Happy Confederate Memorial Day

[SouthernByGrace]

Yesterday was Confederate Memorial Day !!! I hope every one here celebrated in some fashion.
I have the distinction of being born exactly 100 years to the day after this holiday was first observed.
The day marks the official end of the War in Georgia. Some sates observe it in June.

Confederate Memorial Day is an Official holiday in the State of Georgia. In fact, Georgia passed a law in 2009 designating the month of April each year as Confederate History Month. It paved the way for groups such as the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) and the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC), or any historic preservation organization to be able to go into our public schools to teach the TRUTH to our kids.

This new law actually Encourages these activities, and it makes it illegal for any public school or public official to deny entry to the schools for that purpose. They have to allow us into their classrooms. So far, there has been absolutely NO protests to this new law.

This week the 65th Annual Pine Tree Festival, held in Swainsboro, Georgia will host the 2nd Annual Battle of Pine Hill, a Civil war reenactment held in honor of those brave men who served the Confederacy and struggled to defend their homes and families from the invasion of the Union Army and General William T. Sherman.  My family certainly felt Sherman's heavy hand during this time.

Thursday and Friday, April 28 and 29, will be school days. All area schools, as well as several from neighboring counties, will come out to witness the SCV's Living History camp. Complete with period artifacts, live cannon and rifle demonstrations, and stories of the ancestors of some of the members (playing the parts of their ancestors), the camp is a sure-fired hit with the kids and adults alike.

It's nice to see that, when given a real opportunity such as this, all people, Black, White, Hispanic, and even Asian citizens are EAGER to learn the TRUTH of the War, and its aftermath on the citizens of Georgia and the whole South.

Saturday, May 1, will kick off the two biggest events of the Festival; The 65th Annual Pine Tree Festival Parade, honoring the tremendous economic impact the timber and logging industry has had on the region as a whole. The Parade commences at 10:30 a.m., including a Unit of Confederate Soldiers marching and firing their rifles, then at 2:00 p.m., the boys in gray will defend their homes and families from an all out Yankee invasion when General Sherman's "March to the Sea" comes through our area.   

What are some of the things any of you guys do for Confederate Memorial Day?
Does your state observe it?
What are your thoughts on it?

SBG

DEO VINDICE

[Dee]

We don't have such a program in this part of Texas but, the Daughters, and Sons of the Confederacy are very active, and are constantly seeking out civil war grave sites. When found, a NEW DEDICATION SERVICE is done at the grave site, and a marker if necessary. Folks dress in period clothes and uniforms, a 21 gun salute is done, and at the end of the service they sign off by playing DIXIE. It is an odd feeling to walk away from the cars and watch such an event, and imagine that when the fallen soldier was laid to rest in that quite country cemetery there were buggies, and horses tied up in the shade patiently wait to leave.
Less than 4 miles from my home as the crow flies, Captain Bob Lee had several shoot outs in front of the town folks of a Community now called Pilot Grove, but was once called Lick Skillet. A letter he wrote to the Bonham, Texas paper explained his unfair treatment, and his reaction to it by former Union men.
He was later ambushed, and his horse came back into the yard with blood on him and the saddle. They found the Captain laying in the lane less than a mile from his lifetime home. I believe in the war he rode with Nathan Bedford Forest, but I will have to check.
When I go to our county Seat of Sherman, Texas, I have an immediate reminder of our place in that struggle. You will find no statures of Abraham Lincoln, but instead, a 60' one of a Confederate soldier on our court house lawn.
During the war, a union Calvary detachment commandeered the plantation called "Glen Eden" near what was once the town of Hagerman, Texas (now under Lake Texoma). The Mistress of the Plantation Sophia Coffee, fed the blue bellies liquor and got them drunk. When they had all went to sleep, she by herself swam a horse across the Red River to warn a Confederate Calvary detachment in Oklahoma Territory.
I hope you boys in Georgia set the record straight in the schools, that the war damn shore wasn't about slavery, and that it was about STATES RIGHTS. We're still fightin for that, and Obama is just as big a liar and scoundrel as was Abraham Lincoln.
Lee and Jeff Davis did the best they could with what they had, and just because the South lost, doesn't make the cause any less noble or less right. We have paid ever since, and are paying now, nation wide.

[Ga.windbreak]

Happy Birthday to you good Sir. I hope you got my Email BD Card wishing you good health.

[subdjoe]

Here is a bit of trivia, and this seems to be as good a place as any to put it.  A little  naval battle in Oklahoma.  Some of Stand Watie's forces attacked and captured the US steamboat, J.R. Williams on 15 June, 1864.  They captured supplies worth $120,000.

