Clifton Pierce, a real son who was an associate Camp member,
passed  at  the age of 92 on December 29, 2004.  Mr.  Pierce
and his wife attended meetings often  until  they  moved  to
South Carolina in 2003.  We extend our sympathy to his widow
and other family members.                                   

We have received membership certificates  from  headquarters
for  David  W.   Forrest  and  William J.  Wallace, III, who
submitted their applications to us at the November  meeting.
Dave's  ancestor Charles Firth was a private in Company F of
the  32nd  Virginia  Infantry.   Will  is   descended   from
Brigadier  General John Rogers Cooke, a brigade commander in
Heth's Division of  the  3rd  Corps.   We  extend  a  hearty
Longstreet  welcome  to  the  new members and plan to induct
them soon.                                                  

One of the maps distributed by Ed Bearss  at  the  Christmas
banquet  revealed that Andrew Dunn of Longstreet's staff was
in the group accompanying Longstreet when  the  General  was
wounded  at  the  Wilderness.  Our older son is named Andrew
Dunn Tucker, who received that  name  long  ago  before  our
interest  in  The  War was significant.  Longstreet's Andrew
Dunn,  according  to  Robert  E.   Lee  Krick's  outstanding
reference   book   Staff  Officers  in  Gray,  was  born  in
Londonderry,  Ireland  17  December  1822.   He   lived   in
Petersburg  and  is buried in Blandford Cemetery.  There are
four other Dunns and two Tuckers included in Bobby's book. I
can find a family connection with none.  Bobby's book can be
checked out of the Henrico  County  Public  Library  or  the
Library of Virginia.                                        

In  the  acknowledgements  of  his  staff officer book Bobby
wrote  about  Gary  Gallagher:  "Clearly   no   person   now
associated  with  Civil  War  history  has a broader or more
positive influence than Professor Gallagher." An  economist,
author  of  a  recent  book  about America's 16th president,
wrote in his book that a  book  of  essays  edited  by  Gary
included a statement that states rights was a post-Civil War
invention.  Gary's book said no such thing.  When challenged
on  his  misstatement,  the economist refused to acknowledge
his error and danced all around the issue.                  

John Marshall: Definer of a Nation by Jean Edward Smith  has
a  chapter entitled The Fight for Ratification, which covers
the 1788 Virginia convention considering the  United  States
Constitution.   States rights was a key issue.  Although not
present, Thomas Jefferson  had  strong  ideas  in  favor  of
states  rights.  Patrick Henry was an eloquent spokesman for
states rights and against ratification of the  Constitution.
John Marshall argued the case for ratification.  The list of
others involved in the  Virginia  convention  reads  like  a
Who's Who of Virginia's (and the nation's) founding fathers.
The final vote was  89  in  favor  of  ratification  and  79
against.  Smith writes, "A group of staunch anti-federalists
met to plan strategy to prevent the establishment of  a  new
government.                                                 

Henry  was  sent for and asked to preside.  He accepted, but
once in the chair told his supporters that although  he  had
opposed  the  Constitution,  he  had  done so `in the proper
place.' The question was now settled,  said  Henry,  and  he
advised   those   present   that   `as   true  and  faithful
republicans,' they had all better go home."                 

Several events are scheduled in the next two months to honor
Confederate  heroes.   The  Virginia  Division of the SCV in
conjunction with the UDC will have a ceremony at  the  State
Capitol  Friday  January 14 (Virginia's official Lee-Jackson
state holiday) at 7:00 PM honoring the  memory  of  Generals
Robert E.  Lee and Stonewall Jackson.                       

The   Stonewall  Brigade  SCV  Camp  of  Lexington  has  the
following schedule for Saturday, January 15:                

10:00AM Memorial service Stonewall  Jackson  grave  site  in
Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery.                        

11:00  AM  Parade  of  re-enactors  and  supporters  through
Lexington.                                                  

12:00 Noon Lee Chapel service conducted  by  Reverend  Lloyd
Sprinkle.                                                   

On January 15, the Pickett Society will present a wreath and
have a brief ceremony at 11:30 AM at the Pickett Monument in
Hollywood  Cemetery  to  honor  the only Confederate general
born in Richmond.  A lunch follows,  but  the  deadline  for
that was January 7.                                         

On   Saturday  January  22  at  11:00  AM  the  Stuart-Mosby
Historical Society will have a ceremony at the State Capitol
honoring General Lee, General Jackson, and Commodore Matthew
Fontaine Maury.  The speaker at this 11:00 AM ceremony  will
be Brigadier General Lewis M.  Helm.                        

The  same society will honor General J.E.B.  Stuart February
12.                                                         

Let us stand tall for our Confederate ancestors by  honoring
their memory.                                               

				Walter Tucker

(The New) ROMA'S RESTAURANT 
8330 STAPLES MILL RD.
LOCATED IN "THE SHOPS AT STAPLES MILL"
TURN LEFT AT FIRST STOPLIGHT NORTH OF
THE WISTAR SHOPPING CENTER

DINNER- SOCIAL 6:00 PM

Karen Kinzey of  the  National  Park  Service  gave  a  very
interesting   presentation,   replete   with  slides,  about
Arlington House at our November 16 meeting.                 

For many years after The War Between The  States,  Arlington
House  was  used  as the headquarters building for Arlington
National Cemetery.  In 1900 a  13  year-old  Virginia  girl,
Frances   Parkinson,   visited   and   was  shocked  at  the
deteriorated condition of this home of her favorite  figure,
Robert E.  Lee.  She vowed to do something about it.        

