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LYTLE’S LETTERGeneral William H. Lytle Camp # 10

Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War www.SUVCWCincinnati.org

June 2018

Table of Contents

Message from the Commander

Brothers, First off, Congratulations to Brother Jim Crane for a successful tour of Duty as Department Commander, and Congratulations to Brother Kerry Langdon for his election as the new Department Commander, back to back for the Lytle Camp! It’s been an interesting few months for me personally with all the challenges we face in our lives. But I wanted to share with you my feelings as a dad, on 26 April I dropped my son off at the Armory in Hamilton, to report into his recruiters. They in turn took him to CVG for a flight to Atlanta, and subsequent bus trip to Fort

Message from the Commander 1 ............................................................................................Lytle Camp at U.S. Grant Birthday Celebration 3 .................................................................ROTC Recognition Ceremonies 4 ..........................................................................................Memorial Day at Spring Grove Cemetery 7 ..........................................................................Civil War Days at Heritage Village 10 ...................................................................................Department of Ohio 136th Annual Encampment 12 ..............................................................Patriotic Instruction 13 ...........................................................................................................Upcoming Events 14..............................................................................................................

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Benning, Georgia. My son has been exposed to the Army for his entire life, as I had served for 30 years. This decision was his alone, and I am very proud that he chose to serve his country. His journey is much like that taken over 150 years ago by our boys in blue as they headed into the various Camps around the country to transition from civilian, to military life. As these young recruits learn the skills they need to master for the battlefield, they do not know the great sacrifices they could be called on to endure. My son chose to volunteer, not many do these days. We as a country have lost the spirit of service to the Nation, and sometimes fail to honor those that do step forward to serve. I believe one of the elements that drew me to join our organization, was the fact that we do take the time to honor those who serve, and those who paid the ultimate sacrifice. We need to look no further than our last two Camp events, our Memorial Day Service, which was simply a beautiful, and well executed Ceremony to honor those who died in service to our country from all wars. The other event is the Sharon Woods civil war days, where we educate the public about the boys in blue, and what their lives were like, and what they sacrificed. We couldn’t do this without the dedication of the Brothers of the Camp. I’m proud to call you Brothers, and proud of the work you continue to do. As I drove away from the Armory in my car, I couldn’t help but think about a father 153 years ago, leaving his son with a recruiter, and driving away in his horse and buckboard. We both had a great sense of pride, a lump in our throat, a feeling of worry, and tears in our eyes. Fraternity, Charity, Loyalty Todd

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Lytle Camp at U.S. Grant Birthday Celebration

L-R: Brothers Kerry langdon, Rob Kidd, Larry Collins, Bill West III. Others present but not pictured: Brothers Todd Mayer, Bill Rybolt, Andy Sweeny and Sr. Wanda Langdon

The annual U.S. Grant Birthday Celebration took place on Sat. April 28 at Pt. Pleasant, OH. The Lytle Camp had a table with recruiting material and were on hand to answer about the Sons, the Civil War, and Civil War ancestry. Several Brothers were on hand. The crowd was very light this year but the program at 1:00 was excellent.

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Former Clermont County Commissioner Bob Proud donated a Grant picture that previously hung in his office to the birthplace.Award winning musician Steve Free provided the music.

The keynote speaker was G.L. Corum, author of Ulysses Underground. "The Unexplored Roots of U.S. Grant and the Underground Railroad". Not only was the material fresh and interesting but she is an excellent speaker.

ROTC Recognition Ceremonies The Lytle Camp, Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War successfully completed its ROTC award program for 2018. Each spring the Camp participates in three college and two high school programs. We awarded a total of 6 medals and certificates to deserving cadets as chosen by their cadre leadership.

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Camp Commander Todd Mayer represented the Camp for the Xavier University ROTC program, and awarded the medal to Cadet Benjamin C. Dearie.

Commander Mayer also represented the Camp at the University of Cincinnati Army ROTC Ceremony. The recipient was Cadet Mulholand, a senior, who is commissioning in Infantry.

Brothers Jim Cobb and Jim Houston presented the SUVCW JROTC Award to Cadet David Goad at the Scarlet Oaks Awards Banquet on Wednesday, 2 May.Cadet Goad is a junior at Scarlet Oaks and is Naval Science 1 drill commander. He is involved in the rifle team and participates in the color guard. Upon completion of the NJROTC program next year he plans to join the U.S. Navy.

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Department Commander Jim Crane presented the JROTC Award at Diamond Oaks on May 7, 2018. The recipient was C/1SG Jakob Hockl, a senior.

On Saturday 21 April 2018 at Miami University, Brother Denny Brown presented certificates to Midshipman Paul Kenney and Cadet Brian Park. Midshipman Kenney has been studying mechanical engineering with a minor in Russian. He expects to be stationed at the Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida upon graduation. He is a native of the Chesapeake Bay area in Maryland. Cadet Park has majored in political science and will enter an intelligence program at Goodfellow Air Force Base, San Angelo, Texas. He is from Columbus, Ohio.

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Memorial Day at Spring Grove Cemetery

L-R Front Row ; Brothers Philip Kidd, CC Todd Mayer, Zachary Rosenwald (age 4). Standing: Sisters. Wanda Langdon, Judy Brown, Devon Brown, Jenna Osborn. Middle Row: Brothers Robert Kidd, Jim Houston, Harry Schmidt, Jim Cobb, Ervin Chaney, Jr., Peter Sturdevant, Andy Sweeny, Jr., Kerry Langdon, Denny Brown. Back Row: Brothers David Stockdale, Roger Poppel, Kenny Burck, Jim Schroer. Present but not pictured: DC Jim Crane, Brothers Woody Cook, Larry Collins, Richard Davis, Tom Reckner.

