February Issue 2007                                                                      Next Camp Meeting March 22^nd

Cmdr. Joe Willis called the meeting to order.  Speaker for the evening was Dale Presley and he spoke on the Charge by Lt. General Stephen Dill Lee. Our next meeting will be Feb. 22^nd and our guest speaker will be John Griffin. He has a new book out and would like to talk about it. Noel West and Ron Turner provided the meal for the evening, Sloppy Joes, baked beans and slaw. They graciously donated the proceeds to the Camp.  Camp Chaplain Monty Jones offered the invocation to the Camp assembly. Color Sergeant Chuck Botts opened the business meeting by leading us in the pledge and the salutes. Cmdr. Willis gave the Charge.

 Camp Speaker Request  - David Rentz 6th Brigade Cmdr. wants a list of speakers.  We gave him David Mitchell, Dale Presley, and Charles Leggett. If anyone would like to use our Camp for a sounding board for a talk, see Dale Presley and he will get you going.

 Lee/Jackson Banquet - was fantastic. Larry Jameson gave a report on the banquet and as it turns out the Camp did real good. Everyone thought the food was great and the program was excellent. The silent auction went real well. Pictures and awards can be viewed on the website. http://www.hlhunleycamp143.com/ . The beautiful cake at the banquet was again provided by Woody Brown's wife and was quickly consumed. The Camp is very appreciative of her and the work she did in its creation.

 Membership Committee - 2nd Lt. Cmdr. Woody Brown has taken    over and had nothing to report at this time.

Heritage Committee - Larry Jameson setup working the cleanup of the Waring Cemetery and Boone Hill Cemetery Saturday 24th, at 9AM

 Bereavement Committee - Allen Link had the balloon treatment, they placed a stint and he is out of the hospital and doing much better. I talked to him just recently and he reported that everything went well and he was feeling fine. Rick had rotor-rooter treatment to retrieve a kidney stone and after several days was back home feeling much better. Clyde Roger’s wife is about the same and is still at home under Hospiscare, she has her good days and bad days.  If you would like to send a card contact me for an address. Let us keep these Compatriots in our prayers.

Special Service Committee - The Flower-town Festival will be March 30th, 31st, and April 1st. We hope to be located again in front of John Couch's place. Last year we did $1800 on the water and this year we hope to sell some prints and maybe raffle off a framed print. We will need at least 3 people each day to help with the Festival. The Motorcycle Rally last year was a lot of fun and we made about $2200 on it. The Rally will be April 13th - 22nd.  We will have sign up sheets posted at the next meeting.

Camp Accountability committee - David Mitchell noted that we need about 9 people to go to the SCV Div. Convention in March. At the meeting we had at least 9 members wanting to go. David will also be calling to see if we can get more attendance at some of the other Brigade Camp meetings. Anyone interested let David know.

Camp Choir - Walker reported that they are working on some new material and that they are going forward and want to grow. If anyone one is interested please contact him. He needs someone that could play the piano.

Member at Large – Two Compatriots were nominated to be member-at-large and they were Bobby Miller and Tim Hilton. Bobby Miller was elected as member-at-large.

Junior ROTC HL Hunley Award – We had a general discussion about the award and whether or not to adopt it for Summerville. It was decided that Dale Presley will contact someone at the High School and get a feeling on the acceptance of the award before the Camp goes forward with it.

Scrapbook –I spoke with Mike’s wife and I plan to see them the weekend of the 17^th. Mike has taken a job in Alexandra, VA and on occasion gets 5 days off to visit the family here in Summerville. I will have the Scrapbook at the next meeting. We know that family comes first but we will surely miss Mike if he is relocated permanently.

Mess Sergeant – There was a lively discussion about the mess sergeant duties and the preparation of the meal and the next meeting but we finally got Benjamin Bunting to step up and volunteer to be our new Mess Sergeant. Thank you Ben. Bubba and Chuck will be providing the meal at the next Camp meeting.

Working at the cemetery

Left to right is Larry Jameson, Howard Haas, Bobby Miller, Ben Bunting, David Clayton and son Matthew, Woody BrownCmdr. Joe Willis took the picture.

 Southern Cross of Honor - It was a Memorial to honor Woody and Chip Brown with a Southern Cross Of Honor Service for their ancestor Daniel F. Baxter 11th SCVI Co. C. Some 40 family, friends, and SCV members gathered Saturday Feb. 10 at Smyrna Methodist Church. The Southern Cross of Honor was a military decoration meant to honor the officers, noncommissioned officers, and privates for their valor in the armed forces of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. It was formally approved by the Congress of the Confederate States on October 13, 1862.

MEMORIAL SERVICE CONFEDERATE SUBMARINE H.L. HUNLEY

This Saturday, February 17, 2007 marks the 143^rd anniversary of the disappearance of the Confederate Submarine H.L. Hunley in Charleston waters. It was this night that submarine warfare was brought to light by the Hunley’s sinking of the 207 foot, 1280-ton sloop of war; the first ship to ever be sunk during the time of war. Sadly, the Hunley was not heard from again for 131 years until found off the coast of Sullivan’s Island in 1995.

