April
is Confederate History Month of Remembrance
Essay by
Calvin E. Johnson, Jr.
April is an important month in America's history. The
Great Locomotive Chase, where Union spies attempted to steal the
Confederate Locomotive "The General" and destroy rail lines and bridges,
took place on April 12, 1862. The month of April has become to be known as
Confederate History and Heritage Month.
Please share this story with your family.
The Congress of the United States has officially in
past years recognized America's war of, 1861 to 1865, as the War
Between the States. This tragic war claimed the lives of hundreds of
thousands of brothers, uncles and husbands. Though they were enemies on
the battlefield, after the war, the men of blue and gray sponsored
reunions at such places as Gettysburg. The soldier told war stories while
the United States and Confederate flags flew briskly in the warm summer
breeze.
Why do some schools ignore the teaching of American
history? Boys and girls once learned about American soldiers who for over
200 years marched off to war. The church hymn book once included "Onward
Christian Soldiers." The young people read about: George Washington,
Robert E. Lee and Booker T. Washington. Northern and Southern children
stood up proudly to sing patriotic songs from a standard song book that
included "Dixie".
After the end of the War Between the States, Northern
and Southern women formed memorial organizations. They made sure all
soldiers were given a Christian burial and a marked grave. Memorial Days
were begun in many states North and South of the famous Mason-Dixon Line.
Confederate graves were also cared for in the North and Union graves in
the South. Great monuments were also erected that still cast a giant
shadow over many town squares and soldiers' cemeteries across the U.S.A.
April 26, has become to be recognized as Confederate
Memorial Day in many states. For over one hundred years the Ladies'
Memorial Association, United Daughters of the Confederacy and Sons of
Confederate Veterans have held memorial services on or near this day.
Other Southern States recognize this day ,which began as Decoration Day,
on May 10th and June 3rd. Confederate President Jefferson Davis was born
on June 3rd.
April, Confederate History and Heritage Month, is
significant as it is the month the War Between the States began (1861) and
ended (1865).
Efforts to mark Confederate graves, erect monuments and
hold memorial services were the idea of Mrs. Charles J. Williams. It is
written that she was an educated and kind lady. Her husband served as
Colonel of the 1st Georgia Regiment during the war. He died of disease in
1862, and was buried in his home town of Columbus, Georgia.
Mrs. Williams and her daughter visited his grave often
and cleared the weeds, leaves and twigs from it, then placed flowers on
it. Her daughter also pulled the weeds from other Confederate graves near
her Father.
It saddened the little girl that their graves were
unmarked. With tears of pride she said to her Mother, "These are my
soldiers' graves." The daughter soon became ill and passed away in her
childhood. Mrs. William's grief was almost unbearable.
On a visit to the graves of her husband and daughter,
Mrs. Williams looked at the unkept soldiers' graves and remembered her
daughter as she cleaned the graves and what the little girl had said. She
knew what had to do.
Mrs. Williams wrote a letter that was published in
Southern newspapers asking the women of the South for their help. She
asked that memorial organizations be established to take care of the
thousands of Confederate graves from the Potomac River to the Rio Grande.
She also asked the state legislatures to set aside a day in April to
remember the men who wore the gray. With her leadership April 26 was
officially adopted in many states. She died in 1874, but not before her
native state of Georgia adopted it as a legal holiday. It is still
officially recognized in Georgia today.
Mrs. Williams was given a full military funeral by the
people of Columbus, Georgia and flowers covered her grave. For many years
a yearly memorial was conducted at her grave following the soldiers'
memorial.
Robert E. Lee said,
Duty is the sublimest word in
the English language. Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more. You
should never wish to do less."
The South can be proud of their men and women who
served this nation from the Revolutionary War to the War in Iraq. It is
important to also remember those men and women who defended their homes,
families and states during the War Between the States.
Among the gallant women was Captain Sally Tomkins, CSA
who was the first woman to be commissioned on either side of the War
Between the States. Commissioned by Jefferson Davis, she took care of
thousands of soldiers in Richmond, Virginia until the end of the war.
Those who served the Confederacy came from many races
and religions. There was Irish born General Patrick R. Cleburne, black
Southerner Amos Rucker, Jewish born Judah P. Benjamin, Mexican born
Colonel Santos Benavides and American Indian General Stand Watie who was
born in Rome, Georgia.
