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CAMPTALK The monthly Newsletter of the Capt. J.J. Dickison Camp 1387, 10 th Brigade, Florida Division, Army of Tennessee, Sons of Confederate Veterans, Melbourne Florida Vol. 32 No. 09 September 2013 Chartered 28 March 1981 Editor Don Young *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** September 2013 MEETING MEMAW’s BBQ 600 East Eau Gallie Blvd. Indian Harbour Beach, Florida 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM Order from menu 7:00 – 8:00 Program 8:00 – 8:45 Business Meeting. Meetings are the fourth Thursday of each month. Male descendants of men who served the Confederacy, their wives and others interested in the War For Southern Independence are invited to attend. CAMP OFFICERS CAMP STAFF Chaplain Tim Cobb 321-259-8391 Color Sgt Evan Phillips 321-961-9407 Treasurer Tom Watkins 321-254-0241 Q’termaster Larry Thornton 321-704-2834 2 nd Lt. Rick Still 321-984-9967 Judge Advocate Don Lock 321-752-9276 1 st Lt. Don Young 321-452-3207 Public Information Officer Open Adjutant Rick DeBord 321-631-7258 Editor Don Young 321-452-3207 Commander Kevin Atchison 321-242-1126 Heritage Don Young 321-452-3207 Recording Sec. Miss June 321-984-9967 COMMANDERS CORNER UDC/OCR Liaison Miss Lee 321-452-3207 I would like to thank Bob Flaniken for a great program on the "Battle of Williamsburg, VA". I think we all learned a lot about that small but important engagement during the Peninsula Campaign of 1862. We look forward to having Bob back in the future. I would also like to thank our membership for another great turn out. This month we will have one of our own Compatriots, Ben DuBose. He will be presenting a living history program on early settlers during the beginning of our country. Please invite friends and family as Ben puts on this fantastic program.

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Page 1: CAMPTALK - TEW4515.comtew4515.com/Camp1387/s/2013_Camp_Talk/CmpTk_09-18... · 2014-01-13 · Chaplain Tim Cobb 321-259-8391 Color Sgt Evan Phillips 321-961-9407 Treasurer ... 12 Sept

CAMPTALK

The monthly Newsletter of the Capt. J.J. Dickison Camp 1387, 10th Brigade, Florida Division, Army of Tennessee, Sons of Confederate Veterans, Melbourne Florida

Vol. 32 No. 09 September 2013 Chartered 28 March 1981 Editor Don Young ******************************************************************************************************************************************************September 2013 MEETING MEMAW’s BBQ 600 East Eau Gallie Blvd. Indian Harbour Beach, Florida 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM Order from menu 7:00 – 8:00 Program 8:00 – 8:45 Business Meeting. Meetings are the fourth Thursday of each month. Male descendants of men who served the Confederacy, their wives and others interested in the War For Southern Independence are invited to attend. CAMP OFFICERS CAMP STAFF Chaplain Tim Cobb 321-259-8391 Color Sgt Evan Phillips 321-961-9407 Treasurer Tom Watkins 321-254-0241 Q’termaster Larry Thornton 321-704-2834 2nd Lt. Rick Still 321-984-9967 Judge Advocate Don Lock 321-752-9276 1st Lt. Don Young 321-452-3207 Public Information Officer Open Adjutant Rick DeBord 321-631-7258 Editor Don Young 321-452-3207 Commander Kevin Atchison 321-242-1126 Heritage Don Young 321-452-3207

Recording Sec. Miss June 321-984-9967 COMMANDERS CORNER UDC/OCR Liaison Miss Lee 321-452-3207

I would like to thank Bob Flaniken for a great program on the "Battle of Williamsburg, VA". I think we all learned a lot about that small but important engagement during the Peninsula Campaign of 1862. We look forward to having Bob back in the future. I would also like to thank our membership for another great turn out. This month we will have one of our own Compatriots, Ben DuBose. He will be presenting a living history program on early settlers during the beginning of our country. Please invite friends and family as Ben puts on this fantastic program.

