COMMANDER'S COMMENTS

For this month's commander's comments I originally  set  out
to  write  about  Richmond  newspapers  and their editorials
during  the  war  of  northern  aggression.   However  after
starting to write about John Moncure Daniel, one of the most
vitriolic and interesting editors of his time, I decided  to
devote this entire article to him.                          

Although  he  lived  a relatively short life, it is a wonder
that he wasn't killed in a duel before he  died  of  natural
causes in 1865 at the age of 40.  Born in Stafford County in
1825, Daniel was  the  son  of  a  country  doctor  who  was
responsible  for most of his son's early schooling.  When he
was fifteen he moved to Richmond  to  live  with  his  great
uncle  Judge  Peter  V.  Daniel.  While still a young man he
tried to embark on a career in law but soon  found  that  he
didn't  like  it  very much.  While librarian of the Patrick
Henry Society, a reading and debating group for  young  men,
he  became editor of the Southern Planter and in 1847 he was
made editor of the newly established Richmond Examiner.   He
held this post for the rest of his life.                    

Over  the  following  years this successful editor would not
only gain a huge amount of notoriety but an equal amount  of
hatred  from  most  of  the prominent men in Virginia who he
frequently attacked without mercy in his editorials.   After
only  one  year  on the job he managed to enrage Edgar Allan
Poe who quickly challenged him to a duel.  Lucky for history
the  duel never took place and both men survived the scuffle
(Poe would only live one  more  year).   As  the  war  crept
closer,  Daniel  was  in  the  forefront of those advocating
secession.                                                  

Once the  war  began,  he  wrote  many  slashing  editorials
criticizing   both  sides.   He  utterly  disliked  Yankees,
calling them "incarnate demons," "infernal scoundrels,"  and
"tyrants."  He wrote that Abraham Lincoln was a "baboon" and
that  his  election  to  the  Presidency  was  "strewn  with
condensed   lumps   of  imbecility,  buffoonery  and  vulgar
malignity."  He  also  liked  to  call  him   "the   hideous
chimpanzee  from Illinois." As the war progressed Daniel did
not only take aim at the Yankees.  He  also  took  shots  at
Jefferson  Davis  and  Robert  E.  Lee along with other well
known officials.  In 1862, the patriotism and  integrity  of
Col.   Marmaduke Johnson (the same man who escorted Lee down
the aisle of the House of Delegates to accept the command of
Virginia's  forces)  was  called  into  question  by Daniel.
Before the war Johnson was part  of  the  movement  to  keep
Virginia in the Union.  In a fiery editorial Daniel referred
to Johnson as  "the  sleek  black  pony  from  Richmond  who
neighed  submission:  one master for him would be as good as
another; what he went in for was  a  good  feeding,  and  he
believed  he  could get that from Old Abe as well as anybody
else." Johnson was so infuriated by  Daniel's  remarks  that
when  he  later  saw the editor walking down the sidewalk he
pulled out his pistol and began shooting!  Daniel  drew  his
weapon  and fired back.  Although no one was injured the two
men were arrested and jailed to keep  the  peace.   Governor
John  Letcher,  who  also did not favor secession was called
the "curse of Virginia" by Daniel.  Robert E.  Lee, a target
of  criticism  for  many  southern editors declared "too bad
that all of our worst generals are commanding the armies and
our best generals are editing the newspapers."              

Daniel  was  definitely  an eccentric.  He never married and
once said that if he did, "it  must  be  with  the  explicit
understanding  that  my  wife  and  I should occupy separate
houses." If this wasn't enough to keep  him  a  bachelor  he
also  said  "there  are two ways to manage a woman - to club
her or to freeze her." He must have been a real heart throb!
He usually worked until late at night not going to bed until
2 or 3 o'clock in  the  morning  and  rising  for  breakfast
around  10  or  11.   He didn't get along very well with his
family and frequently had disagreements  with  his  friends.
Daniel  did serve in the Confederate Army despite not having
the best health.  For years he struggled  with  symptoms  of
tuberculosis.   He  served  during  the  Seven Day's battles
where he received a gunshot wound  to  the  right  arm  that
ended  his  army  career.  Afterwards he returned to writing
fiery editorials back in Richmond.                          

