Volume IX Issue 5 May 2016

S O N S O F C O N F E D E R A T E V E T E R A N S C A M P # 2 6 5

RANKIN DISPATCHRANKIN DISPATCHN E W S L E T T E R O F T H E R A N K I N R O U G H & R E A D Y ’ S

COMMANDER’S QUOTE: “If it’s important to you, you’ll find a way. If not- you’ll find an excuse.”

THIS MONTH’S GUEST SPEAKER - Bridget H. Smith

Bridget H. Smith was born and raised in Columbia, Tennessee, not far from thesetting of her Civil War era novel Where Elephants Fought. From the first glimpseinto the lives of Jessie Peters and General Earl Van Dorn, she was intrigued and soonfound herself immersed in the world of research for over twenty years. She has aMasters in English and has taught in high school and college for the last twenty-fiveyears. She lives in Raymond, Mississippi, with her husband, Ray, and her fourchildren and is currently at work on her second novel, a more modern tale of sin andeccentricities set in her beloved South.

Where Elephants Fought - For 150 years, scholars andamateur Civil War buffs have misinterpreted the infamousmurder of the well-known Confederate General Earl Van Dorn.Based on twenty years of intense research, the author suggeststhat all is not as it appears. The real motivation behind thedoctor’s decision to murder Van Dorn is not a story of jealousybetween a husband and wife, but of loyalty and sacrifice. Thisstory reveals one woman’s struggle with the blame foranother’s crime and the secret that fractured the Peters familyforever. Perhaps most compelling is the impact the tragedy hashad on the Peters family, with the continued perpetuation of the150 year old lie to this day.

RANK

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265

COMMANDER’S REPORT

Our speaker this month will be another Mississippi Author, Miss Bridget Smith. Her book is aboutConfederate General Earl Van Dorn. Books will be for sale before and after the meeting and signed by theauthor if you so choose. We will need to discuss the upcoming Relic Show and the Trail of Honor. Sobring someone with you, come early, and as sure as time and tide wait for no man, I’ll probably see you atPenn’s in Brandon on May 7th, 2016 at 7pm.

-Tim Cupit

- Open with prayer at 7pm sharp- Pledge ofAllegiance to the U.S. Flag and salutes- Trivia- Guest speaker; Bridget Smith/Subject: General Earl Van Dorn-Adopt minutes fromApril - need a motion, second,

discussion, vote, unfinished business- Camp t-shirts are $20 - proceeds go to fund the relic show- www.scv265.com and stats- First Thursday Coin Club meeting at Brandon library 6:30pm- We have U.S. flag and MS flag bumper stickers available- Events Committee Report-Any other unfinished business? New business?

MEETING AGENDA FOR MAY 7, 2016

- Relic show report

- Order of the Confederate Rose (OCR) reportSetAdopt-a-Highway Date

- Trail of Honor on May 21st, 22nd, and 23rd

-- Did everyone sign in?- Does everyone have a door prize ticket?- Door prizes- Close with prayer at approximately 8:20pm

Please leave $1.00 tip for the crew that cleans up!

*STAYAND HELPPUT UPTABLES*

CHAPLAIN’S REPORTby Tom Fortenberry

Growing up in the South I had in my early yearsexperienced that the high school education Ireceived about the Civil War had more or lesspainted the North, and Lincoln, as the glorioussaviors of the nation while the South was picturedas nothing more than a bunch of racist, uneducated,hillbillies that wanted nothing more than to tear thenation apart.

The older I have become I have learned that theSouth was not the evil incarnate that it hasbeen made out to be and that, in fact, there weresome outstanding reasons the Southern Statesjoined together in a common cause. History booksoften record the version of the winner. Yet the truthis that the North was not the savior that sacrificedtheir sons to free the black man. In reality, like mostwars, there were heroes and villains on both sides,there were good causes to fight for like thedestruction of the institution of slavery in the North,and the idea of a limited federal government withstrong states’ rights in the South. Yes you read itright. It was observed that slavery in the South had

started to decline well before the start of the War ofAggression and by 1864 had disappeared almostcompletely from southern life. In fact GeneralRobert E. Lee never owned slaves as most Southernpeople could not afford. And President Lincoln didin fact want to free the slaves simply by sendingthem to other countries. Some even made it there,never to return.

In the end slavery in the North continued throughthe war and did not end in the states of Missouri,New Jersey, Illinois, and New York until well afterthe war in 1867.

History is much more complex than any simplehigh school lesson. Often our misconceptions aresimply based on our lack of understanding by notliving our lives as God has and continues to teach usby His Word and through the lives of others.

