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The Telegraph Key - .... / - . .-.. --. .-. .- .--. .... / -.- . -.-- OFFICIAL DISPATCH FOR THE MAJOR THOMAS J. KEY CAMP #1920 KANSAS DIVISION, SCV • JOHNSON COUNTY, KANSAS VOL. 18, NO. 10 October 2017 The Commander’s Corner Thomas J. Key Camp Commander, Jim Thornton Should you take a vacation or road trip through Virginia and are anywhere near Lexington, Virginia, I would like to suggest a tourist attraction that should not be missed or skipped over. This is the Stonewall Jackson House. My wife and I recently took a lengthy vacation and drive through Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia as we made our way to visit my wife’s brother and his family. One of our goals was to drive the entire 106 mile length of Skyline Drive through the Shenandoah Valley and National Park. On our way, our Google Trip Advisor suggested the Stonewall Jackson House in Lexington, Virginia. Wow, was it worth the time. I received quite an education on the man. While we are all very familiar with his life, accomplishments, and tragic death during the war, how many of us really know the man behind the soldier? At this historic site, special emphasis is placed upon Jackson's life as a professor, church leader, businessman, husband, and community leader during the decade that he lived in Lexington and taught at Virginia Military Institute before the War for Southern Independence. The house, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is furnished with period pieces, including many of Jackson's personal possessions, and is open to the public for guided tours of the period rooms. The house is owned and operated by Virginia Military Institute. Jackson and his second wife, Mary Anna Morrison, lived in the brick and stone house before the war. Thomas Jonathan Jackson lived in Lexington from 1851-1861, while he was a professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy and an instructor of artillery tactics at Virginia Military Institute. Jackson and his wife, Anna, as she was called, purchased their home on Washington Street in 1858. The two settled in and made a home for themselves. Jackson enjoyed caring for his own home and cultivating the kitchen garden located behind the house. Apparently, from what I learned on the tour, Jackson was quite the gardener and often invited his visitors to walk through his vegetable gardens and discuss his gardening techniques. Religion, devotion to God, and education were paramount to Jackson. It was his belief that an education should be tailored to an individual student’s interests and talents. In an 1858 letter to his sister on display at the home and museum, Jackson wrote, “I regard it as a great error to require a child to study what his mind is not capable [1] of appreciating. The tendency is to diminish his fondness for study; to give him a vague way of thinking, since he is not accustomed to see the precise point; and by overtasking the mind, his health both of body and mind are endangered.” What a philosopher this man was. You cannot know Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson without learning about his life before the war. Discover the true man who became a military legend. The Stonewall Jackson House in Lexington, Virginia is the only home Confederate General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson ever owned. Take time to visit sometime. You will not be disappointed and you will come away admiring the man even more. I did. Deo Vindice! Your Commander, Jim Thornton The Telegraph Key The Telegraph Key is a newsletter published for the Major Thomas Key Camp #1920 of the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV). The SCV is a non-profit organization with a patriotic, historical, and genealogical orientation and is not affiliated with any other organization. Opinions in this newsletter reflect the views of the writers and are not necessarily a statement of the views of the SCV, the Kansas Division, the Kansas Brigades, nor any other camp. Comments and articles are solicited. Key Camp Website Resources Key Camp: www.MajorKey1920ksscv.org SCV National: www.SCV.org Kansas Division: http://www.ksscv.org/ Key Camp Officers COMMANDER 1ST LT. COMMANDER 2ND LT. COMMANDER Jim Thornton John Weir Scott Lalumondier ADJUTANT CHAPLAIN NEWSLETTER EDITOR Steve Crawford Carl Linck Garrett Hayden The Key Camp will meet on Thursday, November 2nd, at Zarda Bar B-Q on the southwest corner of 87th and Quivira in Lenexa, Kansas at 6 p.m. for dinner and conversation, with the official meeting at 7 p.m. Our featured speaker for the evening will be Compatriot Lane Smith who will be providing us a presentation on “States Rights”. Join us for camaraderie, dinner, and education. As always, your wife or significant other is welcome. Don’t forget to bring a prospective recruit! [2] LETTER FROM THE EDITOR By Garrett Hayden With it nearly being Halloween, I find myself thinking about the fun thrills and frightening things that are supposed to accompany this holiday. The symbols we see that should be macabre and unsettling have become cartoonish and a source of joy. The witches that used to be so greatly feared, they were sought out and many were put to death on just the suspicion of practicing witchcraft. The vampires, ghosts, and skeletons that represented our fear of the undead, are now silly shadows of their former selves, displayed in windows and used to sell candy. This is an example of how symbols and their meanings can change. What was once a symbol of fear, hate, and evil are now celebrated as things that bring joy and happiness. Today’s society relies more heavily on symbols now than it ever has in the past; whether it be traffic lights, brand logos, or even the power button on the technology we use, symbols are everywhere, and all contain greater meaning than words could concisely convey. For us in The Sons of Confederate Veterans, these symbols are that of The Confederate States of America. As you know, these symbols instill in us a sense of pride, devotion, and duty to the honor, ideals, and morals that our ancestors fought and died for. Unfortunately, this is not the case for many in the rest of society. To many, our symbols are seen the same way as the witches and undead were. They see these symbols, and us by extension, as evil, hateful, and malevolent entities. They believe, and would have others believe, that we are at best misguided and fighting for oppression. They see us as hateful because of the myth that our ancestors fought for the sole purpose of keeping and mistreating slaves, and that we honor them because of these beliefs. They perceive our intent as malice, expecting us to strive for a world that punishes and condemns any values that are different to ours. In many ways, the symbols we hold in such high regard have become the modern day boogeyman. People live in fear of these symbols and the people who rally beneath them, believing them to be heartless monsters. But this makes sense, people fear the unknown, and they fear what they don’t understand. For generations now, there has been a fixed narrative of the Civil War, and why it was fought. Along with this narrative has been the representation of the characters in the narrative, with the idea of the “noble” North and the “wicked” South. This leaves the average person with a skewed and incomplete version of events. What’s worse is that ignorant people with false senses of entitlement have hijacked our symbols to spread hate and discord, and rather than condemn and educate the populace of the actual meaning and history our symbols, many people, including the media often conflates all who associate with The Confederacy into one group. This is just one of the struggles that we face today, but in many ways, it is the largest. I know that none of what I said was new information to any of you, but I bring up the parallel between our symbols and those of Halloween in order to help make sense of how we can change what our symbols mean and show that it has happened before, though in our case it won’t be to make our symbols silly cartoon mockeries, but to restore them to the standing of respect they deserve in the eyes of society. That being said, how are we supposed to do this? The solution is simple, but definitely not easy. Like the witches of old, it’s the ignorance of the people that causes the fear. The unwillingness to accept something that is new, outside of their beliefs, and different to what they have been taught as common knowledge, makes it easy for them to reject it and lay the blame for the shortcomings of society at its feet. We already do a lot to educate and attempt to change the perception of us and our ancestors, but it seems that every time we make progress, a group brandishing our symbols comes out to prove the media and the ignorant correct. So we must go one step further and take control of our symbols and how they are used. Condemn the hate groups for using the symbols of our ancestors to rally for their cause. Without this change of perception, and our loud opposition to the misuse of our symbols, the change in society [3] can never happen. When we stay silent when a group, such as the Aryan Nations, defiles the Battle Flag, it makes it much easier for people to generalize. Society needs to be enlightened to the truth. Many will fight it, but the change will come, albeit slowly.