COMMANDER'S COMMENTS

As I sit before my computer to write this month's Commander Comments,  I
am  reminded  that  yesterday (May 5th) was Cinco De Mayo Day celebrated
throughout the country of Mexico and the United States.  The day is when
Mexicans  celebrate  their heritage, but not as a day of independence as
many have thought over the years.  It is actually the anniversary  of  a
battle  that  took  place  in  1862  between  French  troops and heavily
out-numbered Mexican forces (does  this  sound  familiar).   The  French
troops  had  been  sent  by Emperor Napoleon III to seize control of the
government of Mexico and have a foreign head-of-state put in  charge  to
lead  the country.  The Mexican militia troops hid behind fortifications
and attacked the French troops as they entered the city on May  5th  and
the  ensuing  battle  resulted in over 1,000 French troops being killed.
The French Emperor was so surprised by  this  show  of  force  from  the
Mexicans  that  he  sent  additional  French  troops  to Mexico to seize
control of the government (which they did), but the Mexicans  celebrated
May 5th because of that victory over the French forces and ultimately it
helped to lead to the overthrow of the French puppet  government  a  few
years later.                                                            

Another  great  battle  occurred  on  the  North American continent just
one-year later when a heavily out-numbered force of Confederates led  by
General  Robert  E.   Lee,  outfought,  out  soldiered  and resoundingly
defeated the vastly superior but poorly led Union Army of the Potomac at
the  Battle  of Chancellorsville.  This battle has often been called Lee
and Jackson's masterpiece because in the face of  over-whelming  forces,
numerous  times  General  Lee divided his forces and attacked the poorly
led Union forces and ultimately routed them.  Unfortunately,  the  brave
and  valiant  General  Stonewall  Jackson  fell  victim  to  a volley of
smoothbore musket fire from nervous North Carolina troops, and  died  of
pneumonia  several  days later.  Ironically, General Jackson died on May
10th - a Sunday.  The month of May one year later saw the beginnings  of
General  Grant's  vicious  and deadly Overland Campaign with the opening
battle in the Wilderness.  It was during this battle  on  May  6th  that
General  Lee's  "Old War Horse" - our very own General James Longstreet,
was felled in similar circumstances as General Jackson the year earlier.
General  Longstreet  was  fired  upon  and  wounded  by troops under the
command of General Kershaw.  Fortunately for the Confederacy and General
Lee,  General  Longstreet  survived  his  wounding and was later able to
return to command - although without the use of one of his arms for  the
remainder of the war.                                                   

The  month of May also played a significant part in the formation of the
Confederate States of America when  the  state  of  North  Carolina  and
Commonwealth  of Virginia voted to secede from the Union within one week
of each other in 1861.  Without a doubt, the month  of  May  is  a  very
important part of our Confederate Heritage-which is something we all can
be very proud of.                                                       

I recently had the privilege of representing the Longstreet Camp  (along
with  Adjutant  Walter Tucker) at the Virginia Division SCV Annual State
Convention in Williamsburg.  This years convention  was  hosted  by  the
James  City  Calvary  Camp  commanded  by  Dave Ware.  I want to commend
Commander Ware and Ken Parsons for their efforts in putting  together  a
first-rate  Convention.   Well  Done Gentlemen!  Make sure to ask either
myself or Walter about one interesting exchange that occurred during the
Business Meeting - if I had not been a witness myself I would have never
believed it happened.                                                   

A sad note as a follow-up to the Convention - at the time of the writing
of  my  comments it was announced that long-time friend, Longstreet Camp
supporter and Southern Compatriot Russell Darden had passed  away.   The
ironic  thing  of  it  all  was  that Russell (along with Walter and 2nd
Brigade Commander Mike Thomas) sat  at  my  table  during  the  Business
Meeting  -  and  was  as  opinionated  as  ever,  but  definitely a true
Compatriot, and a true friend of the Longstreet Camp.   I  have  already
recommended  to  the Executive Committee that the Longstreet Camp make a
donation to the Courtland Fire and Rescue Department per the  wishes  of
Russell's family.  He will indeed be missed.                            

As  we  continue with our struggle of trying to save our history and our
heritage, I am reminded of what the great  reporter  Edward  R.   Murrow
once  said  -  "We  can deny our heritage and our history, but we cannot
escape responsibilities for the results".  Something to think about  the
next time you hear someone talking down to those of us who wish to honor
and educate others of our heritage and our history because they both are
so much a part of who we are as Americans today.                        

