february meeting report

1

The February meeting featured Robert

Murphree speaking on Lee’s retreat

from Gettysburg.

Compatriot and Past Camp Commander

Dan Duggan has informed me that

Grady Howell will be our speaker at the

next camp meeting on March 22nd. His

topic will be the 1st Mississippi in the

Mexican War.

Everyone come and bring guests, espe-

cially new recruits!

When: March 22, 2021, 6:00 pm.

Where: Masonic Lodge, 7454 Old

Canton Road, Madison, MS.

March Meeting

The First Mississippi

in the Mexican War

February Meeting Report

The

Sons of Confederate Veterans Jefferson Davis Camp No. 635

* Volume L * * PO Box 16945, Jackson, MS 39236 * * March 2021 * * Number 3 *

Lee’s Retreat from

Gettysburg

W hy do the heathen rage, and the people

imagine a vain thing?

T he kings of the earth set themselves, and

the rulers take counsel to-gether, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying,

L et us break their bands asunder, and

cast away their cords from us.

H e that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh:

the Lord shall have them in derision.

T hen shall he speak unto them in his

wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.

Y et have I set my king upon my holy hill of

Zion.

I will declare the de-cree: the Lord hath

said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begot-ten thee.

Psalm 2:1-7 (KJV)

"The Confederate soldiers were our

kin folk and our heroes. We testify to the country our enduring fidelity to

their memory. We commemorate their valor and devotion. There were some things not surrendered at Appo-

mattox. We did not surrender our rights and history, nor was it one of those conditions of surrender that

unfriendly lips should be suffered to tell the story of that war or that un-

friendly hands should write the epi-taphs of our Confederate dead. We have the right to teach our children

the true his-tory of that

war, the causes that led up to it

and the prin-cipals in-

v o l v e d . " ~Sen. E.W. C a r m a c k ,

1903

DTH

2

Reveille

Calendar April 26, 2021

Plans to be determined

May 24, 2021


June 28, 2021


July 26, 2021


August 23, 2021


September 27, 2021


October 25, 2021


November 22, 2021


Send changes in e-mail addresses to: [email protected] Include changes to physical (mail) addresses and telephone numbers as well.

Rebel Ramblings by Robert Murphree

First, let me give you fellows some good news. You will recall the stout friends of history in the House of Representatives in the democratic party passed a pro-vision in the funding bill for the Department of the Interior to require Interior to

remove all Confederate monuments from national parks. I found out today the Senate killed this language back in December, so we are off the hook--for now. Insanity never dies a natural death in our nation's capitol so keep your eyes

open--and your powder dry.

I know Will Rogers, who is reputed to have said "I never met a man I didn't like," never met Braxton Bragg, but I wonder if Mr. Rogers would have kept this opinion if he had met General Bragg.

Among the War Between the States books I treasure is Richard Taylor's Destruc-

tion and Reconstruction, for I find him to be a narrator of the first water. After the Seven Days battles around Richmond, Richard Taylor was promoted to Ma-jor General and sent west to General Bragg's army. In describing his arrival

with that army, Taylor made some general comments about General Bragg, among which were that Bragg had a "sour and petulant" temper.

In describing his first day with General Bragg, Taylor re-lated the following incident:

“At dinner, surrounded by his numerous staff, I inquired for one of his division commanders, a man widely known

and respected, and received this answer: ‘General _______ is an old woman, utterly worthless.’ Such a

declaration made, privately made, would have been seri-ous, but publicly, and certain to be repeated, it was as-tonishing. As soon as we had withdrawn to

his private room, I asked by whom he intended to re-lieve General _________. ;Oh, by no one, I have but one or two fitted for high command, and have in vain

asked the War Department for capable people.’"

Taylor went on to tell Bragg the obvious: that Bragg could hardly expect com-plete cooperation from officers of whom Bragg spoke so contemptuously. This

(Continued on page 3)

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed by contributors to this newsletter

are not necessarily the views or opinions of this editor, the Jefferson Davis Camp 635, or any member thereof.

