Faith & The Flag: An Open Letter to My Christian Family

This blog post will be a little different today. I operate this blog on behalf of both Michigan SCV Camps at the request of both Camp Commanders (Cmdr. White of Camp #1321 and Cmdr. Perkins of Camp #2257), and being that this blog represents the camps, I do my very best to keep the postings on message and not to talk much about myself. Unfortunately, recent events with a large Christian denomination in our nation have compelled me to share my story of how I came to join the SCV. The SCV is not a religion or religious organization, but the SCV does recognize the Judaeo-Christian foundations of our nation and of the nation our Southern ancestors sought to build. The following is not an endorsement, from either Michigan camp or the SCV organization, of any religion or faith teaching. It is simply my story... a testimony of sorts.

When I was boy, growing up in the southeastern suburbs of Detroit, there were certain symbols that fascinated me, whether they were those of iconic fictional characters (like the Batman logo), sports teams (the 1980s Detroit Tigers emblem), or religion (like the Celtic cross). One such symbol that always seemed to captivate me was that one red flag with a big blue 'X' containing 13 white stars.

As a kid I saw it, probably for the first time on 'The Dukes of Hazzard,' and I just thought it looked awesome! I've found that most children feel the same way until they've been conditioned to think otherwise. I'm not sure at what point in life it was, but somewhere along the way I learned that it had something to do with the southern United States. I'm certain that it was in school that I learned it was a flag related to the "rebel" Confederate States of America during the War Between The States, but by the time of my childhood in the mid-1980s it had taken on the meaning of "southern pride." Living in the suburbs of Detroit, there were a lot of people with southern roots. In the glory days of "the big three" automobile manufacturers, many folks migrated from the poverty stricken, rural areas of Appalachia to the Metro-Detroit area in search of a good paying job. Despite the change in scenery, most of those folks held tight to their southern roots, and took pride in where they came from. One way they could publicly express this sentiment was by displaying their "rebel flag."

Sometime after I'd gotten into high-school, we once again had lessons about the War Between The States. It was at this time that I started wondering if I had ancestors that served in that war. My family was from the south (both of my parents were born & raised in KY) and I assumed that I probably had at least one that did. To find out about this I had to start doing my family tree, and eventually I learned that I had an ancestor who served in the 6th North Carolina Cavalry regiment... for the Confederacy! I was so excited! I now had a personal connection to that really awesome flag that I'd grown up loving to see!

It was not until my sophomore or junior year of high school (around the year 2000) when I first heard of any supposed connection between the Confederate flag & racism. I was on the yearbook committee, and I was publicly shamed by a teacher for suggesting a yearbook cover design that featured the American flag & the CSA Battle Flag. She feigned appall that I would suggest such a cover design! Of course I knew that it has been used at times by the Klan and other racial hate groups, but so were/are the Cross and the U.S. Flag, and I know that they aren't really racist symbols either.

While being a Southron by blood, I'm chiefly a born-again follower of Jesus. I gave my heart to Christ and started serving Him around the age of 5, and what bothered me more than being publicly shamed over the flag was the thought that I might be dishonoring God by my display of it. I decided then that I needed to further look into the history of the Confederate States of America, the Confederate soldiers, and the use of that flag after the War Between The States. What I learned in the intense study that followed (which continues to this day) has shaped my understanding of that flag. Over the last 16 years, I've prayed countless times over the matter, and asked God to show me if I was wrong to display it. I never once felt as though God was saying to stop.

About four years ago I began looking into joining the Sons of Confederate Veterans. I spent that time investigating the organization to make sure that being a part of it would not be a conflict of interest in my service to Christ. I spoke with others, followers of Christ, who didn't care one way or another about that flag, whether they thought it was a bad idea and asked them to also pray that God would guide me. I never received any counsel or inclination through it all suggesting that I should not do it. So with assurance in my heart, mind, and soul that it was not improper for me to do so, I joined the SCV last May, and got my membership certificate one week before last June's tragedy in Charleston.

