpetbaggers and scalawags intent on destroying what little is left of our land and culture in the name of the “future.” The doctrine of progress and the doctrine of subsistence are not easily co-existent. That’s why our enemies denigrate and demean us. They are mostly wholesale subscribers to our antithesis.

Not surprisingly, there are spiritual consequences. A clear example is the behavior of the Amish (an agrarian culture similar to our ancestors’ antebellum way of life) in reaction to having a deranged man murder their innocent children on October 2, 2006. The Amish forgave the man and ministered to his family. Contrast that behavior to the United States reaction to the 9/11 attacks in New York City. Grief and mourning are processes that, to be done effectively, require many stages of which anger is only one. Our progressive/capitalist/industrial/socialist culture hardly ever manages to get past the anger stage, embroiling us in never-ending war and worldly mayhem.

More of these spiritual differences will be further explored in future writings.

CORPORAL JAMES GOINS and the JOY of BEING SOUTHERN

By Bob Hurst

Serendipity is the wonderful term applied to the fortuitous occurrence of discovering something by accident that proves to be of much value. I mention this because I had initially intended to write this article about General Ambrose Powell (A.P.) Hill since I have not written in a while about our great Confederate generals. Instead, because of some serendipitous events of the past two months, I have decided to write about Corporal James Goins, Company K, 19th Louisiana Infantry Regiment, and the recent headstone dedication at his grave site in the Confederate section of the lovely old cemetery in Forsyth, Georgia.

Why Corporal Goins and not General Hill? Well, its all about family, and dedication, and sacrifice, and most of all about being Southern and what a wonderful thing that is.

This story began back in mid-June when I received a phone call from a gentleman who lives near DeRidder, Louisiana. He told me his name was Mack Goins and that he ranched near the Texas line. I can't explain why but I could tell from the gitgo that this was a man that I would like. He told me that he was almost 81 years old and had, at one time, lived over in this area before ending up in Louisiana. He then told me that he subscribed to the WAKULLA AREA TIMES and had been reading my columns for several years and that was why he was calling. He first told me how much he enjoyed the articles and I, of course, was flattered. He even said that he always turned to page 21 first. Like I said, I knew I was going to like Mr. Mack from the gitgo!

He then told me that his great uncle, Corporal James Goins, had been killed in 1864 during the fighting around Atlanta and had been buried somewhere in Georgia. It was only recently that the family had located the grave of Corporal Goins (who for 146 years had slept in a grave marked "unknown") and had been able to secure a proper headstone for his grave. I later learned that Jack Bridwell, Commander of the Georgia Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans, had assisted the family in securing the headstone from the Veterans Administration.

This was the reason for Mr. Goins' phone call. He said the family had planned a headstone dedication ceremony for Corporal Goins and was wondering if I could speak at the dedication ceremony. I was a bit taken aback (after all, a call from someone in Louisiana asking if I could speak at an event in Georgia) but quite flattered. I asked when the ceremony was to occur and Mr. Goins asked when could I come. Now I was doubly flattered. I responded that it would have to be in August at the earliest becaue I was committed for every weekend in July. I gave him some dates and in a subsequent phone call we settled on August 14. I generally don't travel this far to speak (Forsyth is between Macon and Atlanta) but this event certainly picqued my interest.

I was completely intrigued by the possibilities of this occasion. I love Confederate-related events. I had never been to Forsyth. The town, however, is located in an arc beginning in LaGrange on the Alabama line and extending east to Milledgeville and then upward to Athens and Washington (GA) that includes many beautiful and historic (especially Confederate history) small Georgia towns. I love small Southern towns and always welcome the opportunity to scout out an area for antebellum homes that I might photograph. Plus, Mack seemed like a really nice man.

Mack Goins told me that his niece, Debbie Thompson Jordan, lived in Moultrie, Georgia and that she would be in contact with me concerning the event and also with information about Corporal James Goins. I later learned that Debbie was instrumental in finding that the grave of Corporal Goins had finally been identified after all these years.

Now, before I get to the dedication ceremony of August 14th, let me tell you a bit about Corporal James Goins.

