July 2001 Fort Brooke Record

Oh, are we of the Lesley Camp ever blessed. To have a man of the cloth who is so well versed in our sections history to be a speaker for the January meeting...well, it is a total blessing.

Reverend Alan Farley (from the majestic state of Virginia) will be with us in body at the meeting on the 21st and he will be conducting a revival service at the church of our immediate past chaplain, Rev. Ken Simpson. For information on that series of services (during the week of 21-26 January) see the article titled SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT within the pages of this newsletter.

For this meeting on the 21st Reverend Farley will focus our attention on the life and times of his forefather, Captain William Farley of the Confederate service. Like our Reverend Farley, Captain Farley is not ordinary and his story during the War is one of great and exemplary exploits.

Of course, most of us are aware of the great oratory power of this speaker. But just in case you are not, then prepare yourself for a great evening with a man of great and passionate talents.

The Florida Cow Cavalry, is an oft forgotten, but was of vital import to the Confederate army. Formed from cracker cowmen (cracker derived from the crack of the whip used for herding cows) who had enlisted, or were exempted due to age or other reasons, this Commissary unit rounded up the Florida scrub cattle and drove them to ports or north. The nine 9 companies, geographically distributed over the state, also assisted in homeland defense, being involved in numerous skirmishes.
A Southern city that does not have a Confederate monument is Plant City. This year is the Plant City UDC's 75th anniversary and we have set a goal to build a monument to the Florida Cow Cavalry, specifically Captain John T. Lesley's Company, which originated near Plant City. We have commissioned the Lesley Camp SCV's artist, Michael Bethune, who recently restored the UDC's Tampa monument if front of the Hillsborough County Courthouse. A preliminary design has been completed, and will be previewed at this year's Lee Jackson Ball on January 26th in Plant City. The proceeds of the ball will be set aside for the monument fund, and work continue on the project until the necessary funds are raised.

Any support the SCV can give, in the form of attendance at the ball, or sponsorships would be appreciated. There is a possibility of selling inscribed bricks around the base of the monument, for those would like one. The tickets to the ball are only $30 and will include live period music and dancing, and a delicious Southern buffet.

Please spread the word to support our effort to make this lasting monument to the efforts of these Florida men who performed such a valuable service to the cause.

Lunelle Siegel
Secretary Plant City Chapter #1931, UDC

Mark your calendars! The dedication of the White Springs Flags Across Florida site is now definitely set for 2 PM on Friday the 15th of February. This site will announce to all traveling north or south bound on I-75 that Florida is an integral part of the real South. There will be no mistaking the 100 ft. flagpole which will fly a 40 by 28 foot Confederate Battle Flag.

This site is located at Exit 84 on I-75. This exit is the first exit north of the intersection of I-75 and I-10. To get to the actual physical site, after exiting at Exit 84, go east about 200 yards from the interstate to the State Farmers Market. Turn into that facility and proceed to the southwest corner of the vast parking area. This will be adjacent to the fence along the interstate. You will see the flagpole in place. It is just north of the BP sign.

There will be a ceremony although to what extent is not known. This is all still in the planning stage. There is a possibility that there will be a couple of state legislators present. Cmdr. Bob May of the Dixie Camp 1861 is attending to making this dedication a great event.

The Lesley Camp will be supporting logistically this event. Our Colour Guard will be present. Also our Camp Trailer will be sent with up there with all of its contents. Our sound system (owned by Cmdr. Hayward) is being lent for the ceremonies. See you there!

The general contractor, Mr. Bob Raburn of Plant City, has finished the slab and the foundation for the flagpole and monument. The flagpole and the monument will arrive together by truck on the 22nd of January. Within a matter of days of that delivery Mr. Raburn has contracted for a crane to set those items in their place.

The definite time/date for the dedication of this site has been set for 2:00 PM, Friday February 15, 2002. It appears that we should have a fantastic turnout for the event from the Confederate reenactors who will be in the same area for the Olustee Reenactment on that same weekend.

At this time it is not possible to subscribe to have your name or the name of an ancestor placed on the monument. The open window of opportunity for placing names on the monument is now closed.

I wish to take the opportunity to express my gratitude to members of the Lesley Camp Colour Guard for their participation during the year 2001. The impact exhibited in the public forum can never be underestimated. The following volunteers are to be commended for their commitment. Corporals Wayne Sweat, Mark Salter, Dean Leferink, Wesley Sainz, Randy Tyler, Greg Tisdale, Sgt. Greg Chappel and new members Daryl Whitt, Larry Dodson.

We welcome any camp member to join us in the New Year as we Forward the Colours.