In 1864 he managed to  get  himself  challenged  to  another
duel.   This  time  it  was  with Confederate Treasurer E.C.
Elmore who he accused of gambling and being  unfit  for  his
high  office.  Because of his war injury Daniel had to shoot
with his left arm and missed.  Elmore fired and hit  him  in
his  leg.  Daniel lived to see another day but he never made
any effort to  repent.   He  continued  to  write  until  he
finally succumbed to tuberculosis on April 30, 1865.        

Daniel   was   definitely  an  interesting  individual.   He
contributed much to his generation and although he was hated
as  much as he was loved he made his mark in history.  He is
buried at Hollywood cemetery  along  with  the  other  great
figures of note in Virginia's history.                      

					Taylor

ADJUTANT'S REPORT

How great it was to have such a large turnout for our  first
meeting  of  2006!   The  44 members and 11 guests attending
were the second highest totals in my memory.  It was good to
have  this outstanding attendance for the induction of Hayes
Huff.  Attending our meeting for the first time  in  January
was  Michael  G.   Miller, who transferred his membership to
Longstreet.                                                 

While pleased with this nice crowd, we mustn't forget  loyal
camp  members  whose  health  situations  prevent  them from
attending.  Neither Ben Baird nor  Phil  Cheatham  has  been
able  to  attend recently.  Frank Marks also has had to miss
several recent meetings.  We know they're with us in spirit.

There's too often a tendency in  life  to  take  things  for
granted  without  appreciating  our  good  fortune.  Several
years ago a speaker at our meeting remarked, "You  gentlemen
are  so fortunate in having Confederate ancestors.  I don't,
and I wish I did." The second  blessing  is  living  in  the
Commonwealth  of Virginia, described properly as the seat of
The War.  Despite the railings of avid fans of  the  Western
Theater,   The   War  basically  ended  with  General  Lee's
surrender only one week after Richmond was abandoned to  the
Yankees.   Nashville,  New Orleans, Chattanooga, and Atlanta
fell in earlier years, but The War went on.                 

This morning's obituary page of the Richmond  Times-Dispatch
featured  a  story  about  Virginia  Montague  Evans Puller,
beloved widow of Lewis  Burwell  "Chesty"  Puller.   Jon  T,
Hoffman   in   his  biography  Chesty  wrote  that  Chesty's
grandfather Major  John  W.   Puller  of  the  5th  Virginia
Cavalry  was  killed  at Kelly's Ford 17 March 1863.  John's
younger brother Sam served in the same regiment and escorted
John's  body  back  to  Gloucester  County.   A  Confederate
chaplain on leave conducted a funeral service at the  Puller
home  and quoted from David's lament in the first chapter of
Second Samuel, "How are the mighty fallen in  the  midst  of
the battle!  I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan."
Eighty-one years after Kelly's Ford, Chesty Puller's brother
Sam  was killed when the Marines were retaking Guam from the
Japanese.                                                   

More than seven years ago past  Longstreet  Camp  commanders
Hef  Ferguson,  Chuck  Walton,  and I went to Christ Church,
(burial site of Chesty Puller on Route 33 near the school of
the  same name), to the service held in November remembering
Chesty.  It was a cold, rainy  day,  but  Mrs.   Puller  sat
through the outdoor portion of the service at Chesty's grave
shivering under an umbrella.  We were  all  concerned  about
her as she looked pretty frail.                             

Several  years after that Chuck and I were going to Historic
Christ  Church  to  visit  Hef's  grave  site  and  place  a
Confederate   flag   thereon.    Chuck  showed  me  Chesty's
childhood home in West Point and his last  home  in  Saluda.
Chuck  related that in his youth he and a friend were double
dating, his friend's date being one of  Chesty's  daughters.
The  General  greeted  them  at the door of the Saluda home,
instructing them in that distinctive voice, "Have  her  back
here  by  11:00." Chuck said that as they walked to the car,
he told his friend, "We'd better be  back  here  by  10:30."
Chesty's   command   presence  was  still  there  after  his
retirement from the Corps.                                  

