COMMANDER'S COMMENTS

Well, the dog days of summer are fast approaching us regardless of  what
the  calendar  (and  the weather) may show - just a friendly reminder to
all members to make sure to drink plenty of liquids  when  participating
in any outdoor activities during the days when it is 90+ degrees out. It
is truly a bit ironic that as I am writing my comments, it is June 4th -
D-Day  minus  2!  It has been called by historians as the single largest
amphibious assault on the European continent - where causalities were as
high  in many units as they were during the War Between the States.  The
city of Bedford, Virginia suffered the highest causality figures of  any
community  in  America  on  D-Day,  and the good people of the area have
honored those "Boys of  Bedford"  and  all  of  their  comrades  with  a
wonderful memorial in their honor.  As I sit this evening to write these
comments - that Memorial is in serious trouble.                         

As I was recently home visiting my family and assisting with  some  much
needed  outside  painting,  I  heard  that  the  National D-Day Memorial
located in Bedford, VA could close before the end of summer.  To put  it
bluntly  - it's almost broke!  When the Memorial was built and dedicated
back in 2001, it was in serious debt and it had some other  problems  as
well  within  the organization.  Since that time, the problems have been
corrected and the Memorial is no longer  in  debt.   However,  both  the
Federal Government and the Commonwealth of Virginia have cut all funding
to the Memorial - so it is having to rely solely  on  donations  and  of
course  visitors.   Visitation  numbers  are  down  this year as are the
private donations.                                                      

It is feared that the Memorial may have  to  close  before  the  end  of
summer,  however,  either  the  Commonwealth of Virginia or the National
Park Service could take over the day-to-day operation and hopefully keep
it open.  Of either of these - I'm not so sure.  I have had the honor of
visiting the D-Day Memorial in Bedford, and  I  encourage  any  and  all
members and their families and friends who have not traveled that way to
do so.  It is definitely worth the time to go, and you may just help  to
save  a  Very,  Very important Memorial to a lot of brave men.  You will
not be able to meet any of the "Boys of Bedford" I am afraid -  we  lost
the  last  remaining  member earlier this year, but his spirit and those
spirits of his comrades still lives on.                                 

The remembrance and preservation of our Southern history is what being a
member  of  the Sons of Confederate Veteran's is all about - I sometimes
think that some of our members forget  that,  but  the  bottom  line  is
simple - if we don't work towards preserving and remembering our history
- who will ??  Our children ??  Our families ??  Our friends ??   Maybe,
but then again maybe not - regardless we can't take that chance.        

There  have  been  stories  of  how  history in Richmond continues to be
replaced (or just disappear completely from view) of other  things  that
are  considered  to  be  more important - like parking lots and hospital
"expansions".  Our school systems have  shown  us  that  they  are  only
interested  in  teaching  our children what the Commonwealth of Virginia
requires them to teach -  especially  when  it  comes  to  history,  and
specifically Virginia history, and nothing more than what is required of
them.  Gone are the days of when sitting in an  American  history  class
(or  Virginia  history  for  that  matter)  meant actually learning some
things about  American  or  Virginia  history  that  wasn't  necessarily
printed in a book, but experienced in real life by real people.         

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

On Memorial Day the John Marshall High School Alumni Band played on  the
lawn  at  the Confederate Memorial Chapel prior to the 10:00 AM service.
Numbers included When Johnny Comes  Marching  Home,  Lorena,  Aura  Lee,
Bonnie  Eloise,  Old  Black Joe, Home Sweet Home, and The Yellow Rose of
Texas.  A soloist sang Will My Soul Pass  through  the  Southland.   The
appreciative audience sang as the Band played the Virginia Official Song
Emeritus Carry Me Back to Old Virginny and Dixie.  Anyone unmoved by the
music  must  not  have a heart or a soul.  The Band is scheduled to play
twice at the Virginia Historical  Society  Saturday  18  July-at  11  AM
outside  and  at  2 PM inside.  You can hear the band play one number on
its web site http://jmab.org, but that doesn't convey a fraction of  the
emotion created by hearing them live. (photos below)                    

The  Memorial  Day  service at the Chapel was highlighted by Nora Brooks
dressed in period costume speaking words of Mary Anna  Morrison  Jackson
about her beloved Stonewall.                                            

The   Confederate  Chapel  at  2900  Grove  Avenue  is  a  little  known
unpublicized jewel.  Jackie and I went back there Memorial Day afternoon
and  had  the good fortune to catch a knowledgeable docent on duty.  The
Chapel is open 11 AM-3 PM Wednesday through Sunday.                     

