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Greetings. I hope to find you all well and in good spirits. We have a busy schedule coming up soon with our annual Lantern Tour and our annual Cookout which will be a fish fry this year. I hope that you can all attend these events and brings your friends and family.

Things have been kind of quiet within the SCV lately. The attempt by our enemies to remove the Confederate Monument in Gastonia has quietened down for now. The Hunley Crew Burial has been planned, and despite the “Hunley Resolution”, the scalawag McConnell of South Carolina has vowed that the Federal flag will lead the funeral procession. They may even try to make the reenactors furl their Battle Flags. We’ll see. I know I’ll be there with mine, and it will not be furled.

I would also like to say that I hope none of you have lost your job because of recent plant closings. My job of 22 years in the greenhouse business was lost due to “Free Trade” a few years back. Today, there is little hope of finding a decent job when one becomes unemployed. Unless Congress stops this foolishness, I’m afraid the United States is doomed. In the meantime, try to avoid buying foreign made goods as much as possible. Pray to God for our elected officials to see the folly of their ways and for them to work to put the interests of the citizens of this country first.

Next Meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 10, 2003, at the Rowan Public Library in the Stanback Room at 6:30 p.m. The program will be given by Steve Suther on “Gettysburg”. Steve, a teacher at West Rowan High School, has given several programs for our camp in the past. You will want to bring your friends. He is very knowledgeable and gives an excellent program.

Camp Elections will be held this month. All officer positions are open for election. If you would like to serve the camp in such a way, please have someone nominate you at that time.

A Reminder That annual dues will be due next month. They remain unchanged at $35.00. As I have stated, we need to strive for 100% retention. We absolutely need to grow. As the assaults on our heritage continue, we must increase our numbers. Please recruit new members.

The Fish Fry at Sloan Park will be held on Saturday, October 4, 2003. We will be there by 10:00 a.m. and we plan to eat at 12:00 noon. By all means, bring your family and friends. You may want to bring desserts, drinks, and anything else you would like. I know we’ll have a good time.

New Member. The camp voted Lewis Safrit into membership last month. Welcome, Lewis!

There’s an On-line petition concerning banning the United States flag at the Hunley burial. If you haven’t signed the on-line petition, please go to “www.petitiononline.com/css1861/petition.html”. This petition was started by Carl McClung of Texas. You may remember Carl when he visited our camp back in April with compatriot Paul Burr who gave the program. Thanks to all of you and your family members who have already signed the petition.

Please Remember Those who are in bad health or are experiencing problems. Keep them in your thoughts and prayers. Many of you may remember “Uncle Jim” Collins from Virginia. Jim, a blind friend of compatriot Robert Howlett, and Chaplain of the Virginia Division SCV, has had a stroke. Cards can be sent to James A. Collins, Chaplain, Virginia Division SCV, 304 Spring Hollow Road, Troutville, VA 24175.

The Lantern Tour is planned for Saturday, October 11th, at the Old Lutheran Cemetery at 7:00 p.m. We need all the help we can get as this year, we will be included in the Historic October Tour in Salisbury’s brochure. Please contact 1st Lt. Commander Andy Deal for details.

The Southern Mercury, a new SCV magazine is looking for letters for publication. If you have anything to print, your writing would be welcome.

Robert E. Lee’s first campaign of the war was to recapture the area of Western Virginia that Union General McClellan had captured. Lee, dividing his forces into five columns, planned to attack the forces of J. J. Reynolds who held the summit of Cheat Mountain and Elkwater in the valley below. Lee started advancing through the rugged terrain, the weather was cold and wet. On the 11th, the main body made contact. On the 12th, a column under Col. Albert Rust failed to make his attack which was to be the signal for the general assault. The element of surprise was lost. Captured Federals tricked Rust into believing the Federals that the summit held over 4,000 troops when there were only around 300. With Rust’s failure, it made Lee’s position untendable. Lee pulled back and the northern part of West Virginia was secure for the Union. This defeat for Lee brought forth criticism and harmed his reputation. Not until June 1862 after the Battle of Seven Pines was the reputation of General Lee restored.

“What is the constitution? It is the form of government delineated by the mighty hand of the people, in which certain first principles of fundamental law are established. The constitution is certain and fixed: it contains the permanent will of the people, and is the supreme law of the land; it is paramount to the will of the legislature, and can be revoked or altered only by the authority that made it. The life-giving principle and the death-doing stroke must proceed from the same hand. What are legislatures? Creatures of the constitution; they owe their existence to the constitution; they derive their powers from the constitution. It is their commission; and, therefore, all their acts must be conformable to it, or else they will be void. The constitution is the work of the people themselves, in their original, sovereign, and unlimited capacity. Law is the work of the legislature in their derivative and subordinate capacity. The one is the work of the creator, and the other of the creature. In short, gentlemen, the constitution is the sun of the political system, around which all legislative, executive, and judicial bodies must revolve.”

One of the first accomplishments of the Confederacy was drafting a new constitution. It was deliberately modeled exactly like the U.S. Constitution with only minor differences. The President served a six-year term and could not be re-elected. he also was given a line item veto. Funding for the Confederate government was collected from export taxes on cotton and tobacco, and not from taxes burdened on the shoulders of its citizens.