NEWSLETTER · $50,000 cash bond filed in Dallas Pioneer Cemetery Monument case Return Lee to Lee...
Transcript of NEWSLETTER · $50,000 cash bond filed in Dallas Pioneer Cemetery Monument case Return Lee to Lee...
Feb. 28
February
Program
NEWSLETTER
Col. E. W. Taylor
Camp #1777
Sons of
Confederate
Veterans
December……..2019
Our meetings are on the last Thursday of each month, except November and December when we
don’t meet because it would always conflict with the holidays.
Each month’s program announcement is always on the first page of this newsletter.
We meet at the Catfish and Company restaurant in Hurst, Texas, along the north side of the
Airport Freeway and on the access road west of Precinct Line Road.
If you’d like to eat with us we’d suggest you be there at 6 p.m. We start the meeting at 7 p.m.
Our goal is to be finished and out by 8:30 p.m. It would be bad manners for a group as large as
ours to stay ‘til closing time. We appreciate the restaurant’s hospitality to the Sons of
Confederate Veterans.
Who are we? That’s easy to see!!!
Go to our website and start looking at our newsletters, beginning with
the most recent and working back. Contact us at [email protected]
http://www.taylorcampscv.org/
For our website: user name is TaylorCamp and password is SCV1777EWTaylorCamp
Come and join us! Spouses, guests, BFFs, etc. are
always welcome. A nicer bunch of party animals you’ll
never meet !
Bring a white elephant gift if you’d
like to take part in the gift exchange.
Annual E. W. Taylor Camp Christmas Party
Thurs. Dec. 12, 2019, 6 p.m.
Catfish and Company Restaurant in Hurst
$50,000 cash bond filed in Dallas
Pioneer Cemetery Monument caseReturn Lee to Lee Park President, Warren Johnson, filed a $50,000 cash bond donated by citizens of
Dallas and Texas as required by the 5th Court of Appeals to maintain a Temporary Restraining Order
(TRO) ordered back in June.
The TRO prevents the City of Dallas from demolishing or removing the 120-year-old Pioneer
Cemetery Confederate War Memorial.
Return Lee had filed suit in a Dallas County Court to save both the Robert E. Lee Monument & the
Pioneer Cemetery Monument. The case was dismissed last Spring by Judge Eric Moye and appealed
by Return Lee to the 5th Court of Appeals in Dallas, who issued the TRO to protect the Pioneer City
Monument - the Lee Statue had already been sold & moved.
Dallas had insisted on a $500,000 bond to be imposed on Return Lee if the TRO was granted - the
court imposed a much lesser amount, $50,000 and Dallas then asked that it be raised to $150,000.
"The problem for us in getting a bond issued even at the lesser amount of $50,000 was that if we did
not win the appeal, we would have to pay up to
the full $50,000 to Dallas. No one in our
citizen’s group could afford to do that," said
Return Lee President Warren Johnson.
"We had 30 days to raise the bond money,"
said Dallas businessman Chris Carter (plaintiff
in a related Dallas Monument case against the
city) “and the people of Dallas and Texas gener-
ously responded," Carter added. We thought we
wouldn't be able to raise it in time but miracu-
lously a large last-minute donation put us
over the top and we will file the money with
the county court clerk," Carter added.
"THANK YOU, THANK YOU, People of
Dallas and Texas, that you think enough of your
cultural, artistic and historical heritage that you
would help us save this priceless monument to
our veteran war dead!"
Return Lee to Lee Park is a non-profit, tax
deductible (501c3) and charitable Texas Corp-
oration that seeks to preserve and protect the
historical art and monuments of Dallas.
This should protect the Pioneer Cemetery Confederate
War Memorial through the Appeals process. Should we
prevail the money will be returned.
The importance of this money being raised is that, unlike
other bonds that guarantee a court appearance, this bond is
for Dallas' (so-called) "damages" should we not prevail. In
that case up to $50K would be handed over to Dallas.