The Hunley is why we can wear the dolphins on our chest with so much pride and honor. If anyone deserves to wear these dolphins more proudly than us Sub-Vets, then it is the brave eight sailors of the Submarine H.L. Hunley who sacrificed their lives for a cause they believed so much in. Their schooling took place in one day on a dock in Mt. Pleasant and they qualified on the evening of February 17^th by making their historic attack on the USS Housatonic.

The Confederate Heritage Trust and I would like to invite all my shipmates and their families of the USSVI-Charleston Base to join us at the Sunrise Presbyterian Church, 3222 Middle Street, Sullivans Island, South Carolina in a Memorial Service honoring the 8 brave Hunley crewmen and the 5 brave Housatonic crewmen that went on Eternal Patrol on the evening of February 17, 1864. The time of the service is 7:00PM.

There will be a short service at the church, then a short walk down to Breech Inlet for a short waterside service also. The waterside service will include firing 3 musket volleys and the firing of 3 cannon volleys.  It is a sight to see.

In honor of all our shipmates on Eternal Patrol including the Hunley & Housatonic sailors, please join us.

If you have it, please wear your Charleston Tuxedo with your dolphins.

Thank-you, Charlie Rook

South Carolina SCV Convention 2007

Compatriots - The SC Division Convention is fast approaching. I wanted to update you on a few key details:                                                                                                             

The time for the opening ceremonies has been changed. Division Commander Burbage requested that we begin the convention at 9:30am to allow plenty of time for those attending the memorial service at Carr Street cemetery to relocate to Alhambra Hall. Hotel rooms are going fast! Due to the coming of spring in Charleston, hotel rooms are at a premium. We have rooms blocked off, but only until February 16!!! After that date, rooms at the host hotel will likely be sold out, and other hotels in the area are selling fast, too. Contact the hotel and request the SCV block of rooms:  Holiday Inn Patriots Point , 250 Johnnie Dodds Blvd. , Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464 (843) 884-6000 

Even though the deadline for the "Palmetto Package" has passed, pre-registration is ongoing until February 15, and we still have some spots open for both the Friday night Oyster Roast and the Saturday night BBQ at the Hunley Lab. Please don't wait until the last minute to get your registrations in. The speaker for the convention is Donald Kennedy, author of The South Was Right, Myths of American Slavery, Why not Freedom, and others. He will be with us for the Oyster Roast and the Hunley BBQ as well. We will have books for sale at the convention, or you can bring your own copies for Mr. Kennedy to personalize.

We are looking forward to an exceptional convention. See you in March!

Howard Chalmers
Commander, Moultrie Camp #27

S 0124 General Bill, By Bryant, Verdin, Vaughn and Knotts
A BILL TO AMEND ARTICLE 9, CHAPTER 1, TITLE 1 OF THE 1976 CODE, BY ADDING SECTION 1-1-616, TO DESIGNATE MAY AS CONFEDERATE MEMORIAL MONTH.

The bugle has sounded and all troops are called to muster in for action.  You are asked to pen a letter to your State Senator urging the adoption of this important bill.  Don't wait for someone else to write for you and make certain that you send a hard copy letter via the US Postal Service.  A physical letter carries more weight than an email.  Lets "flood" them with mail.....To locate your State Senators mailing address go to:  http://www.scstatehouse.net/html-pages/senatemembers.html

No one should feel inadequate in finding the right words to say.  Be brief and tactful, but to the point and ask them to support the bill.  Just for information I have pasted below the words from my letter going out in the mail today:

Address your letters to the Honorable Senator..........                                                                                Senator Randy Scott
District 38 - Charleston & Dorchester Cos.
Contact Address: (home) 107 Cleveland St., Summerville, 29483 (843) 871-2964 (state) 606 Gressette Bldg., Columbia, 29202 (803) 212-6024                                                             Email Address: SCOTTR@scsenate.org

Senator Lawrence K. "Larry" Grooms
District 37 - Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton & Dorchester Cos.
Contact Address: (home) 131 Indian Field Dr., Bonneau, 29431 (843) 825-4671 (state) 404 Gressette Bldg., Columbia, 29202 (803) 212-6230                                               

E-Mail Address: SAG@scsenate.org

 Status of Life Membership

Larry Jameson                                    Walter Bailey                      Dale Presley

Walker Wright                           Charles Botts                       Jack Meadows

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Charge to the Sons of Confederate Veterans

"To you, Sons of Confederate Veterans, we submit the vindication of the Cause for which we fought; to your strength will be given the defense of the Confederate soldier's good name, the guardianship of his history, the emulation of his virtues, the perpetuation of those principles he loved and which made him glorious and which you also cherish. Remember, it is your duty to see that the true history of the South is presented to future generations."

Lt. General Stephen Dill Lee, Commander General,
United Confederate Veterans,
New Orleans, Louisiana, April 25, 1906.