Prior  to  The War, Arlington was one of the finest homes in
the nation to  which  Americans  made  pilgrimages.   George
Washington  Parke Custis, the grandson of Martha Washington,
built the home between 1802 and 1818 as a shrine  to  George
Washington.  Custis had grown up at Mount Vernon and revered
Washington.                                                 

Custis married Molly Fitzhugh, who bore him  four  children.
Mary  was  the only one who survived.  She married Robert E.
Lee 30 June 1831.  They had seven children between 1832  and
1846.                                                       

Mary  spent  much  time  at  Arlington while Lee traveled to
various Army posts and duties.  He  was  at  Arlington  most
Christmases  and  regarded  it as home.  In 1847 Lee said of
Arlington, "Where my affections  and  attachments  are  more
strongly  placed  than at any other place in the world." Lee
felt that it was a person's duty to improve  everything  for
which he was responsible.                                   

When  Virginia  seceded  from  the  Union in April 1861, Lee
spent a sleepless night deciding what  he  should  do.   The
other family members heard him pacing the floor and praying.
He decided that he  could  not  take  up  arms  against  his
people.                                                     

Mary  Custis Lee didn't stay at Arlington long after The War
started.  She turned the keys over to Selena Gray,  a  slave
described  by  a  noted  American  history professor as Mrs.
Lee's best friend.  Yankees occupied the estate and promptly
began  stealing  Washington  artifacts.  Selena Gray and the
Yankee commanding general combined to save  some  Washington
artifacts.                                                  

The nefarious Yankee Brigadier General Montgomery Cunningham
Meigs ordered Yankee soldiers to be buried at Arlington.  He
wanted graves right next to the house.                      

The  Lee  family  was never permitted to return to Arlington
after The War.   Mary  Custis  Lee  never  got  over  losing
Arlington.                                                  

After   Robert   E.   Lee's  death  his  oldest  son  George
Washington Custis, Lee sued the central government  to  have
Arlington  returned  to  the  family.   After many years the
Supreme Court ruled in his  favor.   Rather  than  requiring
that  15,000 soldiers be dug up and buried elsewhere, Custis
Lee accepted a cash settlement from the  central  government
in exchange for title to the property.                      

In  the  1920's  Frances Parkinson Keyes became an associate
editor of Good Housekeeping magazine.  Her U.   S.   Senator
husband  and  Congressman  Louis  Cramton,  son  of a Yankee
soldier, persuaded Congress to  pass  a  law  requiring  the
Secretary  of  War  to  restore  Arlington  to its condition
immediately prior to The War.                               

The insidious chairman of the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA),
Charles  Moore  paid no attention to Congress.  He wanted to
erase Robert E.  Lee from the history of Arlington and  have
it  as  a  memorial  to the Custis family.  CFA demanded the
removal  of  three  mantels  and  replaced  them  with  fake
colonial  mantels.   Rooms  were  converted into things that
never existed.  Mrs.  Lee's beloved garden was destroyed.   

Three events in the 1930's led to a course correction in the
right  direction.   Over  the  strong  objections of the War
Department, responsibility for Arlington was transferred  to
the  National  Park  Service  in  1933.   The following year
Douglas Southall Freeman's four volume biography  of  Robert
E.   Lee  was  published.   The movie Gone With The Wind was
released in 1939 and became one of the most popular films of
all time.                                                   

The absurd colonial revival at Arlington was abandoned.  Some
original furnishings were  returned  to  the  home.   Murray
Nelligan   made   Arlington  the  subject  of  his  Ph.   D.
dissertation,  which  stimulated  interest  in  the   proper
restoration  of  the  mansion.  In 1955 the original mantels
were restored.  Also in that year Congress passed Public Law
107  which  decreed  that Arlington House was dedicated as a
permanent memorial to Robert E.  Lee.  Arlington would  also
emphasize Lee's role in reuniting the country after The War.
The official name is now Arlington House, The Robert E.  Lee
Memorial.                                                   

Many  of  the original furnishings at Arlington are on loan.
The Park Service would like to own them and will be  pleased
to  accept donations to achieve this goal.  Checks should be
made out to Arlington House, the Robert E.  Lee Memorial and
mailed to:                                                  

Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial
c/o George Washington Memorial Parkway     
Turkey Run Park                            
McLean, VA 22101                           

Our Camp made a donation at the conclusion of Ms.   Kinzey's
talk.                                                       

We  are  indeed  fortunate  that years ago courageous people
stood up for the right against the  ominous  tide  and  have
given  us  this  wonderful  memorial.  Let us do our part to
assure that Arlington House remains worthy  of  one  of  the
greatest men in the history of our countries.               

2003-2004 CAMP OFFICERS
LONGSTREET CAMP #1247

Commander: Harry Boyd                 741-2060
1st. Lt. Cmdr.: Taylor Cowardin       356-9625
2nd Lt. Cmdr.: Michael Kidd	      270-9651
Adjutant/Treasurer: Walter Tucker     360-7247
Quartermaster: R. Preston Nuttall     276-8977
Chaplain: Henry V. Langford           340-8948

PUBLICATIONS

Webmaster: Gary F. Cowardin           262-0534
Website: longstreetscv.org                    
War Horse:  David P. George           353-8392

The following is a cumulative listing of contributors to the
upkeep  of  “The  Old  War  Horse” for the period July, 2004
through  the  current  month. As you  know,  our  cumulative
listing starts in July of each year.                        

Lloyd Brooks
Phil Cheatham
Brian Cowardin
Gary Cowardin*
Taylor Cowardin
Ron Cowardin
Raymond Crews
Lee Crenshaw
Chris Jewett
Jack Kane*
Michael Kidd
Frank Marks
Joe Moschetti
Richard Mountcastle
Ken Parsons
Lewis Mills
Norman Plunkett+
Bill Setzer
Austin Thomas
Walter Tucker*
David Ware
Hugh Williams

Legend:                                  
* - Multiple contributions               
+ - Visitor Donation