COMMANDER'S COMMENTS

It's hard to believe that summer is  already  over.   As  we
head into October, Halloween will soon arrive and that means
that Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner!

Since our last meeting, there have  been  some  developments
concerning  the  Museum  of the Confederacy (MOC).  Recently
the Virginia Division Executive Committee (consisting of  23
men,  of  whom 18 are voting members) made a resolution that
the entire Virginia Division SCV (about  4,700  members)  is
opposed  to  the relocation of the Museum and White House of
the Confederacy.  Were you asked what you thought?  I know I
wasn't.   Despite  what  you may think about the removal and
relocation of the White House and Museum of the Confederacy,
they  still  need all the help and support they can get.  As
members of the SCV, it is our duty to make sure  the  Museum
survives  to  tell  the  history  of  the  South  to  future
generations.  There are many opinions about what  should  be
done by both people who know what they are talking about and
those who say they know what they are  talking  about.   The
bottom  line is that the MOC needs revenue.  With attendance
down and access to the facilities becoming  more  difficult,
the Museum, at its current site, has a grim future.         

What  can we do?  How can we help?  If you are not currently
a member, become one.  If  you  can  afford  to  spare  some
change,  donate  it.   If  you  haven't  been  to the Museum
recently, go!  The MOC needs our help  and  we  need  to  be
there for them.                                             

As  you  know,  this  past May we hosted the annual Virginia
Division SCV Convention.  Part of the Convention included  a
tour  of  the Museum and White House of the Confederacy.  We
arranged free admission and tours of the MOC  for  attendees
in  exchange  for  their  sponsorship  of the Convention.  A
small fee was charged for the  tours  by  us  to  cover  bus
transportation  to  and  from  the  MOC.  Only 10 out of the
several hundred people that attended the  convention  signed
up  for  the  tour.  We had to cancel the bus and I took the
stragglers to the MOC myself!  Where  was  everyone?   I  do
admit  that  some  people  had  business  obligations at the
Convention, but most chose to stay in their hotel rooms,  go
home,  or  stay at the hotel bar.  We need to do better than
this!  The SCV and MOC  both  share  a  common  mission:  to
preserve  and  protect  the  history  of  the South.  If the
Museum survives our mission survives.                       

Our camp is lucky to have a close relationship with the MOC.
John  Coski,  MOC Historian and Library Director, has spoken
to us many times in the past and Waite Rawls, the  Executive
Director,  is  a  member  of  our  Camp.  If you haven't met
Waite, please make a point to introduce yourself at the next
meeting.   You will find that he is not only a great guy but
deeply involved and concerned about the fate of the MOC.  He
has first hand knowledge about what the Museum faces and has
its best interests at heart.   Last  month,  he  gave  us  a
timely update and his opinion on the MOC's dilemma.         

Please  try  to attend this month's meeting when Fort Lee, a
possible site for the Museum will be discussed.   (The  Fort
Lee  site  is  here in Richmond behind the Science Museum of
Virginia.)                                                  

On another note, please  mark  your  calendars  for  Sunday,
October  16th.   On  that  day,  starting  at  2  p.m.,  the
Longstreet Camp will conduct a grave  marking  ceremony  for
two  of  Longstreet's  Staff Officers at Hollywood Cemetery.
There will be a wreath laying ceremony  including  fife  and
drum  music.   Chris Jewett and members of the 12th Virginia
Infantry will be there as well to celebrate  the  memory  of
these  two  Confederate  soldiers.  Please make an effort to
attend!   These  men  contributed  a  great  deal   to   the
Confederate cause.                                          

					Taylor

ADJUTANT'S REPORT

Thanks to all who have paid 2005-2006 dues.  Your membership
cards  will  be available at our October 18 meeting.  If you
haven't paid, please mail your  $  45.00  check  payable  to
Longstreet  Camp  #  1247  to  me  at 2524 Hawkesbury Court,
Richmond, VA 23233-2426 or pay at our  October  18  meeting.
Dues  received  by  me  after  Saturday,  October 29 will be
subject to a $ 5.00 reinstatement fee.                      

We  have   received   from   Headquarters   the   membership
certificate  of Richard M.  B.  Rennolds.  We plan to induct
him, Walt Beam, and Bobby Vass at  a  meeting  in  the  near
future.                                                     

We  have  also  received  from  HQ  acknowledgement  of  the
transfer to our Camp of Peter  I.   C.   Knowles,  II.   Ken
Parsons,  Commander  of  the newly-formed James City Cavalry
Camp # 2095 of Williamsburg, has become an associate  member
of Longstreet.                                              

We  need  volunteers to help clean up our section of Studley
Road, (Route 606),  Hanover  County,  near  Enon  Church  on
Saturday,  October  22,  beginning  at 10:00 AM.  Please let
Lewis Mills know at our October meeting that you'll be  able
to help.  Previously this has been an annual event, but VDOT
has asked us to do it every six months.                     