Visit the camp web site at:

http://www.scvcamp635.org

Bragg

3

Reveille

Chaplain’s Dispatch

Dear Friends and Compatriots:

FORWARD, NOT BACKWARD

Through these trying days we are going through, I been thinking about my great grandfathers coming

back from the War Between the States! What they witness the chaos of coming home to uncertainties, to a world that has completely change! These

verses the Lord showed me from Philippians 3:13 & 14, "Brethren, I count not myself to have appre-

hended: but this one thing I do , FORGETTING those things which are behind, and REACHING forth unto those things which are BEFORE, I Press

TOWARD THE MARK FOR THE PRiZE OF THE HIGH CALLING OF God in Christ Jesus."

Sincerely,

Rev. Glenn D. Shows Chaplain

Now remember fellows, this was in a time when one

had to be cautious about making public remarks critical of other people. For example, if one called a man a

name that indicated you didn't think his parents had ever been married, you did so at your peril. Likewise, if you described a man in a vulgar vein along the lines

that his mother scratched fleas and bayed at the moon, you would need to get ready to defend yourself. So the fact Bragg would be so free with his criticisms showed

a lack of judgment at best, and worse failings really.

About this same time Jefferson Davis visited the army and was well informed about the dissatisfaction the officers had with Bragg. Liddell wrote that Davis "knew

that it was wholly wrong and that it would eventually be the cause of disaster to that army." Yet Davis took

no action and we all know that indeed disaster was the result.

Those of you who have been kind enough to read my scribbles know the way I feel about Robert E. Lee. I

came across these lines in Virgil's Aeneid the other day that summarize how I feel history should, in the final analysis regard General Lee:

As long as rivers shall run down to the sea

or shadows touch the mountain slopes,

or stars graze in the vault of heaven, so long shall your honor, your name,

your praise, endure He ranks among the first captains of all times, the em-

bodiment of every manly and Christian virtue, and nothing these petty, sniveling little termites can do in

modern times will change these truths.

made no impression on Bragg, but Taylor wrote that from that point forward he had "misgivings"

about Bragg's prospects of success. We all know what General Forrest thought about

Bragg, and if the accounts we have all read are true, Bragg knew it too.

General St. John Liddell had the same experience with Bragg. Bragg had promised to transfer Lid-

dell to the Trans Mississippi Department, but when Liddell asked Bragg to do so, Bragg at once refused. Liddell wrote Bragg "had no friend-

ship for anybody except to serve his own pur-poses."

One day Liddell came into Bragg's room and found him walking about in "ill humor." One of

the comments Bragg made was "I have not a sin-gle general officer of cavalry fit for command."

Now one of those commanders was Nathan Bed-ford Forrest, but Bragg went on to say about Forrest that "the man is ignorant and does not

know anything of cooperation."

(Continued from page 2)

4

Reveille

From the Facebook page of Beauvoir, The Jefferson Davis Home and Presidential Library, edited for inclusion

here.

In Honor of William Gregory Barron

Mr. Barron, 64, was a longtime resident of Summit, MS. He passed on to the great Battlefield on March 3, 2021. Mr. Barron was a longtime

SCV Member of the Stockdale Rangers Camp, and a Southern History and Confederate Heritage supporter. He was very active in fighting for the 1894 Mississippi state flag. He was a founding member of the

Amite County Historical & Genealogical Society in Liberty. He was a teacher of young minds in the Hattiesburg School Area and in Vene-

zuela. He will be truly missed by family and friends. The 1894 Missis-sippi state flag at Beauvoir will remain at half-staff for Mr. Barron until Friday, March 12, 2021.

Editor’s note: I’m exercising editorial privilege this month and presenting a memorial salute for the memory of my first cousin William Gregory Barron, a true son of the South.

I realize most of the camp members did not know Greg Barron or don’t remember him from his camp atten-dance almost 40 years ago but he was such a unique, some might say eccentric, individual, I felt compelled to use my editorial discretion to give him one last goodbye.

