THE GALLEON NEWSLETTER OF THE
May 15, 2020 —- Volume 20 - No.5
THE CHAPTER’S MAY 2020 GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING IS CANCELLED DUE TO THE COVID-19 VIRUS PANDEMIC. WE HOPE EVERYONE IS FARING WELL DURING THIS TIME AND WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO POSSIBLY HAVING A LATE JULY OR EARLY AUGUST GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING.
Editor: Sarah McLevy, LTC (USA Ret) PO Box 4571, St Augustine, FL 32085 Email: [email protected] Chapter Officers: President: Gary List, LTC (USA Ret) 1st Vice President: Ken Russom, COL (USMC Ret) 2nd Vice President: Jerry Timoney, COL (USA Ret) Past President: Ron Birchall, LTC (USA Ret) Judge Advocate: George Linardos, CPT (USA Fmr) Secretary: Don Girvan, CPT (USA Fmr) Treasurer: Richard “Rick” Cozby, LTC (USA Ret) Chaplain: David Baker, CDR, (USN Ret)
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Due to the worldwide pandemic of the COVID-19 Virus Memorial Day Services at all Naonal Cemeteries ae can- There will be a Board of Directors celled. The Ancient City Chapter of the MOAA will offer an online presentaon Memorial through our website. Meeng, Monday, June 8, 2020. It will be held via Zoom. Submit any requests We are collecting stories by to Don Girvan at [email protected] and about military personnel. If you’d like to have your story or an article included in the Galleon, please email them to Sarah McLevy @ Join our Facebook page [email protected]
Your story can be long or short. It can cover an hps://www.facebook.com/ interesting event, or your entire life. You MOAAACC/ can write about yourself, or a friend, or relative that you would like to honor. Pictures are worth a thousand words so please share those as well. 1 Beware of COVID-19 Scams MOAA –ACC As always, we are here to help our members and their families as we face this unprecedented time. We aren’t Webpage publishing specifics, but we are offering assistance based on each member’s unique situation. Some options include loan modifications and advances, payment deferrals, and fee reimbursements. Please don’t hesitate to contact us. Click here to go to our web site for hours of operation and services available. A crisis like this brings out the best in people, but it also brings out scammers that have already created different ways to defraud you. Fake web sites, phone calls, email, and disinformation circulating social media are making the rounds. According to United States Attorney’s Office, the following are a list of COVID-19 scams to be aware of: • Treatment Scams: Fake cures, vaccines, and advice on unproven treatments. • Supply Scams: Fake shops, websites, social media accounts, and email addresses claiming to sell medical supplies currently in high demand, such as surgical masks. • Provider Scams: Contact by phone and email, pretending to be doctors and hospitals that have treated a friend or relative for COVID-19, and demanding payment for that treatment. • Charity Scams: Soliciting donations for individuals, groups, and areas affected by COVID-19. • Phishing Scams: Posing as national and global health authorities, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), scammers are sending phishing emails designed to trick you into downloading malware or providing personal identifying and financial information. • App Scams: Creating and manipulating mobile apps The first submarine was used by the designed to track the spread of COVID-19 to insert malware Army in the Revolutionary War that will compromise your devices and personal information. • Investment Scams: Offering online promotions on various The first documented submersible vehicle used in combat was the Turtle, during the American platforms, including social media, claiming that the products Revolutionary War, which was operated with or services of publicly traded companies can prevent, detect, hand controls and foot pedals. The Turtle was or cure COVID-19, and that the stock of these companies will used in a failed attempt to sink a British ship dramatically increase in value as a result. that was moored off Governors Island in New To learn more on how to combat and report these scams, go to York City. Visit this link to view documentary on https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus. We recommend that you the Turtle. always question when asked to buy or supply your financial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP6Tko399wUinformation. If it doesn’t seem right ... follow your instinct.
2 PRESIDENT’S CORNER
16 May: Armed Forces Day Dear Fellow Chapter Members, During this time of pandemic and quarantine, I 22 May: Birthday of NOAA (1917) hope that everyone is healthy and being safe. In some respects this has been a time of discov- ery, relaxation and catching up on projects 25 May: Memorial Day that I had delayed for years.