The Patriots who donated to the bond understood this
risk and they deserve the thanks of the Confederate/Heri-
tage Community and all normal Americans [well-put]
Confederate statue "Silent Sam" to remain
off UNC campus under legal settlement
A torn-down Confederate monument named
“Silent Sam” won't be allowed to return to
the University of North Carolina -Chapel Hill.
and must be surrendered to a group of
Confederate descendants, according to a legal
agreement announced Wednesday. In the
agreement the North Carolina Division of Sons
of Confederate Veterans (SCV) will own all
rights, title and interests in the monument,
CBS Raleigh affiliate WNCN-TV reports.
R. Kevin Stone, commander of the SCV's
North Carolina division, issued a statement to
The Associated Press that said the group was
happy to secure ownership of the statue.
"We have been involved in ongoing
negotiations and collaboration to achieve this
outcome and we believe it is a fair result," he
said.
Thanks to Compatriot Clay Fitzhugh for
sharing this link with us. You may read the
entire article at
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/silent-
sam-statue-unc-chapel-hill-university-
of-north-carolina-legal-settlement-sons-
of-confederate-vets-2019-11-27/
“What need of question now, whether
he was wrong or right? He wields no
warlike weapons now, returns no foeman’s
thrust. Who but a coward would revile an
honest soldier’s dust?” From a mother’s elegy in “A Georgia Volunteer,”
by Mary Ashley Townsend.
“The Alabama Supreme Court
upheld a state law protecting Confed-
erate monuments on Wednesday, or-
dering the city of Birmingham to re-
move panels it had placed in front of
one.
The all-Republican court ruled in
favor of the state, which had sued the
majority-black city council for
placing plywood panels that blocked
the inscriptions on a 52-foot tall
obelisk for its Confederate
veterans, ABC News reported.
The justices reversed a circuit
judge’s ruling striking down the law
and ordered the judge to fine the city
$25,000…”
Alabama Supreme Court upholds law
protecting Confederate monuments
https://thehill.com/regulation/court
-battles/472393-alabama-supreme-
court-upholds-law-protecting-
confederate-monuments
Thanks to Compatriot Clay Fitzhugh
for sharing this welcome news with us!
Go to the link below to read the entire
article.
A court victory in Virginia
In Virginia, a Louisa County judge denied a motion in a murder case to remove a portrait
of Robert E. Lee from the Louisa County Circuit Court House. Attorneys for Darcel
Murphy, who faces the possibility of the death penalty if he is convicted for the murder of
Kevin Robinson in March 2016, had argued that the portrait of the Confederate general in
the courtroom could influence jurors during Murphy’s trial.
Murphy is African American, as was Robinson. The display of Confederate symbols
“violate the defendant’s right to equal protection under the law,” lead attorney Douglas
Ramseur wrote in his 2018 motion to remove the portrait. “There is no greater offense to the
Equal Protection Clause [of the Constitution] than government favoritism of one race over
another.”
[Judge] Sanner agreed that the Lee portrait is much larger than any other portrait in the
courtroom. But he described the image of Lee in his uniform, standing in front of a tree, as
“benign.”
“The concern of the defendant in this case is really not what this portrait depicts, but who
it depicts,” he wrote. “Setting aside its subject, the portrait does not compromise the fair
administration of justice.” [Timothy K. Sanner is a circuit court judge for the 16th Circuit
in Virginia].
The judge said, referring to slavery, that “those who played an active role in defending
the indefensible face substantial difficulty in escaping the harsh judgment of history.”
But he also noted that many people admire “the real or perceived qualities of General Lee.”
He noted that Lee is one of the few individuals to have a state holiday observed in their
honor.
“It is difficult for the Court to accept that nothing other than the implied original and
continuing racism of the Virginia General Assembly supports that distinction,” Sanner
wrote.
Thanks to the Virginia Flaggers for letting us know about this important decision in favor
of reason and common sense.
Judge Sanner
Veterans Day participants got to experience a true
Texas historical happening…a Blue Norther
Just as the weatherman
promised, a no-kiddin’ cold front
swept across Fort Worth as we
waited for the parade to begin.
Four Taylor SCV men were
there…James Alderman and Mike
Patterson standing in the trailer at
left, Ron Turner in the trailer at
right and Bob Gresham standing
on the ground at right. Ron and
Bob were in their Revolutionary
uniforms. Compatriot Steve
Parnell of the SCV camp at
Midland joined us, as did his
granddaughter, Carmyn Parnell.
