COMMANDER'S COMMENTS

For Christmas I received a wonderful book titled Best Little
Stories from the Civil War by C.  Brian Kelly.  In this book
there is a chapter on relatives who served  together  during
the  war.   The first was "Stonewall" Jackson and his second
cousin "Mudwall."                                           

We all know about the famous Confederate  General  nicknamed
Stonewall  but  I  bet a good number of you don't know about
his cousin who was known  as  "Mudwall."  William  "Mudwall"
Jackson,   who   was  also  a  Confederate  officer,  was  a
lieutenant governor of Virginia, a lawyer and a judge before
the  War  of Northern Aggression.  He served on his cousin's
staff and fought during the Seven Days' Battles, Second Bull
Run  and  Sharpsburg.  After the war he refused to surrender
and fled to Mexico.  He later returned to the US settling in
Kentucky and resumed his practice of law.                   

On  the  other  side,  father  and  son  John  A.  and Ulric
Dahlgren served as Yankee officers during the  war.   Father
John  A.   was  not  only an admiral in the U.S.  Navy but a
friend of President Lincoln.  He was the chief of the Navy's
Bureau  of  Ordinance  and  his eleven inch Dahlgren gun was
used to shell Confederate positions many a time.   His  son,
Ulric,  was  a  Cavalry  officer and met his Maker trying to
invade Richmond to free Yankee prisoners.                   

Former Virginia governor John Wise and his son, O.  Jennings
Wise,  both  served  in  the  Confederate  Army.  The former
served as a general and was in charge of the  eastern  North
Carolina   Sector  and  later  fought  in  the  Seven  Days'
campaign, Drewry's Bluff, and commanded during the battle of
Petersburg.   He brought his unit through Sayler's Creek and
made it to Appomattox but never accepted amnesty.   His  son
served with the Richmond Light Infantry Blues and was killed
at the Battle of Roanoke Island in 1862.                    

John  and  Willie  Pegram  were  brothers  and  served   the
Confederacy  well.   John  was  the  older  of  the  two and
graduated  from  West  Point.   He  was  a  cavalryman   and
engineer.   He  was  a  major general in the army and served
with distinction.  He was married  in  Richmond  during  the
last  winter of the war.  Weeks later his family and friends
gathered again in the same church for his funeral  after  he
was  killed  at  the  battle  of Hatcher's Run.  His younger
brother William rose in rank from a private to  colonel  and
showed  much bravery on the field and out- lived his brother
but did not see the end of the war.  He was killed  at  Five
Forks just days before Appomattox.                          

Many  a  family  on both sides sacrificed their husbands and
sons for the war.  Many fought on opposite sides.   Just  as
Lee  said,  "It  is  well  that  war is so terrible, lest we
should grow too fond of it."                                

Deo Vindice,                                                
					Taylor

ADJUTANT'S REPORT

Dr.  Peter James Flamming, retiring as pastor at  Richmond's
First   Baptist   Church,  was  recently  quoted  about  the
importance of faith, family, and friends.  Thanksgiving  and
Christmas   are   great  times  for  renewal  of  faith  and
celebrating with loved ones, in and out of the  family.   It
is  all  too  easy  to  allow duties, work, and national and
world conditions  to  obscure  these  three  most  important
aspects of our lives.                                       

For  our  family  the  Christmas  season  kicks  off  with a
gathering for lunch in  early  December  with  the  extended
family  of  Jackie's  mother.  This attracts about 50 people
covering four generations.  Two of her aunts, in their  90's
and  aware  of  all that's happening, add to the joy of this
delightful family get together.                             

Next highlight was the Longstreet  Camp  Christmas  banquet.
The  Westwood  Club provided us with good food and attentive
service.   Barbara  Boyd  did  her  usual  superb   job   in
decorating  the  tables.  Richard Wilson gave an interesting
talk about Stonewall Jackson, which is covered elsewhere  in
this  newsletter.   Having our ladies in attendance made the
evening most enjoyable.                                     