The Board has decided to cancel this month’s 27 May:- 1:30 MOAA Presents Program. Lunch preceding at Noon (RSVP) - tentatively NAVF dinner at the Yacht Club. We are considering Veterans Benefits having a dinner in June or July but will make that decision early next month. There are still so
many unknowns to risk getting our crowd to- 29 May: MOAA Florida Council State Annual gether that we are still waiting to see what hap- Convention (CANCELLED) pens next. 14 June: U.S. Army (USA) Birthday and As you may know, the Florida Council (FCOC) Flag Day has cancelled its 2020 Annual Convention at West Palm Beach. The FCOC Board conduct- ed a teleconference and voted unanimously to cancel the Convention in light of the pan- 15 June: MOAA-ACC General Meeting demic and in in order to protect our member- (CANCELLED) ship. MOAA National is asking us to send our elected 21 June: Father’s Day officials a MOAA-suggested message asking for a temporary waiver of TRICARE mail order phar- 4 July: Independence Day macy copays during the COVID –19 emergen- cy. Many military beneficiaries cannot access
their military treatment facility pharmacies due 13 July: MOAA-ACC General Meeting to installation access restrictions or social dis- (Date may be changed) tancing measures. Please act now to urge Congress to temporarily waive TRICARE mail order pharmacy copays to ensure impacted 16 July: United States Public Health Service military families do not face unexpected costs (USPHS) Birthday 1798 for their medications.
Go to moaafl.org and click on the “Take Action 28 July: National Parents Day Now” button. It will take you to the message, enter your name etc. and MOAA will send an 7 August: Purple Heart Day email to our two Senators and local Repre- sentative. 21 August: International Day of Remembrance Stay healthy and safe…to be continued…. Gary List, President
3 ST. AUGUSTINE HISTORY SCRAPBOOK By George Linardos, CPT-USA (Fmr)
The American Civil War In St. Augustine, Florida 1860 - 1865
During most of the American Civil War, St. Augustine was under Union control. Its Confederate history was remarkably brief. By October 1860 The St. Augustine Examiner declared: “We shall advocate with all the force God has given us the immediate formation of a separate confederacy of the cotton states. If that be secession or treason, make the most of it.”
Abraham Lincoln was elected President on November 6, 1860 (there was not a single vote for Lincoln in the entire state of Florida).
On January 7, 1861, at least 25 militiamen from Fernandina came to capture Fort Marion (Castillo de San Marcos), the coquina fort built by the Spanish between 1672 and 1695. The lone United States Army sergeant guarding the fort gave the Southerners the keys, but only after demanding a receipt. On January 10, 1861, Florida voted for secession from the Union. The St. Augustine Independent Blues (the local militia) along with a unit from Jacksonville were present when the Commander of the Blues, Major Benjamin A. Putnam, announced the decision for separation from the Union. The “Stars and Stripes” were lowered and the “National Flag of Florida” was raised over the state capitol.
When news reached St. Augustine on January 12, 1861 that Florida had seceded, the city celebrated with ceremonial flag raisings, church bells, and musket volleys, followed that night by a torchlight parade and bonfires. Tourists from the North filled hotels and boarding houses, while many St. Augustinians had Northern sympathies. The Examiner, proclaimed, “Anything that spoke against secession is treasonous”. Initial support for the war waned when taxes were increased for the war effort and revenues derived from the new tourist trade came to a standstill.
On August 18, 1861 the then famous Confederate privateer brig “Jeff Davis” was grounded on the bar outside St. Augustine harbor. It was piloted by the sometimes resident Captain Louis Mitchell Coxetter who was anointed the “John Paul Jones” of the Confederacy. On August 22, 1861 Commander Craven of the United States Navy noted the destruction or capture of the equipment of Florida lighthouses. St. Augustine’s light was dismantled by Paul Arnau, who with Maria De Los Delores Mestre, removed and hid the Fensnel lens before the Navy could take control of the lighthouse. The lens would be recovered after Arnau was held captive on a ship offshore. The lighthouse was not relit until 1867.
The Marion Artillery (St. Augustine Rifles) and various other units were stationed in town. The St. Augustine Blues left the city in early March 1862 numbering between eighty to a hundred men. As part of the Third Florida Regiment they participated in the Battle of Murfreesboro in Tennessee on July 13, 1862, and the Battle of Perryville in Kentucky on October 8, 1862. USS Mohican USS Wabash
The USS Wabash and USS Mohican entered the harbor on March 9,1862. Confederate forces, knowing they could not adequately defend the city, withdrew on March10th. Fort Marion and St. Augustine were seized by Union Marines and sailors landing unopposed on March 11, 1862. On March 18th Lt. J. W. A. Nicholson of the Isaac Smith entered the harbor with United States Marines under the command of Major Isaac T. Doughty followed a company of the Fourth New Hampshire. Three more companies of the Fourth arrived.
