Inscription. (South face) Our Mothers

To the women of the Confeder-acy “Whose pious ministrations to our wounded soldiers soothed the last hours of those who died far from the objects of their tenderest love, whose domestic labors con-tributed much to supply the wants of our defenders in the field, whose zealous faith in our cause shone a guiding star undimmed by the darkest clouds of war, whose fortitude sustained them under all the privations to which they were subjected, whose floral tribute an-nually expresses their enduring love and reverence for our sacred dead; and whose patriotism will teach their children to emulate the deeds of our revolutionary s i r e s . ” J e f f e r s o n D a v i s United Confederate Veterans Honor the Memory of the Confederate Women of Mississippi.

(East face)

Our Daughters Devoted daughters of the heroic women

and noble men, they keep the mounds of loved ones sweet with flowers and perpetu-ated in marble and bronze the granite charac-ters of a soldiery that won the admiration of the world and a womanhood whose ministra-

tions were as tender as an angels benediction.

(North face) Our Sisters Their smiles inspired hope; their tender hands soothed the pangs of pain; their prayers encouraged faith in god; and when the dragon of war closed its fangs of poison and death, they like guardian angels, en-twined their hands in their brothers arms, en-couraged them to overcome the losses of war and to conquer the evils in its wake, adopting as their motto: “Lest We Forget”.

(West face) Our Wives They loved their land be-cause it was their own, and scorned to seek another rea-son why, calamity was their touchstone; and in the ordeal of fire their fragility was tem-pered to the strength of steel. Angels of comfort, their cour-age and tenderness soothed all wounds of body and of spirit more than medicines. They girded their gentle hearts with fortitude, and suffering all things, hoping all things fed the failing fires of patriotism to

the end. The memory and example of their devotion shall endure. Erected 1917 by United Confederate Veterans.

Location. Located at The Mississippi State Capitol Building in Jackson MS 39201, United States of America.

Regarding Monument to Women of the Confederacy. The central figure is a female representing Fame, whose robes flow behind her giving the illusion of wings. On her proper left is a wounded Confederate soldier, who lies with his back against a broken cannon and grasps a flagpole in his proper left hand. He is supported and comforted by Fame. On

Fame's proper right is a young Confederate woman who wears long robes and holds a palm frond in her proper right hand. Fame places a laurel wreath on the Confederate woman's head, a gesture that symbolizes vic-tory and the strength of Confederate women during crisis.

Also see . . . Smithsonian American Art Museum. Monument to the Women of the Confederacy, (sculpture): Inspired by the 1907 United Confederate Veterans' project to erect a monument in each southern state to the women of the Confederacy, the Missis-sippi Legislature of 1910 passed "An act to erect a

Monument to Women of the Confederacy

The Official Publication of the Mississippi Division Sons of Confederate Veterans

Jeff Davis Legion

Summer Issue 2012

Copyright Notice

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, any copyrighted material published herein is dis-tributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who are inter-ested in receiving the provided information for non-profit research and educational purpose only.

Reference: Http:www.law.cornell.eduuscode/17/107.shtml

In This Issue:

46th Miss. Flag 1, 5

Beauvoir Board 2

Meeting Notice

Division Camp News 2, 3

Last Roll Call 4

Roll Call From 4

The Past

Israeli SCV member 4

2012 Heritage Poster 6

From the Commander 6

Fayard Announces 6

Meet Bertram 7

Hayes-Davis

Cummins Announces 7

2012 Annual Meeting 8

Registration Form

Upcoming Events 9

Monument to Women of the Confederacy Marker South

Face, "Our Mothers"

2

Contact Information: Allen Terrell Email: acterrell@cableone.net or scvcamp590@yahoo.com Phone: 601-597-3402 Address: 102 Linwood Ct., Natchez, MS 39120-4533

Submission Deadlines for Items to publish; Fall Issue 2012 - September 17, 2012

Mississippi Division SCV Sesquicentennial for the Cause of Southern Independence web-

site

http://mscivilwar150.homestead.com/Home.html

Check it out and visit it often for updates

Combined Boards of Beauvoir Meetings

Rick Forte, Chairman of the Combined Boards of Beauvoir has announced that the next meeting of the Boards will be on Au-gust 11th, 2012 at 10 AM at Beauvoir. The meetings are open to members of the Division but seating capacity is limited.