Remember - "Longstreet is the Camp boys - Longstreet is  the Camp!"     

I look forward to seeing everyone at our next camp meeting!

Deo Vindice!                                                            
					Mike                     

ADJUTANT'S REPORT

Many thanks to Clint Cowardin, Lee Crenshaw, Raymond Crews, Gene Golden,
Don Jewett, Andy Keller, and Lewis Mills who picked up trash Saturday 18
April alongside our Camp's one mile stretch of Route 606 (Studley Road),
Hanover  County near Enon United Methodist Church.  Special appreciation
goes to Lewis, who provides us with blaze orange  vests  and  serves  as
liaison  with  VDOT.   We  were  blessed with a sunny day and a moderate
temperature.  I think we filled a few more bags than we did  last  fall,
but don't think that we're back to pre-recession levels.                

Great  news  was  received  16  April in an email from Virginia Division
Commander John Sawyer who informed all camps that they will be permitted
to send renewal International dues directly to Headquarters for the year
August 2009-July 2010.  Bills will continue to be mailed by Division  to
individual  members.   Payments will come to camp adjutants from members
and must be accompanied by the complete original bill.  This change  led
the  25  April  Virginia  Division  Convention  to  reject  the proposed
constitutional amendment which called for  penalties  for  any  Division
officers  who  impeded  dues  being sent to International.  I was in the
minority  supporting  the  amendment.   Division  leadership  is  to  be
commended  for  listening  to  camp adjutants on this subject.  We owe a
debt of gratitude to the Nelson Grays Camp  #  2123  for  proposing  the
amendment.   Sentiment  from  camps  that  I'd heard from was running in
favor of the amendment prior to Commander Sawyer's email  regarding  the
changed procedure.                                                      

Kudos  to  James  City  Cavalry Camp # 2095 which hosted the Convention.
Camp Commander Dave Ware and Camp Adjutant  Ken  Parsons  are  associate
members  of  Longstreet  and were regular Longstreet members before they
and several others founded James City  Cavalry  Camp.   Jack  Kane,  who
lives  in  Yorktown,  has just transferred from Longstreet to James City
Cavalry.  He remains an associate  Longstreet  member.   Transfers  from
Longstreet  reduced  our number of members temporarily, but the Virginia
Division and the SCV have benefited from the formation  of  the  strong,
growing James City Cavalry Camp.                                        

The  McGowan's  Brigade  monument  at  the Mule Shoe on the Spotsylvania
battlefield is scheduled Saturday 9 May at 10:30 AM.  That  brigade  was
part  of  Wilcox's  Division  of  A.  P.  Hill's 3rd Corps.  Jubal Early
replaced Hill, who was too ill to command, on 8 May.  Gordon Rhea's  The
Battle  for  Spotsylvania  Court House and the Road to Yellow Tavern May
7-12, 1864 is an excellent book on this phase of the Overland  Campaign.
My  wife's  great grandfather Private Andrew J.  Randlett, 44th Virginia
Infantry, was captured at  Spotsylvania.   He  was  imprisoned  at  Fort
Delaware  and  lived into the early 20th century.  In his later years he
lived upstairs from my grandparents Walter and Julia  Cauthorn  Dunn  on
North  21st  Street in Richmond.  We have a clock which he gave to them.
It still keeps time!  Julia's father 2nd Lieutenant Andrew B.  Cauthorn,
26th Virginia Infantry, was also a prisoner at Fort Delaware.  Andrew is
the ancestor whom I used to join the SCV.                               

The John Marshall High School Cadet Alumni Band  is  scheduled  to  play
from 9:00 to 9:40 AM at the Confederate Chapel Memorial Day 25 May prior
to the service scheduled for 10 AM.  Several of my JM classmates  who've
heard the band are enthusiastic in their praises.                       

