Christmas Message From the Army Of Tennessee Chaplain

Christmas Message From the Army Of Tennessee Chaplain Rev. Dr. Cecil Fayard, Jr. Matthew 2:11-12, “And when they [the Wise Men] were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down and worshiped him: and when they had opened their treasurers, they presented unto him gifts; gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed another way.” We do not often think of the Wise Men as being men of courage, but that is exactly what they were. Herod expected them to come back through Jerusalem and tell him where Jesus was. Instead, at the risk of their own lives, they returned home another way, a way directed by the Lord. As members of the Army of Tennessee, Sons of Confederate Veterans, it behooves us to be courageous, to stand firm in our convictions, and to, if need be, swim upstream against the liberal tide of our day. In a time when far too many Southerners are trying to forget the past, it is our responsibility to preserve the true history of our past and to present it to our generation. For the Wise Men, Christmas was a time for courage, time to stand up and be counted. Just as the Wise Men were directed by God, it is my prayer at this Christmas season that you and I will pray for our leadership, especially Commander Tom Strain and his staff , asking God to direct each officer of this great Army of Tennessee. Let us also pray for Commander-in-Chief Michael Givens and the General Executive Council. The Wise Men had a mission to accomplish, to come and worship the child Jesus and to bring gifts to Him. We, Sons of Confederate Veterans, have a mission. We are to honor our ancestors and keep their memory green. Let us never forget our mission; let us never be deterred or distracted. We have been charged to uphold the good name of our ancestors and emulate their values. It is not really about you or about me. It is all about upholding the honor of our confederate forefathers. Our mission is not making a name for ourselves, but upholding the names of those who now lie silent in the grave and cannot speak for themselves. There is something else that we need to consider about the Wise Men, they and did not take. They were selfless and not selfish. They were sacrificial and not self serving. May the Lord help each to be Servants not Masters. As they suffered the privations of war, let us stand tall and suffer, if need be, for the cause of preserving our history and heritage. May the God of all grace bless you this Christmas season, and may you experience the PEACE that He alone can give.

Past Florida Division Commander Doug Dawson

Commanders and Adjutants, It is with great sadness I must report the passing of Compatriot, Past Commander and Past Florida Division Commander Doug Dawson. He died early this morning in a local hospital. ...I am notifying your camps because I know many of you knew him, and knew him to be a fierce defender of The Cause. I personally know of no other compatriot who put in more time, money and effort to support our Southern Heritage. He will be missed. Please pass this notification along to your members. The service will be this Saturday, 03 November, at Faith Chapel North, 1001 South Hwy. 95A, Cantonment, FL 32533 (Phone - 850-937-8118). Visitation will be from 1-2 PM, followed by the service at 2 PM. The family has requested to not have an SCV ceremony at this time. Our Camp 1315 Commander Auby Smith and Chaplain Dick Mills will coordinate with the family for a fitting SCV Memorial Service for a later date. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Warm Southern Regards, Woody Barnes Past Adjutant 850-932-6950 swampfox35@bellsouth.net