I believe that God was aware that the sad incident in Charleston last summer was going to happen all those years ago when I started praying about joining the SCV, and I believe that He also knew this flag issue was going to blow up on the scale that it has. Why did He not warn me, or give me any inclination if the Confederate flag was something I shouldn't be for? Why did He not, in the last four years, steer me away from joining the SCV if joining an organization that promotes the display of that flag would be in conflict with honoring Him?

I have said all of this to hopefully show that my position regarding the CSA Battle Flag is not one that was taken without years & years of study & prayer. You might have read all of that and come to a conclusion that I ignored or overlooked God's guidance at some point in time. You'll then have to decide whether it is really your place to make such a judgement regarding me & my relationship with Christ.

The movement now underway to remove that flag (and other symbols of the Confederacy) dishonors the brave soldiers that served under it (many of them being our Christian brothers), and disrespects the 70-million living descendants of Confederate veterans (many of whom hold that flag dear). This anti-Confederate movement is rooted in the same demonic cesspool as the movements in this nation to slander historical figures & traditional symbols of America, and also those of Christianity.

It would be impossible for me to type out with words how passionately I detest racism, discrimination, oppression, and bigotry & any group or organization that would seek to promote such things. My display of Confederate symbols is not intended to promote any of that or offend anyone; I only seek to properly & passionately honor my veteran ancestors.

I believe that the well intentioned Christians standing with those calling for this destruction of Southern heritage are only helping those currently involved in creating even more racial, social, and political division in a nation that is currently on the path to prove that "divided we fall." Some fellow believers have used a particular verse of Scripture (Romans 14:13) as their justification for denouncing the flag & symbols of the Confederacy, but the real "stumbling block" that has been set out ahead of us is the hateful lie that the Confederate flag is a symbol of racism which is to be reviled. Sadly, this is the myth that is now being perpetuated by so many who claim to follow Christ.

I do not believe that Christ has called us at any point to compromise truth for lies, or love for hate. To do so for any reason would dishonor God. Hate & lies do nothing to further His cause (which is the cause I am chiefly devoted to) and are in direct opposition to the Gospel.

There is no stopping anyone that wants to hijack a symbol for hateful use, but it is another problem when we give in to the hate & lies, either by becoming hateful or letting them set the narrative. I refuse to let the hate & lies win on either front. I believe that it is my duty to not let groups like the KKK, NAACP, or even the Southern Baptist Convention redefine Confederate symbols for their own hateful and/or political purposes.

So in the interest of honoring Christ, by standing up for truth & standing against hate, I will keep flying the Confederate Battle Flag and encourage others to do so. Maybe you're a fellow believer, yet you disagree with me about the flag. If so, I will pray for you, and I ask that you will also pray for me. Not one of us is perfect or has perfect understanding, but I have faith that God's grace is sufficient for us, and that He will lead us through the Holy Spirit if we are willing to be obedient.

 Yours in the Bonds of the Old South & Christian Fellowship,
- Jonathan McCleese
Sergeant-at-Arms
Admiral Raphael Semmes Camp #1321
Army of Tennessee, Sons of Confederate Veterans

A Special Message from SCV CiC Barrow Re: the Southern Baptist Convention's Heritage Violation

[The following is a statement from Charles Kelly Barrow, Commander-in-Chief of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, regarding the Southern Baptist Convention's passing of a resolution to disavow the Confederate Flag. - SAA. McCleese]

The history of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) has been inextricably tied to the Confederacy and her heirs for over a century and a half. Great pulpit expositors, as well as seminary professors that left their mark in the area of Biblical thought and world view offered service to the Confederacy, as chaplains and men of arms, as well. Therefore, it was a profound disappointment and excruciatingly disheartening to hear the anti-Confederate Battle Flag resolution that was approved by SBC messengers meeting in St. Louis on June 14.

