Download sons of confederate veterans - Albert Sidney Johnston Camp #67

SONS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS
Albert Sidney Johnston Camp 67 – Houston, Texas
Wednesday, April 16th 2014
Join us for a presentation by Ed Bearss on
“Cold Harbor and the War in Virginia: Summer of 1864”
Christie’s Seafood and Steaks
5:30 pm Executive Board meeting
(all camp members in good standing
are invited to attend) 6:30 pm Happy Hour
Cash Bar 7:00 pm Dinner and Camp Meeting
Commander - Sam Kruse
1st Lieutenant Commander - Dodd Eastham
2nd Lieutenant Commander - John Beard
3rd Lieutenant Commander - Bryan Fox
Adjutant - Darrell Brewer
Please RSVP to
Darrell Brewer @ [email protected]
Or by phone to Sam Kruse at 832-256-4270.
“The contest is not over, the strife is not ended. It has only entered upon a new and enlarged arena."
-- Jefferson Davis
"The principle for which we contend is bound to reassert itself, though it may be at another time and
in another form."
-- Jefferson Davis
www.scvcamp67.org
This Month’s Speaker – Ed Bearss
Ed Bearss is a United Stated Marine Corps Veteran of
World War II, is a military historian and author known for his
work on the American Civil War and World War II eras and
is a popular tour guide of historic battlefields. He served as
Chief Historian of the National Park Service from 1981 to
1994..
Bearss graduated from Hardin High School in May 1941
and hitchhiked around the United States, visiting his first
Civil War battlefields. He enlisted in the Marine Corps on
April 28, 1942, and by July was on a troop transport to the
Pacific War. He was with the 3d Marine Raider Battalion in
the invasion of Guadalcanal and the Russell islands and 7th
Regiment, 1st Marine Division, in New Britain. On January
2, 1944, Bearss was severely wounded at "Suicide Creek"
(Cape Gloucester, New Britain) by Japanese machine gun
fire. He was evacuated to California, and spent 26 months recovering in various hospitals.
He was honorably discharged from the Marines as a corporal on March 15, 1946, and
returned home to Montana.
Bearss used the G.I Bill to finance his education at Georgetown University, from which he
obtained a B.S Degree in Foreign Service studies in 1949. He worked for three years in the
United States Navy Hydrographic office in Maryland and used his spare time to visit
numerous Civil War battlefields in the East. He received his M.A. in history from Indiana
University in 1955, writing his thesis on Confederate General Patrick Cleburne. As part of his
research, he visited the Western Theater battlefields on which Cleburne fought, telling
friends, "You can't describe a battlefield unless you walk it." In February 2005, Lincoln
College awarded Bearss an honorary doctorate, and in May 2010, Gettysburg College
awarded him an honorary doctorate of humane letters.
On the battlefield of Shiloh in 1954, he made a career decision inspired by the park historian
he met, Charles E. (Pete) Shedd: interpretation of battles in the field was far more interesting
than the academic study of history in an office. Although attracted to a National Park Service
career, he first joined the Office of the Chief of Military History, U.S Army, but soon took work
as an historian at Vickburg National Military Park, Vicksburg, Mississippi.
It was at Vicksburg that he met his wife,
Margie Riddle Bearss (1925–2006), also a
Civil War historian; they were married on July
30, 1958. They first lived in the Leila Luckett
House in Vicksburg formerly occupied by
then-Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's soldiers in
1863, and eventually had three children:
Sara Beth, Edwin Cole, Jr., and Mary Virginia
(Jenny).
At Vicksburg, Bearss did the research leading him and two friends to the long-lost Union
gunboat U.S.S Cairo. He also located two forgotten forts at Grand Gulf, Mississippi. He was
promoted in 1958 to Southeast regional historian, working out of Vicksburg, but he spent the
majority of his time on the road, visiting virtually every battlefield in the country. As popular
interest in the Civil War increased with the centennial celebrations starting in 1961, Bearss was
recognized as more knowledgeable on the battlefields than virtually anyone else and he was
enlisted to develop a variety of new parks, including Pea Ridge and Wilson’s Creek. During his
long NPS career, he also led efforts in Fort Smith; Stones River, Fort Donelson; battlefields
around Richmond, Bighorn Canyon; the Eisenhower Farm at Gettysburg; the gold miners' route
over Chilkoot Pass; President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Ranch; Fort Moultrie; Fort Point; William
Howard Taft House; Fort Hancock at the Boston Navy Yard; and the Herbert Hoover National
Historic Site.