At the September meeting our Camp voted to make donations to
the  Richmond Battlefields Association and the Museum of the
Confederacy  flag  conservation  program  with  the   monies
received for Ukrop's for Golden Gift Certificates donated to
the Camp by our members.  Thanks to all who supported this. 

Art Candenquist, a veteran railroad employee with Amtrak, on
August  13 led a tour called Stonewall Jackson's Great Train
Robbery.  From Winchester our bus went to Martinsburg  (then
in  VIRGINIA),  where  Jackson's  troops in 1861 captured or
destroyed a number of railroad engines, cars,  and  railroad
track.   Word  came  from  the  QM  in  Richmond to save the
rolling stock, because the Confederacy could use  it.   Some
could  be  sent  to Manassas; others had to be pulled by men
and horses down the Valley Pike.  Bud  Robertson  said  this
never  happened.   A  B&O  railroad buff on the tour said it
did, but did not involve as many locomotives  as  Art  said.
Thus,  we  have three historians disagreeing about something
that happened 144 years ago.  The tour stopped at the  Hotel
Strasburg  for  lunch.   Next  stop  was at the Joseph Crawn
house near Mt.  Crawford, where the teen-aged Crawn  saw  an
engine  and  several  box  cars being hauled down the Valley
Pike.  The tour concluded at Staunton.                      

Gary Gallagher led an interactive seminar in Richmond August
20  entitled  Robert  E.   Lee & Stonewall Jackson: A Fabled
Military   Collaboration.    Gary   stated   that    through
Fredericksburg  (December 1862), it should be referred to as
the  Lee-Longstreet-Jackson  partnership,  with   Longstreet
being more important.                                       

He  said  that  Longstreet  was  decisive  at  2nd Manassas,
magnificent at Sharpsburg, and great at Fredericksburg.  Lee
placed  Longstreet  and  Jackson  on  the  same  plane.  Lee
referred to Longstreet as the  "staff  of  my  right  hand."
Lee's   recommendation   of   Longstreet  for  promotion  to
lieutenant general had no  qualifications.   Longstreet  was
pushed  out  of the picture after The War by Jubal Early and
the "blame Longstreet for Gettysburg" crowd.                

Longstreet's  performance  at  Gettysburg  was   below   the
standard  he  set  in the 1862 battles, but he was certainly
not alone.                                                  

Please attend the grave marker ceremonies Sunday, October 16
at  2:00  PM  in  Hollywood Cemetery to honor two of General
Longstreet's staff officers.  Our friend, Richmond  National
Battlefield  Park historian Robert E.  Lee Krick, brought to
our attention that these two officers had no markers.   This
is a most worthwhile project, so we need to show our support
of our fellow Camp members whose efforts have  brought  this
to fruition.                                                

				Walter

GENERAL JAMES LONGSTREET CAMP #1247
NEXT MEETING-TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2005

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

OCTOBER PROGRAM

Our speaker for October  will be Mike Gorman of the National
Park  Service  here  in  Richmond.  His subject will be Fort
Lee, one of the proposed sites for the White  House  of  the
Confederacy and the Museum of the Confederacy.              

We  are delighted to have Mike return to Longstreet.  Please
be sure to come to hear his talk on this  subject  of  great
interest to all Compatriots.                                

PAST COMMANDER HONORED

COMMANDER TAYLOR COWARDIN PRESENTS
OUTGOING COMMANDER HARRY BOYD WITH PRINT


HARRY ALSO RECEIVED THE PAST COMMANDER
MEDAL FROM TAYLOR

At  our  September  meeting,  in  addition   to   the   Past
Commander's  Medal,  which  is  awarded  to  every  outgoing
Commander,  Longstreet   Camp   presented   Harry   with   a
magnificent  framed  print of Longstreet with Robert E.  Lee
as a token of the esteem in which we hold him.              

Harry has done an outstanding job as Commander of Longstreet
and our Camp's accomplishments under his command can only be
described as awesome.  Thanks, Harry, we  really  appreciate
all  the  time  and  hard  work that you have devoted to the
cause and we know that you will continue that  work  as  you
serve on the Executive Committee.                           