DIVISION CAMP NEWS

THREE CAMPS REPRESENTED

The above photo is from the Trail of Honor held in Jackson on May 19, 2012. Representing a reenacting group were (L-R) Don Green (Camp #227), J. J. Dafferner (Camp #712), Stacy Smith (Camp #1490), and Darrin Smith (Camp #1490). The event was a huge success and was a great opportunity to edu-cate the people about the Confederate soldier.

IMPORTANT FROM THE COMMANDER

Gentlemen, All Mississippi Division members who will be attending the National Reunion in Murfreesboro please send me your name if you are willing to help us man our registration table during the convention. We could use all the help we can get and if enough people are willing to help out we can just assign each one a few hours during the week. If any of you have ladies going with you who would be willing to help we would appreci-ate that as well, especially while the men are in the business secession's . Please help us out at our table, it will be quite simple just ac-cepting pre-registration's and passing out some give-a-way's. We could really use your help Thanks Alan Ray Palmer Commander Ms Div SCV 58 Lombardy Road Drew, Ms 38737 Ph: 662-719-9312 cptalan61@yahoo.com http://mscivilwar150.homestead.com/Home.html

JONES COUNTY ROSIN HEELS CAMP #227

The Jones County Rosin Heels Camp #225 recently held a ceremony in Ellisville rededicating the Confederate Monument on the courthouse grounds. The monument is 100 years old. The event was held on June 2, 2012 and was a well attended

event. It was estimated that 100 people where in attendance. The photo above is of the 27th Mis-

sissippi/5th Brigade Honor Guard

In the picture to the left is (L to R) Mississippi Divi-sion 2Lt. Commander Louis Foley and 1Lt. Com-mander Allen Terrell. Both enjoyed the dedication service and 1Lt. Com-mander Terrell gave greetings on behalf of the Division.

3

TIPPAH TIGERS

CAMP #868

COL. WILLIAM P. ROGERS

CAMP# 321

The Col. William P. Rogers Camp #321 hosted the 20th Annual Confederate Memorial Day Service in Corinth. Pictured above are (L-R) Margie Potts and Rosa Spencer from the Corinth UDC Chapter #333, SCV Lt. Commander-in-Chief Kelly Barrow who gave the Keynote address and Larry Mangus. The photo is taken at the grave of Col. William P. Rogers of the 2nd Texas

Infantry who was killed on Oct 4, 1862 in the Battle for Corinth, which is at the Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center.

Mississippi Division 2nd Lt. Commander Louis P. Foley presents Dianne Carlin the J.D. Pettus Heritage Award and standing be-side is 4th Brigade Commander Boo White who is co-brigade commander of the year. The Pettus award is given to a Missis-sippi public official at municipal, county, or state level who has demonstrated the greatest support of the Confederate History during past 12 months. Ms. Carlin is in charge of the Battle for Texas Hospital held in Quitman, Mississippi.

* CORRECTION FOR THE SPRING EDITION *

In the Spring Issue of the JDL on page 3, I mistakenly said that Donald Wright was unable to attend the banquet to receive his plaque. Donald has told me he was at the banquet but that the plaque was not ready. That was the reason he picked it up later. I apologize for the error.

“The great principle embodied by Jefferson in the Declara-tion is that governments derive their just power from the consent of the governed" so if the Southern states wanted to secede "they have a clear right to do so." If a tyrannical gov-ernment justified the Revolution of 1776, "we do not see why it would not justify the secession of five millions of Southrons from the Federal Union in 1861. --Horace Greeley, New York Tribune editor, Feb 18, 1861 From: http://rebelman.00home.com/custom3.html

Tippah Tigers SCV Camp Commander Marty Hubbard (C) pre-sented membership credentials to new members James David Moore (L) and Mac Lowrey at the camp meeting May 3. Below is a photo of members of the Tippah Tigers Camp that

participated in a museum tour recently. Pictured are (L to R)

Camp Historian Mark Evans, Danny Clevinger, Cadet Ryan

Caviness, Lamar Criswell, and Tommy Rainey. The occasion

was a summer tutoring program for the South Tippah School

District. About 80 students filed by the Civil War room at the

museum. The camp participants report that they were the hit

of the tour. The members let the students know the South

had the right to secede. They discussed the loss of lives and

that war is not the way to settle disputes.