Virginia cemetery for Alabama Civil War dead to be dedicated

By Mary Orndorff Troyan -- Washington Bureau WASHINGTON -- A newly restored Civil War cemetery in northern Virginia will be formally dedicated next month in a ceremony that is expected to draw descendants of the Tenth Alabama Infantry Regiment soldiers who died there. The small but significant portion of Bristoe Station Battlefield Heritage Park was reborn after decades in private hands, overgrown and surrounded by farmland. Prince William County saved the battlefield area in a deal with a real estate developer, and historic preservationists determined that up to 90 Alabama soldiers died there during a disease outbreak in the late summer of 1861. An Eagle Scout candidate, guided by park officials, helped clear the cemetery site and make it accessible to the public in a project last December. Since then, park officials have been raising money for a monument and, in the absence of engraved tombstones, using historical documents to try to piece together the names of the fallen soldiers. So far, 42 of the men have been identified, said Rob Orrison, site manager with the Historic Preservation Division of the Prince William County Department of Public Works. The Alabama Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans donated the stone for the monument. Among those who drove it up to Virginia was a descendant of a soldier buried there, Orrison said. The four-foot rock was added to the site Monday and plaques are coming. The Sept. 22 ceremony, at 9 a.m. CDT, will be open to the public and include remarks from park officials and a historian, music, a color guard, and a gun salute by a Virginia-based re-enactment group. Orrison said the Alabama Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans collected dirt from around each of the courthouses in the counties that were home to members of the 10th Alabama Regiment. "I have two buckets of dirt in my office right now, and they're bringing the rest up in September," Orrison said. "They're going to spread some Alabama soil on the cemetery." The Eagle Scout candidate who organized two days of site-clearing, fence-raising and bridge-building, Dane Smith of Nokesville, also will participate in the ceremony, as will a second Eagle Scout candidate who will be laying the patio around the monument with flagstone brought from Alabama. The 133-acre Bristoe Station park opened in 2007, marking the Battle of Kettle Run in 1862 and the Battle of Bristoe Station in 1863. It is about an hour's drive west of Washington, D.C., in Bristow, Va., near the Manassas National Battlefield Park. The 10th Alabama Infantry Regiment included companies from Jefferson, Shelby, Calhoun, Talladega, St. Clair, Calhoun, DeKalb and Talladega counties, according to the Alabama Department of Archives and History. http://blog.al.com/sweethome/2012/08/virginia_cemetery_for_alabama.html#incart_river_default

Upcoming Seminar

On April 14 the Dr. J.B. Cowan Camp of Tullahoma will host a seminar on
Southeast Middle Tennessee in the War Between the States. This seminar will
focus on the area from Murfreesboro to Chattanooga during the period 1863--1866.
The seminar will be held at the Tullahoma Events Center from 9:00 A.M. to noon.
Total cost is $10.

At 9:00 Mr. Steve Pearson will lecture on the Tullahoma Campaign followed by a
Q&A session, at 10:15 Dr. Michael Bradley will lecture on U.S. occupation of the
area and the resulting guerrilla war, followed by a Q&A session. The seminar
will conclude with a panel discussion, including audience participation, on the
significance of the fighting in the southeastern part of Middle Tennessee.

Furher details may be obtained from Michael Bradley at michaelrbradley@lightube.net
Registration forms will be available in March.

