April 2022 Dispatch

APRIL IS CONFEDERATE HISTORY AND HERITAGE MONTH

Confederate Memorial Day

          On Saturday, April 23, we will have our formal service at the historic plantation home and burial site of Captain John Thaddeus Stovall, 1353 Cedar Rock Road, Thomson.  The service will begin at 10:30 A.M. sharp.  Bring a lawn chair.  Period clothing is encouraged.  Many members will have individual responsibilities that day.  A photo, less anyone’s name, will be submitted to the Georgia Confederate.  Time required: 1.5 hours including program and tour.  We will travel to Fernanda’s for lunch.

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NEXT MEETING   --   TUESDAY, APRIL 26

New Locations   --   We’re moving back to Thomson.

• 5:30 pm   --  Dinner and fellowship at Fernanda’s Grill and Pizzeria, 127 Main St.
  • Parking behind building or across the street in Knox Shopping Center.
• 7:00 pm  --  Meeting at Thomson-McDuffie County Library, 338 Main St.
  • Parking is behind the building off Greenway St.

Speaker:  Alan Smith   --   Topic:  Pilgrims
         Delbert Alan Smith is a retired Methodist minister and supporter of groups that encourage historic preservation and awareness of history. These include the National Trust, the Society of Cincinnati, the Huguenot Society of South Carolina, First Families of Georgia, and the Jamestowne Society. He is Assistant General of the Georgia Society of Mayflower Descendants. He is past president of the William Few Chapter of the Georgia Society of the Sons of the American Revolution and has participated in numerous GASSAR grave markings of Revolutionary soldiers.
          He supports historic preservation in McDuffie County as president of the Wrightsboro Foundation and chairman of the Rock House Advisory Committee.
          He and his wife Judy restored their 1842 home. Alan did the research required for its placement on the National Register of Historic Places. They did nearly all of the restoration themselves over a number of years. They have worked to make a comfortable home for themselves and visiting children and grandchildren while keeping the house accurate to its historic roots. The house contains family pieces and antiques collected over many years.
            The Captain John Wilson Chapter, National Society Daughters of American Revolution presented them the DAR Excellence in Historic Preservation certificates and medals in 2021.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. Please donate any used books you might have to the Georgia Division, SCV.  The funds collected by Georgia Division book sales help support the financial cost of the main office.  These books do not have to be WBTS related.  Bring them to the camp meeting and they will be delivered to Macon.​
   
2. The Georgia Division SCV annual reunion is June 3 & 4 at the Marriott Centerplex in Macon.  Please let David or Tom know if you would like to attend.  Mike Lacefield will join us as a delegate so we can fully utilize our three votes based on camp size.
   
3. The National SCV annual reunion is July 19 - 24 in Cartersville, GA.  It is a great opportunity to see what happens on the national level.  Karen and I will be attending and reporting back to you at the July, Camp 91 meeting. Mike and Dollie Lacefield also plan to attend.
   
4. Under Local History on our camp website, please notice several articles that cover historical times other than the WBTS.  Most recently, JoAnn Smith has provided “The Thomas Carr Historic District” and “Revolutionary War Patriots Buried in Columbia, McDuffie, Lincoln and Warren Counties.”
   
5. As prices for everything continue to rise and we strive to be good stewards of our resources, it seems like an appropriate time to transition to an electronic newsletter for all members who receive email.  Please be sure that we have your accurate email address on file.  Beginning in May, we will continue to send paper copies of the Dispatch only to those without email.

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April Events in the WBTS

• April 10, 1861 -- Confederate Secretary of War LeRoy Walker authorizes Beauregard to use force if the federal government attempts to re-supply Fort Sumter.
  
• April 11, 1861 -- Major Anderson refuses a request from the Confederate government to surrender Fort Sumter. A final request would come in the early morning hours of April 12, shortly before the bombardment of the fortress began. 
  
• April 12, 1861 --  The first salvos of the American Civil War were fired with the bombardment of the U.S. garrison at Fort Sumter, located in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. It stood as one of the last Federal outposts in the region.
  
• April 9, 1865 --  General Robert E. Lee surrenders to General Ulysses S. Grant at the​ Appomattox Court House in Virginia.

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As a member of Camp 91, Thomson Guards, please remember that above all things: 

• We are a History, Heritage and Honor Society. 
• We learn our history, we protect our heritage and we honor our ancestors. 
• We do nothing and we say nothing that might bring dishonor to our Camp or to our Confederate Heroes. 

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MARCH PROGRAM   --   THE LARGEST PRISON:  THE STORY OF FORT LAWTON

          At the regular monthly meeting of Camp 91, Thomson Guards, Sons of Confederate Veterans, Dr. John Derden, Professor Emeritus of History gave a fact based power point presentation on the Confederate prison called Fort Lawton located at Magnolia Springs near Millen. 
          From November 1864 to the spring of 1865, the newly erected prison of 42 acres held about 12,000 Federal prisoners that were mostly transported there from the Andersonville prison near Americus.  
          When General Sherman began his March to the Sea military campaign from Atlanta, he had three main objectives.   First, he wanted to capture the Georgia capital in Milledgeville.   Second, he wished to capture the city of Savannah.  Third, he sent his Calvary commanded by General Sheridan on a forced march to free the prisoners at Fort Lawton and to totally destroy the strategic railroad intersection at Millen.  When Sheridan arrived, the prisoners were gone but he did lay waste to the depot and tracks.  It was a fantastic presentation

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       During the March meeting, Compatriot Patric Parker  (center in photo) was presented the
SCV 20 year service pin for his dedication and        continued service.  Patric has done a superlative job supporting the efforts of Camp 91 and the Georgia Division. 

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COMMANDER’S POST
ARRIL IS CONFEDERATE HISTORY AND HERITAGE MONTH

2020 Georgia Code                                                      Title 1 - General Provisions                                        Chapter 4 - Holidays and Observances
§ 1-4-20. Designation of Confederate History                           and Heritage Month
Universal Citation: GA Code § 1-4-20 (2020)

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​The General Assembly hereby finds and determines that tourism is a great economic resource in Georgia; and historical, heritage, and cultural inheritance are among the tourism industry's most popular attractions. Georgia's Confederate heritage, physical artifacts and battle sites, and historic events and persons not only attract visitors, they are potentially of even greater importance and benefit to our state's economy. Increased development of our state's Confederate history and heritage as part of the tourism industry will be enhanced through recognizing, celebrating, and advertising that heritage and history. 
 
The month of April of each year is hereby designated as Confederate History and Heritage Month and shall be set aside to honor, observe, and celebrate the Confederate States of America, its history, those who served in its armed forces and government, and all those millions of its citizens of various races and ethnic groups and religions who contributed in sundry and myriad ways to the cause which they held so dear from its founding on February 4, 1861, in Montgomery, Alabama, until the Confederate ship CSS Shenandoah sailed into Liverpool Harbor and surrendered to British authorities on November 6, 1865. 
 
Officials and departments of state, county, and municipal governments, boards of education, elementary and secondary schools, colleges and universities, businesses, and all citizens are encouraged to participate in programs, displays, and activities that commemorate and honor our shared history and cultural inheritance throughout each April during Confederate History and Heritage Month.