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The Round Mountain Report
The Monthly Newsletter of
Col. Daniel N. McIntosh, Camp No. 1378
Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV)
www.scvtulsa.com
Volume 32, No. 7
… to continue the battle for the Soul of the South; tell the truth; keep the unbroken Spirit
of the South alive for generations to come.”
Billy Alvin Clawson
Billy Clawson was born at Big Cedar, Oklahoma on November 14, 1935. He moved to Texas when about nine
months old and lived there until he was sixteen, when he
left home and came to Tulsa.
Bill worked at Jitney Jungle Grocery for several years before joining the U.S. Navy in 1958. He and his wife, Pauleta,
met on a blind date in 1956 and were married in July 1959.
While in the Navy, they were based in California and moved
back to Tulsa in 1962. Billy retired from Safeway Stores, Inc.
in February 1988.
Bill is survived by his wife of more than fifty-six years,
three sons, two daughters, a sister and a brother, grandchildren and many nephews, nieces and cousins.
Said Pauleta: “Bill loved his Lord and Savior first, then his
family. He enjoyed helping other people, often when he
didn't feel like it. His other true love was music – Blue Grass,
Southern Gospel and Country. When he was sitting down
he had either a guitar or mandolin in his hand. Standing up
it was an old Kay upright bass. Billy went to sleep in his chair
July 2016
July Camp Meeting
The July Camp meeting will be Tuesday, the 12th. The meeting will be in the Ash Room of Hardesty Regional Library, located at 8613 E. 93rd Street. Start time is 6:30. Although it hasn’t
been announced, we have a program.
Please make every effort to attend this meeting and learn
something new of your Confederate history.
and the angels took him home before he could wake up”.
Compatriot Billy Clawson passed away on June 17.
Michael Gates presenting his program at the June meeting
Awards Luncheon
Bill Clawson receiving his SCV Membership Certificate at the August 2014 Camp McIntosh Awards Luncheon.
The Camp McIntosh annual Awards Luncheon and joint
meeting with the UDC will be Saturday, August 20. The location
is still not confirmed. SCV and UDC members from whatever
camp and chapter are cordially invited. Lunch begins at 11:00.
The program begins at noon. Details will be forthcoming in the
August newsletter.
Report of June Camp Meeting
Oklahoma Division Summer DEC Meeting
We had a light turnout for our June meeting – ten members
and one guest, Mr. Michael Gates of the Indian Nations Camp
of the Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War, who was our
guest speaker. We opened the meeting with an invocation
followed by the pledge of allegiance to the American flag and
salute to the Confederate flag.
Commander Bishop covered items of interest including the
upcoming National Reunion and the need to select delegates,
the Division Commander’s memo on political discussions at
meetings and a recent prospect who downloaded an application from the National SCV website. Commander Bishop has
not been able to make contact with him but will continue trying. Compatriot Ken Cook discussed the proposed amendments to the National Constitution and Standing Orders, which
will be voted on at the Reunion. As of now, the Camp has one
person who will attend the Reunion and two maybes.
Mr. Gates gave a very interesting and informative program
on the Battle of Caving Banks, the second battle of the War in
Indian Territory. He has done considerable research on the
battle as has Compatriot Rex Griffin. They have different interpretations of the battle, and their interaction made a more
interesting presentation.
The Oklahoma Division summer DEC meeting will be held
on Saturday, August 68, at Cowboy Corner Restaurant, located
at 10029 Highway 62 (I-40), Henryetta. This is the same location as the previous meetings in Henryetta. Attendees should
begin going through the serving line at 11:00. The meeting is
expected to conclude by 3:00.
All compatriots are encouraged to attend and participate.
We will be discussing many topics of importance to the Oklahoma Division. Non-DEC members are encouraged to participate in the discussions but may not vote on issues decided at
the meeting.
UDC Officer Elections
Ms. Thelma Shields has been elected to serve another term
as President of the Oklahoma Division of the UDC. Her term is
for two years. Ms. Lois Olzawski has been elected President of
Sarah Waite Chapter of Tulsa.