We would do well to keep faith, family, and friends in their
proper  place  throughout the year.  As we advance in years,
old friends pass on to their reward.  Since the beginning of
December  we  have  bade  farewell  to five friends who have
departed this stage of life.  Two were about my age, but one
was  89,  one 94, and one 102!  We join the SCV to honor our
ancestors, but one of the blessings  of  membership  is  the
opportunity  to  meet new friends and have those friendships
grow.                                                       

The end of the old year is a good time for reflection.   The
year   2006  was  a  great  one  for  the  Longstreet  Camp,
particularly since the annual report date of June 30.  As of
that  date  we  had 74 members calling Longstreet their home
camp.  Since then, we have sworn in two  new  members,  have
had  eight  members transfer to Longstreet from other camps,
and have had one member reinstated.  Three members  did  not
renew  memberships,  so  we  now have 81 regular members.  A
member of another camp has indicated his desire to  transfer
to Longstreet.  The future bodes well for our camp.         

Since  the November adjutant's report, Robert H.  Moore, Jr.
has  moved  to  the  Richmond  area  and   transferred   his
membership  to  us from R.  E.  Lee Camp #726 in Alexandria.
We welcome Robert to our camp and hope that he will be  with
us soon at a meeting.                                       

John  C.   Thompson,  Sr.   has  moved back to Richmond from
Florida and hopes to be with us for our January meeting.    

January, the  birth  month  of  Robert  E.   Lee,  Stonewall
Jackson,  and Matthew Fontaine Maury is a month to celebrate
our ancestors.  This is particularly true this  year,  which
is  the 200th anniversary of Lee's birth.  The Museum of the
Confederacy is honoring  Lee  especially  this  month.   The
Richmond  Times-Dispatch  recently  ran a story about a long
lost portrait of Lee.                                       

In  2007,  we  celebrate  the  400th  anniversary   of   the
establishment  of  the first permanent English settlement in
America  at  Jamestown.   This  fact  is  little  known  and
recognized  outside  the  Commonwealth of Virginia; so it is
our duty to educate the uninformed about this event.        

I look forward to seeing you at the January meeting.        

Happy New Year!                                             

				Walter

GENERAL JAMES LONGSTREET CAMP #1247

NEXT MEETING-TUESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2007

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

JANUARY PROGRAM

Mike Gorman of the National Park  Service,  will  present  a
slide  program  on photographs taken at Chaffin's Bluff.  He
has compiled photographs from several sources including  the
Library  of  Congress where many Civil War images are stored
that have not been seen for over 100 years.                 

Mike always provides us with a lively and highly interesting
presentation.  Be sure to come and hear him!!               

NOVEMBER PROGRAM

Dedicated historian and  preservationist  Brantley  Knowles,
wife  of  our  Compatriot  Peter  Knowles,  II and mother of
Compatriot Peter Knowles, III and Bolling Knowles, began her
talk by reminding us of the famous firsts of Jamestown:     

	Permanent English settlement                   
	Legislative assembly                           
	English church                                 
	English fort                                   

Jamestown  Island had a natural deep water harbor.  The fort
constructed  was  triangular  in  shape  with  bulwarks  for
cannon.                                                     

In  1699 the capital of Virginia was moved from Jamestown to
Williamsburg.  In 1781 French Admiral deGrasse in supporting
the  American  and  French  armies besieging Yorktown landed
3,000 soldiers at Jamestown.                                

The beginning of the War Between the States  in  April  1861
led  to  a  renewed  interest  in Yorktown.  William Allen's
slaves built a Confederate fort, using some of the dirt from
the   original   fort.    Jamestown  was  a  valuable  naval
observation point.  Allen and Confederate Navy Lt.   Catesby
ap  Roger  Jones  supervised  the  fort, which was manned by
1,200 men.                                                  

In March 1862 General Lee wrote to Confederate General  John
Bankhead Magruder with advice on defending the peninsula.   

On   May  3,  1862  the  Confederates  evacuated  Jamestown,
intending to leave nothing of value to the Yankees.  In  the
summer  of 2006 excavation funded by the United Daughters of
the  Confederacy  located  a  Confederate  "day"   magazine.
Confederates  fired  the  magazine,  and  the roof caved in.
Other magazines, in the style  of  plantation  outbuildings,
were found further back from the gun emplacements.          

After  the  Confederate  evacuation,  Jamestown Island was a
rendezvous point for escaped slaves.  They burned  the  home
of William Allen.                                           

In  August  1863  Jamestown  was  a  outpost for the Yankees
stationed in Williamsburg.  Local activity picked up  during
the  1864  Bermuda  Hundred  campaign, when a communications
cable was run from Jamestown Island.                        

