Major William Anderson McTeer Camp No. 39 Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War Maryville, Tennessee Winner of the 2014- 2015 Abraham Lincoln Commander- in- Chief’s Award Vol 3 Issue 3 Mar 2016 Preserving the memory of the McTeer’s Loyal Grand Army of the Republic and our ancestors who fought to preserve Mountaineers the Union 1861- 1865! 21st Department of Tennessee Encampment a Success Our own department, ganization was Junior ment were pulled Inside this issue: the Department of Vice Commander-in- pork with either Tennessee, held its Chief Mark Day of the sweet and/or hot 21st Annual Encamp- Department of the and spicy sauce, ment on 20 February Chesapeake. Depart- buns, beans, slaw, potato salad , deviled 21st Department En- 2 —3 2016 at the Tennessee ment Commander Genealogical Society Michael Downs pre- eggs, and choice of campment Contin- water or iced tea. All ued in Germantown, TN. sented JVC-in-C Day More than 20 mem- a copy of the book he for $10! bers from 3 states at- compiled, The Civil From the Com- 4 Dr. Curt Fields pro- mander tended. War Diary of Col. Al- fred B. Wade. vided to the En- The Sultana Camp McTeer Camp Com- campment an enter- Interested in Join- 5 No. 1, based in Mem- mander David taining and histori- ing? phis, hosted the En- McReynolds pre- cally accurate por- campment and did an sented him, on behalf trayal of General Ulysses S. Grant. He From the Book Rack 6—7 excellent job. On the of our camp, the me- Friday evening prior dallion that was com- stayed in character to the Encampment, missioned for the throughout the day McTeer members Mi- 2015 Tennessee Sig- and provided a num- Biographies of our 8 chael Downs and nature Sesquicenten- ber of photo oppor- Ancestors David McReynolds nial Event, the Blue tunities. attended a Sultana and Gray Reunion The Memphis Race 10— camp meeting held at and Freedom Jubilee Several “Certificates Riots of 1866 11 the beautiful Marriott which was held in of Commendation” Courtyard Hotel in Knoxville 30 April were handed out to Collierville, TN, the 2015 through 3 May members for out- Calendar of Impor- 13 host hotel for the 2015. standing service over tant Dates weekend. At the the past year. These meeting, camp offi- Lunch was catered by included one to cers were installed for the Germantown Brother Ben Jones 2016-2017. Commissary, a re- for his overall organ- nowned Memphis izational abilities in Representing the BBQ restaurant. Pro- making the Encamp- SUVCW National Or- vided to the Encamp- ment a success, McTeer’s Loyal Mountaineers Page 2 March 2016 Brother Sam Gant for his continuing efforts in the preservation of the Franklin Battlefield and Brother Geoffrey Hintze for his work over many years as the Department’s Secretary- Treasurer. Also, special recognition was give to the McTeer Camp and its Commander, David McReynolds, for its excellent work which led them to being awarded the 2014-2015 Abraham Lincoln Commander-in-Chief’s Award as the most outstanding camp in the SUVCW! Brother Doug Fidler was presented “possession” of the Department’s Grant Cup for his excellence in recruiting new members over an extended period of years. Polly Toole Auxiliary President Cindy McReynolds surprised CC David McReynolds with a special award, Colonel—Aide de Camp, Governor’s Staff, State of Tennessee, the highest award the State of Tennessee may bestow upon an individual. It may be awarded to a Ten- nessee citizen for outstanding achievement. The honor is only awarded at the request of a member of the Tennessee General Assembly. Individuals who receive this award are recorded by the Secretary of State of Tennessee with those who have been commissioned into the State Guard and Tennessee National Guard. This award is considered equivalent to actual military commissions and the recipient is commissioned as full Colonel. In this case, State Senator Doug Overbey sponsored McReynolds’ review by Governor Bill Haslam. In Senator Overbey’s letter to Governor Haslam he states: “Mr. McReynolds is a strong advocate for the state of Tennessee. He has suffered a number of medical issues. Despite his conditions, he has a strong passion for being involved with the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, Major William A. McTeer Camp No. 39 and many other genealogical organizations. Major William A. McTeer Camp No. 39 received the 2014-2015 Abraham Lincoln Commander-in-Chief’s Award.” In Department business, two committees were appointed in order to look at two important issues. The first committee will look at the possibility of a name change for the Department. Officially, the name of the Department is the “Department of Tennessee.” However, to be re- spectful, we have usually presented ourselves as the “Department of Tennessee with Missis- sippi and Alabama,” which can be a mouthful at National