COMMANDER'S COMMENTS

When looking out into Monroe Park  from  the  steps  of  the
historic  Cathedral  of  the  Sacred  Heart, one of the many
interesting sights you will see is a bronze statue of a  man
looking  right  back  at you.  This gentleman in bronze is a
soldier who stands on a tall base of granite.  Upon  further
inspection  one  sees  that  he  is not just a soldier but a
Confederate General complete with three stars on his  collar
and  a  Virginia waist belt plate.  Who was this man that is
described  on  the  granite  base  as  "Soldier,  Statesman,
Patriot,  Friend?"  His  name was William Carter Wickham and
besides being an  important  Confederate  General  he  later
became President of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad.       

Wickham  was  born on September 21, 1820 in Richmond and had
the good fortune to possess the blood of some  of  the  most
prominent  families in Virginia.  His mother was Anne Butler
Carter  who  was  R.    E.    Lee's   first   cousin.    His
great-grandfather, Gen.  Thomas Nelson, Jr.  was a signer of
the Declaration of Independence.  Much  of  Wickham's  youth
was  spent  north  of  Richmond  at  his father's plantation
"Hickory Hill." He went on to graduate from  the  University
of  Virginia  and  afterwards  began to practice law, having
been admitted to the bar in 1842.  He would later  become  a
justice.   By 1849 Wickham, a Whig, was married, had several
children  and  was  a  member  of  the  Virginia  House   of
Delegates.                                                  

Before  the  war  Wickham was against secession.  In 1861 he
was elected by Henrico County to represent it in  the  state
convention  as  a  Unionist.  He voted against secession but
when the majority of the  convention  voted  to  secede,  he
followed  the  will of his state.  He went on to command the
Hanover Dragoons and led them  through  the  battle  of  1st
Manassas.   In  September,  Governor Letcher promoted him to
Lt.  Colonel of the 4th Virginia Cavalry.  He saw a  lot  of
action during his service in the Confederate army.  During a
cavalry charge at Williamsburg he received  a  severe  sabre
wound  and  was  captured by the enemy.  After being paroled
shortly thereafter, he returned home  and  was  promoted  to
full  Colonel  in  the 4th Cavalry.  He served in Sharpsburg
where he was again wounded, this time by a shell fragment to
the  neck.   It seems as if Col.  Wickham had a lot of fight
still left in him because, after a short recovery,  he  went
on to fight at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg.             

In  May,  Richmond  elected  him to the Confederate House of
Representatives.  Despite attacks by the  Richmond  Examiner
to  label him a Unionist (due to his opposition to secession
in 1861) his actions on the battlefield won the respect  and
confidence  of  the  capital  city.   On October 5, 1864, he
resigned his commission to take his seat  in  the  House  of
Representatives.  By that time he had been commissioned as a
Brigadier General and had taken part in the battle of Yellow
Tavern.   Stuart's  last command at Yellow Tavern was "Order
Wickham to dismount his brigade and  attack."  He  also  saw
action at Fisher's Hill, Milford and Waynesboro.            

Before the end of the war in February, 1865 ,Wickham saw the
writing on the wall and  took  part  in  the  Hampton  Roads
Conference which tried to bring an early end to the war with
a result more favorable to Virginia and  the  south.   After
the  war  he  became  a  Republican  and, as a member of the
Electoral College, voted for Grant for President in 1872.   

He became president of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad  and
oversaw the construction of rails linking the coal fields of
West Virginia to Richmond.  On July 23, 1888, at the age  of
67, he died at his office in Richmond.  A funeral procession
of  many  mourners,  led  by  numerous  military  companies,
escorted  his  body  to  his  final resting place at Hickory
Hill, his family estate in Hanover County.                  

The statue at Monroe Park, commissioned by  his  Confederate
comrades  and  the  employees  of  the  Chesapeake  and Ohio
Railroad, was sculpted by none other than Edward  Valentine.
It  was  unveiled  in  1891  by  W.   C.   Wickham  Renshaw,
Wickham's grandson, at a grand ceremony, during  which  both
General Fitzhugh Lee and Governor McKinney gave orations.   