In 1966 Bearss was transferred to Washington D.C On November 1, 1981, he was named
Chief Historian of the National Park Service, a position he held until 1994. From 1994 to 1995
.he served as special assistant to the director. After his retirement in 1995, he received the
title Chief Historian Emeritus, which he holds to this day.[3]
In 1972 Bearss became a founding member of the Board of Advisors of Sea Research
Society and participated in the creation of its College of Marine Arts. He was active in the
Society's efforts to raise the wreck of the Civil War submarine Hunley, which had been found
off Charleston, South Carolina, in 1970.
Bearss is a consummate tour guide, bringing history alive to visitors of all knowledge levels,
revealing encyclopedic stores of memory and enormous personal energy, but always with rich
and colorful anecdotes. A Washington Post reporter described his style as "Homeric
monologues." The Wall Street Journal wrote that he evokes "almost hallucinatory
sensations." Historian Dennis Frye said a "battlefield [tour] with Ed Bearss [is a]
transcendental experience." Admirers have suggested that, if the United States ever
recognizes Living National Treasures, as Japan and Australia do, Bearss should be an
immediate honoree.
Bearss started interpretative touring as part of his official duties in Vicksburg, leading eight
one-hour tours a day. Although he was no longer required to do so after 1958, he kept it up as
an avocation on weekends. He attracted ROTC classes, active-duty military officers and
VIPs, and other historians. Beginning in 1961, he began annual tours for the prestigious
Chicago Civil War Round table.
One of his greatest challenges was his annual tours of
Vicksburg for the Louisiana School for the Blind and
Deaf. He is a lifetime honorary member of the
Cleveland Civil War Round table, to which he has
spoken many times, beginning in 1962 and as recently
as 2004.
Currently, Bearss, in his eighties, continues to lead
numerous tours—traveling as many as 200 days per
year—around the United States, the Pacific, and
Europe. He routinely outpaces his much younger
guests in charging over rough terrain, recreating the
color of famous infantry and cavalry attacks.
Bearss lives in Arlington County, Virginia
Commander’s Corridor
One of the most gratifying things that the Camp does on an annual basis is to present the H.L. Hunley
awards to outstanding Jr. ROTC program members within the area high schools.
The Hunley award was created by SCV to recognize Jr. ROTC cadets who demonstrate Honor, Courage,
and Commitment to their ROTC unit throughout the year.
In the early spring the Camp accepts recommendations from the various high schools where Jr. ROTC
leaders have been notified of the availability of the award by their regional ROTC headquarters. When
we are notified that a high school would like us to sponsor the award to a deserving candidate, we
contact Compatriot Tripp Wilson, NCCM(SS/AW), U.S. Navy (Retired) who coordinates the H.L.
Hunley Award program for SCV on a national basis. We provide Tripp the information on the deserving
candidate, the school, the commanding officer for the program, the $30 sponsorship and the details of
the upcoming award ceremony. When the ceremony occurs, one of the camp members attends the
ceremony and presents the award to the winner.
This spring, Compatriot Gus Mistrot, our long time Grave Marking Chairman, will present awards at
Alief Elsik, Alief Hastings, Westside, and Cypress Ridge High Schools. A member of the Executive
Committee will present the award to the winner at Langham Creek High School.
The camp is in the process of procuring name tags for members who attend the monthly meetings and
desire one. Compatriot Ev Gardner, former Commander of the Camp, has graciously volunteered help
in obtaining the name tags. If you want one and haven’t signed one of our lists that went around last
meeting, please let Ev or myself know.