Lest We Forget!
Please contact the Sons of Confederate Veterans or
other historical organizations about the events during Confederate History
and Heritage Month. Be a part of this month long tribute, in April, to the
men and women of Dixie.
A native of Georgia, Calvin Johnson lives near the
historic town of Kennesaw, home of the locomotive "The General" from the
War Between the States. His email is:
cjohnson1861@bellsouth.net.
Email
This page
Information on how you can
help with Confederate Heritage Month Proclamations is available at:
http://ConfederateHeritageMonth.com
Georgia Division SCV Confederate History
Month
February Action List
It is my pleasure to serve Commander Jack
Bridwell as Chairman of the 2006, Confederate History and Heritage Month
committee for the Georgia Division SCV. I have asked the following men to
serve on this important committee: Commander Jack Bridwell as advisor,
Billy Bearden, Mike Crane, Jeff Davis, John Black and James King. I, Calvin E. Johnson,
Jr., serve as Chairman and your committee would like to hear from you.
You can contact me at:
cjohnson1861@bellsouth.net
or the Georgia Division Confederate Heritage Month
Committee at
Proclamations@confederateheritagemonth.com.
or write:
1064 West Mill Drive
Kennesaw
Georgia 30152
Phone: 770 428 0978.
Please check this web site out now and let us know
what you think. It will list the Proclamations for Confederate History
Month that we receive copies of. Please send a attachment or copy of your proclamation to:
Proclamations@ConfederateHeritageMonth.com
Now, is the time to begin planning for
Confederate History Month, 2006. Our Southern Heritage is continuously
under attack. We must educate our people about their proud history and
this is a good way to do it. See, below, some of the suggestions received.
Please email or send me with your ideas.
Try to do as many of the following as possible:
1. Get your SCV Camp website to link with the
following web page:
http://ConfederateHeritageMonth.com When you add your
link let us know at:
Proclamations@ConfederateHeritageMonth.com
and we will add a cross-link.
2. Signup to get periodic announcements from this
website. This will keep you informed, click
here to signup. Every Camp should have at
least one person on this list to get announcements.
3. We will post Actions Lists, Information and
Sample Letters to make requests to your local elected officials. We should
make an effort to see that a Confederate Heritage Month Proclamation is
requested from every county and city in
Georgia. Our sample letters and Proclamation will also include as much
contact information as possible.
4. Camps should give a program in least one public
school for Confederate History and Heritage Month.
5. In March, 2006, SCV camps should contact their
local news media (newspapers, TV, radio, Cable, etc.) and ask in writing
what they plan to do for Confederate History Month, 2006. Sample letters
and Proclamations will be available to download and use in preparing your
letters.
6. Ask your local newspaper if they would do a
daily or weekly column for Confederate History Month. I have several
stories that can be used and these will be available for download. You can
also write your own story and send to us and we will make it available as
a download for others.
7. In January, I have permission from Commander
Bridwell to write Georgia Secretary of State, Cathy Cox for a Confederate
History Month proclamation. The Alabama SCV has been successful in getting
one from their Secretary of State and having posters for history month
displayed in the schools. We must reach our young people.
8. Each SCV member that belongs to a church , ask
that church if they would hold a prayer service for our Confederate
Veterans. Perhaps they might allow a Confederate History Month program in
April 2006. Also do the same for the civic group or veterans group you
belong to. Invite all groups to be part of memorial services in April.
9. Copy this letter and take it to your camps
for all members. You may do this as a Confederate History Month
Ambassador. This is not only for the Georgia Division, please spread the
word through out all SCV. You can use the
Print Page
link below.
10. Use the
Refer Page link below or your own email
to send copies of this page to ALL who should be interested in honoring
the Memory of Our Ancestors.
11. Please put this article in your SCV camp
newsletter.
These are just a few of many ideas. I hope all
Georgia Division SCV camps will participate in this project as well as
other camps and divisions of the SCV. Let us know what other ideas you
have.
Reference:
Sample Confederate History and
Heritage Month Proclamation
April
is Confederate History Month of Remembrance
From:
http://ConfederateHeritageMonth.comSignup to be
informed when
http://ConfederateHeritageMonth.com is updated, click
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