Unlike nearby Jacksonville, which had four separate control changes, the Confederates did not attempt to retake St. Augustine. Confederate general Robert E. Lee, well familiar with the area after having charted the coastline years before, said, “The city serves only as an invitation for an attack.” On April 12, 1862 Col. LuisBell, “.. finding a constant communication was kept up between the inhabitants of the city and the enemy, and that the members of the city government would not assist me in preventing it”, placed the city under martial law..” From early 1862 through the end of the war, hundreds of St. Augustine residents, mostly woman and their children, who refused to take the “Oath of Allegiance” to the United States were banished from the city to Jacksonville, usually via Lake City.
Union forces strengthened St. Augustine with troops from Connecticut and New York. A heavy presence of Union forces would remain through Reconstruction, and until the end of the Spanish- American War. They became an important part of the local economy and social life. Many Union soldiers settled permanently in St. Augustine and intermarried with local families. Several served as mayors of the city. Lieutenant Foster, a Union officer, married one Miss Sanchez, from a family of Confederate firebrands, and their son, General J. Clifford R. Foster, served as Adjutant General of Florida for most of the first quarter of the twentieth century.
The Seventh New Hampshire Volunteers’ historian wrote in his reports, “Living in St. Augustine was good for the health of his fellow soldiers and regretted when ordered to leave the city”. A benefit from the Union presence was Sam A. Cooley, an official photographer of the U.S. Army’s Department of the South. He undertook a major effort to take pictures of many of the city’s buildings, which proved valuable a century later when efforts were made to restore many of St. Augustine’s historic buildings.
On January 1, 1863, Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation came into effect for slaves in areas still under Confederate control. A bell and marker on the grounds of Old St. Augustine Village celebrates the event, and for many generations, Emancipation Day, on January 1, was a major celebration in the black community.
Skirmishes, sometimes very deadly, constantly erupted around the city. Most notable on March 9, 1863, when 80 Confederate horsemen attacked an advanced picket guard just north of St. Augustine. They were driven off by 120 men from the Seventh New Hampshire Volunteers.
By General Orders - No 91, Department of the South Headquarters in the Field, Folly Island, South Carolina on October 19, 1863 a convalescent camp and barracks was to be established at St. Augustine, Florida, “..where hereafter all sick and convalescent officers and soldiers, requiring a change of climate to save life or prevent permanent disability will be sent.” The convalescent hospital at Saint Augustine, when completed was intended to meet all demands of sanitary law, with no heavy expenses. As the Union army of occupation advance toward Middle Florida there will be an easy and quick communications with the delightful seaside of the old Spanish colony.
On April 11, 1865 Abraham Lincoln closed numerous southern ports, including St. Augustine, to all right of importation, warehousing, and other privileges. Any ship or vessel from beyond the United States or having on board any articles subject to duties that shall attempt to enter any such port, the same, together with its tackle, apparel, furniture, and cargo, shall be forfeited to the United States.
The St. Augustine Blues long four-year struggle ended on April 26, 1865 when General Joseph Johnston surrendered to General Sherman near Greensboro, North Carolina. At least 17 Blues died during the war, scores more were wounded, captured, or discharged for disability. Approximately 120 men served in the unit, but only 8 surrendered with the company in 1865.
Union General Edmund J. Davis, born in St. Augustine, moved to Galveston, Texas as a child. After the war began, he crossed over to Mexico where he raised the 1st Texas Cavalry (USA), served as its colonel, and was later promoted to Brigadier General of U.S. Volunteers. Confederate General, Edmund Kirby Smith, was also born in the “Ancient City”. Many officers on both sides, including Union General William T. Sherman and Confederate General Braxton Bragg, were either stationed or had previous military experience in St. Augustine.
Many black Union soldiers came from St. Augustine, or settled after the war, inhabiting the area known as Lincolnville, that was established in 1866. Many of the city’s old cemeteries feature distinctive marble tombstones marked “USCT” (United States Colored Troops).