James was one of fifteen children born to William and Charlotte Goins who lived in southwestern Louisiana. There were six boys and nine girls. William, the father, and four of the brothers served the Confederacy. James and one of his brothers, Daniel, did not return from the War and Daniel has never been found.

The 19th Louisiana Infantry Regiment, the unit of Corporal James Goins, saw much action during the War. The regiment fought at Shiloh, Corinth, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Mill Creek Gap and Resaca , among others, before the untimely death of James, just shy of his 28th birthday, during the Seige of Atlanta when the beast Sherman laid waste to so much of Georgia.

James Goins was one of that myriad of young Southern men who answered the call to defend their homeland against the attacks of the blue-coated horde. James was one of those gallant young men who made the supreme sacrifice in defense of their country.

As I spoke that day in Forsyth to the assembled crowd, some coming from as far away as Arkansas for the occasion, I tried to stress the point that by honoring Corporal James Goins, Co K, 19th Louisiana Infantry Regiment, we were also honoring every young man who had the dedication and had made the sacrifice to serve the Confederacy in the cause of Southern independence. That is one of the reasons that it is so important that we, as a Southern people, not forget our history and the sacrifices of our noble ancestors. Our history as Southerners is unique since we understand that east, north and west are merely directions but South is a place.

I also tried to emphasize that gatherings such as this headstone dedication are also important because they can be used as vehicles to debunk the many myths that are taught in the government schools of this country and promulgated by the various media about the motives and the actions of our ancestors who wore the sacred gray.

In this Southern and Confederate-bashing period in which we now live, it is accepted as common knowledge or common wisdom by the unlearned and by those with an agenda such myths as the South wanted war, that the South started the War by firing on Fort Sumter, that the War was fought for no reason other than slavery, that the Southern soldier was fighting solely to maintain slavery, that the northern soldiers were fighting to free the slaves and, finally, that our Southern ancestors were traitors.

By contrast, the facts that are not taught in schools or trumpeted by the media are such inconvenient truths as Confederate President Jefferson Davis sending a three man peace delegation to Washington,DC in February 1861 to discuss with President-elect Lincoln ideas such as peaceful co-existence and trade between the two countries (Lincoln refused to speak with the group of Martin Crawford, John Forsyth and Andre Roman); Fort Sumter was a contrived encounter by Lincoln to draw fire against the flag (if simply firing on the flag was a cause for war, why didn't President Buchanan declare war on the South when the "Star of the West" was fired upon earlier [Hint: Buchanan did not want war, Lincoln did]); the fact that only 6 to 8% of Southerners owned slaves blows apart the argument about fighting for slavery; Union commander Ulysses Grant was quoted as saying that if he thought the war was about freeing the slaves then he would resign his commission and offer his sword to the other side; and finally, if Southerners were traitors there would not be so many major U.S. military installations such as Fort Hood, Fort Polk, Fort Benning, Fort Bragg and many others named for Confederate generals nor would the Veterans Administration provide headstones for the garves of Confederate veterans. So many inconvenient truths.

Unfortunately, the politically-correct media and government school system will not allow facts to stand in the way of propaganda.

The entire ceremony for Corporal Goins was coordinated by the family and the local chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. It was handled well. One of the nicest elements involved each family member in attendance shoveling a spadeful of soil into the hole in which the headstone was planted. It was touching to watch Mack Goins, his sister Jane Thompson, and so many other family members (Debbie, Danny, Susan, Bobby, Marlon, Clint, Marilyn, Renee, young Zachary and others I might have missed) each add a personal touch to the memorial to Corporal James Goins, C.S.A.

It was also touching to have a young police officer with the Forsyth Police Department approach me after the ceremony to shake my hand and thank me for speaking about things he had never heard before. There is truly so much that needs to be said.

As fine as the ceremony had been for me up to this point, it was about to get even better. I was invited by the family to stay just a bit longer in Forsyth and have supper with them. The initial plan was to eat at the Whistle Stop Cafe in the nearby hamlet of Juliette. If the name is familiar it is because Juliette is where the movie "Fried Green Tomatoes" was filmed and the Whistle Stop Cafe developed as a restaurant from the set that was built then left behind by the production company.