Carmyn, shown above with her grandpa, took
the weather like a real trooper. The wind whistling
through the skyscraper canyons downtown was
hard to believe. Parade participants outnumbered
spectators.
Taylor Campers at Massing of the
Colors in Fort Worth on Nov. 10Once again this year our camp
had a presence at the annual Massing
of the Colors, sponsored by the local
group of the Military Order of the
World Wars.
This impressive ceremony
highlights the patriotism and sacrifice
Americans have given to our country
across the years.
Two of our members at left were
dressed in Revolutionary uniforms, in
recognition of their membership in
the Sons of the American Revolution:
Bobby Gresham and Ron Turner. A
third SCV member there who’s also
in both organizations is our adjutant,
James Alderman, who took the
photos. He is not shown here.
We had two men
in Confederate uni-
form…your editor at
lower left with the
deer-in-the-headlights
stare; and the normal-
looking person at
right is Compatriot
Steve Parnell, a friend
of ours who is a
member of the Dunn-
Holt - Midkiff SCV
#1441 Camp, based at
Midland.
Final Score: Installers 7, Casualties 0
The installers were Rich McCook (hand on rock), David Stewart
(checked shirt), Mike Edwards (red jacket), Mike Patterson (on the
ground) and our friend from church Andrew Hull (red toboggan).
Marilyn Patterson drove the rock to town and took the pictures. James
Myrick, president of the cemetery association, came to unlock the
gate and verify the grave site. By far the biggest rock we’ve ever set.
At right, Compatriot Mike Andrews and our church friend,
Andrew Hull, getting ready to set the marker for Nat Terry, Jr.
Andrew got the 125-pound stone out of the pickup and walked it to
the grave with no problems.
We did some careful calculations on the bigger stone and our best
guess is it weighs about 614 pounds.
As always, our thanks to Matt and Ryan Worthington and their
staff for making our marker program possible.
Nat Terry install, cont.
Neither Brig. Gen.
Nathaniel Terry (died in
1872) nor any of his
immediate family members
buried in Pioneer’s Rest
had ever gotten grave
markers.
At the same time we
also installed a marker
for Nat Terry Jr., who
was dead by 1870. He
served in the Confed-
erate Army in the 7th
Texas Cavalry.
Nathaniel Terry Sr. and Jr. stones dedicated
at Pioneer’s Rest on November 16Perfect weather and a nice crowd of interested folks.
Above: At left is James Myrick, President of the Pioneer’s Rest Cemetery Association.
The Color Guard for the day was made up of four men: Daniel Nation of the Lee
Camp holding the U. S. flag; Ryan Crain of the Lee Camp holding the First National
Confederate flag, David Hawkins of the Lee Camp holding the Texas flag, and Bill
Carrell of the Griffin Camp holding the Confederate Battle flag.
The three-man musket squad was made up of Mike Patterson (center of tree trunk),
Steve Parnell to his left, and Rich McCook, on the right end in this photo. Compatriot
Parnell is a member of the Dunn-Holt-Midkiff
SCV Camp 1441 of Midland, Texas. McCook
and Patterson are members of the Taylor Camp.
Diane Dyess (right) of the Julia Jackson United
Daughters of the Confederacy #141 placed a red
rose on each of the two graves we marked that
day. Diane is also a member of the Parson’s
Rose Chapter #9 of the Order of the Confederate
Rose.
Photos by
Ervin
Hauk
Terry marker dedications, cont.
Photos by Ervin Hauk
Terry marker dedications, cont.
Our thanks to Ervin Hauk of the Tarrant County Historical
Commission for the many excellent photos he sent us of this
occasion. He is also a member of the Pioneer’s Rest Cemetery
Association. He is at the extreme right in the photo below. We
regret that we could not run more of them.
We’re running the group photo in two parts, because we want to be
able to recognize everyone who made the effort to be there. The
gentleman on the left end is James Myrick, and the lady in the large
purple skirt is Debra Lochtrog. Kelly Miller is beside the tree,
beside Mike Patterson. Next is Steve Parnell. The three ladies in
front of the two men with flags are Nancy Hood, Keri-Dawn
Powers, and Diane Dyess. The two gentlemen with the flags are
Daniel Nation and Ryan Crain. All the ladies are UDC members.
Terry Dedications,
cont...