The resolution offended on several levels -- first of all, simply put, it did not adequately deal with the Truth of the nature of the Flag, particularly disappointing as Christians should place a premium on the Truth. The 800,000 men that served the Confederacy held, and always will hold, full title to that banner -- it is a soldiers' flag and their political agenda was nothing more than defense of their home. Furthermore, as the Fifth Commandment compels us to "honor father and mother", those of us who enjoy Confederate ancestry are bound to tell the Truth of our ancestors fight and flag. Finally, the tone of the resolution has the effect of intimidating the consciences of Southern Baptists into holding a terribly negative opinion of Confederate symbols.

All that said, the SBC is not a hierarchy; local congregations are in no way bound to the resolution. They may continue on as they have done, in some cases, for many years, in helping their community to retain its history and honoring the men that rebuilt their community after a tragic war and devastating reconstruction. Today, we call upon the great SBC congregations throughout the South to do just that, ignore this distraction and get on with the priorities of Gospel proclamation, building up of the fellowship of Faith and pursuing a witness of goodwill in the community. Untold numbers of these SBC churches, over the years, have cultivated great relationships with SCV camps by opening their facilities for regular meetings and special occasions, not to mention the cemeteries owned by SBC churches where the remains of legions of Confederate heroes lie -- these are sites for numerous memorial services.

Of course, in addition to the historical ties of the Confederacy and SBC, thousands of SCV members are also members of SBC churches. In closing, we call on our camps to pursue"peace with all men" (Heb. 12:14) by cultivating good relationships with all organizations in their community, particularly houses of worship, be they SBC, other Christian denominations or Jewish Synagogues.

Deo Vindice!

Charles Kelly Barrow

Commander-in-Chief

Sons of Confederate Veterans

@scvcic

Camp #1321 News: Cmdr. White Stepping Down After 25+ Years

Last Monday (May 30, 2016), at the Johnson's Island Memorial Day event, Cmdr. Stanley T. White announced publicly that he will not be seeking reelection after serving as Camp #1321's leader for more than a quarter century. His tenure at the camp's helm will end at 12:00 a.m. on August 1st, which is when officers to be elected at the June 18th meeting will officially take office.

It was in 1988 when White, then Commander of the Sgt. B.F. Foley Camp #1448, began working to reactivate the Admiral Raphael Semmes Camp #1321 (Dearborn, MI) after a six-year period of inactivity. With a zeal & level of commitment reminiscent of that possessed by Cmdr. Jerry Moore (Camp #1321's founder & 1st Commander), Cmdr. White has worked tirelessly to keep the SCV's presence in the Great Lakes State going for nearly three decades.

Cmdr. White has never been one to take much credit for all that he's done, always giving credit to the camp. Besides serving as Commander for Foley Camp #1448 (prior to 1989) & Semmes Camp #1321 (since 1989), Cmdr. White has also previously served as 2nd Lieutenant Commander for the Army of Tennessee.

It has been said to me by many that Cmdr. White has been the face of the SCV in the state of Michigan for more than a quarter century. It is highly likely that had it not been for his efforts, the SCV would not currently have a presence in this state. We are blessed to know that once his tenure ends as Camp Commander he will still remain a member of the camp and will serve on the camp's Executive Committee as a Past-Commander of the camp.

More will certainly be written here about our long-time leader between now and August 1st. It is this author's hope that all members of Camp #1321 will make it out to our June 18th meeting & picnic to join Cmdr. Stanley White at his last meeting as Commander of Camp #1321.

DEO VINDICE!
- Jonathan McCleese
Sergeant-at-Arms
Admiral Raphael Semmes Camp #1321 (Dearborn, MI)
Army of Tennessee, Sons of Confederate Veterans

Memorial Day 2016 @ Johnson's Island

On Monday, May 30, 2016, the Admiral Raphael Semmes Camp #1321 (Dearborn, MI) commemorated Memorial Day at the Confederate Stockade Cemetery on Johnson's Island in Marblehead, OH. Nine camp members made the trip down, and counting members' family & friends, about 30 of us were in attendance to honor the nearly 300 Confederate soldiers & officers who are buried therein.