SEPTEMBER PROGRAM

Our Camp member, Waite  Rawls,  Executive  Director  of  the
Museum of the Confederacy, began his PowerPoint presentation
with a brief summary of the  history  of  the  Museum.   The
White House of the Confederacy, called the Executive Mansion
or the Gray House during the War  Between  the  States,  was
owned  after  The War by the Richmond School Board.  Because
of its run-down condition, the Board  planned  to  tear  the
building  down  in  1890.   A  group of ladies, led by Belle
(Mrs.   Joseph)  Bryan  formed  the   Confederate   Memorial
Literary Society and bought the house for $ 1, agreeing that
it would be used for educational purposes.  A lady from each
of the Confederate states served on the board of trustees.  

The  house  was a fire trap.  During the next six years, all
the wood was replaced by concrete and terra cotta, making it
fireproof.   The  official opening date was 1896.  Artifacts
were donated by Confederate veterans and their  descendants.
Mildred Lee, daughter of Robert E.  Lee, went to her brother
Custis and said, "Give me all of  Daddy's  stuff."  Being  a
sensible  fellow,  he  did.   The  Museum  has  one  of  two
originals of Lee's famous General Order # 9 from Appomattox.
The  originality  was  attested  by  Walter Taylor, Chief of
Staff.                                                      

By 1910,  one  half  of  the  present  collection  had  been
donated.   The  period  1890-1910  is  known as the memorial
period.   Douglas  Southall  Freeman,  as  a  Johns  Hopkins
graduate student in 1907, began research and organization of
manuscripts in the Museum's collection.  The result of  this
was  his first book, A Calendar of Confederate Papers, which
was published in 1908.                                      

The  mission  of   the   Museum   is   education.    Waite's
presentation  included favorable quotes about the importance
of  the  Museum  from  noted  Civil  War  historians   James
McPherson and William C.  "Jack" Davis.                     

Waite  stated  that  travelers interested in history tend to
stay longer and spend more money than  others.   Eleven  per
cent  of  the travelers to Virginia come here because of the
Civil War.  In  our  country,  seven  million  people  visit
battlefields  each  year.   Visitors  to  the  Museum of the
Confederacy come from everywhere, with 1 out of 25  visitors
coming from England.                                        

The   Commonwealth   of  Virginia  has  provided  money  for
restoration  from  time  to  time  and  provided  additional
funding in 1991.                                            

The  Medical College of Virginia West Hospital was opened in
1938.  Additional buildings have sprung up in  the  last  30
years.   VCU  Health Systems (the modern name of MCV) closed
12th Street, which has cost the Museum  12  to  15  thousand
visitors  per  year.   The block of Clay Street in which the
Museum and White House are  located  is  now  closed,  which
makes  finding  a parking place an unwelcome adventure.  The
present construction plan extends to the year 2020.         

The chart showing annual Museum  visitation  is  disturbing.
The number of visitors has declined from 91,000 in 1991 to a
forecasted 49,000 in 2005.  There was an increase during the
time that Museum had the special exhibit on Robert E.  Lee.

Waite's  presentation  included  three  options  open to the
trustees:                                                   

1.  Stay put.  Decreased visitation will damage severely the
Museum's   educational   mission  and  will  exacerbate  the
financial problem.                                          

2.  Move the Museum and leave the White House in its present
location.    Visitation   to   the  White  House  will  drop
considerably.                                               

3.  Move both  to  another  location.   If  the  portico  is
removed, the White House can be moved in one piece.         




WAITE RAWLS
DIRECTOR OF THE MUSEUM OF THE CONFEDERACY

The  pictures  included  in  Waite's   presentation   showed
dramatically  the dwarfing of the Museum and the White House
by the proliferation of tall buildings surrounding these two
edifices  so  vital  to  the  carrying  out of the charge of
Stephen Dill Lee.  It is felt that option 3 will bring  more
visitors  and  thus  fulfill best the educational mission of
the Museum of the Confederacy.                              