William Gregory Barron My cousin William Gregory Barron, known to most everyone as Greg, was

born October 8, 1956, which was about 120 years later than he would’ve chosen had he been able to choose his time. He lived for learning history and teaching it to others. Although he read about all periods of history,

nineteenth century American history was his focus. In addition to always being on the lookout for books from that period, he also was interested in elements of daily life of the period—furniture (especially home-made), archi-

tecture, tools, and firearms.

Between Greg’s and my research into our genealogy we discovered we had several ancestors who were not famous but were “in the thick of things” when it came to historic events. We had a common great great great grandfather, John Nesmith IV of South Carolina, who was one of four

brothers who acted as escorts/bodyguards for Francis Marion as he waged his sometime guerilla war against the British. John Nesmith later received a land grant in Mississippi in reward for his service.


1

5

Reveille

John Nesmith’s daughter Jane married Benjamin Anderson (probably before leaving South Carolina) and they became our great great grandparents. Benjamin Anderson volunteered and fought in both the Creek Indian

War (primarily in Alabama) and the Battle of New Orleans on January 8, 1815, in the area that is the Chal-mette suburb today.

Two of Benjamin’s sons, John L. Anderson (born about 1828) and James Jefferson Anderson (born either in 1832 or 1834) entered Confederate service in Co. K, 33rd Mississippi Infantry on March 1, 1862. (Jeff was our great grandfather.) Both survived through the war with the Army of Tennessee until John was killed by

artillery as the 33rd assaulted the Federal line at Franklin. They were on the far eastern (right) end of the Confederate line near the railroad cut. Jeff Anderson survived Franklin and Nashville but was captured along

with most of the rest of Co. K near Anthony’s Hill, Tennessee, on December 25, 1864. He was imprisoned at Camp Chase, Ohio, for the duration of the war.

When I joined the SCV in the early 1980s, I was surprised to discover that Greg and Ed Funchess (past Divi-sion Commander) were driving all the way from Amite County each month to attend meetings of Camp 635.

Later, when the Stockdale’s Rangers Camp formed, they began attending that camp which was near their homes.

Greg was adamantly opposed to changing the state flag and worked very hard to help get out the vote back in 2001 to keep the 1894 flag design. In 2005 he was one of the founding members of the Amite County

Historical and Genealogical Society (ACHGS). Since the legislative action last year to change the flag, Greg had been an outspoken opponent of the change and worked hard in the effort to have a ballot referendum on the flag.

In 2009, the town of Liberty and Amite County celebrated the 200th anniversary of their founding and Greg was in historian’s

paradise, helping organize historic displays and giving demon-strations and brief history lessons to the visitors over the three

days of the celebration. He was especially active on the school day when he took the opportunity to teach history that he knew was no longer being taught in public school. For example, for

probably the first time, the students were given an explanation of the real issues that led to the War Between the States. Greg

was able to rely on one of his history-loving friends (he would never say who it was) to provide several mid-19th century fire-arms from his collection for a brief period of public display. One

of the firearms was a Mississippi rifle manufactured at the New Orleans Armory-- an antique firearm with well-documented provenance that I understand is very rare today,

One of the commercial displays at the celebration was a nine-

teenth century photographer who would make glass plate and tintype style photos. Greg had several “images struck” includ-ing the one included here.

Although Greg had suffered from several chronic health issues

for a number of years, none of them were life-threatening so his passing was unexpected. Greg went to his rest in the fash-ion of his favorite historical period and was buried without bodily preservation



2

6

Reveille



3 4

5 6

7

7

Reveille

in a plain pine casket assembled with pegs following a grave-side service which included an honor guard salute by reenactment members of the Stockdale’s Rangers SCV camp. I would estimate that at least 100 people at-

tended the funeral. Interestingly, a herd of cattle in a pasture 40 to 5o yards away from the cemetery all as-sembled along the pasture fence near the cemetery when the funeral started and remained there throughout the service.

Rest in peace Greg.