Unfortunately, the Whistle Stop Cafe closed early on Saturday before we would be able to get there. Fortunately, a fine restaurant on the square in Forsyth opened just at the time we wanted to eat. This restaurant has the very appealing name of GRITS and, as anyone versed in Southernism knows, GRITS in all upper case letters does not refer to the edible food product but, rather, is an acronym for Girls Raised In The South. And as every male with any sense knows, Southern girls are the best - unquestionably.

GRITS has fine ambience and fine food but even finer was the fellowship I was privileged to share with this special Southern family. While we held hands around the table as Danny offered a blessing, I felt a warmness that was so pleasant and comforting. I felt an assurance that, despite the political mess we are in with all the lies, deceptions and acrimony, there are still many good people and especially here in our beloved Southland.
Oh, by the way, I had Fried Green Tomatoes Napoleon (FGT, great sauce, shrimp) and my tummy thanked me for it.

All in all it was, for me, a most pleasant day in Forsyth. I want to thank Mr. Mack Goins for calling and inviting me to be a part of this wonderful occasion. I also want to salute Corporal James Goins, Co K, 19th Louisiana Infantry Regiment, for serving the Southland in its quest for independence and, by so doing, he died a Confederate hero. I also want to thank all of his present-day family for caring enough about him to see that 146 years after his too-early death he had a proper headstone placed at the site of his eternal rest. I also want to thank them for the warm Southern hospitality shown to me. My pleasant thoughts of the day in Forsyth made the drive back to Tallahassee a time of warm reflection.

I cannot end this article without mentioning a very special lady named Linda Hallman. I had the pleasure of talking with Linda for awhile after the ceremony. While she was attending high school in Forsyth she became interested in the Confederate section of the cemetery. It bothered her that so many of the headstones bore the inscription "unknown". She has since spent years researching the records and has successfully identified many of the previously unknown Confederate dead in the cemetery. It was on Linda's website that Debbie Thompson Jordan discovered that her great-great uncle's resting place had finally be identified. Thank you for caring so much, Linda, and thank you for everyone involved in this occasion for reinforcing the joy I feel in being Southern.

DEO VINDICE


Bob Hurst is a Southern Patriot who has a strong interest in the Old South. His special areas of interest are the Confederacy and the Greek Revival architecture of the Old South. He is Commander of Col. David Lang Camp, Sons of Confederate Veterans, in Tallahassee and also 2nd Lt. Commander of the Florida Division, SCV. He can be contacted at 850-878-7010 or confederatedad1@yahoo.com

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

By Bob Hurst

My Sons of Confederate Veterans camp in Tallahassee, Col. David Lang Camp, recently (June 19to be exact) hosted a Jefferson Davis Banquet to help raise some money for the recently begun project of rebuilding the museum and library structure at Beauvoir in Biloxi, Mississippi. The entire complex at Beauvoir was damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The beautiful antebellum home where President Davis spent his last years has been magnificently restored and reopened to the public. While damaged by the storm, the wonderful old house remained structurally sound and required only repairs rather than rebuilding.

The museum and library structure, however, was severely damaged and is having to be completely rebuilt. The groundbreaking ceremony has been held and now it is just a matter of time and money until that structure will rise once again to join the house as the primary structures of the complex.

While working on the text for the banquet program, I spent a good bit of time reviewing quotes of President Davis that I had collected over the last few years. I became absorbed in these quotes and started going through other quotes by other Southerners (and even some non-Southerners) that I had saved. I was so taken by the wisdom of many of these quotes and the truth contained in the sentiments expressed that I decided to do this month's column on a few of these quotes. It seems to be easier to get a true picture of the times and events of the era of the Great War by reading short quotes of the participants (and in some cases, observers) than in reading multiple chapters of some of the books written by modern-day revisionist historians.

Of the many quotes I found concerning the reason for the War being fought, the two that locked in most precisely to me were both by Europeans observing the War from a distance. The great English writer Charles Dickens had this to say:

"Union means so many millions a year lost to the South, secession
means the loss of the same millions to the North. The love of
money is the root of this as of many other evils... The quarrel
between the North and South is, as it stands, solely a fiscal
quarrel."