Hoffman went on to write in Chesty's biography,  "The  Civil
War  left  the Puller family with a heroic legacy and little
else." Their economic circumstances  were  tough,  but  that
legacy  is  something that all the money in the world cannot
buy.  We have a comparable legacy.                          

I'm sure that you, like I, have sometimes been  asked,  "Why
bother  about  that  all  that  stuff which happened so long
ago?" That's an easy question to answer.  Our ancestors were
there,  so  it's part of us.  Chuck's great grandfather Buck
Hurtt died in the Yankee prison at Elmira.  Times could  not
have been easy for his widow.  The soldiers who survived the
War struggled mightily to rebuild their beloved homeland.   

We're now in the midst of birthday  commemorations  of  Lee,
Jackson,  Maury,  and  Stuart.   It  is  difficult,  if  not
impossible, to top Douglas  Southall  Freeman's  words,  "We
Virginians  do  not go to the storied shrines of the past to
do worship, but rather to gain inspiration."                

Compatriots, we should stand tall today and  every  day  for
our Confederate heritage, a blessing which we had nothing to
do with, but for which we should be eternally grateful.     

				Walter

GENERAL JAMES LONGSTREET CAMP #1247

NEXT MEETING-TUESDAY, FEBRYARY 21, 2006

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

FEBRUARY PROGRAM

Our speaker for February will be Ben Greenbaum, professor of
history  at  the  Collegiate  Schools.   His talk will cover
medical practices during the War and  hospital  sites  still
extant in Richmond.                                         

Ben  is  a  great  speaker  and  will have many artifacts on
display for us.                                             

JANUARY PROGRAM

WILLIAM CONNERY

William Connery  of  Baltimore  began  his  talk  about  CSS
Shenandoah  by  telling  us  about  Theodore Roosevelt Sr.'s
brother-in-law  James  Dunwoody   Bulloch,   a   Confederate
representative in England responsible for the acquisition of
ships and the equipping of them for warfare.  Bulloch was in
the  merchant  marine  prior  to the War Between the States,
giving him a great knowledge of ships.  He was foiled in his
efforts to obtain ironclads by Yankee representative Charles
Francis Adams, who threatened  war  with  Great  Britain  if
ironclads  were  delivered to the Confederacy.  Bulloch sold
two ironclads to the British.                               

Bulloch contracted to have ships built along  the  lines  of
merchant  ships  and  then  sent  them  to islands away from
Britain  for  outfitting  as  warships  to  concentrate   on
commerce  raiding.  Bulloch and Confederate Secretary of the
Navy Stephen Mallory elected to attack one  of  the  Union's
most  lucrative  businesses-the  New  Bedford  Whaling Fleet
operating in the Pacific and Arctic oceans off Siberia.     

To achieve this, Bulloch purchased the British ship Sea King
and  sailed  her  in  and out of several British seaports to
give the appearance that she was an innocent merchant  ship.
Bulloch  bought a large supply ship, the Laurel, and had her
loaded  with  guns,  powder,  and   supplies,   along   with
Confederate  officers  and  seamen  including  his  relative
Irvine Bulloch, Robert E.  Lee's nephew  Sydney  Smith  Lee,
Jr., and Stephen Mallory's choice to command the warship, U.
S.  Naval Academy graduate James Iredell  Waddell  of  North
Carolina.                                                   

Sea  King  and  Laurel sailed to Funchal, Madeira.  Guns and
supplies were transferred to Sea King at Desertas,  a  rocky
island  near  Madeira.   The  Union  Jack  was  lowered  and
replaced by the Confederate naval ensign, thus creating  CSS
Shenandoah.   She sailed to Melbourne, Australia, ostensibly
for repairs, but primarily to recruit seamen to fill out the
crew.                                                       

Shenandoah  sank  many  whalers in the Sea of Okhotsk before
moving to the Carolines, where she sank four in April  1865.
In late May Waddell got a bunch of newspapers from his first
postwar victim, the bark Abigal,  from  San  Francisco.   He
learned  of Lee's surrender.  However, the paper stated that
Jefferson  Davis  had  moved  the  Confederate  capital   to
Danville  and  that  Joe  Johnston  still had an army in the
field.  Waddell decided to continue his raiding.            