For many decades after the war, St. Augustine had two chapters of the Grand Army of the Republic, one black and one white. In the Flagler era, two prominent Union generals, John McAllister Schofield and Martin D. Hardin retired, in succession, to the same house at 20 Valencia Street. Saved by public protest from a demolition attempt by Flagler College in the 1980s, the building has come to be known as “The Union Generals House.” Hardin, a proté gé of Abraham Lincoln, was one of the last surviving generals on either side when he died in St. Augustine on December 12, 1923. He is buried at the U.S. National Cemetery on Marine Street under a large cross, and is remembered by a marker on the La Leche Chapel on the grounds of the Mission of Nombre de Dios.
An old cannonball was found in St. Augustine near Dondanville Road and State Road A1A. Determined it is an 8-inch Civil War-era siege mortar.
"Dixie" Written by Miss Anna Dummett of Saint Augustine Fla. 1861
Hear ye the sounds of battle, sabres clash, and muskets rattle, to arms! To arms to arms in Dixie, Hostile footsteps on our border Hostile columns tread in order, To arms! To arms! –
Oh, fly to arms! My Dixie, To arms! To arms,
From Dixie's land we'll route the land, that comes to conquor Dixie, To arms! to arms! And route the foe from Dixie -
See the red smoke hanging over us, Hear the cannons booming chorus, To arms!
See our steady columns forming, Hear the shouting, hear the booming, To arms!
Original Confederate Monument was erected in 1872 on Confederate War Memorial. This obelisk was private property. Permission could not be obtained from commissioned by the Ladies' Memorial Reconstruction authorities to raise a monument to the Association and was erected in 1872. It is the Confederacy on public property. In 1879 permission was oldest Confederate Civil War monument in obtained construction of the monument in Constitution Florida. “Our Dead. In Memoriam , our Loved Square. Original stood on the south side of St. George Ones Who gave up Their Lives in the service of Street, between Bridge and St. Francis streets. Marble The Confederate States” plaques were removed and used on the new monument. The data is in — stop the panic and end the Fact 3: Vital population immunity is prevented by total isolation policies, prolonging the problem. total isolation We know from decades of medical science that infection itself allows ARTICLE FROM THE HILL BY DR. SCOTT W. ATLAS, OPINION CON- people to generate an immune response — antibodies — so that the TRIBUTOR — 04/22/20 12:30 PM EDT infection is controlled throughout the population by “herd immuni- ty.” Indeed, that is the main purpose of widespread immunization in other viral diseases — The tragedy of the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be entering the con- to assist with population immunity. In this virus, we know that medical tainment phase and Americans are now desperate for sensible policymak- care is not even necessary for the vast majority of people who are in- ers who have the courage to ignore the panic and rely on facts. fected. It is so mild that half of infected people are asymptomatic, Leaders must examine accumulated data to see what has actually hap- shown in early data from the Diamond Princess ship, and then pened, rather than keep emphasizing hypothetical projections; combine in Iceland and Italy. That has been falsely portrayed as a problem re- that empirical evidence with fundamental principles of biology established quiring mass isolation. In fact, infected people without severe illness are for decades; and then thoughtfully restore the country to function. the immediately available vehicle for establishing widespread immunity. By transmitting the virus to others in the low-risk group who then gener- Five key facts are being ignored by those calling for continuing the near- ate antibodies, they block the network of pathways toward the most total lockdown: vulnerable people, ultimately ending the threat. Extending whole- population isolation would directly prevent that widespread immunity Fact 1: The overwhelming majority of people do not have any signifi- from developing. cant risk of dying from COVID-19. Fact 4: People are dying because other medical care is not getting The recent Stanford University antibody study now estimates that the fatal- done due to hypothetical projections. ity rate if infected is likely 0.1 to 0.2 percent, a risk far lower than previous World Health Organization estimates that were 20 to 30 times higher and that motivated isolation policies. Critical health care for millions of Americans is being ignored and peo- In New York City, an epicenter of the pandemic with more than one-third of ple are dying to accommodate “potential” COVID-19 patients and for all U.S. deaths, the rate of death for people 18 to 45 years old is 0.01 per- fear of spreading the disease. Most states and many hospitals abruptly cent, or 10 per 100,000 in the population. On the other hand, people aged stopped “nonessential” procedures and surgery. That