Gregg Clemmer's talk at our April  meeting  stimulated  my  interest  in
Alleghany  Johnson,  about  whom my knowledge was woefully insufficient.
Gregg's book Old Alleghany is excellent.  We know less  than  we  should
about this capable Confederate warrior because he never married and thus
did not leave behind family to perpetuate his memory.   Also,  he  never
was  active  politically.   Amazingly,  no camp in the Virginia Division
bears his name, and Gregg's book is  not  in  the  public  libraries  of
Chesterfield, Henrico, or Richmond.  This is abominable treatment of the
highest ranking Confederate officer from the  Richmond  area.   His  two
victories  in the Western Virginia campaign of 1861 are often overlooked
because overall that campaign was a disaster  for  the  Confederacy  and
reflected poorly on the reputation of Robert E. Lee.                    

We  remember  Stonewall  Jackson's  message  to General Samuel Cooper in
Richmond after the  May  1862  Confederate  victory  at  McDowell,  "God
blessed   our  arms  with  victory  at  McDowell  yesterday."  Alleghany
Johnson's Army of the Northwest was a  major  factor  in  that  victory,
suffering  four  times as many casualties as the rest of the Confederate
army engaged there.  Johnson's role is obscured by that  of  the  mighty
Stonewall.   We are indebted to Gregg Clemmer for highlighting Johnson's
accomplishments,  which  have  been   overshadowed   by   better   known
Confederate names.                                                      

We've  all  heard  the  statement  "The pen is mightier than the sword,"
which  sounds  like  something  from  the  Bible  or  from  Shakespeare.
Actually,  that  sentence  is  from a play Richelieu, written in 1839 by
Englishman Edward George Bulwer-Lytton.  That generalization needs to be
modified  by  considering  the  wielder of the pen and what he's writing
about.  Further, the sword can strengthen the pen.  Where  would  Thomas
Jefferson's  words  in  the  Declaration  of Independence be without the
swords of George Washington, Lafayette, and the armies  of  America  and
France?   We  need  to  take  up or pens to defend the reputation of the
Confederate soldier and to prevent it from being overrun or forgotten by
a generation too prone to be obsessed by the present.                   

					Walter                   

GENERAL JAMES LONGSTREET CAMP #1247

NEXT MEETING - TUESDAY, June 16, 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

JUNE SPEAKER

June's  speaker  will  be  historian,   author   and   Longstreet   camp
quartermaster  Preston  Nuttall.  He has written several books including
Warriors of the Triple Chevron, a historical novel.  He will speak to us
about his latest book, The Confederate Ironclad Albemarle: A Monument to
Southern Resolve.                                                       

MAY PROGRAM

Michael Virts, a member of Major General Fitzhugh Lee  Camp  #  1805  of
Stafford,  VA,  titled his talk "Confederates who endured with SPIRITUAL
FAITH."                                                                 

In his opening remarks on the home front Michael gave  several  examples
of  the  desecration  of  Southern churches by Yankee soldiers.  Pastors
refusing to pray and preach according to Yankee rules  were  imprisoned.
Baptist minister William F.  Broaddus was arrested at his Fredericksburg
home 29 July 1862 and imprisoned in Washington.                         

Michael quoted several Confederate soldiers about  faith  displayed  and
about the Great Revival.                                                

Generals  whom he cited included Stonewall Jackson for his Sunday school
teaching of slaves and his personal witnessing of the gospel.  Robert E.
Lee  urged  all  of the people in the South to pray.  J.  E.  B.  Stuart
loved to sing Christian hymns.  In accordance with his request, "Rock of
Ages" was sung at his funeral.                                          

President  Jefferson Davis set an example to the nation by worshiping at
St.  Paul's Episcopal Church in Richmond.  He preceded  Abraham  Lincoln
by  calling for a Day of Humiliation, Fasting, and Prayer and by calling
for a Thanksgiving Day.                                                 

Nurses and clergy prayed regularly with wounded and diseased Confederate
soldiers.  Dying soldiers dictated to nurses letters home assuring their
loved ones that they were going to Heaven to meet  God  and  would  meet
them some day in eternity.                                              

The  father  of  Woodrow  Wilson was a Confederate chaplain.  Dr.  James
Battle Avirett, Episcopalian chaplain to Turner  Ashby,  after  The  War
became  former  Yankee  Postmaster  General Blair's pastor.  Avirett and
Blair worked together to improve the lives of  the  poor  in  Montgomery
County, Maryland.                                                       

Michael named prominent Confederates of every faith.  The appointment of
Judah Benjamin to several Confederate cabinet posts contrasted with  the
anti-Semitism  of  Grant,  Butler,  and  Andrew  Johnson.  Moses Ezekiel
tended to mortally wounded VMI cadet Thomas Jefferson and in response to
Jefferson's request, read the familiar words of John 14:1-7 to him.     

Michael gave to each person present his notes for the talk.  Those notes
covered more than he had time to discuss.                               

					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   
Lee Crenshaw                                                   
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 May 31, 2009

Walt Beam               Brian Cowardin          Clint Cowardin 
Lee Crenshaw            Pat Hoggard             Don Jewett     
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    

Longstreet Camp's Buck Hurtt Scholarship Award Presentation

Happy Raffel Winner!!