After destroying more  ships,  the  officers  of  Shenandoah
decided   to  attack  San  Francisco.   In  August,  Waddell
received  word  from  an  English  bark  Barracouta  of  the
surrender  of  the  Confederacy  and  the  assassination  of
Abraham Lincoln.                                            

Waddell decided that the honorable thing to do was  to  sail
to  Liverpool.  Shenandoah arrived there 6 November 1865 and
surrendered to Royal Navy Captain J.  G.  Paynter commanding
HMS  Donegal.   Waddell's  officers were not imprisoned, but
gave their word they would not leave the ship.  The Earl  of
Clarendon  announced  that  the British government concluded
that the Confederate officers were not guilty of any charges
and  were  free.   The  Earl  did  order  Captain Paynter to
question the crew to determine if any were British subjects.
Coached  by  their  Confederate  shipmates,  the  Brits  and
Scotties in their cockney accents and broad  Scottish  burrs
rattled  off  the names of Confederate towns and cities from
which they allegedly came.  Captain Paynter let them all go.

Manned by a merchant crew, Shenandoah  left  Liverpool,  but
encountered  rough  weather  and  returned.   Unable  to get
another captain and crew, Charles Francis Adams sold her  to
the Sultan of Zanzibar.  Being told that converting her to a
luxury yacht was too expensive, he renamed  her  Majidi  and
assigned  her  as  a  freighter transporting ivory, gum, and
coal.  In 1872  a  hurricane  wrecked  the  Sultan's  entire
fleet.  Majidi was flung up on the beach and left to rot.  A
British salvage company made her watertight and towed her to
Bombay  for  repairs.   In July she put to sea with a German
crew and captain.  She sank.  Opinion varies as to the cause
of the sinking.                                             

Waddell returned to the United States in 1875.  He captained
the liner San Francisco and took her to Melbourne,  where  a
welcoming crowd cheered his name.  On the return voyage, San
Francisco went aground on an unmarked reef off the coast  of
Mexico.  The Pacific Mail Company did not blame Waddell.  He
remained with them for  several  years  before  retiring  to
Annapolis.   In  the  1880's  Maryland's Governor put him in
charge of a war being waged against  Chesapeake  Bay  oyster
pilots.   After  several  raids, Waddell's small force wiped
out the pirates.  Waddell died in March 1886 and  is  buried
at St.  Anne's Episcopal Church, Annapolis.                 

				Walter

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
Clint Cowardin
Taylor Cowardin
Raymond Crews*
Jerold Evans
Kitty Faglie
Richard Faglie
Charles Howard 
Chris Jewett
John Kane
Frank Marks
Lewis Mills
Joe Moschetti
John Moschetti
Joey Seay
Bill Setzer
Austin Thomas
David Thomas
Walter Tucker*
David Ware
Harold Whitmore
Hugh Williams

Anonymous (In memory of Chuck Walton)

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

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

THROUGH 2006  Confederate  Navy  Exhibit,  featuring  ships,
commanders,   naval  technology,  paintings  and  artifacts.
Museum   of   the   Confederacy,   Richmond.    For    info:
(804)649-1861 or www.moc.org

FEBRUARY  25  "Controversial  Confederates" symposium at the
Library of Virginia.  9 a.m.-4 p.m.Speakers Gary  Gallagher,
Leslie   Gordon,   Brian  Wills  and  Jeffrey  Wert  address
controversial careers of Confederate officers, Jubal  Early,
George  Pickett, James Longstreet, John S.  Mosby and Nathan
Bedford  Forrest.Co-sponsored   by   the   Museum   of   the
Confederacy.   Pre-registration  required.  For information:
(804) 649-1861, Ext.  28.

