Greetings friends and compatriots!
I'm posting this blog today from the Appalacian foothills of southeastern Kentucky, not far from the sites of the Battle of Middle Creek, Battle of Ivy Mountain, and the Battle of Pound Gap. I'm vacationing at my property that has been in the family for over 140 years, obtained originally around 1870-71 by my 3rd-great-grandfather, John Bumgardner, who served the Confederate cause in the 6th North Carolina Cavalry (65th State Troops). As I sit here in quiet reflection, I've been pondering on the special summer that I've had. Aside from visiting my Confederate ancestors' respective graves like I have for the past several years, I've also visited some really major sites in Confederate history in Richmond, VA & Lexington, VA, plus I made my first trip to Johnson's Island Confederate Stockade Cemetery back in May.
As I think about these things, I also think about how much more special these places are to me as someone who did not grow up around such history like so many of my fellow compatriots in the South do. I wouldn't dare say that visiting such places is like "old hat" to them, but how much more of a treat must these places be to visit by someone who can't just hop in the car and drive there & back home in a single afternoon?
Also, unlike so many of my SCV brothers and sisters, I did not grow up with stories of my ancestors' respective service in the war. It was not something I grew up in the shadow of like those who live in the south. Still, something deep within me led me to chase these people and their stories down, study them, absorb them, and fight for their deserved honor.
This is the case for many of us in SCV camps located up in the north. Field trips to places of southern inspiration are not usually feasable to take. We, more than most, must push ourselves to recommittment to keep the charge and stick with The Cause. Many of our efforts will often seem fruitless, but I can assure you they are not. For our brothers in the South who are dealing with these heritage violations directly, it strengthens them and encourages them to know that we are here in the far reaches of Yankee territory doing all we can to fight these cultural battles and to keep the charge. It also must be dishartening for those who seek to bulldoze our monuments and indoctrinate our future genereations with lies about this honorable heritage to see support for the Confederacy so far north of the Mason-Dixon.
No matter where we were born or where we live, we have a responsibility as living heirs of the Confederate soldiers to stand firm, push back, and assist our brothers in the Southern states however we can.
DEO VINDICE!
- Jonathan McCleese
2nd Lieutenant Commander
Admiral Raphael Semmes Camp #1321
Army of Tennessee, Sons of Confederate Veterans
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments and questions are most welcome, but keep in mind that this is not a forum for debate. Keep all comments respectful, clean (no "foul language"), and on topic of the post. If you need information about the camps, the SCV, or how to join this organization, please refer to the links provided in the sidebar on the right of the page. Thanks!