May God Bless and KeepYou

Thomas Fortenberry, Chaplain Camp 265

MISCONCEPTIONS

ORDER OF CONFEDERATE ROSEMary Ann Forrest Chapter was chartered on April 9th, 2016

MS Society OCR State President,Melissa Stillman & Brandi Gray, OCRMary Ann Forrest Chapter President

MOCR Chapter President, Brandi Gray withOCR Chapter Vice President, Charla Lewis

As ofApril 20th, 2016 we have sold 210tables for our Relic Show! We arecurrently working on radio commercialads, as well as creating newspaper ads.We have printed flyers that are to bedistributed to our members forplacement in various businesses andestablishments around the greater tri-county area. We really need to focus onselling more ads in order to raise moneyfor our show. We also need to findliving histories, and start securing thenames of volunteers that will be willingto help with the show!

RELIC SHOW UPDATE

Who was the youngest general in theCivil War?

CIVIL WAR TRIVIA:

1st Sergeant JamesA. Wilson

Letter Translation:Meridian, Miss. December 18th, 1864

Dear Son,I promised to write you a letter and I now take the opportunity of doing soand if I should never see you again I wish you to keep this letter and youand your brother keep the instructions I now give you. If you live you willhave to do the duty of a citizen and I admonish you to be kind to yourbrothers and sister and obey the instruction of your Mother. Do not keepcompany with bad boys. Do no mischief and you will not get into troublebut have the goodwill of all. Be industrious, learn from your book, and bewise and good. Be honest and just in all your dealings.

And now my dear sons I advise you should you ever become mento never vote for a man who was in favor of secession or had anything to dowith bringing about this accursed war for it is their will that I now have tobe separated from you, perhaps never to see you again. Thought I hope itmay please God to spare my life and enable me to return in peace to you.

YourAffectionate Father,JamesA. WilsonTo: Thomas Wilson

TAL FLOYD’S ANCESTOR WRITE UP:

ADJUTANT’S REPORTby Sid Boteler

Presidential Quotations Regarding the Importance and Value of the Bible

"All the good Savior gave to the world was communicated through this book."

"The Bible is the one supreme source of revelation of the meaning of life, the nature of God, and spiritual nature andneeds of men. It is the only guide of life which really leads the spirit in the way of peace and salvation. America wasborn a Christian nation. America was born to exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteousness which arederived from the revelations of Holy Scripture”

"The strength of our country is the strength of its religious convictions. The foundations of our society and ourgovernment rest so much on the teachings of the Bible that it would be difficult to support them if faith in theseteachings would cease to be practically universal in our country."

“We cannot read the history of our rise and development as a nation without reckoning with the place the Bible hasoccupied in shaping the advances of the Republic. Where we have been the truest and most consistent in obeying itsprecepts, we have attained the greatest measure of contentment and prosperity.”

- Abraham Lincoln, 16th President

- Woodrow Wilson, 28th President

- Calvin Coolidge, 30th President

- Franklin Roosevelt, 32nd President

Quotes from The American Patriot's Bible, The Word of God and the Shaping of America,Dr. Richard G. Lee, General Editor

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John BrownLincolnNat TurnerNew MarketNorthPetersburgRebelsRichmondSlaverySouthStates RightsUnionWashington DCWildernessYankees

CIVIL WAR WORD SEARCH(Difficult - Up, Down, Backwards, Diagonally)

Copied from: https://www.nps.gov/anti/learn/kidsyouth/index.htm

"The Army of Northern Virginia was never defeated. It merely wore itself out whipping the enemy."- Confederate General Jubal Early (1816-1894)

Members of SCV Camp #265, Rankin Rough and Ready's; the Order ofConfederate Rose, Mary Ann Forrest Chapter; men of the Crystal SpringsSouthern Rights, Camp #712; and SCV 3rd Brigade Councilman Trent Lewis,in conjunction with citizen volunteers helped with the cleanup and restorationproject of the Old Rodney Presbyterian Church.

CLEANUP & RESTORATION OF THE OLD RODNEYPRESBYTERIAN CHURCHApril 2nd, 2016

Thank you, Mrs. Paulette French, for the presentationon the 10th Mississippi Volunteer Infantry Regiment.Congratulations newly-appointed 3rd Lt. Cmdr. TalFloyd and Sergeant-at-Arms Butch Kuriger. Weappreciate everyone for coming out and enjoyed seeingthe numerous visitors.

CAMP MEETING - April 2, 2016

Camp Members, Tal Floyd & Butch Kuriger,swearing in as 3rd Lt. Cmdr. & as Sergeant-At-Arm, respectively.

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS - THEY SUPPORT US!

The Sons of Confederate VeteransCamp #265

THE RANKIN DISPATCH317 Lake Heather RoadBrandon, MS 39047

Our next meeting is May 7that Penn’s in Brandon at 7:00pm.Come early!

NON-PROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE PAIDBRANDON, MSPERMIT NO. 265