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Our camp will be providing volunteers to work with 12th Brigade Commander Wes Frank at the Rifles, Rails, and History event. Everyone is encouraged to attend one of the days during 27-29 September in Tavares. More information on this event can be found at www.riflesrailsandhistory.com. Please call Rick Still or Rick DeBord if you would like to help. Finally, Dues are Due. Camp Adjutant Rick DeBord reports we have collected almost all of our member's dues. Thanks go out to everyone for getting their dues to Rick well before any final deadline. In Service to The South, Kevin Atchison Commander Camp 1387 ************************************************************************* EVENTS 12 Sept E-board meeting 26 Sept Camp meeting 27-29 Sept First Annual Rifles Rails and History 10 Oct E-board meeting 24 Oct Camp meeting 11 Nov Veteran’s Day Melbourne Parade and BCC Massing of The Colors **************************************************************************PROGRAM

Trials and Tribulations of Early Settlers from the Diary of a Shirt-Tail Cousin

Compatriot Ben DuBose will do this Living History presentation on the hazards of being an American frontier settler. Most of our ancestors were involved with exactly the types of situations Ben will be discussing and it is essential to your understanding of the Southern character and Southern culture to be educated in the pioneer realities for several generations before the War to Prevent Southern Independence. Y’all come and enjoy the program! *************************************************************************** Jacksonville We are again fighting the Nathan Bedford Forrest High School (NBFHS) name change flap here in Jacksonville, Fl. Please support our cause to retain the name by going to www.NBFHS.com and sign our petition. Please forward to all your contacts and groups. Thanks so much. This takes about 30 seconds so stand up and be counted. Ft. Myers I want everyone to be proudly displaying the "Keep Lee in Lee" stickers. I am doing my best to accommodate everyone, so please let me know how many you need. This IS not for any financial gain to anyone- it is to show pride and for what we must protect. If Mailed $4.00 for 1. $1.00 per each additional sticker. These will show our pride and honor and surely be a collector’s item. Robert Gates 1534 Poinsettia Ave Ft Myers Fl 33901

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**************************************************************************

www.riflesrailsandhistory.com

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*************************************************************************** An Amazing Escape by Bob Hurst

Generally, when any discussion is held of remarkable deeds of great valor or exceptional cunning by Confederates, the subjects involved in these exploits are almost always the magnificent leaders and troops of the land forces - be they infantry, cavalry or artillery. This is only logical since the Confederate Navy was quite small and with the exception of just a few vessels (the C.S.S. Alabama, C.S.S. Shenandoah, and C.S.S. Florida, primarily) the exploits of most Confederate ships are not well known. Undoubtedly, though, one of the most noteworthy exploits of the war (on land or water) involved a lesser-known Confederate ship, the C.S.S. Tallahassee, and its daring escape from a blocked harbor by a route which was considered impassable. The amazing escape of the TALLAHASSEE occurred on the evening of August 19, 1864, from the harbor at Halifax, Nova Scotia, under the command of a not-well-known, but highly interesting, individual named John Taylor Wood. John Taylor Wood was likely the first white child born in what is now Minnesota. His grandfather was Zachary Taylor who would become the 12th president of the United States. His mother's sister, Sarah Knox Taylor, was the first wife of Jefferson Davis. (Sadly, she died of malaria just three months after the wedding.) John Taylor Wood, thus, had the distinction of having a grandfather who was a U.S. president and an uncle who was a Confederate president. He was also a nephew of Confederate general Richard Taylor and a distant relative of Robert E. Lee. That is some interesting family! Even though he was born in the Midwest, he yearned to be a seaman and joined the U.S. Navy as an acting midshipman when he was only 16 years old. By the time that war broke out in 1861, he was a professor of seamanship and gunnery at the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis. Despite this, he resigned his commission and joined the newly formed Confederate Navy as a second lieutenant. Interestingly, one of his first assignments was aboard the C.S.S. Virginia which was involved in the famous battle of the ironclads (against the U.S.S. Monitor) at Hampton Roads, Virginia, in March of 1862. In early 1863, Wood was appointed aide-de-camp to President Jefferson Davis and promoted to the rank of colonel of cavalry. Despite the title, he had the primary duty of inspecting naval defenses and vessels at key Southern ports. Later that year he went back to sea and commanded expeditions which resulted in the capture of a substantial number of Union ships. This led the Confederate Congress to recognize him with a joint resolution of thanks. He was also promoted to the rank of commander in the Confederate Navy. John Taylor Wood's true ambition was to command a Confederate commerce raider and wreak havoc on Northern shipping in the same manner as Raphael Semmes and the C.S.S. Alabama, James Waddell and the C.S.S. Shenandoah and John Newland Maffitt and the C.S.S. Florida.