4

The Last Roll Call updated since the last newsletter

Past Commander Gaines B. Smith

February 24, 2012 Captain C.B. Vance Camp #1669

Stan Hughes June 4, 2012

Col. W. P. Rogers Camp #321

Dr Tom Rhea Phillips Jr. June 26, 2012

Lt. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest Camp #1353

Lest we forget!

Roll Calls from the Past

ELIJAH STEELE DRAKE Elijah Steel Drake was born in Jefferson County, Mississippi., October 14, 1841; and died at his home in Port Gibson, Miss., on the 4th of January, 1914. He was educated at Centenary College, in Jackson, La., receiving his diploma in April, 1861, and joined the Confederate army in May. He was a member of Darden’s Battery and served in the Army of Tennessee throughout the four years of the war as “a man at the gun,” his battery being often commended for gallant conduct. His com-manding generals were Albert Sidney Johnston, Braxton Bragg, Joseph E. Johnston, and John B. Hood. He was in the great bat-tles of Shiloh, Murfreesboro, and Chickamauga, besides numerous engagements. Being wounded at Decatur, Alabama., the latter part of October, 1864, he was ordered home, so took no part in the battles of Franklin and Nashville. The last months of the war he was at Demopolis and Selma, Ala., and received his parole at Meridian, Miss., on the 9th of May, 1865. A brave soldier throughout the war, he took up the battle of life at its close with as brave a heart; and though almost pen-niless, he set at once to work to begin life anew under circum-stances so trying that only brave hearts could rise above them. After teaching school for two years, he began the practice of law in Port Gibson, Miss. In 1869 he married Miss Ellen Davis Turpin, who, with two sons and four daughters, survives him. He served as representative of his county in the legislature of his State in 1876 and 1877, using his great strength in helping

to uplift his State from the condition into which she had fallen, and he stood at the head of his profession in his home town. Pure and upright, he was honored of all classes and a leader in civic righteousness. He was for years a steward of the Method-ist Church and trustee of the female college and for forty years served as superintendent of the Sunday school. Owning a summer home at Monteagle, Tenn., he was made a trustee of that assembly and was for some years its legal advisor. From: Confederate Veteran; June, 1914; Vol. XXII, No. 6; page 280.

Marker Dedicated to Pioneering Pastor

By CALEB BEDILLION, DAILY LEADER Staff Writer The Daily

Leader

Soldier, store-

keeper and news-

paper editor.

Jos iah Boone

proved a versatile

man during his

lifetime, but one

vocation proved

constant.

Minister. Local residents

gathered at Rosehill Cemetery Saturday morning to erect a new headstone commemorating Boone and his service as a minister in the area. Notably, Boone founded Pearlhaven Baptist Church and served as its first pastor for two years.

"He was an incredible character, a man of faith and a man of purpose," said the Rev. Anthony Yarborough, current pastor of Pearlhaven Baptist Church.

Boone was born in Pike County and enlisted in the Confed-erate Army. He was present at the siege of Vicksburg and was captured when the city fell. After the war, he enlisted into a different kind of service.

"He surrendered to be a soldier of the cross," Yarborough said, describing Boone's ministry. Beyond his time at Pearlhaven, Boone pastored at churches throughout Lincoln, Lawrence and Pike counties. He was also deeply involved in the Fair River Baptist Association and with an association in Bogue Chitto. Wilson Farnhham, of Lawrence County, has been researching Boone since at least 2006. The site of Boone's burial was lost, but the U.S. government will pay for a new marker for veterans if the proper documentation is provided.

Farnham was unable to locate the exact site of Boone's remains, but could prove they were somewhere in Rosehill, which was sufficient to receive the marker.

Farnham has done the research for 25 veterans' markers in the area, but Boone stood out.

"Being a minister, he was someone special," Farnham said. There was also a personal connection for Farnham. He at-

tends Shiloh Baptist Church in Lawrence County, one of many area churches where Boone served as pastor.