Encampments and other events. The second committee will look at the feasibility of our Department hosting a future National Encampment including the evaluation of possible locations. The Encampment authorized the officers to submit an application to host a future encampment if deadlines required a submit- tal prior to the next Department of Tennessee Encampment in 2017. George Huttick, Depart- ment Signals Officer, made two motions to improve our social media and web presence. The first motion was to authorize him to do a complete overhaul and update of the Department’s current web site. It needs to be updated and made more user friendly. The second motion was to establish a Department Instagram account so that we might make more effective social media contact with a younger age group. Brother Fidler made a motion to name the Depart- ment’s “Brother of the Year” award the “Charles Engle Brother of the Year” award in memory of past Department Commander Charles Engle who passed away in 2015. During 2015, the Department lost one camp—the David Farragut Camp No. 6 which turned in its charter—but gained another camp—the Army of the Tennessee Camp No. 64, which is located in the Mur- freesboro, TN area. It was also announced that next year’s Department Encampment will be hosted by the Army of the Tennessee Camp No. 64. Mark Day, the National JVC-in-C, traveled many miles from his home in Virginia to spend the day with us. He updated us on the health of our National Commander-in-Chief Eugene Mor- torff, who recently suffered a mild stroke. It would seem that a full recovery is expected. McTeer’s Loyal Mountaineers Continued from Page 2 Page 3 March 2016 Brother Day also presented the latest status report concerning the Banner magazine and told us to expect a copy to arrive soon. To conclude the Encampment, there was the election and installation of officers. With strong support, the existing (2015-2016) slate of officers for the Department were re-elected unanimously for another term (2016-2017). Therefore, McTeer Camp members Michael Downs will continue as Department Commander and David McReynolds will continue as Department Junior Vice Commander. Department Commander Michael Dr. Curt Fields as General Ulysses S. Grant Downs Polly Toole President Cindy McReynolds presenting CC David McReynolds with National Junior Vice Commander-in- the Tennessee Colonel Aide-de-Camp Chief Mark Day Award McTeer’s Loyal Mountaineers Page 4 March 2016 From the Commander Dear Brothers, I don’t know if you think of it the same way that I do, but we have a very special mission as brothers in the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. That mission or purpose is to continue to preserve the memories and history of our ancestors—those brave men who fought and died or were gravely wounded but survived in a great war to preserve our Union. If we had failed, the great experiment in liberty and democracy known as the United States of America would have failed. But why did our ancestors get together in the first place as the Grand Army of the Republic? The SUVCW web site on the history of the GAR states: “But probably the most profound emotion was emptiness. Men who had lived together, fought together, foraged to- gether and survived, had developed an unique bond that could not be broken. As time went by the memories of the filthy and vile environment of camp life began to be re- membered less harshly and eventually fondly. The horror and gore of battle lifted with the smoke and smell of burnt black powder and was replaced with the personal rain of tears for the departed comrades. Friendships forged in battle survived the separation and the warriors missed the warmth of trusting companionship that had asked only total and absolute commitment. With that as background, groups of men began joining together — first for camaraderie and then for po- litical power. Emerging most powerful among the various organizations would be the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), which by 1890 would number 409,489 veterans of the ‘War of the Rebellion’.” We don’t enjoy that political power today. We are a relatively small organization. But our purpose is no less worthy. I encourage each of you to further research the story of your ancestors who fought to pre- serve the Union. I hope that we as a Camp may continue to protect and preserve the grave sites of all Union soldiers and make it so that our children and grandchildren may know the sacrifices that they made so that we continue to enjoy the liberties that make our nation so special. In Fraternity, Charity and Loyalty, David McReynolds David McReynolds, Camp Commander McTeer’s Loyal Mountaineers Page 5 March 2016 Interested in joining? For more information, just visit our web site at www.mcteer39.org or the national web site at www.suvcw.org.