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The General William H. Lytle Camp # 10, Cincinnati, Ohio, has conducted a Memorial Day Service at Spring Grove Cemetery annually beginning in the first year of the Camp’s existence in 2000. The first service was held at the graveside of General Lytle with only a handful of attendees. The following year and every succeeding year it has been held at Section 21, the burial place of hundreds of Civil War soldiers.

In 2001, the service became a joint effort with the

6th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. That successful partnership has continued each year and is a key to the success of the service at Spring Grove. We are grateful to the Sister Anthony O’Connell Auxiliary for their participation in the ceremony and leading the scattering of rose petals on the graves of the Civil War Soldiers in Section 21.

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Attendance at the service has increased each year, and it is now one of the premier Memorial Day services in Cincinnati. 2018 was the 150th anniversary of GAR Commander-in-Chief Logan’s Order # 11designating May 30, 1868 as a day of observance of the sacrifice of the soldiers, sailors, and marines who gave their lives in defense of our country. This year’s ceremony featured remarks by Major General John Harris, Ohio Assistant Adjutant General for the Army, Captain Mike Davis of the 6th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and Sister Wanda Langdon, President of the Department of Ohio Auxiliary to the SUVCW.

L-R: Zachary Rosenwald, Wanda Langdon, Devon Brown, Judy Brown, DC Jim Crane, and General John Harris.

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Civil War Days at Heritage Village

Back Row, L-R: Brothers Woody Cook, Jim Houston, Jim Cobb, Robb Kidd. Seated: Brothers Kerry Langdon, Denny Brown. Present but not pictured: Brothers. Kenny Burck, Richard Davis, Todd Mayer, Bill West and Sister Wanda Langdon.

On June 16th and 17th the General Lytle Camp participated in the annual Civil War days at Heritage Village (Sharon Woods). The Camp had a recruitment tent and Civil War display to help us tell the story of the Civil War and make contact with potential new members to our camp.

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In addition to organizing the Lytle Camp participation in the event, Brother Woody Cook hosted an outstanding display of Civil War weapons and memorabilia.

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Department of Ohio 136th Annual Encampment The 2018 Annual Encampment was held on June 8th at the Clintonville Woman’s Club in Columbus Ohio. The General William H. Lytle Camp was well represented, having 8 attendees including our outgoing Department Commander Jim Crane and our newly elected Department Commander for the coming year, Kerry Langdon. Our sincere congratulations to both of these Brothers and a thank you for their service to the order.

Back Row, L-R: Brs. Denny Brown, Jim Crane, Todd Mayer, Richard Davis Front Row: Brs. Larry Collins, Jim Cobb, jim Houston, Kerry Langdon.

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Patriotic Instruction

July in American History July 4th is a momentous day in American History. Independence Day – the day that the Continental Congress voted to accept the Declaration of Independence setting America on a new course and a new destiny. July 4th, 1863 was also a momentous day in history. Two events took place on that day that would result in the end of the conflict between the North and the South. On the western front, Lt, General John Pemberton, CSA surrendered his troops to General Ulysses S Grant, Army of Tennessee after a 47-day siege of Vicksburg. Vicksburg was the last major Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River; therefore, capturing it completed the second part of the Northern strategy, the Anaconda Plan. When two major assaults (May 19 and 22, 1863) against the Confederate fortifications were repulsed with heavy casualties, Grant decided to besiege the city beginning on May 25. After holding out for more than forty days, with their reinforcement and supplies nearly gone, the garrison finally surrendered on July 4. The successful ending of the Vicksburg Campaign significantly degraded the ability of the Confederacy to maintain its war effort, as described in the Aftermath section of the campaign article. Some historians—e.g., Ballard, p. 308—suggest that the decisive battle in the campaign was actually the Battle of Champion Hill, which, once won by Grant, made victory in the subsequent siege a foregone conclusion. This action (combined with the surrender of Port Hudson to Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks on July 9) yielded command of the Mississippi River to the Union forces, who would hold it for the rest of the conflict. Meanwhile in the East, The Army of the Potomac led by Maj. General George Meade held off the Army of Virginia led by General Robert E Lee after 3 days of intense battle that resulted in the largest number of casualties in the entire Civil War. General Lee had led his army North to force the Union to agree to a possible cease fire and end the war. He carried a letter to be placed on the

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President’s desk in Washington. After the 3 day battle, Lee led his army on a torturous retreat back to Virginia. Between 46,000 and 51,000 soldiers from both armies were casualties in the three-day battle, the costliest in US history. On November 19, President Lincoln used the dedication ceremony for the Gettysburg National Cemetery to honor the fallen Union soldiers and redefine the purpose of the war in his historic Gettysburg Address.

Upcoming Events

➢ July 2018 No Gen. Wm. H. Lytle, Camp 10 meeting

➢ August 2018 No Gen. Wm. H. Lytle, Camp 10 meeting

9-12 SUVCW national Encampment, Framingham, MA

➢ September 2018 11 - Gen. Wm. H. Lytle Camp 10 Meeting

TBA - 2:00pm - Gen. Wm. H. Lytle Memorial Ceremony at Spring Grove Cemetery

Unless otherwise noted all photographs are submitted by Todd Mayer, Denny Brown, Wanda Langdon and Larry Collins

Please send items for inclusion in the Newsletter to PCC Larry W. Collins at [email protected].

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