MARCH 16 "Art in the Civil  War  South"  lecture  by  Harold
Holzer  of  the  Metropolitan  Museum of Art at the Virginia
Historical Society, Richmond, 12:00  p.m.   Co-sponsored  by
the  Museum  of the Confederacy.  Reservations not required.
Adults $5, seniors $4, students and children  $3.   Free  to
members.  For information: (804) 649-1861.

MARCH  18  "Defending  the  Peninsula"  tour  from  Lee Hall
Mansion, Newport  News.,  9  a.m.-  4  p.m.   Following  the
advance of the Army of the Potomac with Michael Moore.  Tour
includes Fort  Monroe,  Monitor-Merrimac  Overlook,  Young's
Mill,  Warwick  Court  House,  Lee's  Mill,  Skiffe's  Creek
Redoubt and Dam No.  1.  $40.   for  info:  (757)  888-3371;
www.leehall.org

MARCH  18, 19 145th Anniversary of the Battle of Big Bethel,
Endview Plantation, Newport News, 10  a.m.-4  p.m..   Living
History  programs,  encampments  and  battles  each day, $7.
House  admission  separate.   For  info:   (757)   887-1862;
www.endview.org

APRIL 7,8 Virginia Artillery School.  School of the movement
in  Hume.   Hands-on  instruction  on  how  to  deploy  full
battery,  gun  maintenance  and  troop  movement.  Classroom
instruction  and  actual  movement.    Instructed   by   the
Artillery    Reserve,   hosted   by   Stribling's   Battery.
Pre-registration required,  $30  includes  hot  meals.   For
information: Sandy Fischer, (814) 326-0804.

ANOTHER NEW COMPATRIOT INDUCTED!!

1ST LT. COMMANDER SHUMADINE
ADMINISTERS THE OATH TO HAYES HUFF

We are delighted to welcome Hayes Huff to  Longstreet  Camp.
If  you  did not greet him at the January meeting, please be
sure to introduce yourself to him at the next meeting.   and
help  him  to  feel  at  home  with  us  and  the  wonderful
fellowship that we enjoy here in Longstreet.                

THE WINNER OF THIS MONTH'S DRAWING!

Our longtime member, Harold Whitmore was the happy
winner of this month's drawing. Congratulations, 
Harold!

A LITTLE HUMOR

He who slings mud generally loses ground.
					Adlai Stevenson, 1954

An infallible method of conciliating a  tiger  is  to  allow
oneself to be devoured.                                     
					Conrad Adenauer

In any group of eagles, you will find some turkeys.

Fish die by their mouth.

The function of the expert is not  to  be  more  right  than
other  people,  but  to  be  wrong  for  more  sophisticated
reasons.                                                    

"LET US CROSS OVER THE RIVER"

Come, let us cross over the river, and rest beneath the trees.
And list the merry leaflets at sport with every breeze;       
Our rest is won by fighting, and Peace awaits us there.       
Strange that a cause so blighting produces fruit so fair!     

Come let us cross the river, those that have gone before,     
Crushed in the strife for freedom, await on yonder shore;     
So bright the sunshine sparkles, so merry hums the breeze,    
Come let us cross the river, and rest beneath the trees.      

Come let us cross the river, the stream that runs so dark;    
'Tis none but cowards quiver, so let us all embark.           
Come men with hearts undaunted, we'll stem the tide with      
						[ease.
We'll cross the flowing river, and rest beneath the trees.    

Come, let us cross the river, the dying hero cried,           
And God, of life the giver, then bore him o'er the tide.      
Life's wars for him are over, the warrior takes his ease,     
There by the flowing river, at rest beneath the trees.        