While the Communist, Karl Marx, a strong supporter of Abraham Lincoln, said:

"The war between the North and the South is a tariff war. The
war is further not for any principle, does not touch the question
of slavery and, in fact, turns on the Northern lust for sovereignty."

Not exactly what American schoolchildren are taught these days but, remember, Dickens and Marx were observing the War in real time.

I also found some fine quotes on why the Southerners were so willing to fight a war against a larger, wealthier and more industrialized opponent.The motivation was a bit different from what Dickens and Marx observed as the fiscal factor. Reverend Robert L. Dabney, the personal minister of Stonewall Jackson, had this to say:

"The people of the South went to war because they sincerely
believed that the doctrine of State-sovereignty, for which
they fought, was absolutely essential as the bulwark of the
liberties of the people."

Confederate General Stephen Dill Lee expressed it somewhat differently:

"It has not seemed the whole truth to me that the Confederate
soldier went into battle to vindicate a constitutional argument. He
went to war because he loved his people, because his country was
invaded, because his heart was throbbing for his hearthstone. Here
was the land which gave him birth; here was his childhood's home;
here were the graves of his dead; here was the church spire where
he had learned it was not all of life to live nor all of death to die. No
hostile foot should ever tread this consecrated ground except over
his dead body."

Many Southerners realized the importance of the truth being told about this period in our history. Reverend J. William Jones, speaking at the Memorial Service for President Jefferson Davis, described it thusly:

"We must see to it that our children and our children's children
are taught that their fathers were not 'rebels' and 'traitors',
but as true patriots as the world ever saw, and that that cause
could not be 'treason' for which Albert Sydney Johnston, and
Stonewall Jackson, and Robert E. Lee, and Jefferson Davis, and
the barefooted and ragged heroes who followed them to an
immortality of fame, gave their stainless noble lives."

The brilliant writer, H.L. Mencken, had a take on the Gettysburg Address that was a bit different from that of the Lincoln cultists. Mencken wrote:

"The Gettysburg speech was at once the shortest and the most
famous in American history... The doctrine is simply this: that the
Union soldiers who died at Gettysburg sacrificed their lives to the
cause of self-determination - that government of the people, by
the people, for the people, should not perish from the earth. It is
difficult to imagine anything more untrue. The union soldiers in the
battle actually fought against self-determination; it was the
Confederates who fought for the right of their people to govern
themselves."

Many Southerners realized that if the South lost the War it was unlikely that the Truth would be told about the Confederate warriors. General Patrick Cleburne expressed it succinctly:

"(Subjugation) means the history of this heroic struggle will be
written by the enemy, that our youth will be trained by Northern
schoolteachers, will learn from Northern schoolbooks their version
of the war, will be impressed by the influences of history and
education to regard our gallant dead as traitors and our maimed
veterans as fit objects of derision."

General Cleburne was certainly prescient.

What I like best about personal quotes, however, is the personal glimpse into the soul of the speaker that you can only get from the words of that individual. Their words allow one to delve into their characters and reveal the certainty of purpose that our wonderful Confederate ancestors felt about The Cause. I truly love this quote from General Robert E. Lee, a man of great integrity and honor:

"We could have pursued no other course without dishonor. And
as sad as the results have been, if it had all to be done over
again, we should be compelled to act in precisely the same
manner."

And this from Major R.E. Wilson,C.S.A.:

"If I ever disown, repudiate, or apologize for the Cause for which
Lee fought and Jackson died, let the lightnings of Heaven rend me
and the scorn of all good men and true women be my portion.
Sun, Moon, Stars, all fall on me when I cease to love the
Confederacy. 'Tis the Cause, not the fate of the Cause, that
is glorious!"

This article could not be complete without two of my favorite quotes from President Jefferson Davis:

"It's been said that I should apply to the United States for a
pardon, but repentance must precede the right of pardon,
and I have not repented."

And he never did, much to his credit.