Michael R. Bradley

Strain For AoT Commander In 2012

Compatriots of the Army of Tennessee,

I would like to thank each of you for allowing me to serve you during the past year and half as the Commander for the Army of Tennessee, the largest Army in the Confederation. What makes the AoT the "Best"? That's easy, Each of You. From the banks of Lake Michigan to the warm beaches of Key West and everywhere in between, we are constantly at work doing what the "Charge" tells us to do; Defending the Confederate Soldier's name, Guarding his history, and Perpetuating the principles that he loved. In fact, following these principles has allowed us just this past year to re-activate the Os’ Confederados Camp #1653 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The growth that we have had can only be credited to each member of each camp in every division. Let us keep up the good work.
I have been a member of the SCV many years now and it seems as if it was just yesterday that I decided to become more involved and become more than just a dues paying member. Looking back as they say with “hindsight being 20/20” I wish I had made that decision years sooner. I guess that's what happens when you are doing something that you love to do. I am 100% committed to our organization and I am looking forward to the many years that I have left to grow with you and especially to the next 4 years of the Sesquicentennial of the War.
It is with the hope of the future that I would like to offer my name so that I might serve you as “YOUR” Army of Tennessee Commander, once again. I am a Life member of the SCV and I have held offices at the camp level as Adjutant, 2nd Lt. Commander, 1st Lt. Commander and Commander which during my term the Hobbs Camp won Division Camp of the Year, National Camp of the year and Historical project of the year awards. On the Division level I have served as NE Brigade Commander and 1st Lt Commander, at the National level as Deputy Chief of Staff, Army of Tennessee Councilman and as Army Commander the past year and a half. It was also my great honor to have been awarded the General Robert E. Lee Gold Medal at this past convention in Montgomery. I was truly humbled by this award.
In serving you on the GEC, I have looked only to what is best for the Army of Tennessee and the SCV as a whole. I have always enjoyed the opportunity to come to your Division reunions and other events held by the camps each year from Memorial services to Lee/Jackson Banquets. I have always attempted to assist you in whatever problems you have encountered and always been honest with each of you when asked what I thought. I will continue to work for “YOU” if I am honored to get re-elected to the honorable position as Army of Tennessee Commander. I must admit that there have been many times when I have wondered what in the world have I gotten myself into, but the things that test us the most only make us a better person and leader.
As we head into the next 4 years of our Sesquicentennial, the SCV has entered into the surge for our newest goal with the formation of the project “Vision 2016”. We need your help in making this project’s goals come to life. With the view into the future of 50,000 members by the year 2016, we must all be out on the battlefront making sure that the truth about our ancestors is being told and bringing in every new member that we can. In return we must be prepared for an assault like we have never seen before. Our organization will be made out to be the most evil and radical of associations on the face of the earth. I personally saw this first hand during the planning and during the Montgomery event this past February and we must be prepared for whatever our opponents can throw at us. We must stand up to them as our ancestors stood up to the Federal Government and say "Enough is Enough" and must be prepared to do whatever is necessary to protect ourselves and our history.
If we as members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans will do as our ancestors taught us, Love and Honor thy God, Love and Protect our Families and Respect our fellow man. Quoting Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, “You may be whatever you resolve to be”, and this is the men that we have resolved to be. I thank each of you for your love and support over the years and I cherish your friendship and support in the years to come.
I hope to see each of you at the 2012 Convention/Reunion in Murfreesboro, TN and I hope to earn your support as I run for a second term as “YOUR” AoT Commander.

In Service to the AoT and the South, I remain,

Thos. “Tom” V. Strain Jr.
Commander
Army of Tennessee
Sons of Confederate Veterans
aot.commander@gmail.com
www.scv-strain.com

Forrest Seminar

The annual Forrest Seminar will be on Oct. 8 in Tullahoma, Tennessee. The
theme is "The men around Forrest."
Presentations will include:
Colonel J.W. Starnes
Colonel G.G.Dibrell
Enlisted men--an illustrated talk using
images from the Tenn. State Museum
David C. Kelley--the Devil's Parson
Details for registration will be posted closer to the date.



Michael Bradley

Judge rules in favor of Confederate flag specialty license plate

TAMPA — The commander of Florida's Sons of Confederate Veterans says he is elated with a judge's ruling on his group's effort to create a specialty license plate featuring the Confederate flag.

The plate includes the Confederate flag and a coat of arms worn by Confederate soldiers from Florida.

Last week, a federal judge deemed unconstitutional the process the state Legislature uses to approve new specialty license plates. Judge John Antoon II said the law limits the First Amendment rights of groups such as the Sons of Confederate Veterans.
The group sued the state after it was unable to get the plate, even after collecting the required number of signatures and raising enough money to pay the $60,000 application fee.

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, which oversees 120 specialty license plates, said the judge's ruling does not require the agency to take action.

"There does not appear to be any impact on the department in respect to a specific directive to move forward and take any type of action, nor does it compromise any of the department's current specialty license plates," department spokesman David Westberry said.

The Legislature could end up rewriting the law on what is required to get a plate approved The Sons of Confederate Veterans commander, Douglas Dawson, did not disclose the next step for his group.

"No general will give you his battle plan," he said, noting the group has options.
The Florida NAACP has opposed the effort, arguing the Confederate flag is a hurtful symbol to blacks.