Through his research, Farnham discovered the many ways Boone supported himself during his ministry. At one time, he ran a bookstore in Brookhaven where he sold schoolbooks and stationery. He's known for giving away Bibles to any that could

not afford one. He also ran a newspaper out of Silver Creek for a while, the

Silver Creek Star. At his final residence in Wanilla in Lawrence County, Boone

operated a store and a post office. Farnham's been researching genealogy since 2000, with

emphasis on lost gravesites of area veterans. "I try to remember them as fellow Mississippians and hon-

orable men," said Farnham. His research has also taught him another lesson. "History is everywhere," Farnham said. http://www.dailyleader.com/news/article_21cd2ee8-ad37-

11e1-9f82-001a4bcf887a.html?mode=image&photo=0

5

Continued on page 5 monument to the Women of the Confederacy," which created a commission charged with the selection and erection of the monument on the Capitol grounds. The cornerstone was laid by the Grand Lodge F. & A. M. of Mississippi on June 3, 1912, and the bronze sculpture was cast in 1917. The sculpture cost $20,000. IAS files contain the full text of base inscriptions, re-lated news clippings and a copy of the dedication booklet. (Submitted on March 4, 2009, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.) A r t i s t : B e l l e K i n n e y , 1 8 9 0 - 1 9 5 9 , s c u l p t o r . Tiffany and Company, founder. Title: Monument to the Women of the Confederacy, (sculpture). Other Titles: Women of the Confederacy, (sculpture). Dates: Cast 1917. Medium: Sculpture: bronze; Base: Italian marble. Dimensions: Sculpture: approx. 9 x 12 x 10 ft.; Base: approx 8 x 12 x 10 ft. Inscription: (On sculpture proper left lower corner:) BELLE KINNEY Sc/1917 (On sculpture proper right lower corner:)

CAST BY/TIFFANY STUDIOS, NEW YORK

http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=16720

The Jewish Confederate who went down on

the Titanic

Gregg Clemmer DC Civil War Heritage Examiner, April 13, 2012

Most New Yorkers have seen the memorial of the reclining lady at the intersection of Broadway, West End Avenue, and 106th Street in Morningside Heights. If they take the time to stop at Straus Park and read the inscription, they will learn of the remarkable story of Isidor and Ida Straus, who lost their lives aboard the HMS Titanic.

Eyewitness Mrs. Churchill Candee of Washington, DC, who survived the sinking, was quoted four days later in the Wash-ington Herald: “They formed a group. Most of the passengers were on the stern of the Titanic, for the leak was forward and it was known that if she sank it would be bow first. An officer of the Titanic ordered Mrs. Straus into a boat. She said: ’I will not leave my husband. We've been together all these years and I'll not leave him now.’ It brought tears to our eyes to witness her great devotion for her husband ... As we put away I observed Mrs. Straus waving her handkerchief at us.” Isidor Straus, 67, co-owned the R. H. Macy & Company with

his brother Nathan. Jewish natives of Bavaria, he and his fam-ily had immigrated to America in 1854 where he helped his fa-ther, Lazarus Straus establish a dry-goods business called L. Straus & Company. Hard times kept his family on the move, and it was only years later when Isidor and his brother ap-proached R. H. Macy with an offer to sell porcelains and china in Macy’s flourishing New York City department store that the Straus family fortunes began to turn around. This prosperity enabled the brothers to purchase Macy’s in 1895, the same year Isidor was elected to Congress. Isidor, the Jewish immigrant had come a long way from those first years growing up in the small town of Talbottom, Georgia. The 1860 census would show Isidor as a clerk in his father’s store while he attended school, yet his friends knew his real goal was to secure an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point. Secession ended that dream, but, reported the New York Times, …with the war fever in the air, he volunteered for the Confederate Army. He assisted in the organization of a com-pany of which his comrades had chosen him Lieutenant. When he offered himself, however, he was informed that the Confed-eracy did not have the guns sufficient to arm its men and wanted no boys… And Isidor had no choice but to return and clerk in his fa-ther’s store. But when he turned 18 in 1863, his entrepreneu-rial spirit, mixed with his fervent desire to serve the Confeder-acy, led him and a fellow Georgian to make for Europe where they hoped to purchase a blockade-running steam boat. This effort failed and Isidor spent the next two years in Europe working in Liverpool, learning how to run a business and do bookkeeping, honing skills that would later facilitate his acqui-sition of R. H. Macy & Company. Yet despite his business successes in New York City, Con-gressman-elect Isidor Straus never forgot his Southern roots. On the 19th of January, 1895, he was one of 175 guests who attended an annual dinner of New York’s Confederate Veteran Camp at the Scottish Rite Hall to honor the memory of Robert E. Lee on the general’s birthday. As reported at the time, “the most interesting feature of the evening was the presence of Mrs. Jefferson Davis…She was greeted with cheers, again and