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To achieve this end, he went to Wilmington, North Carolina, one of the few Southern ports not subject to a Union blockade, and began looking for a vessel that could be converted into a cruiser for use as a commerce raider. He finally settled on the ATLANTA which was a 200 foot long iron-hulled steamer of 500 tons which was fore-and-aft rigged and capable of 14 to 15 knots. He armed the ship with three guns and it was officially christened the C.S.S. Tallahassee and commissioned on June 20, 1864. Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen Mallory then issued orders for the TALLAHASSEE to be used to find and destroy Northern merchant Shipping. John Taylor Wood was now ready to do some serious damage. On August 6, Wood and his crew of 20 officers and 110 men headed north. By the time the TALLAHASSEE reached Maine on August 17, 25 Union vessels had already been taken out of commission. The ship badly needed refueling, though, and also some much needed repairs. To achieve this, Wood sailed to the nearest neutral port, Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he dropped anchor on August 18. In the meantime, U.S. Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles had been notified of the damage done by the TALLAHASSEE and he was fit to be tied. He kept ordering Union warships to go after the TALLAHASSEE and eventually there were a dozen on search missions up and down the Atlantic coast. Shortly after reaching port at Halifax, John Taylor Wood went to British authorities to discuss his need. He was told that in compliance with the British position of neutrality he could use the port for only 24 hours except in cases of distress. Wood then went to the Confederate agent in Halifax, Benjamin Weir, to obtain his assistance. During this time, U.S. Navy Secretary Gideon Welles had been notified that the TALLAHASSEE was in port in Halifax. Shortly afterwards, two Union warships dropped anchor just outside the three-mile limit off a neutral coast and several more headed toward Halifax. The Union plan was simply to wait until the TALLAHASSEE had run out of its allotted time and then attack the ship as it attempted to leave Halifax by way of the main channel that connected the harbor. The situation seemed hopeless for the TALLAHASSEE as there were only two channels that flowed from the harbor to the ocean. The west channel, called "the main channel", was straight, deep and broad. This channel was used by all large, heavy ships like the TALLAHASSEE. The east channel was narrow, crooked and shallow and used only by small boats. It was considered impassable for any ship the size of the TALLAHASSEE. Realizing the difficulty of the situation, Wood contacted Benjamin Weir, the Confederate agent, to inquire about the name of the best harbor pilot in Halifax. Weir recommended an experienced pilot named Jock Fleming. Wood and Fleming then began working on an escape plan. Wood asked if it would be possible to reach the ocean through the east channel as the Union warships were all waiting just outside the main west channel. Fleming advised Wood that the east channel was "narrow and crooked" and with a long ship like the TALLAHASSEE he wouldn't advise it. Fleming then mentioned that with the right tides he might be able to find fourteen feet of water and this would be sufficient to float the ship but the channel would still be narrow and crooked. This was all John Taylor Wood had to hear and he told Jock Fleming that if he could find the water, Wood would keep the ship in the channel no matter how narrow or crooked it might be. Fleming said they would have to leave by 9 o'clock that night to take advantage of the tides. At 9 o'clock the TALLAHASSEE started out with all lights extinguished on a night that was very dark and overcast. In an amazing feat of seamanship, Fleming and Wood kept the ship in the channel that was considered impassable for all but small fishing boats. For hour after hour the large ship slowly made its way through the narrow, crooked, shallow channel in the darkness of night until finally reaching open waters. The Union ships waiting at the mouth of the main channel to the west never had a clue. The Halifax newspaper later reported on this feat of daring in a sense of disbelief. I can only