After the Appomattox surrendered, Jamestown was used by  the
Yankees in administering the oath to Confederates.          

All Americans  are  indebted  to  the  Association  for  the
Preservation  of  Virginia  Antiquities  and  to the UDC for
preserving this important historical location.              


                                            Walter

DECEMBER PROGRAM

Richard G.  Williams, Jr.  has had a  lifelong  interest  in
the  War  Between the States.  As a schoolboy he visited the
Lee Chapel and VMI.                                         

He put a piece on the  Internet  about  Stonewall  Jackson's
Sunday  school  class.   Emails  began coming with questions
which  encouraged  him  to  do  research.   Rick  is  not  a
full-time  author,  so  it  took  him  four  years  to write
Stonewall Jackson-The Black Man's Friend.                   

Rick named three factors that influenced Thomas J.   Jackson
to  start  his  Sunday  school class for blacks in Lexington
while he was a professor at VMI.  First were the slaves whom
Jackson  knew  growing  up  in  Jackson's  Mill while he was
living with his uncle Cummings.  Three of these were  Granny
Robinson, Cecilia, and Uncle Robinson.  Cecilia took care of
the children.  Uncle Robinson took young Tom and his  sister
Laura to see their mother as she lay dying.                 

The second influence was Tom's boyhood friend, Joseph Andrew
Jackson  Lightburn, whose family had moved to Lexington from
Pennsylvania and whose father had a nice library.   The  two
friends  loved reading.  Jackson and Thaddeus Moore observed
a slave funeral.   Jackson  felt  sorry  for  the  race  and
thought  they  should  be  free  and have a chance.  Jackson
stated that Joe Lightburn said that they should be taught to
read  the  Bible,  and  that he thought so, too.  Moore told
Jackson that it would be  better  not  to  make  known  such
views.  Lightburn later became a general in the Union Army. 

The third influence was John B.   Lyle,  who  owned  a  book
store  in  Lexington.  Lyle was a dynamic Christian who gave
Jackson books on prayer.  Maggie Preston thought that  these
books  had a great influence on Jackson.  Jackson's teaching
blacks to read and having them meet in  his  home  at  night
violated Virginia's laws which had been passed following Nat
Turner's rebellion.  In  1858,  Jackson  was  confronted  by
three attorneys, one of whom informed him that his class was
an unlawful assembly.  Jackson responded, "Sir, if you were,
as  you  should  be, a Christian man, you would not think or
say so." They were later reconciled.                        

Jackson's Sunday school class members achieved much in God's
work.   Jefferson  Shields founded Lexington African Baptist
Church, one of four churches founded  by  Jackson's  pupils.
Lylburn  Liggins  Downing,  son  of  two of Jackson's Sunday
school class members, founded the Fifth Avenue  Presbyterian
Church  in  Roanoke.  That church has a stained glass window
honoring Jackson.  The window was damaged in a fire, but was
not destroyed.                                              

Just  as  Jackson  lives  on  in his influence at VMI and in
military  tactics,  his  Christianity  lives   on   in   the
descendants of members of his Sunday school class.          

Rick  concluded the program by showing us a two minute video
of a movie that is being made about Jackson's life prior  to
The War.                                                    

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

Ben Baird
Lloyd Brooks
Clint Cowardin*
Lee Crenshaw
Raymond Crews*
Jerold Evans*
Kitty Faglie*
Richard Faglie*
Pat Hoggard
Louis Heindl
John Kane
Roger Kirby
Mike Miller
Joe Moschetti
Preston Nuttall
Rufus Sarvay
Waite Rawls
Bill Setzer
John Shumadine
Will Schumadine
Harrison Taylor
Walter Tucker
Will Wallace
Harold Whitmore
Hugh Williams
Joe Wright

In Memory of Chuck Walton-Ben Baird
In memory of Tom Lauterbach-Anonymous
In Memory of Bill Jones-Anonymous

