From the Commanders Tent

Charles Durnette <ardivscv@gmail.com>

Gentlemen:

Most of the past few months the men of the Arkansas Division have spent their time conducting memorials and graveside ceremonies. Including, in Mena, a joint ceremony celebrating one of the ancestors of Lt. Commander H. G. Manning, of the Texas Division (Private Robert Edwards). Both of the Arkansas’ Brigade Commanders attended, and they met with four prospective recruits living in the Mena area.

The Cleburne Camp in Pine Bluff held its annual weekend at White Sulpher Springs Cemetery. This cemetery dates back to the end of the war and has been restored by the Camp and the United Daughters of the Confederacy. They have replaced many of the head stones over the years.

An effort is being made to reactivate the Arkansas Society of the Order of the Confederate Rose. The reactivation will begin with the Eliza Davis Currie Chapter #2, of the OCR which will be associated with the Patrick R. Cleburne Camp # 1433 of the Sons of Confederate Veterans located in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Members are being recruited, and the Chapter is looking for anyone, over the age of 10, interested in Southern Heritage regardless of gender or race or background ancestry.

After more than three years of organizational meetings, land acquisition negotiations, and fund raising projects, the new “Confederate Soldiers Memorial Park” project is finally underway in Jonesboro. The project is being constructed on high profile private land belonging to Southern heritage groups. The planning and funding for the project is being handled by the Northeast Arkansas Southern Heritage Foundation. That organization has as its directors and officers, members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, the United Daughters of the Confederacy, and the Northeast Arkansas Civil War Heritage Trails Assoc.

Along that same line of thinking the Pvt. Job S. Niell Camp of Batesville is acquiring private land beside a major highway in north central Arkansas. The intention is to put up a large Battle Flag in full view of thousands of cars daily.

Members and former members of the Robert C. Newton Camp in Little Rock were instrumental in making the initial contacts and arraigning for an 1848, Cyrus Alger “6-pounder gun, light” to be returned to Arkansas. The gun known as a “Cadet” gun is now housed at the MacArthur Museum of Military History. Technically the gun is on loan from the National Park Service, but it will be here until they ask for it back.

SCV Camps in both Southern and Northern Brigades are in high demand in the fall and winter months. Uniformed southern gentlemen are invited to participate in the Tomato, Watermelon, Brick, and many other festivals in southern Arkansas and northern Louisiana. Living history is portrayed in the graveyards of the Northern Brigade. This does not include the other requests to march in Christmas parades.

As the Division loops into the New Year, the Robert Newton Camp and the David Dodd Camp sponsored the Annual David O. Dodd Memorial. 2007 is the 143rd anniversary of the hanging of the “Boy Hero of the Confederacy”. The event has been growing over the years to include more than fifty rifles and a color guard, with more than 100 spectators watching the ceremony. Media coverage is always positive and helps lead into the birthday celebrations for General Robert E. Lee. In the next few weeks, the UDC will sponsor Lee-Jackson-Maury celebrations. The SCV has been getting more involved with that, organization at all levels.

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Always Remember
Always Be Ready

Chas. Durnett
Commander
Arkansas Division
Sons of Confederate Veterans

P. O. Box 7281
Little Rock, Arkansas 72217
501-666-5157
ardivscv@gmail.com

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Arkansas Division

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