Our Camp has worked very well with both ladies in the past,
and we look forward to more of the same.
Congratulations to both of them on their elections. Also,
congratulations to outgoing Sarah Watie President Lori Cooper
for a job well done.
Dues Paying Time
It’s that time again. The SCV year ends July 31, and the new
one begins August 1. Annual dues are payable beginning August 1. Camp McIntosh combined dues – Camp, Division and
National – are $45. We hope to have all dues collected by August 31, so that we won’t have the usual scramble to get our
dues payments to National Headquarters by the deadline. We
would appreciate all Compatriots’ cooperation.
We cherish all of our compatriots/members and very much
want all of you to be with us next year, regardless of whether
or not you are able to fully participate in our activities. Thanks
to all of you, Camp McIntosh has accomplished much, and with
your continued support, we can look forward to a bright future
filled with many more accomplishments that properly honor
our Confederate ancestors.
Your membership in the SCV makes you part of a special
fraternity of men with a common heritage and a common mission: “… defense of the Confederate soldier's good name, the
guardianship of his history …”.
Please make your check payable to CAMP MCINTOSH, and
mail it to the Camp Adjutant:
Adjutant Bob Woodall
9530 South 89th East Ave.
Tulsa, OK 74133
Greenhill Cemetery Project
Camp McIntosh’s next project is a joint project with Gen.
Nathan Bedford Forrest Chapter of the UDC of Muskogee. The
UDC is taking the lead in securing government issued grave
markers for five unmarked graves of Confederate soldiers in
Greenhill Cemetery. These soldier’s graves have been unmarked since the 1920s/1930s. Greenhill Cemetery has several
Confederate graves and monuments in it.
Commander Bishop proposed the project to Ms. Betty Trinka, President of the Forrest Chapter, who readily agreed to it.
Camp McIntosh will assist with the dedication ceremony which
should be sometime in the fall of this year. Details will be
forthcoming as learned.
Greetings from JR Wolfe
Our friend and Associate Member, JR Wolfe, of Nebraska
reports that he and fellow Nebraskans are still tending to Confederate graves in his part of Nebraska. He sends his greetings
and wishes us well.
Calendar of Events
July 13–16 – SCV National Reunion, Richardson, TX
August 6 – Summer DEC meeting, Henryetta
August 21 – Camp McIntosh Awards Luncheon
Joseph Eggleston Johnston
By: Ken Cook, Camp Historian
Joseph Eggleston Johnston was born into a locally prominent Virginia family on February 3, 1809, at Longwood, the
family plantation near Farmville in Prince Edward County. His
father was a judge. On his mother’s side, he was a grandnephew of Patrick Henry. He entered West Point at age sixteen, in
1825, the same year as Robert E. Lee. After graduation, he was
assigned to the 4th Artillery. He served with distinction as an
aide to General Winfield Scott in the Seminole War of 1836-38.
Johnston resigned his commission in 1837 and practiced civil
engineering for the next two years. He re-entered the army in
1838 and was assigned to the topographical engineers. He was
brevetted three times for gallantry and meritorious conduct
during the Mexican War. When Virginia seceded, Johnston was
quartermaster-general of the US army with the permanent
rank of brigadier.
He entered the Confederate army at his old rank of brigadier and was assigned to Harper’s Ferry. In August, the Confederate Congress approved the rank of full general. Jefferson
Davis submitted the names of five men, including Johnston’s,
for Senate confirmation. However, the President ranked Johnston fourth on the list, which when he learned of it, infuriated
the general. He had ranked all of the others in the old army.
The incident rekindled old animosities between Davis and
Johnston that would endure throughout the war and beyond.
Johnston was given command of the army in Virginia. He was
wounded early in the fighting that became known as the Seven
Days’ Battle. Davis appointed Robert E. Lee to succeed Johnston as commander of the army. When Johnston recovered, he
expected to be returned to his old command, but Davis quite
reasonably had no intention of replacing Lee. Johnston was
given command of the Department of the West.