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

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

THROUGH APRIL 1 "By the  Sea"  exhibit  of  major  fine  art
photographs,  contemporary  works and historical pieces from
The Mariner's Museum collection at  the  Museum  in  Newport
News.   Plus  "The  Monitor  Revisited,"  original photos by
pinhole photographer Willie Ann Wright.   Daily  10-5.   For
info, (800) 581-7245; www.marinersmuseumorg

THROUGH  MAY  "Many  Thousands Go: African Americans and the
Civil War," new exhibit at Pamplin  Historical  Park  &  The
National  Museum  of  the  Civil War Soldier focusing on the
contributions of black soldiers & civilians on both sides of
the  conflict.   Featuring  original  copy of the Thirteenth
Amendment (through  September,  2006,)  artifacts  from  the
William  A.   Gladstone  black militaria collection owned by
Pamplin and other  collections.   For  info:  1-877-PAMPLIN:
www.pamplinpark.org

THROUGH   SEPTEMBER   "Generations:  The  MacArthur  Family"
exhibit  at  The  MacArthur  Memorial,   MacArthur   Square,
Norfolk.   Displays on General of the Army Douglas MacArthur
from MacArthur clan roots  in  14th  century  Scotland,  his
father  who  received  the  Medal of Honor in the Civil War,
other  family  members.   Monday  through  Saturday,   10-5,
Sundays,   11-5.    Free.    For   info:   (757)   441-2965;
www.macarthurmemorial.org

JANUARY  21  Stonewall   Jackson's   Birthday   Celebration,
Stonewall  Jackson  House,  Lexington,  VA.  For info: (540)
463-2552; www.stonewalljackson.org

A LITTLE HUMOR!

 
We trained hard, but it  seemed  that  every  time  we  were
beginning to form up into teams, we would be reorganized.  I
was to learn later in life that we  tend  to  meet  any  new
situation  by  reorganizing,  and what a wonderful method it
can be for creating the  illusion  of  progress  while  only
producing confusion, inefficiency and demoralization!       

            Petronius Arbiter, Greek naval officer,  A.D. 66

THE ART OF WAR

 
"In one word, the Art of War in its highest point of view is
policy, but, no doubt, a policy which fights battles instead
of writing notes.                                           

According to this view, to leave a great military enterprise
or  the  plan  for  one,  to  a purely military judgment and
decision is a distinction which cannot be  allowed,  and  is
even  prejudicial; indeed, it is an irrational proceeding to
consult professional soldiers on the plan  of  a  War,  that
they  may  give  a  purely  military  opinion  upon what the
Cabinet ought to do; but still more absurd is the demand  of
Theorists  that  a  statement  of the available means of War
should be laid before the General, that he may  draw  out  a
purely  military  plan  for  the  War  or  for a campaign in
accordance with those means.   Experience  in  general  also
teaches  us  that  notwithstanding the multifarious branches
and scientific character of military art in the present day,
still the leading outlines of a War are always determined by
the Cabinet, that is, if we would use technical language, by
a political not a military organ.                           

This is perfectly natural.   None  of  the  principal  plans
which  are required for a War can be made without an insight
into the political relations; and, in reality,  when  people
speak,  as  they  often  do, of the prejudicial influence of
policy on the conduct of War, they say in reality  something
very  different  to  what  they  intend.   It  is  not  this
influence but the policy itself which should be found  fault
with.   If  policy  is  right,  that  is,  if it succeeds in
hitting the object, then it can only act with  advantage  on
the  War.   If  this influence of policy causes a divergence
from the object, the cause can  only  be  looked  for  in  a
mistaken policy.                                            

It is only when policy promises itself a wrong  effect  from
certain  military  means  and measures, an effect opposed to
their nature, that it can exercise a prejudicial  effect  on
War  by  the  course  it  prescribes.  Just as a person in a
language with which he is not conversant sometimes says what
he  does  not  intend,  so policy, when intending right, may
often order things which do not tally with its own views.   

This has happened times without end, and  it  shows  that  a
certain  knowledge  of the nature of War is essential to the
management of political intercourse."                       

This is an excerpt  from  On  War  by  Carl  von  Clausewitz
written  in 1832!  This book has been read by generations of
military  men  and,  one  would  hope,  by  generations   of
politicians also!                                           


Remember, this was written 175 years ago!!                  

WE WERE ALL SMILES AT THE CHRISTMAS BANQUET!!!