Compatriot Tom West, a new member in 2013, currently serves as an aide-de-camp and is serving as
Sergeant at Arms and is coordinating the flag installation and removal for meetings.
Compatriot Jason King, a new member since 2012, also serves as an aide-de-camp, and has been
working over the past month to coordinate our contact information on camp members between rosters
maintained by SCV National, the Texas Division SCV, and our ASJ Camp #67. If you are not receiving
information currently or have recently changed addresses, phone numbers, or email addresses, please
contact Jason (713-818-0299) or myself (832-256-4270) so that we can keep information as current as
possible ( a daunting task when we have approximately 150 member ). It is important to keep current
information for the Texas Division since dues statements come from their office. Serving as your
adjutant the last couple of years, I know firsthand that Texas Division got several fee statements back
every year because of bad addresses and annually I got at least 1 letter from a distressed spouse who’s
loved one had passed, yet they continue to get yearly dues statements.
I’m on a mission this year to get 4 of our new members from last year to a meeting, get recognized and
get them their membership certificates. Annually we have a few new members who never make it to a
meeting to get recognized – usually because of communication issues. Compatriot Jules Silvers was
recognized at the March meeting and we want to get Compatriots Danny Baker, Jerome Hanks, and
Charles Rosenthal recognized when they can make it to a meeting.
To try to boost meeting attendance a little, our goal this year will be to get the Johnston Journal out
during the first week of the month and to send out a reminder email including our speaker for the month
and his topic a couple of days before the meeting. Compatriot Wade Williams is our Johnston Journal
Editor and gets it out monthly to our members who have provided email addresses.
The Month of April in 1864:
On April 30, 1864, President Davis’ son Joe died from an accidental fall from a balcony at the
Confederate White House.
Sam Kruse
This Day in Confederate History – April
“Nothing fills me with deeper sadness than to see a Southern man
apologizing for the defense we made of our inheritance. Our cause was
so just, so sacred, that had I known all that has come to pass, had I
known what was to be inflicted upon me, all that my country was to
suffer, all that our posterity was to endure, I would do it all over again.''
-- President Jefferson Davis,
1 April 1862 McClellan’s Ponderous Movement
Gen. George McClellan was moving both his army and himself today, and moving is never an enjoyable process. The Army of
the Potomac had to be transferred from its home base near Alexandria, just outside Washington, to Ft. Monroe, Va. This
involved going down the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay. The general himself also had to move his headquarters, his
staff and all their paperwork to a new site near Yorktown. The people of Richmond were donating the bells of their
churches to be melted into cannon.
2 April 1 1864 Ill Fated Red River Campaign Underway
It was supposed to be the last big combined Army-Navy sweep to clear the remaining Confederate forces out of the TransMississippi, specifically the Red River of Louisiana. Gen. Nathaniel Banks led the Army side of the operation. Theoretically
these soldiers were always to stay within mortar range of the riverboats of the Navy side of the operation, under Admiral D.
D. Porter himself. Further insurance for the federal operations was being provided by Maj. Gen. Frederick Steele, who was
moving south out of Camden to guarantee that Banks was not bothered on his way to Shreveport. He would not succeed.
3 April 1 1862 Albert Sidney Johnston Moblizes for Shiloh
Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston was supposed to be leading an army towards the Tennessee River hamlet of Pittsburg Landing.
Their mission: destroy the Union army under Gen. U. S. Grant. Unfortunately, as was often the case in attempts to move
large numbers of men, supplies, weapons, ammunition, horses and suchlike items, delays of one sort or another delayed
the entire army. Johnston feared that he was losing the element of surprise. Skirmishes occurred near a building called
Shiloh Church.
4 April 1863 Admiral Semmes takes a prize
Captain Ralph Semmes, commander of the CSS Alabama, was possibly the premiere Confederate Naval force of the war,
roaming the oceans of the world to gather supplies and harass Union boats. Today he captured a coal ship, Louisa off the
coast of Brazil. Instead of sinking it he took it with him. As it happened he missed a supply ship a week later and needed the
coal. He took it from Louisa, then sank her.