Following our arrival between 9:30 - 10:00 AM, flags were placed at all of the 206 marked graves, as well as at the Confederate Cross of Honor commemorating all Confederate soldiers buried there, the two memorial markers honoring ladies of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, and next to the two modern monuments that list the names of all who are believed to be interred there. Prior to our arrival, flags had already been placed next to "The Lookout" monument, and those were left in place out of respect to whoever had placed there.

Shortly after the placement of the flags, a memorial service was held.
The order of the ceremony was as follows:

Welcome & Opening Remarks - Cmdr. Stanley White
Opening Prayer (The Lord's Prayer) - SAA. Jonathan McCleese
Pledge of Allegiance to the U.S. Flag - 2nd Lt.Cmdr. George Calder
Salute to the Confederate Flag - 1st Lt.Cmdr. Darron Williams
Singing of "Dixie" - SAA. McCleese
Placement of Officer's Jacket at "The Lookout" Monument
Poem ("Only a Soldier's Grave") - Cmdr. White
Memorial Address & Closing Prayer - SAA. Jonathan McCleese

Compatriot Welch, SAA. McCleese, Cmdr. White, & Compatriot T. Watson

After the conclusion of the service, members of the Camp remained at the cemetery throughout the early afternoon, paying our personal respects to our brave heroes and talking with members of the public who stopped by throughout the day to pay their respects. Visitors included residents of the island & tourists, all of whom were very appreciative of the Camp's efforts to honor the brave men buried there. One island resident said that she'd never seen the cemetery decorated so nicely.

To all of the compatriots, their family members & friends, and all of the visitors who came to pay their respects on Monday - THANK YOU! I also would like to give special thanks to the Johnson's Island Property Owners Association for their kindness to the Camp. 

1Lt.Cmdr. Williams, Cmdr. White, Compatriot Welch, & SAA. McCleese

Below are some more images from our day at Johnson's Island. I want to thank compatriots Steve Panther, Travis Watson, & Zach Welch for donating some of their photos to the Camp Archives and for granting their permission to share them here.

SAA. McCleese placing the Confederate Naval Officer's Jacket at "The Lookout" monument.

Compatriot Travis Watson as he pays his respects to the fallen POWs.

The inscription on the side of "The Lookout" monument's granite base.

Compatriot Zach Welch

Cmdr. Stan White & his lovely wife

Compatriot Steve Panther

Cmdr. Stan White exits the cemetery.   Cmdr. White has been leading Confederate Memorial services here at Johnson's Island for more than a quarter-century.

A Heavenly scene looking out from the cemetery toward the waters of Lake Erie.

Not a Martyr, But a Monster... Their Monster!

On Monday, the Admiral Raphael Semmes Camp #1321 held a Memorial Day service at the Confederate Stockade Cemetery on Johnson's Island, near Sandusky, OH. It was this author's first trip to the island cemetery, and it was also my privilege to give the keynote address for the service. The past few days were, in many ways, a welcome reprieve from what has become a regular drumbeat of anti-Confederate sentiment in the media. Instead, my newsfeed the past few days has been filled with story after story of people coming together to honor our brave boys in gray for what is our most hallowed of non-religious national holidays. More will be written, hopefully later this week about our camp's most recent journey to Johnson's Island, but today I want to discuss an article that caught my eye & raised my ire...

Julianne Malveaux, a columnist for the NNPA (National Newspaper Publishers Association) News Wire, recently wrote the 1,723,584th published article that attempts to tie the horrific murder of nine Charleston, SC church goers last summer to the Confederacy. Obviously I'm being a bit facetious with that number, but the fact is that an untold number of published media has wrongly asserted that connection over the last 12 months.