Also from President Davis:

"Nothing fills me with deeper sadness than to see a Southern
man apologizing for the defense we made of our inheritance.
Our cause was so just,so sacred, that had I known all that has
come to pass, had I known what was to be inflicted upon me,
all that my country was to suffer, all that our posterity was to
endure, I would do it all over again."

This was the quote that I chose to use in our banquet program. It gives me great comfort and assurance to know from their own words that Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis, two giants, never wavered in their belief in the goodness and rightness of The Cause.

Let me close with my favorite quote from the quenticential Southern writer, William Faulkner:

"In the South, the past is not dead, it's not even past."

Amen.

DEO VINDICE

Bob Hurst is a Southern Patriot who has a special interest in Southern and Confederate history and the antebellum architecture of the South. He is Commander of Col. David Lang Camp, Sons of Confederate Veterans, in Tallahassee and is 2nd Lt. Commander of the Florida Division, SCV. You may contact him at confederatedad1@yahoo.com or 850-878-7010.

SLRC HELPS STUDENT ATTAIN 'BLOODLESS' HERITAGE VICTORY AT NC SCHOOL

GASTON COUNTY, NC - Thanks to information and advice from the Southern Legal Resource Center, a Gaston County student will once again be able to wear Confederate-themed clothing to class without fear of "disciplinary" action.

Travis Lewis, 17, a student at Hunter Huss High School in Gaston County, received an apology from the local Superintendent of Schools and was assured that he can begin wearing his Dixie Outfitters Confederate-themed t-shirts to class again, starting Monday. The Superintendent's actions reversed those of the high school principal, who on Tuesday had told Travis the Dixie Outfitters shirt he was wearing was "inappropriate" and that he would have to change or cover it up. When Travis and another student demurred, reports say, Gaston County police officers and other school administrators converged on the students, who then complied. Travis' father, Scott Lewis, said his son had been wearing the shirts for three years with no complaint or disruption. According to Lewis Sr., the principal told him a Mexican flag shirt, for instance, would have been appropriate to wear but that Confederate symbols had caused tension within the past few years.

At this point, the Lewises sought direction from the SLRC. Chief Trial Counsel Kirk Lyons advised them that theoretically the school could ban Confederate shirts if there were clear and present danger of "substantial and material disruption"; but otherwise to do so was an
abridgement of the student's First Amendment rights. Lyons cited two landmark cases, Tinker Vs. Des Moines and Frederick v. Morse as precedents. Armed with this information, the Lewises went back to the school board. The school system's attorney said he had no knowledge of any specific ban on Confederate symbols. Today the Superintendent issued his apology, told Travis he was free to wear his shirts beginning Monday, and according to Mr. Lewis, "promised to make sure [the principal] better understands the policy and the law."

"This is a good example of how these types of situations can be defused with just proper and open communication," Lyons said. "It's also an example of the many such incidents the SLRC is able to help resolve without taking anybody to court."

LAST CONFEDERATE STRUCTURE DEDICATED IN AUGUSTA THIS SATURDAY

(ATLANTA - 6 October 2010) This Saturday, October 9, 2010 at 2:00 PM, the Georgia Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans will preside over the rededication of the Confederate Powder Works Chimney in Augusta, Georgia.

The Confederate Powder Works was the only large scale structure that was commissioned and paid for by the Confederate States national government. The facility consisted of 26 buildings that stretched 2 miles along the canal in Augusta and provided black powder for Southern soldiers throughout the War for Southern Independence. The chimney is the only remaining portion of the facility.

The Brigadier General E. Porter Alexander Camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans has spent the last eight years raising $192,000 to restore the chimney, an amount of which $84,000 was donated directly by the Georgia Division of the SCV and was funded by their portion of the fees collected from the sale of their specialty vehicle license plates. After eight years of raising the funds, the restoration project began on The rededication of the Confederate Powder Works Chimney in Augusta is a continuing part of the launch of the commemoration of the 150th Anniversary of the War for Southern Independence which officially begins this December. Last month, the Georgia Division of the Sons also raised a huge Confederate battle flag along I-75 near Tifton, Georgia; and there are other many other projects and activities already planned in memory of Georgia's role in the War.