The Virginia Division's service commemorating Jefferson Davis's birthday
is scheduled for 10 AM Saturday 6 June at Hollywood cemetery.   This  is
always  a  memorable occasion, particularly if you like bagpipes and the
firing of cannons.                                                      

Plans are still up in the air about what will happen to Fort Monroe when
the  Army  leaves  in  2011.   The  grounds of Fort Monroe were tread by
Sergeant Major Edgar Allan Poe,  President  Andrew  Jackson,  Lieutenant
Robert  E.   Lee,  Black  Hawk,  President John Tyler, President Millard
Fillmore, President Abraham Lincoln, General Ulysses S.   Grant,  former
Confederate  President  Jefferson  Davis,  President Woodrow Wilson, and
General Dwight D.  Eisenhower.                                          

Fort Monroe is under siege by those who would love to see it  surrounded
by  real state development which would block the great vistas, including
Hampton Roads, where CSS Virginia and USS Monitor fought the  battle  of
the   ironclads.    Governor   Tim   Kaine  signed  "carefully  crafted"
legislation which gave 7 of 18 positions on the Fort Monroe Federal Area
Development  Authority  to  citizens  of Hampton.  This act unacceptably
ignores the interests of the rest of Virginians  and  all  Americans  in
this  international treasure.  As our ancestors took up arms, we need to
take up our pens, typewriters, and computers  to  defend  this  historic
part  of  our  Old Dominion.  If you haven't already done so, please let
your political representatives know promptly that Fort Monroe  needs  to
be preserved.  One gubernatorial candidate has announced his support for
a national park at Fort Monroe.  The other three need to hear  from  us.
In  the  words  of  Barney  Google or his sidekick Snuffy Smith (Younger
members can learn about those 1919-1960's mainstays of the  comic  pages
from the Internet), "Time's a wastin'!"                                 

					Walter                   

GENERAL JAMES LONGSTREET CAMP #1247

NEXT MEETING - TUESDAY, May 19, 2009

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

MAY SPEAKER

Our speaker for the May meeting will be Michael Virts.  Michael  is  the
Adjutant  of  Major  General  Fitzhugh  Lee  Camp # 1805 in Spotsylvania
County and is Past Chaplain of Frank Stringfellow Camp # 822 of  Fairfax
County. His topic will be Religion in the War of Northern Aggression. He
will cover the roles that Protestants, Catholics and Jews played in  the
conflict and how the war affected their lives.                          

April PROGRAM

Gregg Clemmer opened his talk on General Edward "Alleghany"  Johnson  by
stating  that  in his biography he wanted to give readers the picture of
Johnson's entire life and not just his wartime experiences.             

Johnson was overlooked for many years  until  Douglas  Southall  Freeman
brought him back to public notice in Lee's Lieutenants, published in the
1940's.                                                                 

Johnson is remembered too much by contemporary descriptions  of  him  as
"possessor  of a strange skull and inept at courting" by Mary Chesnut, "
a large man jeered at by his men" by McHenry Howard, and  an  "unmarried
unpopular  loner."  Others called him "Old Club, Fencerail, Old Blucher,
or Brute." He was described as " a good general and a brave man, but the
wickedest man I ever saw." Someone said that he could work his ears like
a mule and was seen trying to brush the flies off the back of  his  head
with  his ears.  He led from the front, probably when he shouldn't have,
and frequently waved a cane or a club rather than a sword.              

Johnson graduated from U.  S.  Military Academy West Point in 1838,  the
closest  kinsman  of  Thomas  Jefferson ever to attend that institution,
which had been founded by President Jefferson in 1802.                  

He spent time fighting Seminoles in Florida.  His heroism in the Mexican
War led to both the Commonwealth of Virginia and his native Chesterfield
County to present him with swords.                                      

In August 1854 Johnson was assigned to investigate the Grattan  Massacre
in  which  a young Army lieutenant and 29 of his soldiers were killed by
Lakota Sioux near Fort  Laramie,  Nebraska  Territory.   He  interviewed
everybody  that he could and reported that both Grattan and his superior
2nd Lieutenant Hugh Fleming were too inexperienced to have the positions
to which the Army had assigned them.  The report ended up on the desk of
an incensed  Secretary  of  War  Jefferson  Davis,  who  as  Confederate
President  appointed Johnson Colonel of the 12th Georgia Infantry, while
most other regular Army  officers  of  Johnson's  experience  were  made
generals.                                                               

Johnson served well under Robert E.  Lee in the 1861 campaign in western
Virginia and was promoted to brigadier general December 1861.  He served
with  distinction  in Stonewall Jackson's 1862 Valley campaign, where he
was severely wounded.  Promotion to major general came February 1863.   