again, as (leaning heavily on a cane) she walked slowly to her seat, while the orchestra played Dixie.” In the aftermath of the Titanic tragedy, Isidor’s body was re-trieved by the Mackay-Bennet and buried in Woodlawn Ceme-tery in the Bronx. But the remains of his loyal and loving wife, Ida, were never found. Today, a century later, Isidor Straus’ memory is honored beside the memorable, heroic loyalty of his Ida in the artful elegance of Straus Park in Manhattan. http://www.examiner.com/civil-war-heritage-in-washington-dc/the-jewish-confederate-who-went-down-on-the-titanic?CID=examiner_alerts_article

Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston was the Confederacy’s only full general (four stars, that is) to die in battle. The Texans appar-ently thought well of him, since his grave in the Texas State Cemetery in Austin is one of the most elaborate tombs of any Confederate.

6

Jefferson Davis Highway Marker Dedicated On Saturday June, 16, 2012, the Mississippi Division United Daughters of the Confederacy dedicated a Jefferson Davis Me-morial Highway Marker just south of the Highway 51 and High-way 8 intersection in Grenada, MS. Highway 51 is designated by the State of Mississippi from the Tennessee border to the Louisiana border as the Jefferson Davis Highway. The ex-ception to this is Gulfport on Highway 49 and Highway 90 in front of Beauvoir to Mobile, Alabama. The newest marker is made from two pieces of the original Mississippi Division UDC Arch that was destroyed by a casino barge during Hurricane Katrina. Engraved on the front is "Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway" and on the back "Planter, Soldier, U. S. Secretary of War, U. S. Representative, U. S. Senator, President of C. S. A." plus the information about the history of the granite and that the damage showing is from Katrina. MS Division President Frances Woodruff was assisted by Pam Mauldin MS Division Jefferson Davis Highway Marker Chairman and DeeLois Lawrence of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, the UDC General Jefferson Davis Highway Marker Chairmen. Ap-proximately 50 Division members and guests attend the unveil-ing of the marker.

Confederate Soldier’s Experience Col. John P. Hickman’s Talk to His Comrades

Frank Cheatham Bivouac, Comrades and Friends: You ask

for my experience as a prisoner of war, but my confinement was of such long duration that I will have to limit my experi-ence to the most salient points after a brief account of my previous service.

Immediately after the battle of Chickamauga General Wheeler was sent on a raid through Tennessee in the rear of General Rosecrans’ army, primarily to cut off his communica-tions and if possible to capture a wagon train then on its way to provision and clothe the Army of the Cumberland. We crossed the Tennessee River and captured the wagon train referred to in the Sequatchie Valley. This train was a long one, and was bountifully loaded with clothing and provisions and guarded by 1,200 Yankees.

We took what we could carry on a rapid run and burned the balance. We started on with our prisoners, and on arriving at McMinnville we found that General Dibrell had captured the town, with some four hundred prisoners. The whole 1,600 prisoners were lined up in a road, made to hold up their right hands, and swear they would not reenter the army until ex-

changed. We then went on and captured Shelbyville, and on down to Farmington in Marshall County.

At Farmington the officer who was in command of the rear of General Wheeler’s corps, engaged General Wilder’s cavalry. In this fight I think we had eleven killed, and I, with one hun-dred and four other soldiers, was captured. This was on Octo-ber 6, 1863. Le me remark here that we fought at Farmington some of the very soldiers we had paroled but a few days be-fore at McMinnville. After this fight Gen. W. Y. C. Humes suc-ceeded the officer mentioned.