prevented diagno- 75 and over have a death rate 80 times that. For people under 18 years ses of life-threatening diseases, like cancer screening, biopsies of tu- old, the rate of death is zero per 100,000. mors now undiscovered and potentially deadly brain aneurysms. Treat- ments, including emergency care, for the most serious illnesses were Of all fatal cases in New York state, two-thirds were in patients over 70 also missed. Cancer patients deferred chemotherapy. An estimated 80 years of age; more than 95 percent were over 50 years of age; and about percent of brain surgery cases were skipped. Acute stroke and heart 90 percent of all fatal cases had an underlying illness. Of 6,570 confirmed attack patients missed their only chances for treatment, some dying and COVID-19 deaths fully investigated for underlying conditions to date, many now facing permanent disability. 6,520, or 99.2 percent, had an underlying illness. If you do not already have an underlying chronic condition, your chances of dying are small, regardless of age. And young adults and children in normal health Fact 5: We have a clearly defined population at risk who can be have almost no risk of any serious illness from COVID-19. protected with targeted measures. Fact 2: Protecting older, at-risk people eliminates hospital over- crowding. The overwhelming evidence all over the world consistently shows that a clearly defined group — older people and others with underlying condi- We can learn about hospital utilization from data from New York City, the tions — is more likely to have a serious illness requiring hospitalization hotbed of COVID-19 with more than 34,600 hospitalizations to date. For and more likely to die from COVID-19. Knowing that, it is a com- those under 18 years of age, hospitalization from the virus is 0.01 percent, monsense, achievable goal to target isolation policy to that group, in- or 11 per 100,000 people; for those 18 to 44 years old, hospitalization is cluding strictly monitoring those who interact with them. Nursing home 0.1 percent. Even for people ages ages 65 to 74, only 1.7 percent were residents, the highest risk, should be the most straightforward to sys- hospitalized. Of 4,103 confirmed COVID-19 patients with symptoms bad tematically protect from infected people, given that they already live in enough to seek medical care, Dr. Leora Horwitz of NYU Medical Center confined places with highly restricted entry. concluded "age is far and away the strongest risk factor for hospitaliza- tion." The appropriate policy, based on fundamental biology and the evidence already in hand, is to institute a more focused strategy like some out- Even early WHO reports noted that 80 percent of all cases were mild, and lined in the first place: Strictly protect the known vulnerable, self-isolate more recent studies show a far more widespread rate of infection and the mildly sick and open most workplaces and small businesses with lower rate of serious illness. Half of all people testing positive for infection some prudent large-group precautions. This would allow the essential have no symptoms at all. The vast majority of younger, otherwise healthy socializing to generate immunity among those with minimal risk of seri- people do not need significant medical care if they catch this infection. ous consequence, while saving lives, preventing overcrowding of hospi- tals and limiting the enormous harms compounded by continued total isolation. Let’s stop underemphasizing empirical evidence while instead doubling down on hypothetical models. Facts matter.
4 INFORMATION
Annual dues are $25.00 due on December 31st of each year for the following year. You may renew your membership as follows: CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE
MOAA-ACC.ORG When referring new members to our website PLEASE be sure to advise them NOT to register/renew via the online link. That link will 1. Make checks payable to MOAA- direct them to the National Membership form and our Chap- ACC and mail to P.O. Box 4571, St. Augusne, Florida ter may not received the dues. Ask them to click the 32085. link below and print the NEW MEMBERS form. 2. Pay on-line at MOAA-ACC.ORG 3. Bring your payment to a Chapter luncheon.
For further informaon please call Jim Cargilo, 1LT (USMC) at 904-337-9866 or email at [email protected]
ANCIENT CITY CHAPTER MUGS
Our Ancient City Chapter Mugs make great gifts, are microwaveable, dishwasher safe and New members will receive a free nameplate, only $5.00 each. See Harry Metz during our chapter mug and your new chapter coin. Call luncheon meetings or email Harry at amazing- Jim Cargilo at 904-377-9866, 1LT (USMC) or [email protected] email at [email protected]
If you or someone you know would like to place an adver- sement in the Galleon, please send a check payable to MOAA- ACC to the PO Box A enon: Treasurer and email all graphics and informaon to Sarah McLevy @ [email protected].
Yearly costs are: Full Page—$500 1/2 Page—$300 Business Card—$200
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