In her article, Malveaux talks about how the madman who committed the Charleston mass shooting should not be given the death penalty, and one of her reasons is that she thinks "[the madman] can turn into a Confederate martyr if he is killed."

A Confederate martyr?! How much more ridiculous could she get? That psychopathic, pimply-faced murderer has absolutely no more connection to the Confederacy by holding a replica of it's battle flag in a picture than I would to the company that makes my blue jeans! How hard is it to understand that there is no stopping anyone that wants to hijack or misappropriate any symbol (national, historic, religious, etc.) for hateful use! A Confederate martyr? Absolutely not; More like a monster of the media's own creation.

The problem is when we give in to the hate & lies, either by becoming hateful or by letting the hateful liars set the narrative. Malveaux exposes herself as having done both, since she has let those who misappropriate Confederate symbols for hateful purposes & those who perpetuate the myth that the Confederacy existed for the preservation of slavery. By doing so, she has let them set the narrative of the Confederacy for her, and in turn has manufactured her hate for all of us who identify with our Confederate heritage by presuming that we would look to a murderous basket-case as some sort of martyr to idolize or emulate. It is people like her, who write such articles, that create the breeding ground for more hate, filling the heads of other racist jerks that it is they who best represent the Confederacy and it's symbols. This is simply the circular nature of how hate & lies breed lies & hate.

This demonization of Confederate heritage and symbols is the kind of giving into hatred which will lead to people getting hurt or killed. If we feed this notion that symbols of the Confederacy are racist in nature, then it will not only embolden those who wish to terrorize or do harm to others under such symbolism, but it will also create a false sense of justification for others to terrorize and do harm to those who display it with no negative intentions. It's already happened several times since last summer. A black man, Anthony Hervey, was murdered just last year for his support of the Confederate Flag, being run off of the road after a Confederate Flag Rally by other blacks who'd had their heads filled with such negativity and hate. A woman in Ohio had her house broken into and she was assaulted simply because she had a Confederate flag in her window. A man in Minnesota was beaten because he stepped in to protect his niece, who was being threatened for wearing a hat w/ the Confederate flag on it.

It is just that type of giving in to hatred, lies and negativity that will forever divide this nation unless we resolve to stop it. It's causing people to vilify great men in our nation's history like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, and yes, Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson... If we don't correct course now, and start acknowledging & celebrating the positives rather than focusing on the negatives, then the turmoil will never stop.

What if we do get rid of all public displays honoring the Confederacy and the brave folks who served in it's armed forces? What will be next? The cross of Christ? It's already under attack. The American Flag? It, too, receives fire from those who choose to focus on negativity and hate by calling it a racist flag. The Democratic Party is phasing out "Jefferson-Jackson" dinners because Thomas Jefferson & Andrew Jackson both carry "historical baggage." Eventually, it WILL creep to such figures as George Washington... and yes, once the Confederate flags and monuments are all gone, then old Abe Lincoln will become a focus of the negativity and hatred, and they'll be crushing the monuments built to honor his mythologized legacy too. We'll have to totally raze Washington D.C.'s historic buildings, as many of them either were built by slaves or honor one-time slave owners, and then we can bulldoze Wall Street, since it made tons of money through the institution of slavery.

History is muddy & dirty, and no individual (w/ the exception of Jesus; I know not everyone believes in Him, but I do) or organization throughout the whole expanse of it is entirely perfect or without fault. The perpetuation of lies & hatred by the media and academia has to stop, or there will be no factual account of history. All that will remain are nice little myths created to coddle those who can't cope with historic reality, and there will be a number of completely unnecessary acts of violence committed around the country that can be traced right back to those who continue to perpetuate such falsehoods & negativity.

STOP THE HATE.
STOP THE LIES.
RETURN TO TRUTH & LOVE.
RESTORE THE HONOR!

DEO VINDICE!
- Jonathan McCleese
Sergeant-at-Arms
Admiral Raphael Semmes Camp #1321 (Dearborn, MI)
Army of Tennessee, Sons of Confederate Veterans