March Issue 2007                                                                        Next Camp Meeting April 26^th

Cmdr. Joe Willis called the meeting to order.  Speaker for the evening was Dr John Griffith.

Temporary Color Sergeant Woody Brown led us in the pledge and the salutes. Cmdr. Willis gave the Charge. Bubba and Chuck provided the meal at the Camp meeting. Camp Chaplain Monty Jones offered the invocation to the Camp assembly.

Two new applicants for membership were welcomed, voted on, and passed. They will be inducted at the March Camp meeting.

 The 2007 SC Division Convention will be held at historic Alhambra Hall this weekend, located on the banks of Charleston Harbor in Mt. Pleasant, SC.  A memorial service will be held at 8:00 AM at the Confederate Cemetery on Carr Street, in the Historic Village of Mount Pleasant. Everyone is encouraged to go in support of the Camp.

Hubert Haas

Hubert was welcomed and inducted into the Camp at the February Camp meeting. Hubert retired after 32 years from Bellsouth Yellow page Advertising.  He has two children and his wife Sheila is the daughter of the late former Fire Chief and Town Council member John H. Weber. Hubert’s home is a small town out of Columbia but he was always attracted to Summerville and it’s delightful community. His wife Sheila was born and raised here and has always found the people to be warm and friendly. Hubert loves Civil War History and is very excited about being a part of The HL Hunley Camp. His Great Great-grandfather Hamilton Hayne Folk served in the South Carolina 20^th Company F.

 Camp Raffle –Tickets are available for a framed print by Mort Kunstler (artist proof- Wayside Farewell). If there is such a thing as a perfect fundraiser, raffles are just about as close as it gets. A raffle fundraiser is great for any size organization. Your costs are next to nothing, and only the number of tickets sold limits the proceeds. The tickets are $2 each or 3 for $5. This is a great fundraiser and our goal is to sell 3000 tickets before the drawing Dec 25^th. Pickup 25 or more for the good of the Camp.

Miniature Flag Fundraiser – A motion was made and carried to purchase 1500 flags at $350 for a future fundraiser.

Reenactment Group - If any member is interested in joining a reenactment group, please contact Mark Clark at markclark@surfbest.net. Email him and give your name, address, email address, and phone number.

 Rotary International - sponsors a program called Gift of Life in which children from across the world are brought to the Medical University and other hospitals to have life saving surgeries.

The Summerville Rotary Club, during the month of February, holds auctions using donated items. Our Camp donated a Larry Arnold print, which was auctioned off for $250.00. I had the opportunity to present this to the Rotary Club on behalf of the H.L. Hunley Camp and say a few words about our Camp and the print. Our contribution was one of the highest auctioned items there and was greatly appreciated by the Rotary Club. This once again demonstrates our commitment to the community. Walker Wright Past Commander

 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.

Charles Leggett receives the Blue Lantern Award.

Saturday Post and Courier – Letters to the Editor.

No hate Exists

In your Feb. 22 article, the president of the East Cooper branch of the NAACP, the Rev. Arthur Pinckney, objects to the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) signs at the entrances to the city of Mount Pleasant in an attempt to create a problem where none exists. Those signs have been there for several years without complaint. The SCV logo has been around since 1906 when the organization was founded, and we have a long and honorable history in Mount Pleasant.

The SCV is a historical organization dedicated to presenting the true history of the Confederate soldier. We are non-profit, non-political, non-racial and non-sectarian. The following is a direct quote from the SCV Constitution. "The Sons of Confederate Veterans neither embraces, nor espouses acts or ideologies of racial and religious bigotry, and further condemns the misuse of it's sacred symbols and flags in the conduct of same." Only ignorance or a desire to hide the truth would cause anyone to have a problem with the SCV.

In the article, the Rev. Pinckney is quoted as saying, "I would join the Rotary or Sertoma. But I wouldn't join the Sons of Confederate Veterans." I guess Pinckney's criteria for what signage the city should allow is his personal preference for joining the organization. It is troubling that this is the mindset that heads the East Cooper branch of the NAACP. When will people like Rev. Pinckney learn to accept the heritage of others and not look for hate where it doesn't exist?

BILL NORRIS

I Lt. Commander

Secession Camp No. 4

Sons of Confederate Veterans

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.

As many of you may recall, one of the primary goals set by Randy Burbage when he was elected to the office of Division Commander was to lobby for the General Assembly in our State to officially recognize May as Confederate Memorial Month.  As promised, he has labored in numerous conversations with Senators McConnell, Courson, and Verdin to push this through.

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..........         

 THE BATTLE FLAG - COLORS

Battle flags were a term used for the flags carried by Civil War regiments. Both armies used flags, which they also referred to as colors, to locate their troops on the battlefield, in camp, and while on the march. Battle flags were used to guide soldiers in battle. Wherever the flags went, the soldiers followed. Flags led the charge or led the retreat. A color sergeant who was the central man in the color guard carried a regiment’s flag. A color guard was composed of six corporals whose job was to protect the color sergeants and the flags of the regiment. The regiment's flag was a great source of pride in each regiment and to lose the flag in battle was a great disgrace. The capture of an opponent's flag was, in turn, a great honor. While infantry regiments had their flags, there were also special flags made for headquarters, the artillery, cavalry, and even the quartermaster and engineers - almost every unit had one! The colorful flags that each unit carried, most having the name of the regiment painted on them, easily identified columns of soldiers marching toward Gettysburg.  (continue page 4)

Confederate regiments usually carried one flag of a particular design depending upon the army they served in. The Army of Northern Virginia battle flag was made of heavy cotton or wool in the shape of a red square with a St. Andrews cross of blue stripes and 13 white stars. The field was usually outlined in white cotton. The flags were marked with the number and state initials of the regiment. Some regiments even went so far as to put the names of battles in which they participated in on their flags, which they called battle honors. More battle honors on the flag meant more prestige for the regiment. Very few of Lee's regiments carried flags from their home state or flags of another design. This standard flag helped identify friend from foe in the thick of battle. Confederate armies in the west and deep south had flags with different designs. A common Confederate battle flag seen in the western army was made of blue wool with a white sphere in the center.

Salute to the Confederate Flag

I salute the Confederate Flag with affection, reverence, and undying remembrance to the cause for which it stands.

Salute to the South Carolina Flag

I salute the flag of South Carolina and pledge to the Palmetto State love, loyalty, and faith.

 MORT KUNSTLER'S "WAYSIDE FAREWELL"

S & N, ARTIST PROOF, BEAUTIFULLY FRAMED

TO BE RAFFLED BY THE SONS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS H. L. HUNLEY CAMP #143

TICKETS ARE $2.00 EACH OR 3 TICKETS FOR $5.00 ONLY 3,000 TICKETS BEING SOLD. DRAWING TO BE HELD AT CONCLUSION OF TICKET SALES OR AT OUR DECEMBER 2007 MEETING, WHICH EVER COMES FIRST. YOU NEED NOT BE PRESENT TO WIN. The proceeds are designed to provide scholarships for our students in High School.

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.