We prisoners were marched to Shelbyville and then brought to Nashville and incarcerated in the penitentiary. The second day after our arrival in Nashville we were marched to and lined up in front of the Capitol. Gov. Andrew Johnson came out and made us a speech. In this speech he said we were badly whipped, would freeze and suffer in a Northern prison, and advised us to quit. He said he would let us take the oath and go home, and requested all who wanted to take the oath to two steps to the front. I am sorry to say fourteen marched out. I never saw them afterwards.

I being the youngest and smallest prisoner in the line, Gov-ernor Johnson had me taken to his office. When he learned my name and who I was, he became very insistent on my taking the oath. He said he knew my father, who had always been one of his supporters, and offered all kinds of inducements for me to take the oath. This I, of course, refused to do, and was taken back to the penitentiary. In a few days we were sent to Louisville, and from thence to Camp Morton, at Indianapolis, Ind., where I remained until June, 1864.

The barracks at Camp Morton were built with upright plank and very poorly stripped. We suffered greatly from cold, but were allowed two blankets and an overcoat, if we had one. The feeding was by mess, and our rations were very limited, but were sometimes changed, and therefore we had but few cases of scurvy. We were then in paradise to what afterwards fol-lowed. In June, 1864, 1,500 of us were taken out and started, as we understood, for exchange. To say that we were happy is putting it mildly, and we guyed the people at every station. When we arrived at Philadelphia, we were loaded upon a boat and started down the Delaware River, and to our great disap-pointment pulled in at Fort Delaware.

Fort Delaware is on an island in the head of Delaware Bay, and the island would be quite covered by water on the incom-ing of the evening tide if it were not for a strong and high levee all around the island. On this levee there was a guard

house at every fifty yards, and in each a sentinel was always on duty. Besides this, there was a ditch inside of the levee about ten feet wide kept constantly filled with water, and it was almost impossible to get to the levee if we could have

7

passed the guards after getting there. It was one and three-quarter miles to the New Jersey shore, the nearest point of land, even if we could have gotten into the bay.

So there we were, cut off from the outside world, with none to hear our wails except our guards, and they turned a deaf ear. After our arrival, there were on the island in round num-bers 10,000 prisoners, and all were in command of General Schoef. He had been appointed a lieutenant in the regular army by President Polk. My stepgrandfather, the Hon. Cave Johnson, who was in Mr. Polk’s cabinet, wrote General Schoef, asking that I might be treated with some consideration. Therefore I was frequently carried out to headquarters and beseeched to take the oath, offered transportation home, good clothes, etc.

The prisoners were not allowed to take the oath unless they had some good friends outside who would go bond for the ob-servance of the oath. However, some 1,600 did apply to take the oath, and they were then taken out of our barracks and put over in what was called “galvanized barracks.” They were given more and better rations than we had and had better quarters with more liberties. We hated these galvanized soldiers worse than we did the Yankees.

For about a month after our arrival at Fort Delaware we were treated moderately well, but not so well as at Camp Mor-

ton. In July, 1864, we were set aside in retaliation for the Con-federate prison at Andersonville, Ga., and from then until we were released we caught what General Early said give the Yan-kees. Our barracks were built with upright planks, with only occasionally strips over the cracks. Our bunks were three tiers high, one above another, and 320 men to each barracks. We were allowed two bushels of coal a day to each barracks, though the thermometer ranged from ten to thirty degrees be-low zero.

When the coal was received, some imprudent fellows would fill the stoves, and had the barracks comfortable for a few hours, and then we all had to freeze the remaining part of the twenty-four hours. Each man was allowed one blanket; but if he had an overcoat, he had to give up the overcoat or the blanket. One day in every week we were taken out on the northern point of the island, called “Hell’s half acre,” and as we came back we were searched. We were not permitted to have any money (only two dollars in sutler’s checks; with these checks we could only buy pen, ink, paper, and tobacco - nothing to eat) or a pocket knife, but were allowed one blanket or an overcoat, and only one change of underwear.

Our water supply was brought over in tugs from Brandywine River during the summer and part of the spring and fall months; but when ice was moving, our water was pumped into our tanks from the bay when the tide was up. Of course this water was very brackish. Our rations were as follows: For breakfast, from eight to ten o'clock two crackers, with about an inch square of pickled beef or pork and a cup of very weak cof-fee; for dinner, from one to three o’clock, two crackers, with a cup of bean soup that scarcely had the flavor of beans. This diet was continuous, except occasionally a quarter of a small loaf of lightbread was substituted for the crackers at dinner. The crackers we had had been condemned for army use, and were literally filled with worms. We did not eliminate the worms, as they helped to sustain life.

