Sons of Confederate Veterans 2014 Annual Book of Reports Sons of Confederate Veterans 119th General Reunion North Charleston, South Carolina — July 16-19, 2014 Fort Sumter amed after General Thomas Sumter, Revolutionary War hero, Fort Sumter was built following the War Nof 1812, as one of a series of fortifications on the southern US coast. Construction began in 1829, and the structure was still unfinished in 1861 when the War for Southern Independence began. Seventy thousand tons of granite were imported from New England to build up a sand bar in the entrance to Charleston Harbor, which the site dominates. The fort was a five-sided brick structure, 170 to 190 feet long, with walls five-foot thick, standing 50 feet over the low tide mark. It was designed to house 650 men and 135 guns in three tiers of gun emplacements, although it was never filled near its full capacity. On Thursday, April 11, 1861, General P. G. T. Beauregard sent three aides, Colonel James Chesnut, Jr., Captain Stephen D. Lee and Lieutenant A. R. Chisolm to demand the surrender of the fort. Commanding the fort was U.S. Army Major Robert Anderson, who declined, and the aides returned to report to Beauregard. After Beauregard had consulted the Confederate Secretary of War Leroy Walker, he sent the aides back to the fort and authorized Chesnut to decide whether the fort should be taken by force. The aides waited for hours while Anderson considered his alternatives and played for time. At about 3 a.m., when Anderson finally announced his conditions, Colonel Chesnut, after conferring with the other aides, decided they were “manifestly futile and not within the scope of the instructions verbally given to us.” The aides then left the fort and proceeded to nearby Fort Johnson. There, Chesnut ordered the fort to open fire on Fort Sumter. On Friday, April 12, 1861, at 4:30 a.m. Confederate batteries opened fire, and continued for 34 straight hours on the fort. On Saturday, April 13, the fort was surrendered and evacuated. k bout the cover: Conrad Wise Chapman (1842-1910) was born in Washington, DC and grew up in Europe Awhere his father, John Gadsby Chapman, was working as an artist. In 1861 he returned to America and enlisted in Company D, Third Kentucky Infantry, Confederate. He was wounded at Shiloh along with seeing action in Mississippi and Louisiana, before a transfer to the 46th Virginia at the request of his father. The 46th was in Charleston, South Carolina, where he was commissioned to create 31 paintings of the city’s defenses by Brigadier General Thomas Jordan, chief of staff to commanding General Beauregard. This was part of a campaign by Beauregard to increase support for his ideas about the defense of the harbor in the Confederate government. This sketch is at about sundown with Morris Island and the blockading fleet in the distance. In 1863, Chapman was transferred to the 59th Virginia Infantry as an ordnance sergeant. In 1864, Conrad was furloughed for six months and traveled to Italy. After the end of the war, unable to reconcile to the Confederacy’s loss, Conrad traveled to Mexico for a short while. He moved his family to Richmond in 1898 North Charleston, South Carolina around which time he sold 31 paintings to then Confederate Memorial Literary Society, which later became the Museum of the Confederacy. 16 July 2014 Charleston, South Carolina Officers and Gentlemen of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, It gives me great pleasure to present you with The SCV Book of Reports for 2014. Between these covers you will find much information concerning nearly every aspect of our fine organization. While you will hear many oral reports during convention, with this book, you will have a permanent record of the year’s events to study at your leasure. Please take the time to peruse these pages and learn about much that has been accomplished in the name of the venerable men in gray during this past year. Read about the successes of your fellow Compatriots throughout the Confederation. See how you, your Camp, Division or the SCV as a whole, may benefit from a program or activity that has worked well for others. Perhaps you may think of a better way to accomplish something that you read about and you will try it your way and share your own success. I wish to encourage you to read these reports and contact the officers and/or committeemen that have written them and either congratulate them on a job well done of offer your constructive suggestions for the betterment of the SCV. Furthermore, I urge you to look at the offices and committees of the SCV and decide where you might care to offer your assistance for the cause. Personally, I have worked for the defense of Southern Heritage, utilizing the might of the SCV, for many years. Yours may be the very idea that, once implemented, will be the tipping point of our ultimate success. Run for office in the SCV or find a committee that you feel that you can contribute to and get on board. We need all good Southerners now! I hope you enjoy these reports. Use this information to help build the SCV into a stronger force for the advancement of the Confederate Cause. Thank you for your attention to this and the continued efforts to vindicate our glorious ancestors. I remain, Respectfully yours, Michael Givens Commander-in-Chief Sons of Confederate Veterans 16 Elmwood Street Charleston, South Carolina, USA 29403 (1) (931) 442-1831 [email protected] scv.org Sons of Confederate Veterans Table of Contents National Officers ...................................................................................................................... 4 Reports of General Officers .......................................................................... 5 Commander-in-Chief ............................................................................................................. 5 Lt. Commander-in-Chief ........................................................................................................ 9 Army of Northern Virginia Department ............................................................................ 11 Army of Tennessee Department .......................................................................................... 11 Army of Trans-Mississippi Department ............................................................................. 12 Adjutant-in-Chief .................................................................................................................. 13 Chief of Heritage Operations ............................................................................................... 14 Chaplain-in-Chief .................................................................................................................. 17 Historian-in-Chief ................................................................................................................. 18 Chief of Staff ........................................................................................................................... 19 Reports of National Committees ............................................................... 21 Awards Committee ................................................................................................................ 21 Convention Planning Committee........................................................................................ 21 Budget and Finance Committee .......................................................................................... 21 Discipline Committee ........................................................................................................... 22 Forrest Boyhood Home ......................................................................................................... 23 Genealogy Committee .......................................................................................................... 24 Graves and Monuments Committee ................................................................................... 25 Guardian Program ................................................................................................................. 26 Vision 2016 ............................................................................................................................. 28 Investment Committee.......................................................................................................... 28 Sam Davis Youth Camp ........................................................................................................ 29 Medal of Honor Committee ................................................................................................. 30 Reports of Divisions ................................................................................... 33 Alabama Division .................................................................................................................. 33 Arizona Division .................................................................................................................... 33 Arkansas Division .................................................................................................................. 34 California Division ................................................................................................................ 35 Florida Division ..................................................................................................................... 36 Illinois Division .....................................................................................................................