                         Walter

THE RICHMOND BLUES, GRAYS AND HOWITZERS

Many of you may not be aware of  the  three  military/social
organizations  that  existed  in Richmond prior to World War
II.  They were the Richmond Blues, The  Richmond  Grays  and
The Richmond Howitzers.  Many prominent Richmonders belonged
to these units.  Here is a photograph of  three  members  of
the Blues in dress Uniform:                                 


RICHMOND BLUES
CIRCA 1920-1930

If any readers  have  photographs  of  the  Howitzers  dress
uniform,  please let me have a copy to scan and I will place
them in future issues.                                      

                         Dave George

2003-2004 CAMP OFFICERS
LONGSTREET CAMP #1247
Commander: Taylor Cowardin                   356-9625
1st. Lt. Cmdr.: William F. Shumadine, III    285-4044
2nd Lt. Cmdr.: Michael Kidd	             270-9651
Adjutant/Treasurer: Walter Tucker            360-7247
Judge Advocate: Richard B. Campbell          278-6488
Quartermaster: R. Preston Nuttall            276-8977
Chaplain: Henry V. Langford                  474-1978

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

LONGSTREET'S FIRST CORPS

The following is a cumulative listing of contributors to the
upkeep  of  “The  Old  War  Horse” for the period July, 2005
through  the  current  month. As you  know,  our  cumulative
listing starts in July of each year.                        

Harry Boyd
Lloyd Brooks
Brian Cowardin
Taylor Cowardin
Jerold Evans
Charles Howard 
Chris Jewett
Frank Marks
John Moschetti
Joe Moschetti
Joseph Seay
Bill Setzer
Austin Thomas
David Thomas
Walter Tucker
David Ware
Harold Whitmore
Hugh Williams

Legend:                                    
* - Multiple contributions                 
§ - Visitor Donation                       
+ - in memory of Past Cmdr. Tom Lauterbach 

THE CONFEDERATE BATTLE FLAG:
America's Most Embattled Emblem

JOHN COSKI

On October 7th, I attended a superb lecture at The  Virginia
Historical  Society,  by our Camp's good friend, John Coski,
Historian  and  Library  Director  of  The  Museum  of   the
Confederacy.                                                

His  lecture  covered  his  research into the long, colorful
history of the Battle Flag and the controversy over it  that
has arisen since World War II.                              

John  takes  a  very  objective  look  at  the  controversy,
emotions, passions and pain that the flag can evoke and is a
must read.                                                  

The  book is available at The Museum of the Confederacy, The
Virginia Historical  Society  and  your  local  book  store.
(Probably in the Current Events section).                   

                         Dave George

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

OCTOBER 30                                                  
"Duffie at Stevensburg"  lecture  at  the  Graffitti  House,
Brandy  Station.   2-3:15  p.m.,  by Lt.  Col.  Joe McKinney
(Ret.).  Reservations required,  $5  donation  fee  goes  to
Brandy  Station  Foundation.  For Info: Jim, (540) 439-3549,
sumerduckwood@aol.com

NOVEMBER 5,6                                                
Battle of Bethesda Baptist Church Reenactment at the  Walker
Home,  Locust  Grove, in Walkerton.  Battle, wedding, living
history, encampments.  Hosted by  the  Peninsula  Artillery.
For info: (804)769-8201, peninsulaartillery.bizland.com

NOVEMBER 19,20                                               
25th Annual Capital of the Confederacy  Civil  War  Show  at
Richmond  Raceway  Complex.   Saturday  9-5,  Sunday 9:30-3.
Admission $5 over age 12 .  Exhibitor and  Museum  displays.
Sponsored  by  the  Central  Virginia  Civil  War Collectors
Association and The Museum of the Confederacy.  All  profits
donated to various museums and organization dedicated to the
preservation and education of Civil War history.  for  info:
CVCWACA    (804)737-5827,    (804)928-1006,
capconcwshow@ yahoo.com

AN AMAZING RECOVERY!!!!

Thanks to the miracle of modern computers and software, your
editor  finally  recovered  the  lost pictures from our July
meeting!!!  We present them here now.                       



Walter presents the posthumous commendation
for Chuck to his widow, Patricia



Chuck's old friend, Compatriot Ed Thornton,
presented Patricia with a valuable piece of
Confederate currency for Lia



The speaker for our September meeting was Jack Trammell,
who educated us on the nitre mining and production
of the Confederacy



Rob Millikin, SCV Virginia Division Archivist,
was there to swear in our new Camp officers



Our new Officers take the oath



The gavel passes from Harry to Taylor



Our new Commander, Taylor Cowardin

Our loss is Williamsburg's gain!

Pictured are six of the  eight  Longstreet  Compatriots  who
have left us to form James City Cavalry Camp #2095.  We wish
them well in their endeavor and we will miss them.          


Front, L. to R. : David Ware, Charles Howard, Matthew Ferguson,
Richard Mountcastle. Rear, L. to R. : Fred Boelt, Ken Parsons
Not Shown: Scott Summerfield, David Forrest
Howard, Parsons and Ware remain Associate Members of Longstreet

RAFFLE WINNER