February 2022 Dispatch

NEXT MEETING
Tuesday, February 22

• Topic   --   John Brown and the Radical Six:  Dissenters Then and Now
• Speaker   --   Adam Bazemore
• Adam Bazemore is the Commander of the Black Creek Volunteers Camp in Sylvania. He has been an active member of the SCV for over 20 years. He and his wife Madison have a son and daughter, Samuel and Caroline.  They are members of Friendship Baptist Church.  Adam teaches Economics, American Government, and World History at Screven County High School. 
• 5:30   --   Dinner at Habernero's Mexican Restaurant in Harlem
• 7:00   --   Meeting at Laurel & Hardy Museum in Harlem.  Bring a sweater.
• All visitors are welcome; bring one.  Directions in "About Us."

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. Saturday, April 23, Camp 91 will sponsor Confederate Memorial Day in two very important ways. First, with a small Confederate flag we will designate the 110 Confederate heroes in graves in the Thomson Confederate Cemetery on Tom Watson Way.  Second, the camp will hold its memorial service at the historic plantation home and burial site of Captain John Stovall, the third captain of the Thomson Guards.  Put this most important date on your calendar.  More information is forthcoming. 
2. The annual reunion of the Georgia Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans will be held June 3 & 4 at the Marriott Coliseum in Macon.  Let David Butler or Tom Holley know if you would like to attend. 
3. Please donate any used books to the Georgia Division, SCV.  Bring your books to the camp’s next meeting; a collection will be carried to the division office.  Book sales help offset the operational expenses of the main office.
   
4. ​Please continue to pray for our brothers Durham Milburn and Phil Turner.

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MYSTERY RELIC CONTEST
Have you browsed our website lately?  Look for newly posted relics, cemetery brochure and Confederate burial records, hero biographies, editorials, photos of our monuments and activities, and upcoming speakers and events.                                 

     Calling All Historians       
Under Local History, can you identify the Mystery Relic?
   A very valuable prize awaits the winner at the February 22 meeting.

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IMPORTANT DATES IN CSA HISTORY   --   1861
February 1-21
      -  President-elect Abraham Lincoln travels from Springfield, Illinois              to Washington, D.C.
February 4
       -  Representatives from the six seceded states, soon joined by                    Texas, met in Montgomery, Alabama, and formed a new                            government.
February 22
        -  Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as the first President  of the                   Confederacy.

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Jan. 25, 2022  --  Camp Adjutant David Butler, conducts the swearing in ceremony.  Each new member was provided the Georgia Division membership certificate and a lapel pin.  L to R: David Butler, Roy Grice, Shawn King, Jerry Holley, David Thomasson, Joe Patrick, Mark Wren and Mack Shealy.

Commander Tom Holley (L) had the honor and privilege of presenting SCV 20 year service pins to three loyal and founding members.  These men have faithfully supported the camp and the SCV Charge.  L to R: Adjutant David Butler, Dr. Gary Wilkes and Chaplain Jimmy McDaniel.
Absent from the photo but honored for his service, Patric Parker.

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 COMMANDER'S POST
 CEMETERY PROJECT STATUS REPORT   --   PHASE 1   --   FEBRUARY 2022       
        In coordination with The Thomson Memorial Cemetery committee, Camp 91, Thomson Guards, Sons of Confederate Veterans, has completed the first stage of cleanup in the Thomson Memorial Cemetery.  Since starting the project in mid-June  2021, twelve 30 cubic yard capacity dumpsters full of debris have been removed.  To date, roughly 275-300 man hours of work have been expended.
          The first phase included removing all leaves and fallen limbs from Magnolia trees and oak trees.  This debris has accumulated for many years.  The volunteer Crepe Myrtle trees, volunteer sweet gum trees, volunteer pine trees and the volunteer wild cherry trees were removed.  All remaining trees were pruned and the shrubbery was trimmed.  All grave sites have been mowed, raked and string trimmed to improve their appearances.  Many grave sites that were hidden by debris have been uncovered.
          Recently, the camp marked with small United States flags the graves of American veterans which included the Mexican-American War, World War I and World War II.  However, only those were marked where the gravestones indicated service.  Please feel free to let me know of any other service man or woman (not of the Confederate War) that should be marked.  
          The Thomson Memorial Cemetery is truly a time capsule of the families original to the Thomson area.  The Sons of Confederate Veterans is a history, heritage and honor society.  We are dedicated to knowing our history, preserving our past and protecting our heritage.
          We look forward to further work coordination with the cemetery committee; much more work needs to be done.                                                                                       Respectfully submitted, Tom Holley