Minutes, John Hunt Morgan Camp 1342, July 21, 2012

1. Meeting was held at South Park Country Club at 10:30, with 19 people in attendance. The following members and were in attendance: David Harbolt, Harold Sneed, Jim Hicks, Danny Davis, Noble Roberts, Bennett Young, Gene Wood, David High, Bob Strange, Bill Cherry, Bill Hayes, Nick Shacklette, Robert Arnold, Bill Trent, and Ike Smith. The following guests were in attendance: Alice and Dale Bratcher, John English, and Nancy Hitt.
2. Invocation was given by Bill Hayes, and Danny Davis led the camp in the Pledge of Allegiance and salute to the CSA flag.
3. Gene Wood gave a synopsis of events and happenings at the National Reunion in Murfreesboro, Tn.
4. Nancy Hitt gave a summary of several events in Europe relating to the CSA. The 290 Foundation will be celebrating on August 26th . Here is a link to a website describing the 290 Foundation: https://sites.google.com/site/290foundation/home-1 Here is another link to a site that describes the purchase and outfitting of the CSS Alabama: http://www.csa-dixie.com/liverpool_dixie/alabama.htm Nancy also gave info on the Nicola Marschall exhibit this fall in Germany.
5. There will be a lady from England arriving in Louisville sometime around August 21st. This woman has a descendant who was a Confederate soldier who is buried in the Cave Hill National Cemetery. Hopefully, when she arrives and desires to visit her ancestor’s grave, Morgan camp members can be in Cave Hill to greet her. Nancy Hitt will have more details in the future.
6. Alice Bratcher and John English were introduced as members of the Orphan Brigade Kinfolk Association. In 2013 they would like to join their annual meeting with the Confederate Memorial Day service at Pewee Valley. In 1913 the Orphan Brigade held its reunion at the Confederate Home in Pewee Valley. A motion was brought before the floor, seconded, and approved to coordinate this event along with UDC activity in 2013. The two possible dates for the event would be Saturday, June 1st, or Saturday Jun 8th.
7. Commander Davis would like to host an informal “Commander’s Luncheon” on Friday, August 10th at noon at O’Charley’s Restaurant in the Springs Shopping Center on Breckenridge lane. All are welcome for fellowship and lunch. Lunch will be at each member’s expense.
8. Bob Strange was presented with his “Friends of the SCV” membership plaque. Currently, Bob has researched his ancestors with the help of Bill Cherry and is in the process of becoming a full member of the SCV.
9. Benediction was given by Bill Hayes and meeting dismissed.

Wm. M. Hayes
Adjutant

Lt. Bennett H. Young's Medal of Honor Finds a Home

Congratulations are in order for Past Commander, John Suttles, and the members of the General Lloyd Tilghman SCV Camp #1495 and the Mechanized Cavalry who sponsored the framing and mounting of the Confederate Medal of Honor for Lieutenant Bennett Henderson Young.

These sons of Confederate veterans gave of their time and money to honor a Kentucky Confederate soldier who was not a native of their own town as SCV Camp #1495 is located in Paducah, Kentucky, while Lieutenant Young was born in Nicholasville and lived much of his life in Louisville, Kentucky.

Some of you may be aware that Lieutenant Young was selected many years ago by the SCV Medal of Honor Committee to receive a Confederate Medal of Honor. His medal was presented to the Military Museum in Frankfort, Kentucky, and it has disappeared or political correctness got a hold of it.

John Suttles wasted no time after he was informed of details about the missing medal. Due to his efforts, southerners can be confident that the Lieutenant Young Medal of Honor will be preserved for posterity.

The medal is on display at the SCV-owned General Lloyd Tilghman Home Museum, 631 Kentucky Avenue, Paducah, Kentucky 42003. The museum hours are Wednesday through Saturday from noon until 4 p.m. except during winter months. The museum telephone number is (270) 575-5477.