5 April 1862 Magruder Frustrates McClellan
Yorktown, Va., was the venue for fun on the Peninsula today. Gen. John Magruder, CSA, was defending with inadequate
numbers. He faced Gen. George McClellan, USA, who had twice as many men. Magruder’s solution was to march his troops
around in a large circle, making it appear to McClellan’s scouts that huge numbers of reinforcements were arriving.
McClellan became nervous and dug in for siege instead of attacking. The real reinforcements, under J.E. Johnston, were on
the way.
6 April 6 1862 Albert Sidney Johnson dies
Rebel yells were heard in the Tennessee dawn as Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston’s men burst out of the woods into the Union
lines of William T. Sherman’s men. As the day wore on, fighting on a horrendous scale occurred that would make certain
places immortal in American history: the Sunken Road, the Hornet’s Nest, Bloody Pond, the Peach Orchard. Among the
dead that day: Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston. Hit in the leg, the wound was thought insignificant, until he died minutes later
from loss of blood.
.
7 April 7 1862 Shiloh Settles into Silence
The Battle of Shiloh entered its second day with the arrival of Union reinforcements under Gen. Lew Wallace (who had to
survive in order to write “Ben-Hur” years later) and Gen. Don Carlos Buell enabling Grant to declare it a Union victory since
the day ended with them in possession of the field. In terms of casualties it was closer to a draw: 1754 Union dead, 1723
Confederate. The total casualties, dead, wounded and missing, were nearly 24,000--more than the Battle of Waterloo.
8 April 1864 - Battle of Mansfield, Louisiana
The Red River campaign of Union General Nathaniel Banks grinds to a halt when Confederate General Richard Taylor routs
Banks' army at Mansfield, Louisiana.
9 April 1865 Lee surrenders
General Robert E. Lee surrenders his army to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.
They met at a house in Appomattox at 2:00 p.m. on the afternoon of April 9. Lee was resplendent in his dress uniform and a
fine sword at his side. Grant arrived wearing a simple soldier's coat that was muddy from his long ride. The generals spoke of
their service in the Mexican War, and then set about the business at hand. Officers could keep their side arms, and all men
would be immediately released to return home. Any officers and enlisted men who owned horses could take them home to
help put crops in the field and carry their families through the next winter. These terms, said Lee, would have "the best
possible effect upon the men," and "will do much toward conciliating our people." The papers were signed and Lee prepared
to return to his men.
10 April 1865 Lee's last orders
One day after surrendering General Robert E. Lee addresses his army for the last time.
"After four years of arduous service, marked by unsurpassed courage and fortitude, the Army of Northern Virginia has been
compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources. I need not tell the brave survivors of so many hard-fought
battles, who have remained steadfast to the last, that I have consented to the result from no distrust of them...I determined
to avoid the useless sacrifice of those whose past services have endeared them to their countrymen...I bid you an
affectionate farewell.“
11 April 1862 Fall of Fort Pulaski, Georgia
Fort Pulaski, guarding the mouth of the Savannah River in Georgia, surrenders after a two-day Union bombardment tears
great holes in the massive fort.
The imposing masonry stronghold was named for Polish Count Casimir Pulaski, who was killed at Savannah by British troops
during the American Revolution. The destruction of Fort Pulaski signaled an end to the era of brick fortifications, though,
which had been made obsolete by the new rifled artillery.
12 April 1864 Fort Pillow
General Nathan Bedford Forrest's troops overwhelm Fort Pillow
13 April 1861 Fort Sumter surrenders
After a thirty-three hour bombardment by Confederate cannon, Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor surrenders. The first
engagement of the war was over, and the only casualty had been a Confederate horse. The Union force was allowed to leave
for the north; before leaving, the soldiers fired a 100-gun salute. During the salute, one soldier was killed and another
mortally wounded by a prematurely exploding cartridge.