Photo credits: 1. “Selfie” by Greg for his Facebook page

2. Scanned copy of image struck at Bicentennial, copy provided by Greg in 2009. He is assuming his best 19th century-style stern, non-smiling countenance. 3. Greg at Amite Co. courthouse. Image by Susan Cross, posted to ACHGS Facebook group page.

4. Greg at a Barron family gravesite, East Fork Cemetery. Ibid. 5. Greg at Confederate Monument in Liberty. Ibid.

6. Greg at the Little Red School House historic site. Ibid. 7. Still photo captured from a video posted by Marcia Gordon McLaurin to the ACHGS Facebook group page.


A SOLDIER DESCRIBES JEB STUART

“General J. E. B. Stuart was a

handsome, dashing, spec-tacular officer. He wore a broad brimmed, heavily

plumed hat with a cockade and dressed in a fine suit of

Confederate gray. His sword and belt, his boots and other equipments were bright and

clean. He had long reddish brown beard and mounted a splendid charger. Altogether

he was a picturesque com-mander but his showy ap-

pearance made him the tar-get of the enemy. He was a brave and gallant officer and

his reputation as a capable commander increased until

his untimely death.” Source: “Two Boys in the

Civil War and After,” by W. R. HOUGHTON and M. B.

HOUGHTON, 1912 Link to e-book: http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/houghton/houghton.html

DTH

8

Reveille

GENERAL JOHN BELL HOOD’S REPLY TO ACCUSATIONS MADE BY SHERMAN

This post is General John Bell Hood’s Army of Tennessee, Headquarters, September 12, 1864 reply to a letter

from General Sherman which contained many accusations…

“You charge my country with ‘daring and badgering you to battle.’ The truth is we sent commissioners to you, respectfully offering a peaceful separation, before the first gun was fired on either side.

“You say we insulted your flag. The truth is we fired upon it, and those who fought under it, when you came to our doors upon the mission of subjugation.

“You say we seized upon your forts and arsenals, and made prisoners of the garrisons sent to protect us

against negroes and Indians. The truth is we, by force of arms, drove out insolent intruders and took posses-sion of our own forts and arsenals, to resist your claims to dominion over masters, slaves, and Indians, all of whom are to this day, with unanimity unexampled in the history of the world, warring against your attempts to

become their masters.

“You say that we tried to force Missouri and Kentucky into rebellion in spite of themselves. The truth is, my Government, from the beginning of this struggle to this hour, has again and again offered, before the whole world, to leave it to the unbiased will of these States, and all others, to determine for themselves whether they

will cast their destiny with your Government or ours; and your Government has resisted this fundamental prin-ciple of free institutions with the bayonet, and labors daily, by force and fraud, to fasten its hateful tyranny


9

Reveille

upon the unfortunate freemen of these States.

“You say we falsified the vote of Louisiana. The truth is, Louisiana not only separated herself from your Gov-ernment by nearly unanimous vote of her people, but has vindicated the act upon every battlefield from Get-tysburg to the Sabine, and has exhibited an heroic devotion to her decision which challenges the admiration

and respect of every man capable of feeling sympathy for the oppressed or admiration for heroic valor. “You say that we turned loose pirates to plunder your unarmed ships. The truth is, when you robbed us of our

part of the navy, we built and bought a few vessels, hoisted the flag of our country, and swept the seas, in defiance of your navy, around the whole circumference of the globe.

“You say we have expelled Union families by thousands. The truth is, not a single family has been expelled from the Confederate States, that I am aware of; but, on the contrary, the moderation of our Government to-

ward traitors has been a fruitful theme of denunciation by its enemies and well-meaning friends of our cause.

“You say my government, by acts of Congress, has confiscated ‘all debts due Northern men for goods sold and delivered.’ The truth is, our Congress gave due and ample time to your merchants and traders to depart from our shores with their ships, goods, and effects, and only sequestrated the property of our enemies in retalia-

tion for their acts — declaring us traitors, and confiscating our property wherever their power extended, either in their country or our own.