Make plans for a day trip to western Kentucky and enjoy the museum artifacts and view the photograph of Lt. Bennett Young and his shiny Medal of Honor. This medal is newly designed and truly a delight to the eyes. Paducah is a town that has a lot to be proud of and is well worth a day of sightseeing. Don’t miss a drive down to the river front plaza and the marvelous flood wall murals.

Again, “thanks” to John and Camp #1495 for an outstanding accomplishment by establishing a permanent place for the only Kentucky recipient’s SCV-recognized Confederate Medal of Honor.

Nancy Hitt

Confederate Heritage Projects in England

Our dear friends in England and Europe are working hard to locate the graves of our Confederates and their families. Many thanks are due to Bob Jones of Liverpool for this valuable addition to our history. Bob and others have blazed a Confederate Heritage Trail across that great city, home of the CSS Alabama. Like all of us, these folks study, record and even fight for our flag in England, all with only a "thank you" as their reward. Unfortunately, even the British have become bigoted against our flag, as I have learned from our friends in England.  

Nancy Hitt

Below are excerpts from Bob Jones' e-mails:

Did I ever mention to you that the grave of the first wife of Captain John Low, CSN, was located last year by John Hussey?  It seems that everyone thought that she had died in Savannah in 1864, but I have a copy of her death certificate and she died in 6 Elizabeth Street with John Low in attendance.  It would appear that she had read in the papers of the sinking of the CSS Alabama on 19 June 1864, and she knew her husband was on that vessel from the time she sailed out of the river Mersey.  She was not, however, aware of the fact hat he had been put in command of the CSS Tuscaloosa until she was later seized by the authorities in South Africa.  John returned eventually to England but in her haste to find out what had happened to him, she immediately ran the blockade to get to Liverpool.  Low was not listed on any of the reports of those killed, drowned, missing or injured and in hospital, or those rescued.  She must have been frantic with worry, and on arriving in Liverpool she would have made straight for the offices in Rumford Place, where she would have probably met John standing large as life.

. . . 

As I say she was living at 6 Elizabeth Street which is at the junction of Pembroke Street and Crown Street which is at the back of the New Royal Hospital in Liverpool.  Mary Elizabeth Low died 20 November 1864, having arrived in Liverpool in early August 1864.  I have attached the death certificate to show the cause of death.

Credit for finding Mary Elizabeth's grave must go to John Hussey, as he was looking for the grave of a British sea captain and noticed this grave of Mary Low and took a photo of it for me.  He was on Radio Merseyside his morning talking about his book Cruisers, Cotton and Confederates.  John did a lot of hard work on the graves of Irvine Stephens and James Dunwoody Bulloch prior to the re-dedication of Irvin's grave last 18 July.

I have added some shots of John  placing a Georgia flag on the Wyly children's grave, sitting in the Liver Hotel under the Battle flag on the wall and with other items linking this establishment with the Confederacy, and working hard to plant the Southern Cross of Honour to the Bulloch Brothers as well as helping to clean up James' headstone. The blue primulas were planted on Mary Low's grave by John last year, and they have survived the harsh winter and flowered this year.

Kentucky Bloodletting (DVD)

I have made a two part DVD of about 2.5 hours in length, covering the 1864 and 1865 reprisal executions that took place in Kentucky under the direction of Union General Stephen Gano Burbridge and his inhuman Order No. 59. This order directed the lives of four innocent Confederate prisoners of war to be executed at the site of any murder of a Union civilian. These reprisal executions took place across the state of Kentucky.

In this DVD, I have documented many of the executions and burial sites of those Confederate martyrs. I made use of research out of the book entitled, The Atonement of John Brooks, by James Head and Stewart Cruickshank.

The title of my DVD is Kentucky Bloodletting. It sells for $15, which includes postage. I did the video work on my own. (I hope you will not expect an award-winning Hollywood production!)

Thank you,

Nancy Hitt

hunleyhitt@earthlink.net

(Note: Contact Nancy at the address above for ordering instructions.)