Roswell Mills Camp 1547 Sons of Confederate Veterans

12/24/2024

Copied from another site.

The Balfour house in Vicksburg Mississippi was the scene of a grand Christmas Ball on the night of December 24, 1862. The guests included many Confederate Army officers and their ladies. Among them was Brig. Gen.Martin Luther Smith, and Lt. Gen. Stephen D. Lee],

As the Christmas Eve revelry progressed, the telegraph office just across the Mississippi River in Louisiana received an urgent message from Major L.L. Daniel at Lake Providence, about 36 miles north. "The yankees are coming" Telegraph operator Colonel Philip H. Fall took the call.

The weather was cold and stormy, the river was dangerously turbulent and the only available transport across to Vicksburgwas a small skiff. It would mean risking his life, but Colonel Fall felt compelled to deliver the crucial information to General Smith, who he knew would be at the Balfours' Christmas Ball at that moment.

Shortly after midnight, Colonel Fall, exhausted and covered in mud, burst through the door of Balfour House and waded into the crowd of dancers, who gave him a wide berth. When he saw General Smith he went directly to him and told him what he'd heard from Lake Providence. Upon hearing the news, Smith announced loudly "This ball is at an end! The enemy is coming down river. All non-combatants must leave the city!" The men had only seconds to bid loved-ones good-bye as they rushed away and reported to station. Later, on December 26, came the [Battle of Chickasaw Bayou].

Some times we must put aside frivolous activities to attend to urgent business.

Take off your fancy frock coat, strap on the sword of truth and forward the colors

Make DixieGreat Again

12/22/2024

We wish all of our followers, compatriots and their familes a Merry Christmas and blessings for this season and New Year.

12/16/2024

Our camp participated in Wreaths Across America where we placed wreaths on veterans of various conflicts.

11/07/2024

The mostly restored Civil War city class ironclad USS Cairo on display inside the Vicksburg National Military Park! This ship struck a confederate mine in the Yazoo River in 1862 and sank in a matter of minutes with no hands lost. The crew was able to safely make it ashore on life boats. It was rediscovered in the 1960s and raised in the 1980s. It is one of the most well preserved ironclads from the war and contained a treasure trove of artifacts!

10/09/2024

The CSS Hunley, also known as the H. L. Hunley, was a submarine of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. It holds the distinction of being the first combat submarine to successfully sink an enemy warship, the USS Housatonic, on February 17, 1864.

Construction: Built in Mobile, Alabama, and launched in July 1863.
Design: The submarine was nearly 40 feet long and powered by a hand-cranked propeller.

Service: Despite its groundbreaking design, the Hunley had a tragic history, sinking three times and resulting in the loss of 21 crew members.
Final Mission: On its final mission, the Hunley successfully deployed a spar torpedo to sink the USS Housatonic but was lost shortly after the attack.

Rediscovery and Preservation: The Hunley was located in 1995 and raised in 2000. It is now preserved and displayed at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center in North Charleston, South Carolina.

The Hunley’s story is a fascinating chapter in naval history, demonstrating both the potential and the perils of early submarine warfare.

10/08/2024

10/04/2024

Predident Theodore Roosevelt uncle to Confederates visited Roswell and mentioned them.

"He said “…my blood is half Southern and half Northern…the brothers and sisters of my mother who were born and brought up in that house on the hill there, my two uncles afterward entered the Confederate service and served with the Confederate Navy….I have the ancestral right to claim a proud kinship with those who showed their devotion to duty as they saw the duty, whether they wore the grey or whether they wore the blue.”"

"The visit of President Theodore Roosevelt to Roswell in 1905 was part of a tour through the South aimed at helping to heal the lingering wounds of the Civil War."

07/20/2024

If I think of that devil it won't be in regards to jeans.

Next time you put on jeans made by Lee, Wrangler or Levi's, Dickies coveralls or a Cintas-made uniform, think of William Tecumseh Sherman.

01/06/2024

I interesting talk at camp meeting tonight on guerrila warfare in Georgia book available on Amazon

12/22/2023

The song "Jingle Bells" was written & composed by a Confederate Veteran.

James Lord Pierpont (April 25, 1822 – August 5, 1893) was an American songwriter, arranger, organist, Confederate States soldier, and composer, best known for writing and composing "Jingle Bells" in 1857, originally titled "The One Horse Open Sleigh".

He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and died in Winter Haven, Florida. Although Pierpont is obscure today, his composition "Jingle Bells" has become synonymous with the Christmas holiday and is one of the most performed and most recognizable songs in the world.

At the beginning of the War of Northern Agression in the summer of 1861, Pierpont enlisted as a private in the Lamar Rangers, a militia cavalry regiment from Lamar County, Georgia. In September 1861 the Lamar Rangers became a Company of the 1st Georgia Cavalry Battalion and on September 1, Pierpont joined the regiment as a private.