This noble character looking out from Monroe Park was indeed
a soldier, statesman, patriot and friend.  There is no doubt
that  he felt pressures by his constituents when considering
secession, on the battlefield, in the Confederate  House  of
Delegates  and  during  his  tenure  as President of the C&O
Railroad.  Despite  these  pressures  he  remained  true  to
himself  and  his  beliefs.   The welfare of his home state,
country, friends and family was always his highest priority.
In today's wacky world of politics, where true statesmen are
few and far between, it is refreshing to learn about  a  man
who  did  what  he thought was right for his constituency no
matter what the issues were at the time.                    

Deo Vindice,
					Taylor

ADJUTANT'S REPORT

The  long  awaited  day   has   arrived!    The   membership
certificate  of  young  Austin  Waters  Wingfield Thomas has
arrived from SCV General Headquarters.  We  plan  to  induct
Austin at a future meeting.  His ancestor is Thomas Wills of
Company B, 11th Virginia Infantry.                          

Another new member of our camp is  Thomas  N.   C.   Spivey,
whose transfer from another local camp has been processed at
GHQ.                                                        

We extend a hearty  Longstreet  welcome  to  these  two  new
members  and  to John C.  Thompson, Jr.  who was inducted at
our September meeting.                                      

John C.  Thompson, Sr.  has moved back to Florida, but  says
he  will  attend meetings if his visits to Richmond coincide
with our meeting nights.                                    

Our associate member (and Virginia Division  Inspector)  Joe
Wright  participated in a ceremony in Nelson County honoring
the four Kidd Brothers, Nathan, Preston, Robert and William,
who  fought for the Confederacy.  Three of the brothers died
in the Battle of Sharpsburg and the  fourth,  William,  lost
his left foot in battle and lived until 1921.               

The  ceremony  was covered by the Fredericksburg Free- Lance
Star   and   may   be    seen    on    their    web    site,
Fredericksburg.com/news/fls/092006/09302006/222222/index_html

Our  2nd  Lt.  Commander, Michael L.  Kidd, was also present
at the ceremony.                                            

I have finished reading Stonewall Jackson: The  Black  Man's
Friend  and  have no hesitancy in recommending it to anyone.
Bud Robertson's Jackson  biography  was  entitled  Stonewall
Jackson:  The  Man, The Soldier, The Legend to let the world
know that Jackson's service in The War  Between  The  States
covered  only 5% of his life.  Jackson's faithfulness to God
was the core of his life.  In no way could he  be  called  a
fanatic.                                                    

I  thank  all  those who have paid renewal dues.  Membership
cards will be distributed at the October 17 meeting to those
who  have  paid and who have not already received cards.  If
you haven't paid, please bring your $45.00 renewal  dues  to
that  meeting  or  mail  them  to  me no later than Saturday
October 28 in order to avoid a $5.00 reinstatement fee.     

				Walter

GENERAL JAMES LONGSTREET CAMP #1247

NEXT MEETING-TUESDAY, October 17, 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
MEETING STARTS AT 7:00 PM

THE CHRISTMAS BANQUET WILL BE AT THE WESTWOOD RACQUET CLUB
DECEMBER 12TH, 2006 AT 6:00 P. M. BE SURE TO SET ASIDE THIS DATE!!
MORE INFORMATION WILL FOLLOW IN NOVEMBER.

OCTOBER PROGRAM

Our  speaker  for  October  will  be  Lt.    Colonel   Hyman
Schwartzberg,   Assistant  Chief  of  Staff,  G-1,  Virginia
Defense Force, Department of Military Affairs,  Commonwealth
of  Virginia,  who  is  based  here  in  Richmond.   Colonel
Schwartzberg's  subject, "Early Air Warfare During the Civil
War,"  should  prove  to  be  rather interesting, to say the
least!                                                      

SEPTEMBER PROGRAM

Dana Jackson, a 27-year Navy veteran,  opened  his  talk  by
telling  us  that  he  had  the good fortune to be in school
during  the  Civil  War  Centennial,  which  stimulated  his
interest  in  that period of American history.  This led him
to researching what happened to survivors  of  the  War  who
served later in the United States Army.                     

For  some the experience started before the War ended.  With
the U.  S.  Army occupied in the East, the Sioux rose up  in
Minnesota  and  killed  1,000 people.  General Henry Halleck
suggested to President Abraham  Lincoln  the  recruiting  of
Confederate prisoners.  After being promised that they would
not fight  against  Confederates,  they  took  the  oath  of
allegiance  and became American soldiers.  Many were sent to
Fort Riley and Fort Leavenworth.   Six  volunteer  regiments
were  raised  to  guard  railroads, escort wagon trains, and
replace telegraph wires.                                    