Between the mess hall and the kitchen was a sally port, about twelve feet wide, through which the wind from the bay blew constantly. In this prisoners were tied up by their thumbs, their toes just touching the pavement, and in many instances they were left there until their thumbs burst. One poor fellow when taken down died. This punishment was inflicted for the least infraction of the rules, and some prisoners were tied up almost daily. Our hospital services were execrable, and but few men who were carried to the hospital ever returned to the bar-racks. They had at the hospital a lot of young doctors who in

learning to practice medicine killed Confederate soldiers. Fort Delaware is the only prison in the North where the dead

did not have separate graves. A long ditch was dug, and the dead, after being entirely denuded, were dumped therein and

some dirt thrown on them. Some who lost loved ones there have gone there since the war looking for their dead, but could not find them. They were told of burial in this or that ditch, but they could not tell where. Therefore the commission appointed under an act of Congress cannot put up headstones at Fort Delaware.

Our death rate was very large, and but few soldiers could be induced to go to the hospital, preferring to die in the bar-racks among their friends. The prevalent diseases were small-pox and scurvy. We always had a number of cases in each barrack, and dead men were constantly being taken out. The smallpox was caused by filth. Some soldiers had no change of clothing and never bathed. Then, being without change of diet and drinking salt water, many died of scurvy.

In the summer and fall of 1864 there was a great cry raised in the North on account of the deaths at Andersonville and other Southern prisons. This howl became so insistent that the War Department agreed to swap several thousand prisoners every month until all of the prisons were cleaned out. They were not exchanged, but paroled by their respective governments, and then furloughed pending exchange. By se-lecting the men in this way they took from our prison the most infirm, who could be of little service if exchanged.

In February, 1865,some 1,800 were sent around from Fort Delaware, but I was not on the list. I had a friend, George Edmonson, of Smyrna, in Rutherford County, who belonged to the 20th Tennessee Infantry and who had consumption, who was on the list. He preferred to stay in the barracks, and slept next to me and was my charge. When I awoke on the morning the prisoners were to leave, I found my friend Edmonson dead. I threw my blanket over him, got his coat and hat, and, leaning heavily on his walking stick, I fell in line and answered to his name.

I passed the guards and was going down to the hold of the vessel, when I was recognized by Captain Ahl, who was an adjutant general of the post. I was immediately arrested and carried to headquarters. There I was tried for trying to get away and sentenced to twelve days in the dungeon, to which I was sent immediately. The dungeon was under the fort, and was a horrible place, very damp. It contained a single iron cot. The only light I had came from a small, heavily barred window several feet above my head, but I had nothing with which to reach it. The window was about one foot high and two feet wide. It might have been larger, but occupied all the space above ground. My rations were more meager than when in the barracks. Water was substituted for the thin coffee. What I received was passed to me through a small hole.

Several times during my confinement in the dungeon I was offered freedom if I would take the oath, and each time I re-fused. After twelve days, which seemed a year, I was taken out of the dungeon and put back with the other prisoners.

On May 8, 1865, the War Department ordered that all pris-oners should be released on taking the oath. They were re-leased several hundred at a time, and on May 28, 1865, my time came. The war being over and our flag being furled for-ever, I took the oath and was released. I have given the most interesting facts only without detailing the wanton firing into the barracks and cold-blooded murders committed and for which there was not even an arrest, but commendation for the continuous insults, etc.

We are taught to forget and forgive, but I can never forget and my power of forgiveness on my prison experience is very limited. In the judgment when I shall have answered to the last roll call, if found guilty, I am confident my punishment will be no more severe than I suffered during my eleven months in Fort Delaware, especially while in the dungeon.

From: Confederate Veteran, March 1912, Vol. XX, No. 3; pages113-114

8

AWARDS FROM THE 117TH ANNUAL REUNION

Glen L Swetman Lifetime Achievement Award - Wallace Mason Walter R Bivins Compatriot of the Year Award - Tim Cupit Jefferson Davis Camp of the Year Award (tie) - Colonel W. P.