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imagine that the five Union warships that were waiting at the end of the western channel for an anticipated easy target were also in a state of disbelief when they realized what had happened. I would also imagine that quite a number of people tried to stay as far away as they possibly could from Gideon Welles until some time had passed after this amazing feat. John Taylor Wood and the crew of the TALLAHASSEE returned to Wilmington to be met with cheers and hero worship. There was also another promotion for Wood but the adventures were not yet over for this daring man. As the War was coming to a close, Wood joined his uncle, Jefferson Davis, and members of the Confederate Cabinet as they made their way south from Richmond hoping to eventually reach Mexico and other destinations. The group was captured near Irwinville, Georgia, but the ever resourceful John Taylor Wood was able to escape by bribing one of his Union captors. This guy was good! He worked his way through Florida and eventually sailed to Cuba where he joined other Confederates including the great John C. Breckenridge. Wood eventually worked his way back to Halifax and joined a community of about 30 other unreconstructed Confederates who had settled in Nova Scotia. He started a business in partnership with Wilkinson Wood and they became highly successful. They also proudly flew the Confederate Flag above their offices for many years. He also maintained his friendship with Jock Fleming until the death of the latter. John Taylor Wood, the man who had done the impossible by making it through the impassable, died in 1904 and is buried in Halifax near the grave of his friend, Benjamin Weir. The heading for his obituary in the newspaper read," Brave and Noted Man has Gone to His Rest". How very true; but he was, after all, a Confederate!

P.S. I must add a postscript to this tale of John Taylor Wood and the C.S.S. Tallahassee. I have discovered through research that the memory of the TALLAHASSEE lives on in Halifax. In the community of Eastern Passage there is a school named Tallahassee Community School. The motto of the school as stated in Latin on the school crest is, "Through Difficulty to Success". What a poignant reminder of the amazing escape of the ship. The logo of the school contains the image of a twin-masted ship of 1860's vintage. Now, what ship could possibly have served as the model for that? It pleases me no end that there is still a bit of the Confederacy in Nova Scotia. May it ever be so. Bob Hurst is a true Son of the South with special interests in the Confederacy and the antebellum architecture of the South. He is Commander of Col. David Lang Camp, Sons of Confederate Veterans, in Tallahassee and 2nd Lt. Commander of the Florida Division, SCV. Note: Some previous articles of CONFEDERATE JOURNAL are available in book form. Articles from 2005-2007 are in Volume 1 and can be ordered at http://createspace.com3540609/ and articles from 2008-2009 are in Volume 2 which can be ordered at http://createspace.com3543269/

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**************************************************************************VETERANS GRAVES IN NATIONAL PARK MARKED AFTER 150 YEARS