In this coming year I implore you to increase your faith and trust in God. To dedicate your life to Him and seek His ways and He will lead your steps so you won't falter in your walk with Him. I would also implore you to honor your Confederate kin, by defending them and their way of life. For as you know the "P.C." crowd of today is trying to convince people that they were all racists and beat their slaves every day and it is our duty to let the people of today know the truth about the Old South. I am very proud of my folks and the lives that they lived and how they lived them. Now Im not so naive that I think all of them were a bunch of saints, for they weren't. Im sure that we all have had some "black sheep" in our families. But on the whole they were men and women who lived lives of hardship and without all of the modern conveniences that we have today. These men and women helped to shape the Southern states into a place of agriculture and very little industry, such as the Kanawha Valley ( where I come from, for we have been an industrial place for over 200 years, which is why the Yankees wanted it so badly.). Let's vow that we will carry on the traditions of the Old South and their genteel ways and men, please be "gentlemen" in all of your ways and you ladies, be the genteel "lady" that your Great Grandmothers were. Yes, lets still show the world that well known "Southern Hospitality". For by doing this, people will see through the lies of the "P.C." crowd.

As you know, this is the month that we celebrate the birthdays of Gen Robert E. Lee and Gen "Stonewall" Jackson ( who was born in my "neck of the woods") in Western Virginia. So I would like to share with you a little about what our people did at the dedication of the statue of Gen Jackson which is on the capitol grounds in Charleston, West Virginia. It was on September 27, 1910, the soldiers of the old Southern Confederacy met in reunion in Charleston. It was probably the last get-together of the old Johnny Rebs in this section of the state. The veterans were getting pretty feeble, most of them, but around 300 of them showed up to do honor to a great chieftain long in his grave.

The occasion was the unveiling of the bronze statue of Lt. Gen. Thomas J. Jackson, better known as "Stonewall." The statue had come from Rome, Italy, and had been sculptured by the famous Sir Moses Ezekiel, graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and an ex-Rebel himself. The statue and the celebration resulted from the loving labor of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, Chapter 151, and it had been erected on the front lawn of the old capitol.
There had been some arguments and weak protests about enshrining a Rebel on the property of the state, for there were plenty of old Yankees in these parts and war passions were not dead by a long shot. But Old Stonewall was up on his pedestal and stood shrouded in white cloth awaiting the pull of the chord to disclose him to view.

An estimated 5,000 persons had come to town and Capitol Street was like a circus. I'm sure my kinfolk were there too! The red battle flags fluttered gaily and bunting hung high above the horse-drawn traffic.

The parade took place around noon. It was led by the brass band from the Virginia Military Institute, Jackson's old college, and a crack unit of 75 cadets looking smart in their rebel grey swallowtail coats, crossed belts and tall shako caps. Behind them walked, shuffled or stumbled the old rebels. ( Boy! What a sight that must have been. I would loved to have been there!!!).

The V.M.I. cadets halted before the statue, with the old Rebels forming on the left. The speeches began, and at every mention of a Southern leader the applause was prolonged and uproarious. Between the speeches the band played "Lorena," "Carry Me Back To Old Virginia," "My Old Kentucky Home," and the rousing tune of Jeb Stuart's, "Come Out of the Wilderness." Then the Confederate comrades would cheer with cracked voices that were wispy and faltering but defiant.

A lady beside the large Confederate flag pulled at the cord and the shroud fell away. Gen. Jackson stood there in heroic size, looking just as he did that hot afternoon at Sharpsburg, when the Rebel boys had come stumbling out of the bloody cornfield blasted by Yankee guns. They met Old Jack on Little Sorrel, his face stern as he pointed towards the enemy while blue powder smoke blew around him in wreaths. Looking at the bronze face the clanging years turned back like a page. They were back in the years that were looming gone with the wind.
Oddly, no one viewing that scene thought it silly, banal, the saccharin syrup of pathos, the behaviorism of senile old men. The children watching the affair did not consider the affair "corny" or "weird." The kids who grew up in the early 1900's felt the impact of the War Between the States. It was "The war" that old men talked about and filled the history books, that supplied the thrilling stories countless grandfathers told over and over again. It was a war whose battles and their outcome touched their hearts and shaped their minds. When the last old Rebel died something that was real in America passed away with them

Now folks, that is how the people in those days did to Honor a great man and Confederate leader. Wouldn't the NAACP and that bunch of P.C. Liberals of today , had they been there, would just have had a fit. But this was real history and it was not rewritten to appease today's crowd. It was told just the way it happened. And I'm proud that it was in my home county and state.

PRAYER REQUEST:

Dave Anthony - coronary bypass surgery scheduled for Dec. 6

John Hall - heart problem

Jim Hall - stroke

Ailene Mizell - cancer patient another surgery on Dec. 21.
(Mother of rebmaster Lunelle Siegel)

If you have a special prayer need and wish to have your request placed on the prayer list it is imperative that you contact one of the chaplains. Too many times we find that folks who are dear to us have been ill for some time or even that they have passed away, and without us knowing. So please do contact one of the chaplains as listed below. We are here for you.