Rogers Camp #321 and Tippah Tigers Camp #869 Brigade Commander of the Year Award (tie) - 2nd Brig. Com-mander William “Buddy” Ellis and 4th Brigade Commander “Boo” White J Z George Preservation Award – Gen. William Barksdale Camp #1220 A.J. Frantz Media Award (tie) - Poplarville Democrat, editor

Butch Weir and The Review of Jones County, editor Mark

Thornton

Jefferson Davis Presidential Library Award - Gainesville Volun-

teers Camp #373

General William D McCain Publication Award – The Battle of Okolona: Defending the Mississippi Prairie, by Dr. Brandon Beck Dale S Fleming Newsletter Award

50 members or more – Southern Comfort Less than 50 members – Barksdales’ Mississippians

Dunbar Roland Scrapbook Award 50 members or more – Brig/Gen. Benjamin G. Hum-phreys Camp #1625 Less than 50 members – Jones County Rosin Heels Camp #227

Father Abram Joseph Ryan Graves Award – W. A. Burton

John J. Pettus Award – goes out to a State, County, or munici-pal official that has contributed the most to further our Con-federate Heritage the past year. This year’s winner was Di-anne Carlin. She is in charge of the Battle for Texas Hospital Reenactment in Quitman, Mississippi.

HAPPENINGS AT BEAUVOIR

This is a photo of the completed replica kitchen and walkway to the house. This will serve as public restrooms.

This image of President Davis appears on the exterior walls. It is a tiled inset and will appear on the front and back of the building. Rick Forte stated that it looks like the building may be completed by the end of August.

FRIENDS OF BEAUVOIR

Annual membership in the Friends of Beauvoir is more im-portant now than ever before. At this time, we can offer to your membership such benefits as free year-round admission, 10% discount for Gift Shop purchases, the occasional newslet-ter, and the tremendous pride of knowing that you helped Beauvoir to recover and continue its mission. Clip or copy the below information and send it to the address below. Share this with as many friends and family as you can.

Membership categories (please check one)

_____ Individual $25.00 _____ Family $50.00 _____ Patron $100.00 - $249.00 _____ Sustaining $250.00 - $499.00 _____ Benefactor $500.00 - $999.00 _____ Sponsor $1,000.00 - $4,999.00 _____ President’s Cabinet $5,000.00 + _____ Corporate $500.00 and above ___________ Amount

General and Contributing Membership

Name: _____________________________________________

Names of Children (if applicable):

_____________________________________________

Address (Street): _____________________________________________

City/State/Zip: _____________________________________________

Telephone (Home): _____________________________

(Alternate): _________________________ _

For additional information, please call or write:

(228) 388-4400

Beauvoir

2224 Beach Boulevard

Biloxi, MS 39531

9

11/17-18/2012 -- Reenactment at Camp Moore on Highway 51 south of Tangipahoa, LA. The grounds will open at 9 AM until 4 PM. For more information visit http://www.campmoorela.com/reenactment.html

07/11-14/12 -- SCV National Reunion; Murfreesboro, TN.; http://tennessee-scv.org/2012reunion/ 08/10-11/2012 -- Southern Heritage Conference, Laurel, MS. See page 9 for details. 08/31 - 09/2/2012 -- Battle of Iuka 150th Anniversary held at Mineral Springs Park in Iuka. For more information go to www. battleofiuka.com 09/13-16/2012 -- Battles of Farmington and Corinth Re e na c tmen t s . F o r mo re i n f o rma t i o n v i s i t battleoffarmington.com 10/13-14/2012 -- 26th Annual Fall Muster at Beauvoir. Festivities include a Picnic Basket Auction, ladies tea & a Saturday Night Dance. 11/10/2012 -- 3rd Brigade Picnic at Grand Gulf Military Monument Park north of Port Gibson. For more information contact Mike Webb at webbyjoe@aol.com 11/10-11/2012 -- Reenactment of the Wirt Adams Raid at Historic Jefferson College in Washington, MS. The time is 10 AM to 5 PM.

Upcoming Events

The Jeff Davis Legion

PO Box 2841

Columbus, MS 39704-2841