14 April 1861 Charleston Celebrates
Parades, celebrations and a general holiday occurred in Charleston, South Carolina today as the defeated Union garrison of
Fort Sumter packed up and left. They boarded the ships which had been standing offshore, unknown to them, bringing the
supplies which might have allowed them to hold out longer against attack. In Charleston special services of thanksgiving were
held in churches. Gov. Pickens said, perhaps prematurely, “We have met them and we have conquered.“
15 April 1861 Call for Milita
Mr. Lincoln today blundered into an escalation of the brewomg conflict when he issued a call for the raising of 75,000 militia,
a proclamation that a state of insurrection existed, and a call for a special session of Congress. Far Northern states accepted
the call for troops; Kentucky and North Carolina immediately refused.
16 April 1863 Passage of Vicksburg
Admiral David Dixon Porter leads 12 ships past the heavy barrage of Confederate artillery at Vicksburg, Mississippi. He lost
only one ship, and the operation speeded General Ulysses S. Grant's movement against Vicksburg.
17 April 1864 Battle of Plymouth, North Carolina, begins
Confederate forces attack Plymouth, North Carolina, in an attempt to recapture ports lost to the Union two years before. The
four-day battle ended with the fall of Plymouth, but the Yankees kept the city bottled up with a flotilla on nearby Albemarle
Sound.
18 April 1864 Battle of Poison Springs, Arkansas
The cavalry expedition of Gen. John Marmaduke, CSA, scored its first victory today in a battle at Poison Springs, Ark. They came
upon a large Federal wagon train, made up of foragers who were trying to unite with Banks’ part of the Red River expedition.
After a short but sharp battle the Federals fled, leaving their wagons behind, all 158 of them.
19 April 1864 Battle of Plymouth, North Carolina, continues
Things were looking grim for the Union garrison at Plymouth, N.C. Under attack for two days, they had been saved yesterday
by the arrival of two gunboats. Today, at 3:30 a.m., the counterattack came--the dreaded CSS Albermarle arrived. She
immediately attacked the USS Miami and Southfield, which had been tied together for steadier firing. Southfield was fatally
rammed, and the crew frantically cut the cables as the survivors scrambled aboard Miami. Miami turned tail and ran.
20 April 1861 Lee resigns from U.S. Army
Colonel Robert E. Lee resigns from the United States army two days after he was offered command of the Union army and
three days after his native state, Virginia, seceded from the Union.
The next year, Lee assumed command of the Army of Northern Virginia after General Joseph Johnston was wounded in battle.
Lee quickly turned the tables on Union General George B. McClellan, as he would several other commanders of the Army of
the Potomac. His brilliance as a battlefield tactician earned him a place among the great military leaders of all time.
21 April 1863 Steight's Raid derailed by Forrest
Union Colonel Abel Streight begins a raid into northern Alabama and Georgia with the goal of cutting the Western and Atlantic
Railroad between Chattanooga and Atlanta. The raid ended when Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest captured
Streight's entire command near Rome, Georgia.
The expedition ran into trouble almost immediately when the mules arrived at Nashville in poor condition. A Confederate
cavalry detachment swooped in and caused the mules to stampede, and it took two days to round them up.
But now General Forrest was on Steight's trail, and he would not let up. The Yankees were in hostile territory, and several
times the Confederates received important information from local residents that allowed them to gain the upper hand. Finally,
Forrest confronted the exhausted Union troops. Under a flag of truce, they discussed terms of surrender on May 3. Forrest had
just 600 men, less than half of what Streight now possessed. But Forrest spread his men around the woods. As he met with
Streight, couriers from nonexistent units rode up with reports. Streight took the bait, and agreed to surrender. When the
Confederates finally emerged to gather the Yankee's weaponry, the Union colonel realized that he had been had by the crafty
Forrest.
22 April 1863 Grierson's raid cuts telegraph wires near Macon
Colonel Benjamin Grierson's troops bring destruction to central Mississippi on a two-week raid along the entire length of the
state.
23 April 1863 Séance in the White House
This night a séance was held at the White House, with participants including the President and First Lady as well as many
cabinet members. There were reports that after Mr and Mrs. Lincoln left, the “spirits” tweaked the nose of Secretary of War
Stanton, and tugged on Navy Secretary Welles’ beard.