“Such are your accusations, and such are the facts known of all men to be true.”

Source: Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman, by William Tecumseh Sherman, James Gillespie Blaine, 1891 Photo: Art Work of Dale Gallon. “Desperate Valor.” Confederate General John Bell Hood leads the Texas Bri-gade over the Federal works at Gaines' Mill. (www.gallon.com)


http://www.gallon.com

10

Reveille

THE MAN WHO SERVED S THE CHEROKEE DELEGATE TO THE CONFEDERATE CONGRESS Elias Cornelius Boudinot -- Cherokee delegate to the Confederate Congress and founder of Vinita, Indian Terri-

tory now Oklahoma. Nephew of Stand Watie. He petitioned the Confederate Congress to thank Gens. Gano and Watie for the capture of the wagon train at

Cabin Creek, Cherokee Nation -- AND GOT IT in January of 1865.

Boudinot was born on August 1, 1835, in New Echota, Cherokee Nation, East, in pre-sent Gordon County, Georgia, to tribal spokesperson Elias Boudinot and Harriet Rug-gles Gold, his white wife. Four years later the elder Boudinot was assassinated at

Park Hill, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory (I.T.), because he had signed the Treaty of New Echota (1835), which called for the removal of the Cherokees to I.T. The Boudinot children were then sent to New England to be reared by the Gold family.

Returning to the West in his late teens, Elias C. Boudinot studied law, edited a news-paper, became a civic leader, and engaged in Democratic Party politics in Fayette-

ville, Arkansas. He eventually served as the Arkansas Democratic Central Committee chair and edited the Little Rock True Democrat newspaper.

When Arkansas seceded from the Union in 1861, Boudinot was secretary of the Ar-kansas secession convention, and he later joined the Cherokee Confederate regiment

raised by his uncle, Stand Watie. Boudinot rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel be-fore being elected as Cherokee delegate to the Confederate Congress, where he made a reputation for himself as an Indian spokesperson. After the Civil War, he par-

ticipated in Cherokee negotiations with the federal government. Although the Confed-erate faction failed to realize their demands in the new Cherokee treaty (one of the Reconstruction Treaties of 1866), through their reunification with the pro-Union tribal

members Boudinot gained an appointment to the Cherokee delegation in Washington, D.C.

In 1869 the tobacco factory that Boudinot and Watie owned in the Cherokee Nation was confiscated by federal authorities for failure to pay excise tax. Boudinot main-

tained that the 1868 tax law violated treaty agreements made in 1866. However, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against him, fostering his opinion that Indians should be-

come citizens of the United States in order to be protected by the Constitution. He also argued that Indian land should be held by individual title rather than by tribal owner-ship. He furthermore called for I.T. to be made an official territory of the United States

and helped write proposed legislation naming the new territory "Oklahoma." At the same time, he worked with railroads operating in I.T., consequently founding the town

of Vinita, where the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway and the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad (later the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway) lines intersected. In 1879 his letter to the Chicago Times stating that the unoccupied land in the heart of I.T. should

be considered public domain open to homesteaders precipitated the Boomer Move-ment.

Throughout the 1870s and 1880s Boudinot lectured on Indian policy, lobbied govern-ment officials, engaged in newspaper work, and practiced law while also enjoying no-

table social popularity. Despite significant support, he failed to be named commis-sioner of Indian affairs in 1885. He then married Clara Minear in Washington, D.C., and they moved to Fort Smith, Arkansas, where he established a law office and operated a ranch in the nearby Cherokee Nation. He

died in Fort Smith on September 27, 1890, after a short illness.

11

Reveille

“Uncle” Jerry Perkins

Charles Perkins enlisted at Brownsville, Tenn., under Capt. H. S.