Terry Dedications,
cont.
The two gentlemen with the flags are David Hawkins and Bill Carrell.
The next two gentlemen are a father (Rocco) and his son who were just
walking by and stopped to see what was happening. They liked us enough
they stayed to have their photo taken with us. The lady in the brown suit is
Cecelia Van Doselaar (UDC), and behind and to the right of her is Rick
McCook. Beside Cecelia in the purple dress are Sheila Randolph (UDC) and
Stephanie Lane. Behind and between Sheila and Stephanie is Sonja Starnes
(UDC). The gentleman on the end is our talented photographer, Ervin Hauk.
Our apologies for not recognizing the oldest
We failed to recognize this important “guest” who was there at the founding of Fort
Worth, and who stood tall only a few feet away when Nat Terry was buried in 1872.
In 1922 Howard Peak (1856-1939), himself a
native son of one of Fort Worth’s pre-eminent
Confederate founders, wrote a valuable series of
articles published in the Fort Worth Star-
Telegram. The last one, which appeared on
October 15, mentions not only Nat Terry but this
particular post oak, too.
Howard W. Peak
“attendee” at Terry dedication service Nov. 16
Another hat being retired
Back at the October 2018 camp
meeting, I announced that I’d continue to
edit the newsletter through the December
2019 issue. Then it would be time to let
someone else take it.
In late 2010 I volunteered to take this
job because I wanted our camp to have
the best newsletter in the SCV. We may
not have attained that goal, but now we
to the ol’ hatrack
do have the different-est. I read many years ago that casual readers often
skip pages of only-text, so I stayed away from those when possible.
In the last year my part-time job has morphed into a full-time monster,
including many hours each week off the clock as well. I can’t see it
thunder, and I’m as deaf as a bat, and that doesn’t help. Happily, there
may be some help for the eyes coming up in mid-December.
I will still do what I can to be active in our camp, and I urge you to do
the same. Find something you like to do and can be depended upon to do.
I’ll continue to be the chaplain if that’s what y’all want, and I’ll continue to
keep us an active marker campaign
going as far as I can arrange help and
transportation.
I’ll also pledge to get one or two
items with pictures each month to the
lucky guy who takes over the job. No
one expects the next man to develop
adult-onset OCD to keep it going like
it's been.
Thanks for all your help and words
of support all these years. And now, to
borrow a phrase from Gen. Douglas
MacArthur, “Old editors never die,
they just…fade…away.”
…and another hat being put on an
already-busy head.
Our current SCV Camp
Commander, Ron Turner,
has been named President-
Elect of the Major K. M.
Van Zandt Chapter #6 of
the Sons of the American
Revolution, headquartered
in Fort Worth. Ron is
pictured at right holding
the flags at the Massing of
the Colors held November
10 in Fort Worth. That’s
our man Bob Gresham
beside him.
We met Ron several years ago at the historic Bear Creek
Cemetery in Euless when we did a program for their
association. The program dealt with the Confederates buried
in their cemetery. Ron was interested and intrigued and in
short order had joined our SCV camp. He’s also a member
of the cemetery association and of the General Society of the
War of 1812. Photo above left by James Alderman.
Two of the Taylor Camp’s most active
and talented members are also members
of the Frontier Brigade Band.
They are identified above. Although we most often see them in their roles as Civil War-
era musicians, they do other styles, including the Brass Connection including Kliene
Grenze Kapelle (which is “Frontier Brigade Band in German) (German music) in which
style they’ll also be appearing in this area in the near future.
Treat yourself ! You won’t regret it !
Terry
Theiss
Richard
McCook
Friday, Dec. 13 @ 7pm - Martin United Methodist Church
in Bedford. Brass Connection Christmas Concert.
Friday, Dec. 20 @ 6pm - Dallas Arboretum.
Brass Connection Christmas music.