Georgia Division Commander Jack Bridwell, speaking of the hard work of the Augusta Camp and the Powder Works Chimney project said, "As we approach the 150th anniversary of the War Between the States, it's only fitting that we now have the opportunity to salute the men of the Augusta Camp, and indeed all the members of the SCV statewide, who have supported the restoration of the Confederate Powder Works Chimney -- the last standing portion of the only industrial complex built by the Confederate Government."

This Saturday's rededication service will take place at 2:00 PM at the Chimney, which is located at 1717 Goodrich Street, Augusta, Georgia.

Interviews or more information about the Sons of Confederate Veterans and this week's rededication service may be obtained by contacting the Georgia Division at 1-888-SCV-IN-GA or olereb@moultriega.net.

140th Anniversary of Robert E. Lee’s death

By Calvin E. Johnson, Jr., Speaker, Writer, Author of book “When America Stood for God, Family and Country” and member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans
cjohnson1861@bellsouth.net

A program commemorating the 140th anniversary of Robert E. Lee’s death is set for Monday, October 11, 2010, featuring a 12:15 PM lecture by Dr. William C. Davis, at Lee Chapel Auditorium at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. Read more at:
http://chapelapps.wlu.edu/tertiary.asp?ID=40&Parent=43&NavOrder=1

The headline from a Richmond newspaper read;

“News of the death of Robert E. Lee, beloved chieftain of the Southern army, whose strategy mainly was responsible for the surprising fight staged by the Confederacy, brought a two-day halt to Richmond's business activities.”

The American flag, which Robert E. Lee had defended as a soldier, flew at half mast in Lexington, Virginia.

General Lee died at his home at Lexington, Virginia at 9:30 AM on Wednesday, October 12, 1870. His last great deed came after the War Between the States when he accepted the presidency of Washington College, now Washington and Lee University. He saved the financially troubled college and helped many young people further their education.

Some write that Robert E. Lee suffered a cerebral hemorrhage on September 28, 1870, but was thought to greatly improve until October 12th, when he took a turn for the worse. His condition seemed more hopeless when his doctor told him, "General you must make haste and get well---Traveller---has been standing too long in his stable and needs exercise."

Virginia Military Institute (VMI) Cadet William Nalle said in a letter home to his mother, dated October 16, 1870:

“I suppose of course that you have all read full accounts of Gen Lee's death in the papers. He died on the morning of the 12th at about half past nine. All business was suspended at once all over the country and town, and all duties, military and academic suspended at the Institute, and all the black crape and all similar black material in Lexington, was used up at once, and they had to send on to Lynchburg for more. Every cadet had black crape issued to him, and an order was published at once requiring us to wear it as a badge of mourning for six months.”

Read entire letter on Virginia Military Institute website at:
http://www.vmi.edu/archives.aspx?id=5517

The rains and flooding were the worse of Virginia’s history on the day General Lee died. On Wednesday, October 12, 1870, in the presence of his family, Lee quietly passed away.

The church bells rang as the sad news passed through Washington College, Virginia Military Institute, the town of Lexington and the nation. Cadets from VMI College carried the remains of the old soldier to Lee Chapel where he laid in state.

Memorial meetings were held throughout the South and as far North as New York. At Washington College in Lexington eulogies were delivered by: Reverend Pemberton, Reverend W.S. White--Stonewall Jackson's Pastor and Reverend J. William Jones. Former Confederate President Jefferson Davis brought the eulogy in Richmond, Virginia. Lee was also eulogized in Great Britain.

When all settled down, Mrs. Robert E. Lee said, "If he had succeeded in gaining by the sword all the South expected and hoped for, he could not have been more honored and lamented."

Many thousands witnessed Lee's funeral procession marching through the town of Lexington, Virginia, with muffled drums and the artillery firing as the hearse was driven to the school's chapel where he was buried.

US President Dwight D. Eisenhower knew and appreciated our nation’s rich history. President Eisenhower was criticized for displaying a portrait of Robert E. Lee in his office. This was part of his response:

"Robert E. Lee was, in my estimation, one of the supremely gifted men produced by this nation."

This Christian-gentleman's last words were, "Strike the Tent."