The 1st Georgia Battalion served on the Georgia coast from 1861 to 1863, guarding against Union attacks but not seeing much action. On January 20, 1863, the 1st Georgia Cavalry Battalion was merged to become the 5th Georgia Cavalry Regiment, and Pierpont mustered into Company H. He served with the 5th Cavalry until April 1865, and fought at many battles in the Atlanta Campaign and the Campaign of the Carolinas. Records indicate that he served some time as a company clerk.

He also wrote music for the Confederacy, including "Our Battle Flag", "Strike for the South" and "We Conquer or Die".

12/19/2023

Shared from Theresa Roane

What do you tell Southern children during the WBTS when there are no toys from Santa? This poem appeared in newspapers and magazines of the time.

"Santa Claus" by Mary McCrimmon

I am sorry to write,
Our ports are blockaded, and Santa, tonight,
Will hardly get down here; for if he should start,
The Yankees would get him unless he was 'smart,'
They beat all the men in creation to run,
And if they could get him, they'd think it fine fun
To put him in prison, and steal the nice toys
He started to bring to our girls and boys.
But try not to mind it--tell over your jokes--
Be gay and be cheerful, like other good folks;
For if you you remember to be good and kind,
Old Santa next Christmas will bear it in mind.

From Ersatz in the Confederacy by Mary Elizabeth Massey

12/19/2023

At Christmas I think of soldiers on duty.
Soldiers crossing the frozen Delaware. WWI soldiers in mud filled trenches, WWII soldiers in jungles, fields, forests all over the world. Our WBTS ancestors with so little enduing so much. My Vietnam brothers in the jungle, me in a non-combat role but in a bunker on perimeter guard duty on Christmas eve. The forgotten Korean War troops freezing and dying facing Communists and our current generation of soldiers and veterans in far away lands and seas. May our Father in Heaven bless them all and their families and may we remember what they and their families endured then and now.
Merry Christmas and pray for Peace on earth.

11/23/2023

Thankful for ancestors true and our descendants now and future generations.
May you be thankful for all things and give praise and thanks for your gifts.

10/04/2023

"The Lord rewards them according to their works" -- Leonidas Polk

Today's post is about Bishop Polk ..or as you may better know him, Lieutenant General Leonidas Polk.

"My pen and ability is inadequate to the task of doing his memory justice. Every private soldier loved him. Second to Stonewall Jackson, his loss was the greatest the South ever sustained. When I saw him there dead, I felt that I had lost a friend whom I had ever loved and respected, and that the South had lost one of her best and greatest Generals."
—Private Sam Watkins

Born to a revolutionary war veteran in Raleigh, North Carolina, Leonidas Polk was a man led by God.

During his senior year at West Point he joined the Episcopal Church and was baptized in the Academy Chapel. He later entered the Virginia Theological Seminary and became assistant to Bishop Moore in Richmond. It was Bishop Moore that ordained Polk as Deacon 1830.

On the 6th of May 1830, Leonidas Polk married Frances Ann Devereaux; the great granddaughter of the Puritan theologian, Jonathan Edwards. They moved to Maury County, Tennessee and built their home "Ashwood Hall", along with a family chapel called St John's Church. Polk also served as the priest of St Peter's Church in Columbia, Tennessee.

In 1838 he was appointed Missionary Bishop of the Southwest and then elected bishop of Louisiana in 1841. At the outbreak of the war he pulled the Louisiana Episcopal convention out of the Episcopal Church of the United States and though Polk had hoped the South could leave in peace, he offered his services to his friend Jefferson Davis should his country need him.

He was commissioned Major General in 1861 and although he made mistakes during his time in command, he was much beloved by the soldiers.

Robert E. Lee, would later write that Polk was considered by officers and cadets alike "as a model for all that was soldierly, gentlemanly, and honorable."

On the 14th of June in 1864, Leonidas Polk was killed after Sherman ordered an artillery fire upon seeing a group of Confederate officers. Sherman was known to have no use for religion and coldy reported, ‘We killed Bishop Polk yesterday, and have made good progress to-day….’

A man of his convictions, even in the face of a gruesome war, he had this to say during a prayer after the Battle of Perryville:

‘Peace to the land... and blessings on friend and foe alike.’

07/30/2023

Copied from an Irish website.

💚 What is 'Heritage'?
'Heritage forms part of our customs, sports, music, dance, folklore, crafts, skills, and traditions.
Our tangible, intangible and natural heritage and all the associated myths, legends, traditions, and memories provide us with a common language and insight that enables us to communicate on a deep level with each other and to express ourselves in a unique way to the outside world'.
(Quote from The Heritage Council of Ireland)