"A few moments before his death,  Stonewall  Jackson  called
out  in  his  delirium:  'Order  A.  P.  Hill to prepare for
action.  Pass the infantry rapidly to the front.  Tell Major
Hawks..'  Here  the  sentence was left unfinished.  But soon
after, a sweet smile overspread his face,  and  he  murmured
quietly, with an air of relief: 'Let us cross over the river
and rest under the shade of the trees.' These were his  last
words;  and,  without  any  expression  of  pain, or sign of
struggle, his spirit passed away."                          

Jackson died at 3:15 p.  m.  on Sunday,  May  10,  1863,  at
Chandlers,   near   Guinea   Station,   on   the   Richmond,
Fredericksburg and Potomac Rail Road.                       

JANUARY MEETING TURNOUT!!

As Walter pointed out in his Adjutant's Report, we  had  the
best  turnout  in quite a while for the January meeting.  It
was hard to get the exact number but the consensus  is  that
we had 54 (or 55) members and guests present!!              

This  really  says  something about Longstreet Camp.  We are
attracting great applicants for membership and we are having
enjoyable meetings with good speakers and good food to offer
our members.                                                

Granted, we had visitors  and  guests  as  well  as  members
present,  but  when  you have a turnout that equals 78.6% of
your total membership, we must be doing something right.    

Keep on inviting friends and relatives to join.   Have  them
attend  a meeting with you.  You can see how successful this
has been for our Camp.                                      

JANUARY MEETING PICTURES

Your editor was unusually successful  in  his  snapshots  in
January  and  thought  it  would be a chance to show off our
Compatriots in their natural habitat.  So here goes!        

This is an old newspaper clipping  furnished  by  Compatriot
Pat Hoggard showing the Oath that our people had to take and
the Parole that they had to give after the surrender of  our
Nation  to  the Federal Forces.  This is one issued at Libby
Prison.                                                     

It was a very bitter pill!                                  
The text follows:                                           

"I ______________ do solemnly  swear,  In  the  presence  of
Almighty  God,  that  I  will henceforth faithfully support,
protect and defend the Constitution of  the  United  States,
and  the  Union of the States thereunder; and I will in like
manner abide by and faithfully support all acts of  Congress
passed  during  the  existing  rebellion  with  reference to
slaves, so long and so far as not repealed, modified or held
void  by  Congress  or by decision of the Supreme Court; and
that I will in like manner abide by and  faithfully  support
all  Proclamations of the President made during the existing
rebellion, having reference to slaves, so long and so far as
not  modified  or  declared  void by decision of the Supreme
Court-So Help Me God; and I give my solemn parole  of  honor
(to be enforced according to military law.) that I will hold
no correspondence with, or afford any aid or comfort to  any
enemies  or opposers of the United States, save as an act of
humanity, to administer the necessities of individuals,  who
are  in  sickness  or  dis lemnly declare that this Oath and
Parole are taken and given freely and willingly, without any
mental  reservation  or  evasion  whatever,  and  with  full
intention to keep the same."                                

Military   law   now   applied   to   our    citizens    and
"Reconstruction"  now  commenced.   However, there were many
"Unreconstructed  Rebels"  and  opposition  continued   both
overtly  and  covertly throughout the South.  The result, of
course, was the rigid  enforcement  of  so-called  "Military
Law" by such sterling Federal Officers as "Beast Butler."   

The   Occupation  of  the  South  was  dreadful  under  such
iron-handed enforcement and "Reconstruction" remains a  blot
upon the escutcheon of both the Federal Army and the Federal
government to this day.                                     

A pity  that  the  history  books  spend  such  little  time
covering this period of our Nation's history.               

The  truth  about  the shocking and inhuman treatment of our
people, the destruction and confiscation of  their  property
should  be  made  known  to the youth of today in order that
they might not make the same mistakes that were made in  the
post- War Between the States era of our history.            

One  can  only  wonder  what the outcome would have been had
Lincoln not been assassinated by the unemployed actor,  John
Wilkes Booth, on April 14, 1865.                            

					Dave George