Part of Johnston’s overall responsibility was defense of
Vicksburg. There was little he could do in that regard. Davis
refused to abandon Vicksburg and save the army. He also refused to order the army in Arkansas to be transferred over the
Mississippi to help defend the city. Johnston was expected to
attack the Union army from the east, but he didn’t have the
manpower. He made an effort to defend Jackson, Mississippi,
but withdrew in the face of superior numbers. After Vicksburg
fell, recriminations came from all directions. Many blamed John
Pemberton, the Pennsylvania born commander of the city, but
Davis stood by the hapless general. Others, included Davis,
blamed Johnston.
After the Confederate rout at Lookout Mountain, Tennessee in December of 1863, Davis replaced Braxton Bragg, commander of the Army of Tennessee with Johnston, whose assignment was to stop William T. Sherman’s advance into Georgia. Before he could do that, Johnston first had to rebuild the
army now in disarray. Johnston quickly got his arms around the
situation. The army, from the lowliest private to the corps
commanders, had generally detested Bragg. The fact that he
had been replaced greatly improved army morale. Johnston
didn’t have the resources of men or matériel to stop Sherman.
The best he could do was slow the Union advance and exact a
high price for every mile of ground it gained. Johnston slowly
but steadily withdrew in advance of the superior Union numbers. He refused to commit his army to an all-out assault
against Sherman, knowing it would likely fail with heavy loss of
life. This was not Davis’s idea of how to confront the enemy.
He quickly grew disillusioned with Johnston, and the plotting
began among Johnston’s detractors in Richmond, as well as in
the Army of Tennessee. Among the principal plotters was
Bragg, whom Davis had made his military advisor and the rash,
young Major General John Bell Hood. Hood made it known to
Davis, that if he were in command of the army, he would take
the offensive and save Atlanta. By the time Johnston had withdrawn to the outskirts of Atlanta, Hood had made his case and
Davis removed Johnston and gave the army to the young general, who, over the next several months led it to destruction.
On February 23, 1865, General Robert E. Lee, now Commander of all Confederate armies, called on Johnston to pick
up the pieces of the Army of Tennessee and whatever else he
could put together to stop Sherman, who was now laying waste
to South Carolina. It was too late. Johnston could gather barely
16,000 men to confront Sherman’s 60,000. By late April, General John Schofield’s Union army joined Sherman’s. Johnston
now faced Union forces numbering over 100,000. On April 26,
he surrendered the remnants of his once formidable army to
Sherman at Durham Station, North Carolina.
After the war, Johnston entered a number of business ventures. In 1878, he was elected to Congress from Richmond and
served one term. In 1895, President Cleveland appointed him
U.S. Commissioner of Railroads. He served six years in that
position. He was a pallbearer at the funerals of both Grant and
Sherman. It was at Sherman’s funeral in a cold rain that Johnston contracted pneumonia and died a few days later, on
March 21, 1891.
Johnston was a better commander than he is often given
credit. But, his running feud with Jefferson Davis impeded his
effectiveness. He never seemed to understand that a subordinate commander could not defy his commander-in-chief without consequences. Johnston didn’t relent even after the war.
He openly accused Davis of stealing the so-called missing Confederate gold. Whether Johnston was simply perpetuating a
rumor or maliciously slandering the former President is unknown. In either case, it was unseemly at best and at worst,
entirely baseless. Every dollar of the Confederate treasury was
accounted for and documentation was available to prove it. In
the end, Johnston’s relentless quarrelling has seriously damaged his reputation and diminished his wartime accomplishments.
Joseph Eggleston Johnston
1809-1891
Lee Confers with his Commanders en-route to Gettysburg – June 1863
The Round Mountain Report is the voice of Camp Colonel Daniel N. McIntosh, No 1378, Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV), a nonprofit organization of patriotic, historical, sectional and genealogical orientation, as a service to its Compatriots and their friends. Opinions reflect the views of the writers and are not necessarily a statement of the Camp, SCV or their policies. Contents may be reproduced only when in the best interest of the SCV. Comments and articles to the newsletter are solicited. Please direct inquires, changes
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