After leading a division at Gettysburg and the Wilderness,  Johnson  was
captured  at  Spotsylvania  May  1864.   After  being  exchanged, he was
assigned to the Army of Tennessee.                                      

The charge that Johnson led at the 30 November 1864  at  the  battle  of
Franklin,  TN  was  described  by  General  Stephen Dill Lee as the most
gallant of The War.  That charge covered a greater  distance  than  that
led  by  Pickett  at  Gettysburg.   Johnson  was  captured  at Nashville
December 1864, giving him the distinction of being captured twice in the
same  year!   He  was not released from Old Capitol Prison Washington DC
until July 1865.                                                        

After The War Johnson farmed at his old  home  in  Chesterfield  County.
After  his  1873 death his body lay in state at the Houdon statue in the
Virginia State Capitol.  Ladies showed up in droves.  Robert  Hunter,  a
member  of his staff, said, "The Old Dominion never gave birth to a more
devoted son." This statement is consistent with  praises  from  Generals
Stonewall  Jackson,  Richard  S.   Ewell, and Robert E.  Lee.  Johnson's
highest accolades came from subordinates who followed him  into  battle.
Artillerist  William  P.  Carter said "No bolder soldier ever donned the
Confederate gray, or followed the storm-tossed colors  of  the  immortal
Lee."                                                                   

Alleghany  Johnson  was the highest ranking Confederate officer from the
Richmond area.  His date of rank made him senior to Henry Heth,  also  a
Chesterfield County native.  Gregg Clemmer said that authors hear voices
asking them questions as they work on their books.  Late in his work  on
the  Alleghany  Johnson  biography he heard, "Where are the presentation
swords?" Clemmer learned at a meeting of the Aztec Society  (descendants
of Mexican War officers) that Johnson's Chesterfield County presentation
sword is  in  the  Smithsonian.   Identifying  himself  as  the  Johnson
biographer,  he  was  able  to  see it.  Clemmer believes that the other
presentation sword may have been buried with him in Hollywood  Cemetery,
where the exact location of Johnson's burial site is unknown.           


					Walter

2007-2009 CAMP OFFICERS
LONGSTREET CAMP #1247
Commander: Michael Kidd	                     270-9651
1st. Lt. Cmdr.: Taylor Cowardin              359-9277
2nd Lt. Cmdr.: Thomas G. Vance	             282-6278
Adjutant/Treasurer: Walter Tucker            360-7247
Judge Advocate: Harry Boyd                   741-2060
Quartermaster: R. Preston Nuttall            276-8977
Chaplain: Henry V. Langford                  474-1978

PUBLICATIONS
War Horse editor and                                 
Webmaster: Gary F. Cowardin                  262-0534

Website: longstreetscv.org                           

LONGSTREET'S FIRST CORPS

The following is a listing of contributors to the upkeep  of
"The  Old  War  Horse" from July, 2008.  through the current
month.  As you know, our cumulative listing starts  in  July
of each year and we do not meet in August.                  

Lloyd Brooks            Brian Cowardin*         Clint Cowardin*
Taylor Cowardin*        Raymond Crews*          Jerold Evans   
Dave George             Mike Hendrick           Pat Hoggard    
Jack Kane               Peter Knowles,II        Lewis Mills    
Conway Moncure          Bob Moore               Joe Moschetti  
John Moschetti          Preston Nuttall         Waite Rawls    
Peyton Roden            Bill Setzer             Tom Spivey     
Walter Tucker*          John Vial               David Ware     
Harold Whitmore         Bobbie Williams         Hugh Williams  
Keith Zimmerman*        Anonymous                              

Legend:                                    
* - Multiple contributions                 

HURTT SCHOLARSHIP FUND
August 1, 2008 through March 31, 2009

Walt Beam               Brian Cowardin          Clint Cowardin 
Lee Crenshaw            Pat Hoggard             Jack Kane      
Peter Knowles,II        Joe Moschetti           Preston Nuttall
Peyton Roden            Walter Tucker           Tom Vance      
Hugh Williams           Anonymous                              

Three generous donations in March,  combined  with  previous  donations,
have  given  us  sufficient  funds  to  make  the  award  in June to the
outstanding senior history student at Douglas S. Freeman High School.   

VIRGINIA DIVISION, SCV FUND

Walter Beam     Crawley Joyner     Bob Moore     Cary Shelton