Although there was a bad desertion rate  initially,  General
Alfred  Sully,  a noted Indian fighter, was pleased with the
performance of  those  who  remained.   He  asked  for  more
"Galvanized  Yankees" and personally went to Camp Douglas on
a  recruiting  mission.   When  he  returned  west,  General
Grenville  Dodge  appropriated  some of the soldiers for his
units.                                                      

None of  the  ex-Confederates  were  commissioned  officers.
General John Pope made sergeants of many former officers.   

The  soldiers  were discharged in 1866.  Many did not return
to the South because  taking  the  oath  was  odious.   Most
stayed  in  the  west  in the Army and engaged in small unit
actions against the Indians.  These exploits  are  described
in Dee Brown's 1963 book Galvanized Yankees.                

When  the  Spanish-American War broke out, President William
McKinley needed capable generals.  He also wanted  to  bring
Southerners into the government.  "Fighting Joe" Wheeler was
interviewed by General Nelson A.  Miles, the general who had
put  him in leg irons in the Civil War.  Wheeler got the job
of  commanding  all  cavalry  in  Cuba.   Logistics  were  a
nightmare.   The Army also invaded Cuba in the height of the
yellow fever season.  In one battle, the official chronicler
quoted  Wheeler  as  saying, "We've got those Yankees on the
run now." Wheeler had sons and a daughter  serving  in  this
war.  He was the senior American officer at the surrender of
the Spanish army at  Santiago.   Wheeler  retired  from  the
regular  U.  S.  Army in 1900.  The GAR escorted his body to
the train station.  It lay in state in Trinity Church in the
nation's  capital.   He  is  buried  in  Arlington  National
cemetery.                                                   

Other former Confederates who served in the Army during  the
Spanish-American  War  were Fitzhugh Lee, Matthew Cailbraith
Butler, William Oates, and Thomas Lafayette Rosser.         

It was interesting to hear of the significant role played by
former  Confederates  in  the winning of the west and in the
war which marked the emergence of the  United  States  as  a
world power.                                                

                                            Walter

2005-2007 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 September, 2006
through the current month.   As  you  know,  our  cumulative
listing starts in July of each year.

Ben Baird
Lloyd Brooks
Clint Cowardin*
Raymond Crews*
Jerold Evans
Richard Faglie
John Kane
Roger Kirby
Mike Miller
Joe Moschetti
Preston Nuttall
Waite Rawls
Rufus Sarvay
John Shumadine
Will Schumadine
Harrison Taylor
Walter Tucker
Will Wallace
Hugh Williams
Joe Wright

In Memory of Chuck Walton-Ben Baird
In Memory of Bill Jones-Anonymous

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

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

THROUGH NOVEMBER 30 "Art of the Confederacy" at  the  Museum
of the Confederacy, Richmond.  Wonderful wartime and postwar
sketches, paintings, water colors, photos and  p.o.w.   art.
$7  adults,  $6  seniors, $3 students over age 6.  for info:
649-1861, www.moc.org

THROUGH 2006 Confederate navy  exhibit.   various  types  of
ships, commanders, naval technology, paintings, artifacts at
the  Museum  of  the  Confederacy,  Richmond.    for   info:
649-1861, www.moc.org

OCTOBER  21-22  11TH  Annual  "Civil War in the Borderlands"
symposium   at   Pamplin   Historical   Park,    Petersburg.
Reservations and fee required.  For info: 804-861-2408

NOVEMBER 3-5 "Thunder in the Valley," 17th annual Guyandotte
Civil War Days to mark the 145th anniversary of the raid  on
Guyandotte,  VA.   Street battle.  By invitation.  For info:
Tedra Cremeans 304-654-2205 or junebug8571@aol.com

NOVEMBER 4 Two  hour  Brandy  Station  Battlefield  Tour  of
Buford  Knoll  and  Yew  Ridge  from  Graffiti House, Brandy
Station, 10:00 a.m.  Fighting that took  place  on  June  9,
1863 between General John Buford and "Rooney" Lee's brigade.
No advance reservations required.  $5 over age 12. Sponsored
by  Brandy  Station  Foundation.   For  info:  540-547-4106,
bsfe91863@aol.com, www.brandystationfoundation.com

NOVEMBER 4-5 Battle of Bethesda Church reenactment at Locust
Grove  Plantation,  Walkertown.   10:00  a.m.-6:00 p.m.  For
info: 804-769-8201, 804-777-6224,                           
http://peninsulaartillery.bizland.com

NOVEMBER  18-19 26th Annual Capital of the Confederacy Civil
War Show, Richmond Raceway Complex.   Saturday  9-5,  Sunday
9-3.   Displays by collectors, The Museum of the Confederacy
& Richmond  National  Battlefield  Park.   Over  age  12-$6.
Sponsored   by   Central   Virginia   Civil  War  Collectors
Association & The Museum  of  the  Confederacy.   For  info:
804-737-5827 or 803-928-1006.