Presentation by Dr. Jennifer Murray, Historian - Oklahoma State University
UNT Health Science Center, MET Building, Room 124, 1000 Montgomery Street, Fort Worth, TX
76107 Dinner: 6PM Program Starts at: 7PM
(Menu: Chicken Piccata with Julienne Vegetables, Roasted New Potatoes, Garden Salad and Desserts,
Cost: $13, RSVP to [email protected] or by calling or texting 817-307-9263)
The Fort Worth Civil War Roundtable to feature
Presentation on General Meade
Dec. 10,
2019
General
George
Gordon
Meade
George Gordon Meade - great general? Grant's puppet? Was the Union victory at Gettysburg
because of his tactical genius or was he just lucky? Did he miss the opportunity to destroy Lee's
Army by not pursuing his foe after the battle or did he make the right decision to rest and regroup his
exhausted army? Why has Meade never received the recognition for heading the Army of the
Potomac from Gettysburg to the end at Appomattox? Bad PR? Sheridan? Personality? These and
many more questions will be answered by Dr. Jennifer Murray in her presentation.
Dr. Murray is an Assistant Professor at Oklahoma State University. She is the author of numerous
articles and the book On a Great Battlefield: The Making, Management, and Memory of Gettysburg
National Military Park, 1933-2013 This book on the Crown Jewel of the NPS is based on her
extensive research and her experience serving nine summers at the Park. It will be available for
purchase and signing at the meeting.
Two more
new road-
side flags in
Virginia
Read all about
them and more
at
http://vaflaggers.
blogspot.com/
Our sincerest thanks to:…Compatriot Steve Parnell of the Dunn-Holt-Midkiff SCV Camp 1441 of
Midland, Texas for helping in several of our activities this month. Thanks, too, to his
granddaughter, Carmyn Parnell.
… Ervin Hauk of the Tarrant County Historical Commission who took
and shared several photos of the Terry marker dedications in Pioneer’s Rest.
…James Myrick, President of the Pioneer’s Rest Cemetery Association,
who opened the gate for us on two Saturdays in connection with the Terry markers.
…the members of the Taylor Camp who took part in the Massing of the
Colors: Ron Turner, James Alderman, Bob Gresham, Mike Patterson…and Steve
Parnell, too. Dana Gresham lent her moral support.
….the same Taylor men as above who rode in the 2019 Fort Worth
Veterans Day Parade. Steve and Carmyn Parnell, too. Dana Gresham was there to
soak up some of the cold, too. Ron Turner’s wife, Jan, drove the truck pulling the trailer.
…the Taylor men who helped us install the Terry stones at Pioneer’s Rest
in October: Mike Edwards, Rich McCook, David Stewart, and Mike Patterson.
Marilyn Patterson drove the rocks and tools to town and took the photos. Andrew
Hull, a friend from the Bedford Church of Christ, went along to help with the heavy
lifting.
…Terry Theiss and Rich McCook who continue to represent us so well as
members of the Frontier Brigade Band.
…the SCV men who formed the color guard at Pioneer’s Rest: Daniel
Nation, Ryan Crain, and David Hawkins of the Lee Camp; and Bill Carrell of the
Griffin Camp.
…the SCV men who formed the musket squad at Pioneer’s Rest: Rich
McCook and Mike Patterson of the Taylor Camp and Steve Parnell of the Dunn-Holt-
Midkiff Camp.
…all the ladies of the UDC who helped us at Pioneer’s Rest. They are
identified in the photographs. Thanks especially to Diane Dyess and Sheila Randolph
who did lots of the legwork and politicking.
December’s Puzzle
Go to the URL shown above. You’ll find the puzzle in the shape the last
person there left it.
Click on “Play As” near the top of the page , then move the slider down to
180.
Click on “Start a New Game.” It seems to help this puzzler to change the
background color from time to time. Taking a break helps, too.
If you have any trouble getting these puzzles to work please email
When you’re there, click on the icon at lower right and take it to full-
screen. It’ll give you more room to work and will make the pieces bigger.
https://www.jigsawplanet.com/?rc=play&pid=3f09ffa347a1&pieces=180
The Angel of Marye’s Heights,
by Don Stivers (1926-2009)
"To you, Sons of Confederate
Veterans, we will commit the
vindication of the cause for which
we fought. To your strength will be
given the defense of the
Confederate soldier's good name,
the guardianship of his history,
the emulation of his virtues, the
perpetuation of those principles
which he loved and which you
love also, and those ideals which
made him glorious and which you
also cherish. Remember, it is your
duty to see that the true history of
the South is presented to future
generations.”
CSA General Stephen Dill Lee