The J.R. Williams had been confiscated by Federal forces in 1862 for allegedly carrying contraband and was pressed into service to run supplies for the Union.

The Search For The J.R. Williams

Just a fun little fact to keep alive the story.

[SouthernByGrace]

Thanks for the remarks, fellas. Joe, that's a pretty interesting story. I had never heard that. Ain't it ironic that the Yankees captured the boat and then they had it captured right back! That shows the spirit of the day...LOL

I believe General Stand Waitie was the only Confederate general to have Never surrendered! He just stopped fighting! He was a credit to the Cherokees and the South!

Dee! How have you been, my friend? I was asking about you the other day in a chat and everybody thought I meant something was wrong with you! I quickly explained that I had not been in contact with you in a while. Good to hear from you. You bring some interesting stories to the forum. I always look forward to them.

We have a lot of grave dedications here, too. And they are just as you described.
This past weekend, starting Thursday, our local SCV Camp, McLeod-Moring Camp #1386, hosted a Living History Camp as part of the Pine Tree Festival. It's a week-long celebration of the economic impact of the Forestry Industry in our part of the state. Our part of that celebration is to honor the locals who served the Confederacy with Honor. Thursday and Friday are school days, where all the area school kids, from Pre-K to seniors, come out to witness just how a Confederate soldier had to live during the War. A couple of neighboring counties come as well. We hosted some 3,800 students this year! All of them were very Eager to learn from our Camp what they will Never be taught in school. Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, and even Asians came in droves to gain every little morsel of knowledge they could.

My particular job this year was to give a talk on Sherman's Raid of Georgia. I actually had 3 college professors question some of what I was teaching. They wanted to know my sources. (Anybody here who knows me, knows how I am about That... LOL) Within a few hours, all 3 of them had returned to congratulate me on teaching them parts of our history they never knew! They had checked out my sources and were, what I like to call "Plum Giddy!!!" LOL They just couldn't believe THEY had not been taught the truth!?!

What started out as quest to "shut me down", particularly when it came to facts and figures on Sherman's destruction in Georgia, and where he had actually been, soon became a very apologetic insight into what really started to open their eyes! I had a crowd of about 75 laughing at them when I asked them if they would believe the man, himself on just how much damage he had caused just in this state alone. Not one of the 3 had ever known that Sherman had issued an official report to Washington, giving details of everything from how many cows, chickens, hogs, how much grain, and a whole list of things he actually Stole, burned, destroyed, confiscated, ect. They questioned my statement of him causing $80 Million in damage... Just in Georgia... in 1860's Dollars!!!!  I showed them a copy of the official report, promptly printed from the Library of Congress website. They were mortified!! Needless to say, I had a good day!

We had Country singer Bucky Covington in concert on Friday night. Earlier in the day, I had an idea of inviting him and his band and crew over for a private tour of the Camp, complete with live cannon and musket demonstrations. He was very excited and immediately accepted! We dazzled Bucky and his identical twin brother, Rocky with the authenticity of our Camp. They were like kids in a candy store when I suggested that THEY fire the cannon and THEY get to fire the muskets! They were ecstatic! All in all, they spent about an hour with us, and they refused to leave before giving us a few photo ops! I had an 8x10 print made of them firing the cannon, and I asked their security guy if I could give it to them personally. They were amazed that I would do that for them! I spent the last 15 minutes or so with them on their bus before they went on stage. They put on a Great show! I will try to get some pictures on here, if I can remember how. (if y'all can remind me, I would appreciate it, it's been a while since I put any on here)

The activities culminated on Saturday with our Camp participating in the 65th annual Parade. We were informed afterward that the SCV's 4 entries were the most photographed part of the parade by more than 3 to 1 !!   Then at 2:00, we fought off a Yankee invasion in a recreation of the Battle of Pine Hill. We had roughly 3,000 in attendance, and everybody Loved it! Needless to say, we are the most popular part of the celebrations!

Bucky wanted to stay and march in the parade with us, but a prior commitment took them on to South Carolina.    That would have been the coolest thing, to have them in our part of the parade!!!

It was a fun weekend but I was dead on my feet come Saturday evening. Wearing a wool uniform in 94* weather can drain the life right out of you! It gives a man a great deal of respect for those who actually had to do it during the War, for year after year! The battle having been fought, I slept all day Sunday! LOL

GW, I haven't had much time to check my e-mail lately, but I will soon. Thanks for the card, my friend. I need to call you soon. It's been too dang long!  

I hope to get back soon with some pictures for y'all.

SBG

DEO VINDICE