ANOTHER NEW COMPATRIOT!!

 
John B.  Thompson, Jr.,  the  4th  member  of  the  Thompson
family  to join Longstreet, is shown above being sworn in by
1st Lt.  Commander Will Schumadine  while  Commander  Taylor
Cowardin looks on.                                          

If  you did not get an opportunity to introduce yourself and
welcome him to Longstreet on the 17th, be sure to do  so  at
the November meeting.                                       

John,  we  are delighted to have you as a member and we know
that you  will  not  be  able  to  find  a  finer  group  of
Compatriots anywhere.                                       

IMBODEN MEETS WITH LEE AFTER GETTYSBURG

"After  exchanging  the  ordinary  salutations  General  Lee
directed me to go back to his headquarters and wait for him.
I did so, but he did not make his appearance until  about  1
o'clock,  when  he  came  riding  alone, at a slow walk, and
evidently wrapped in profound thought.                      

When he arrived, there was not even a sentinel  on  duty  at
his  tent,  and no one of his staff was awake.  The moon was
high in the clear sky and the  silent  scene  was  unusually
vivid.  As he approached and saw us lying on the grass under
a tree, he spoke,  reined  in  his  horse,  and  essayed  to
dismount.   The  effort  to  do so betrayed so much physical
exhaustion that I hurriedly  rose  and  stepped  forward  to
assist him but before I reached his side he had succeeded in
alighting, and threw his arm across his saddle to rest,  and
fixing his eyes upon the ground leaned in silence and almost
motionless upon his equally weary horse,-the two  forming  a
striking  and  never-to-be-forgotten  group.  The moon shone
full on his massive features and revealed an  expression  of
sadness that I had never before seen upon his face.         

Awed by his appearance I waited for him to speak  until  the
silence  became  embarrassing,  when, to break it and change
the current of his thoughts, I  ventured  to  remark,  in  a
sympathetic  tone,  and  in  allusion  to his great fatigue:
"General, this has been a hard day on you." He looked up and
replied  mournfully:  "  Yes,  it has been a sad, sad day to
us:" and immediately relapsed into his thoughtful  mood  and
attitude.    Being  unwilling  again  to  intrude  upon  his
reflections, I said no more.  After perhaps a minute or two,
he  suddenly straightened up to his full height, and turning
to me with more animation  that  I  had  ever  seen  in  him
before, for he was a man of wonderful equanimity, he said in
a voice tremulous with emotion: " I never saw troops  behave
more magnificently than Pickett's division of Virginians did
to-day in that grand charge upon the enemy.  And if they had
been  supported  as  they  were  to have been,-but, for some
reason not yet fully explained to me, were  not,-  we  would
have  held  the  position and the day would have been ours."
After a moment's pause, he added in a loud voice, in a  tone
almost of agony, "Too bad!  Too bad!  Oh!  TOO BAD!"        

I shall never forget  his  language,  his  manner,  and  his
appearance  of  mental  suffering.   In  a  few  moments all
emotion was suppressed, and he spoke feelingly of several of
his  fallen  and trusted officers, among others of Brigadier
Generals  Armistead,  Garnett  and   Kemper   of   Pickett's
division."                                                  

						-IMBODEN,
                  " The Confederate Retreat From Gettysburg"

A LITTLE BIT OF HUMOR!

Duct tape never sticks where or when you want it.  Duct tape
only sticks to itself.                                      

The  number  of people watching you is directly proportional
to the stupidity of your action.                            

At whatever stage you apologize to your spouse, the reply is
constant- "It's too late now."                              

Technology  is  dominated  by two types of people: those who
understand what they do not manage,  and  those  who  manage
what they do not understand.                                

In any organization, there are only two people to contact if
you want results-the person at the very top and  the  person
at the very bottom.