24 April 1863 Confederate Tithe
Like all governments, that of the Confederate States of America was faced with the obligation of raising funds to support its
operations. When the operations included fighting a war for independence, it became a case of desperate times calling for
desperate measures. Today a “tax in kind” was enacted, requiring a one-tenth contribution of all produce of the land.
25 April 1864 Battle of Mark's Mills, Arkansas
For the second time in a week, a Confederate force captures a Union wagon train trying to supply the Federal force at Camden,
Arkansas. This time, the loss forced Union General Frederick Steele to withdraw back to Little Rock.
26 April 1864 Yankee Red River Campain Bogs Down
The Red River expedition had already been given up on and written off as a failure, but even giving up was proving to be
exceedingly difficult. The water level on the river was dropping so fast, due to an ongoing drought, that the ships were under
constant attack from shore. The ships above the rapids were trapped, and the others, including Admiral Porter’s flagship USS
Cricket, were hit repeatedly by small arms and even artillery fire from Gen. Richard Taylor’s men.
27 April 1865 Sultana Disaster
The steamboat Sultana explodes on the Mississippi River near Memphis, killing 1,700 passengers including many discharged
Union soldiers. When the Sultana left Vicksburg, it carried 2,100 troops and 200 civilians, more than six times its capacity. On
the evening of April 26, the ship stopped at Memphis before cruising across the river to pick up coal in Arkansas. As it
steamed up the river above Memphis, a thunderous explosion tore through the boat. Metal and steam from the boilers killed
hundreds, and hundreds more were thrown from the boat into the chilly waters of the river. The Mississippi was already at
flood stage, and the "Sultana" had only one lifeboat and a few life preservers. Only 600 people survived the explosion. A
board of inquiry later determined the cause to be insufficient water in the boiler--overcrowding was not listed as a cause. The
Sultana accident is still the largest maritime disaster in U.S. history.
28 April 1864 Yankee Red River Woes, cont.
Union Admiral D. D. Porter was in deep trouble over shallow water. He had taken a fleet up the Red River in triumph and was
now trying to get a rapidly shrinking number of ships back down and was failing. “I find myself blockaded by the fall of 3 feet
of water....seven feet being required to get over; no amount of lightening will accomplish the object....in the meantime the
enemy are splitting up into parties...and bringing in artillery.”
29 April 1864 Yankee Red River Woes, cont.
Admiral Porter’s fleet seemed doomed. Trapped on the Red River, they heard today that their nemesis, Confederate Gen.
Richard Taylor, was proposing to take one of their own disabled boats and refloat it use it as a fireboat to cause havoc and
destruction to the Union fleet. Lt. Col. Joseph Bailey came up with a deranged plan. Among their troops were many
Midwestern and Maine men with lumberjack experience. Bailey proposed to have them build a dam across the rapids. This
would raise the water level under the ships enough than when the dam was blown, they would all get downstream. For lack
of alternative, Porter and Banks, head of the land forces, agreed to let him try it.
30 April 1864 President Davis loses son
President Jefferson Davis and his wife Varina suffered the loss of their beloved son, Joe Davis, today. The exuberant five-yearold was, as boys that age often do, playing where he shouldn’t have been, on the second-floor balcony of the Presidential
home, the Confederate White House in Richmond. Somehow he slipped, toppled over the railing, and fell to the brick
pavement below.
In the future some historian shall come forth both strong and wise,
With a love of the Republic, and the truth, before his eyes.
He will show the subtle causes of the war between the States,
He will go back in his studies far beyond our modern dates,
He will trace out hostile ideas as the miner does the lodes,
He will show the different habits born of different social codes,
He will show the Union riven, and the picture will deplore,
He will show it re-united and made stronger than before.
Slow and patient, fair and truthful must the coming teacher be
To show how the knife was sharpened that was ground to prune the tree.
He will hold the Scales of Justice, he will measure praise and blame,
And the South will stand the verdict, and will stand it without shame.
The Portsmouth Memorial Poem
James Barron Hope