Ft. Pulaski Graves in corner of parking lot - BEFORE

Immortal 600 Camp 2600 building wall AFTER wall completed

Building Monument Base Monument and Camp Workers

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SAVANNAH - Sept 12, 2013) Plans are underway to permanently mark what may be the last remaining known yet unmarked graves of American veterans in a National Park. The unmarked graves of nineteen Confederate soldiers, including thirteen members of the Immortal Six Hundred, lie immediately outside the moat surrounding Ft. Pulaski near Savannah, Georgia. As part of the continuing Sesquicentennial commemoration of the War Between the States -- and with the cooperation of the National Park Service -- the Georgia Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans recently erected a granite monument to The Immortal Six Hundred plus a decorative brick wall around the small area where the nineteen American veterans lie buried. Now, after 150 years, plans are being made to mark the graves of the veterans with permanent marble markers fashioned after the designs officially sanctioned by the Veterans Administration for veterans of all of America's wars. The soldiers buried in the unmarked graves outside Ft. Pulaski died of depravations during their stay at the fort as POW's following the federal capture of Pulaski during the late War Between the States. The Immortal Six Hundred were a group of Confederate officers held as POW's who organized their own relief organization to seek food and medical care for fellow POW's while the War was still being waged against the South. In accordance with laws passed by the United States Congress, all Confederate veterans are to be afforded the same status as the veterans of other American wars. Union veterans buried on the grounds of National Parks are marked with permanent marble or granite headstones recognizing their names and units of service; likewise all other known Confederate veterans buried in those parks are marked in the same manner. At Pulaski, the Union veterans who were buried there during the War were disinterred immediately following the conflict and reinterred in a cemetery; these few Confederate veterans buried at Pulaski outside the moat remain, reportedly, the last remaining unmarked known graves of veterans in a National Park. The National Park Service at first sought to mark the graves in question with wooden markers similar to those used by the federal government for veterans in the historical period immediately following the War. It was not until the Sons of Confederate Veterans historians pointed out that the Veterans Administration abandoned wooden headboards for the graves of veterans more than a hundred years ago in favor of the more permanent marble and granite stones now used that the correct current plans could be made. Since it's formation in 1896, the Sons of Confederate Veterans has been commissioned by its predecessor organization, the United Confederate Veterans (comprised of the actual veterans, themselves) with preserving the history and heritage of the Confederate soldier. The Georgia Division is among the largest and most active state organization within the SCV. A date has not yet been set for the installation of the permanent markers for these last remaining unmarked graves of veterans at Pulaski, but the Sons are moving forward with the National Park Service in completing the project before the end of the Sesquicentennial commemoration of the War. For more information please contact Jack Bridwell, Division Commander for the Georgia Sons

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of Confederate Veterans at 1-866-SCV-in-GA or view information online at www.GeorgiaSCV.org.

Editor’s Note: This historic and thrilling project is being conducted by the Immortal 600 SCV Camp 2600, Richmond Hill Georgia and funded by the Georgia Division SCV. Detailed reports and more photos are at http://www.600csa.com/campnews.htm .

************************************************************************** Why I carry the Battle Flag by Susan Hathaway, Virginia Flaggers

Just a few months after I began flagging, I was attending a local WBTS event alone, and was carrying my CBF. I was approached by an older gentleman. He introduced himself, and said he wanted to talk with me. He began by telling me that he was proud of what I had been doing and that he appreciated my efforts. He then went on to say that he thought that I would be much better off, and have more success, if I would stop carrying the Battle Flag, and carry the First National instead. He told me it would be much safer, cause less controversy, and would be less "offensive". He may have been the first one to give me such a lecture, but he has not been the last. I was told that it was "unlady-like" to walk through the streets of Richmond with my Battle Flag with the SCV at the 2012 Heritage Rally, and scores of folks, mostly within our own Heritage community have urged me to carry a different flag. My response was, and always has been, that EVERYTHING I do is about the Confederate soldier. I carry the ANV battle flag because all four of my G-GGrandfathers who fought to defend Virginia from invasion, served under that flag. It is the SOLDIER'S FLAG. I love ALL of our Confederate flags, and often carry different ones for different occasions, but my first love always has been and always will be the battle flag. Recently, I was advised that we should fly/carry the First National because "no one knows what it is". HUH???? I believe THAT is exactly the kind of reasoning that has gotten us where we are today. By buying into the guilt by association hogwash, our own folks have shunned the battle flag, leaving the impression that we are all ashamed of it and prefer it stay "in a museum", hidden from public view. For those who think that the First National is a "safe flag", I strongly disagree. There was NO battle flag involved in the display banned in Lexington, Va., and there are many other examples. Once the battle flag is completely gone from public view (and we are getting close to that point) "those people" will come after every other flag, until all traces of the Confederacy are removed.