Chaplain Rev. Calvin Martin 813 651-0190

The general contractor, Mr. Bob Raburn of Plant City, has the blue prints in hand and is waiting at this moment for some key elements to arrive at the site. He is the husband of Mrs. Sally Raburn, a member of Plant City Chapter 1931 UDC. The first phase of the construction will occur between the 11th and the 13th of November.

The definite time/date for the dedication of this site has been set for 2:00 PM, Friday February 15, 2002. It appears that we should have a fantastic turnout for the event from the Confederate re-enactors who will be in the same area for the Olustee Reenactment on that same weekend.

At this point, there is some concern as to the advisability of chartering a bus for this particular occasion.

Time is critically very short. Certainly by the time you read this, there is only a matter of days of opportunity left for subscribing. If you have not sent in your subscription to have your ancestor or your name inscribed please do so now. If you have any questions concerning this please contact me directly at (813)-839-5153.

If you are looking for a good 2-day trip that is centered on the War for Southern Independence, let Carolyn and me tell you about our trip to Andersonville, GA. After a leisurely drive up I-75 to Cordele, Georgia, exit and drive to Americus. We arrived with enough afternoon left to visit Plains, GA the Jimmy Carter capitol of the world. We have spent a lot of tax dollars on this place so we went to see our tax dollars at work.

Downtown Americus has an old restored hotel and at least one beautiful old restored two-story bed and breakfast plus other brand name hotels.

Andersonville is 10 miles from Americus down well-marked uncluttered rural roads. Rolling hills of red clay and pecan groves seem to go on forever.

We arrived at 10:00 a.m. December 27^th, a cold cloudless day and 1 of 5 cars at the Andersonville National Historic Site. The main park building is the National Prisoner of War Museum in which no money was spared to do justice to all Federal P.O.W.s from the Revolutionary War to Desert Storm. The displays and videos alone would be worth the trip.

At 11:00 a.m., Carolyn and I decided to join a guided tour. The National Park Service volunteer was well versed on the history of the Confederate Prison. The site is well preserved and 2 parts of the wall surrounding 26 ½ acres have been recreated along with the different styles of shebangs or lean to shelters made by the Union prisoners.

The prison was designed to hold 10,000 Union soldiers, but during the 14 months the prison existed, more than 45,000 soldiers were confined here. August, 1864 showed a population in excess of 32,000. In the 14 months of service, Andersonville saw the death of nearly 13,000 Union prisoners and Confederate guards.

The NPS guide was well scripted to explain the critical problems the Confederates had taking care of the number of Federal prisoners. The alleged crimes of Captain Wirz are plainly stated as such. Wirz is presented as a victim of the situation, a scapegoat for the Yankees.

We next visited the Andersonville National Cemetery, which still receives approximately 5 burials a month of veterans.

The whole site is a good ½ day's visit with much more to do and see than I have described here. Although treating the Confederacy and Wirz better than I thought they would, I have discovered many of the statistics here have been slanted toward the winning side (go figure!).

While in the vicinity, we also visited the Andersonville Civil War village, which is a quaint civil war historical community and was the headquarters for the P.O.W. camp.

Heading back to Tampa, we took a side journey to the capture site of President Jefferson Davis in Irwinville where there is a nice museum and video giving the history of the end of the Confederate government.

We had a 2-day trip filled with Confederate history, beautiful scenery and good county cooking.

There are many more Confederate sites that are within a 1-day driving distance from Tampa than I realized, including many in north Florida, Alabama and South Carolina.

The John T. Lesley Camp 1282, Sons of Confederate Veterans Membership Roster for January 2002 stands at 191 Compatriots and 26 Legionaries. We are proud to announce the membership of Darryl Allen Whitt. His Confederate Ancestor was Pvt. John Wesley Catron who served in Co "F" 12th Cavalry CSA of Tennessee.

This will be the final mention of Camp dues till the end of this year. For those SCV members who have not paid their 2002 membership dues this will be your last Fort Brooke Record newsletters. Also your subscriptions to Confederate Veteran magazine and the Florida Blockade-Runner newsletter have expired. National dues received after January 31^st 2002 will require a five-dollar fee to become reinstated.

The 1841 Mississippi .54 CAL Rifle donation tickets are available from 1^st Lt. Commander Marion Lambert @ 813-839-5153.

If you have any questions concerning camp business or to process membership paperwork, please do not hesitate in contacting me.

Editors note: Because of the significant persons involved in this event it was thought that it would be very appropriate to relay this announcement via this newsletter. Past Lesley Camp Chaplain Ken Simpson is the pastor at the church. The evangelist conducting services is the Rev. Alan Farley, who will be the program speaker for the January meeting.

From the 23rd to the 27th of January there will be an evangelistic revival at the First Baptist Church of Bloomingdale, located at 3303 Bloomingdale Ave. Valrico, Florida.

The Fort Brooke Record

January 2002
Volume 9, Issue 1

The Fort Brooke Record

January 2002 Volume 9, Issue 1

January 2002
Volume 9, Issue 1