Bradford, who was afterwards Col. Bradford, of the 3rd Tennes-see Infantry. He was killed in the battle near Atlanta July 22, 1864. The boy Jerry went with him as a body servant. Before

leaving Charley’s mother told Jerry that he must bring his “Marse Charley” back to her, and he promised that he would do it; that

he would take him back alive or dead. On that fateful July 22 young Perkins was killed; and when the

regiment felt back to bivouac for the night, Jerry was alarmed not to see Marse Charley, and, upon being told that he was dead, said, “Here’s your supper. I’m going to find Marse Char-

ley,” and away in the darkness he went.

In a short while he returned, carrying the dead body of his young master on his back. He carried it a mile or so farther to a farmhouse, got some plank, borrowed a saw, hatchet, and nails,

made a box, dug a grave, and buried him in the farmer’s yard. He walked from Atlanta to Brownsville, Tenn., and reported the

sad news. He was supplied with a farm wagon and a metallic coffins, went back to Georgia, disinterred the body of Charley Perkins, and hauled it home to Brownsville.

Jerry is a favorite with the Hiram S. Bradford Bivouac, and at-

tends all of their Reunions. The foregoing data comes from J. W. McClish, of Brownsville.

This was an article in the Confederate Veteran, September 1905. Taken from the Facebook page of the Con-federate Daughters of Dixie.

Boudinot played a conspicuous, if not always remembered or appreciated, role in

Cherokee and Oklahoma history. Article courtesy: Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.

Photo order matches the flow of the text. Photo 1 courtesy: The Warren Collection

Photo 2 courtesy: Wikipedia Photo 3: courtesy: Fold3 Photo 4: courtesy: paulridenour.com

Posted to the Facebook page of The Second Battle of Cabin Creek, shared by H. Grady Howell, Jr., Historian & Author


12

Jefferson Davis Camp #635 Sons of Confederate

Veterans PO Box 16945

Jackson, MS 39236-6945

Trivia Question:

This month’s question asks:

Continuing with Camp Chase,

the prison had an oddity in its

procedures concerning impris-

oned Confederates. What was

it?

February’s question asked:

Who was Camp Chase

(prison for Confederate

POWs) named for?

The answer: Salmon P. Chase, US Secre-

tary of Treasury and later

Commander’s Column

Commander Jackson has no column this month

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, any copyrighted mate-rial published herein is distributed under fair use without profit or pay-ment to those who are interested in receiving the provided informa-

tion for non-profit research and educational purpose only.

Reference: http:www.law.cornell.eduuscode/17/107.shtml

From the Tupelo Journal, reprinted in the Aberdeen Weekly, July 1, 1921:

A very interesting person who is among the visitors to Tupelo during the reunion is

Uncle Howard Divinity of Copiah county who attends all reunions of Confederate

veterans. Uncle Howard went out at the opening of the war as the body servant of his young master (Robert Marion Scott) who

was a member of the 12th and was with the regiment when it surrendered at Appo-mattox. During the hardships of the

struggle, he was relied upon by the mess that he served to provide all the edibles i n

reach. He became famous as an expert forager and the table he supplied was ea-gerly sought by every member of the

regiment who knew his remarkable quali-ties. Uncle Howard had succeeded in de-

veloping a system which located the chicken roosts and pig pens for miles around as soon as camp was struck, and i t

was a wily old hen who could hide her brood from him or a lucky pig whose grunt did not attract his attention. Since the war Uncle Howard has been honored

by his neighbors for his character and his industrious habits. The frosts of ninety-one winters have turned his head white, yet he still holds to his love for the days

that are gone and is still a firm believer in the Old South. He spoke before the MS Legislature concerning the Confederate soldier, their widows and servants. How-ard's pension application indicates that he was twice wounded. He suffered a flesh

wound of the arm, at Chancellorsville, on the day Stonewall Jackson died. His sec-ond wound occurred at Gettysburg, a flesh wound to the back from a bum shell.

From the Facebook page of the Confederate Daughters of Dixie.

See additional news clipping about Howard Divinity on page 7.


On the left is Joe Wiley of the 7th

Georgia, Company A. On the right is Howard Divinity of the 12th Mis-

sissippi, Company D.

february meeting report

Documents