It's been a while since the last update. My Camp Commander instructed me to slow down a bit on the blogging for fear that I might get burned out, but events of the last few weeks have brought forth thoughts and I feel the need to convey them here.
On Sunday, November 6th, I was so blessed with an opportunity to honor our boys in gray, particularly Confederates who suffered and died in Union prison camps, as a part of a Veterans Day Celebration at a church in the suburbs of Detroit. Aside from allowing me to display Camp 1321's battle-flag among their War Between the States artifacts, I was permitted to sing 'The Legend of the Rebel Soldier,' which tells the story of a Southern POW dying in a Northern prison, begging for assurance from the attending chaplain that his soul would be permitted to pass over his beloved Southland before entering into eternal rest. I was nervous, for aside from the fact that I hadn't sang in front of my congregation in more than a decade, I also wasn't certain how such honor for the Confederate soldier would be received so far from Dixie. I was beyond moved at the warm reception and the kind words said afterwards about the tribute given for our brave boys. I sang this song in memory of my two cousins, James & Ananias Moore. A pair of brothers, the Moore boys both served as Privates in the Confederate cause - James with the 31st Virginia Cavalry & "Nias" with the 5th Kentucky Mntd. Infantry. They were both caught and imprisoned at Rock Island, IL, where they would die just two days apart in March of 1864.
Also here in the Great Lakes State, on October 23rd, the Maj.Gen. Patrick Ronayne Cleburne Camp #2257 (Grand Rapids, MI) joined with Robert Finch Camp #14 of the Sons of Union Veterans at Oakwood Cemetery in Traverse City, MI to honor Sgt. David C. Duane of Co. F in the 53rd Virginia Infantry at his gravesite. A nice crowd that included three generations of Sgt. Duane's granddaughters came out on this gorgeous fall day to honor this Southern soldier's memory. Special thanks goes out to SUVCW Camp #14 Commander David Smith for all that he and his men did to make this ceremony happen.
On the flip side, a Traverse City police officer was recently suspended after being caught off duty, in civilian clothing, with a Confederate flag on a personal vehicle, while near a rally against the new President-elect of the United States. (He has since been compelled to resign from his job.) It is the opinion of this author that the flag of our honorable Confederate ancestors should not be used as a modern day political tool by those on either side of the political spectrum; with that said, this is not the first time in recent months that a law enforcement officer in the United States has faced professional repercussions for displaying the Confederate flag in a personal manner, which has nothing to do with the performance of his job. It's a sad state of affairs, here in what is supposed to be "the land of the free," when a person must fear consequences from his employer for what he does when not on official business or on "company time."
This was not the only act of discrimination involving Confederate symbols in the last week following the results of the recent U.S. Presidential election. Rallies protesting the election results occurred in a number of major U.S. cities, including Richmond and New Orleans where Confederate monuments to Lee (in NOLA), Davis & Maury (in Richmond) were vandalized as a result. How ironic that also in protest of the election result several states have seen movements rise up calling for their secession from the Union! While the SCV is a non-political, non-partisan organization, we sometimes find the politics of the modern day and the past intersecting, and I cannot help but recall to memory our great Southern President's prophetic words...
"The principle for which we contend is bound to reassert itself, though it may be at another time and in another form." - Jefferson DavisContentious elections, civil unrest drummed up by those who would see us at each others' throats, lies and relentless anti-Southern propaganda... these are all things our ancestors were all too familiar with. Hold fast in the struggle to preserve Southern heritage and honor the brave men of the Confederate armed forces, don't get weary in well doing, and remember that while the darkest hour is just before dawn, we are promised that joy comes in the morning!
DEO VINDICE!
- Jonathan McCleese
2nd Lieutenant Commander
Admiral Raphael Semmes Camp #1321 (Dearborn, MI)
Army of Tennessee, Sons of Confederate Veterans
