News Walker, Lincoln-Cushing Camp, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War

National Encampment Round-Up

Brother Tad Campbell elected new C-in-CBrother Gene Mortorff is Senior Vice C-in-CBy Brother Lee Stone, PDC

The 133d National Encampment of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War took place at the Hilton Atlanta Marietta, in Marietta GA, from 14 through 17 August 2014. The Auxiliary to the SUVCW and the Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic met at the same place and time.

After transaction of the usual business at the meetings Friday and Saturday, the Sons elected Tad Campbell, previously Senior Vice Commander-in-Chief, to the position of Commander-in-Chief, SUVCW. The Brothers of the Order are grateful to Past Commander-in-Chief, Ken L Freshley, for his leadership dur-ing his year in office. Our own Eugene Mortorff, previously Junior Vice Com-mander-in-Chief, was elected Senior Vice C-in-C, and in the only contested election of the Encampment, Brother Don Martin of the Department of Ohio defeated Brother Bob Petrovic of the Department of Missouri for Junior Vice C-in-C. Both candidates have im-pressive credentials serving the Order, organizational and leadership ability.

Brother Brad Quinlan, PCC, of the host Department, led fascinating and instructive tours of the Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield on Sunday. It was part of General William T. Sherman’s ultimately successful campaign to capture Atlanta in summer 1864. Some attendees visited other sites important to the Atlanta campaign, and a few went as far as the Andersonville National Historic Site, where tens of thousands of Union prisoners were held in 1864 and early 1865. Nearly 13,000 Union prisoners died at Andersonville. The former prison cemetery is now a National Cemetery.

(Continued on Page 9)

LincoLn-cushing camp no. 2, sons of the union Veterans of the ciViL War

the neWs WaLkerVoLume 16, number 4 Winter edition 2014

Inside This Issue

Pl e a s e m ark t h i s d ate on you r c a l en d ar

C a l e n d a r f o r t h e Y e a r 2 0 1 4

6 December Lincoln-Cushing Camp Meeting 11:30 am Dubliner Restaurant, Capitol Hill, DC

DATE EVENT TIME LOCATION

2 Commander’s Message

3 September Meeting Highlights4 Camps Unite to Honor General James McPherson5 A SUVCW Brother

6 New Book Divided We Fall

9 Photos from the 133rd National Encampment

National Officers are sworn in at the National Encampment

the neWs WaLker page 2

Camp Website : www.l incolncushing.org

Our Civil War Ancestorsby Commander Richard Griffin Brothers, as many of you know, I’ve been collecting data on the Civil War ancestors of members of Lincoln-Cushing Camp. So far, twenty-nine of you have provided information on your ancestors. The project is by no means finished, but some very interesting facts have emerged. First, most of our ancestors were members of infantry regiments, while a few “jined” the cavalry, a few were more either field artillery or heavy artillery, while three were in the Navy. The vast majority served as private soldiers.

Our ancestors served in the following infantry regiments

CT 29th (Colored) IA 8th, 45th, 15th, 25th, 30th, 34th, 45th IL 30th, 50th, 65th IN 29th, 34th, 50th (also 52nd) MA 8th, 9th, 12th ME 6th, 19th MO 11th NH 8th NY 80th (AKA 20th NYSM), 111th, 112th, 179th PA 32nd, 107th, 151st, 140th, 207th OH 1st, 3rd, 44th, 122nd, 126th, 182nd WI 16th, 37th, 42nd WV 10th REG 12th USCT 45th

The cavalrymen served in the following regiments. The artillerists served in the following field artillery and heavy artillery regiments and batteries.

Three of our ancestors served in the U. S. Navy. One transferred from the army, having convinced his officers that he had been a seaman for five years before the war. One of the three was a Cap-tain, the highest rank reported (so far) of all of our ancestors. He commanded the USS North Caro-lina, which served as a receiving ship for new re-cruits. The ranks of the other two Navy men were 2nd Gunner and Landsman. (Continued on Page 8)

39th Commander, Richard Griffin

F R O M T H E C O M M A N D E R

Richard Griffin

CO 2nd KS 9th IA 1st, 4th KS 9th KY 6th MA 2nd NY 26th OH 8th VA Loudoun Rangers

MA 12th Heavy Artillery NY 6th NY Independent Battery (Horse Artillery) OH 18th Independent Battery



September meeting is high-lighted by the induction of new brother and a memorial service for two departed brothers Next camp meeting, 6 December, 11:30 am, Dubliner

On 13 September we gathered at the Dubliner restaurant for our fall camp meeting. The meeting was highlighted by the induction of new brother Steve Wallace and a farewell to two brothers who passed away during the summer.

Lincoln-Cushing Camp No. 2 said goodbye to Brothers Clyde Hayner, Sr. and Donald Ray Bean by performing the tradi-tional SUVCW Memorial Service for departed brothers. Brother Hayner passed away on 3 July, 2014 at the age of 75. He was a Life Member (#250) of SUVCW, a Past Camp Commander of Lincoln-Cushing Camp, serving in 1993, and remained an L-C Camp member when he moved to his home state of Tennessee. He was also a Past Department Commander, De-partment of Maryland (now Department of the Chesapeake), in 1994. Long-time Brother Donald Ray Bean passed away on 1 August following a massive stroke. Brother Bean joined the Lincoln-Cushing Camp in February of 1995 as a descen-dant of Nicholas Turner Jones who enlisted as a Private in Co. B, 3rd Tennessee Mounted Infantry.

New brother Steve Wallace was inducted into Lincoln-Cushing Camp at the meeting. Brother Wallace’s 3d great grandfa-ther, Andrew Reeder, was mustered in 23 Aug 1864 as a Private into Company C of the 207th Pennsylvania Infantry. He was discharged 13 May 1865 at the conclusion of the war. Welcome to Brother Wallace!

The meeting also featured an outstanding presenta-tion by Dr. Juanita Patience Moss. Dr. Moss spoke about her research that led to the discovery of over 2.500 black soldiers that served in white regiments during the Civil War. Dr. Moss, who has written two books on these previously forgotten soldiers, signed copies of her latest book following the meeting.

The next camp meeting will take place on Saturday, 6 December, 11:30 am at the Dubliner Restaurant in Washington, DC. This is our election meeting where 2015 officers will be selected. Please make every effort to attend. See the reservation form, with lunch selections, on the last page of this newsletter.

Brother Steve Wallace is inducted by Commander Griffin

The Dubliner Restaurant is located at 4 F Street, NW right off of North Capital Street and is connected to the Phoenix Park Hotel which sits on the corner of North Capitol and F Street. The Dubliner is located about one block from Union Station and the Union Station Metro stop. On a Saturday morning there should be plen-ty of on-street parking (meter). There is also a Senate parking lot across the street that is usually open on weekends where parking is free. Although you should not need it, there is also a paid parking garage at Union Station.

Juanita Patience Moss addresses the camp

http://dublinerdc.com/



Lincoln-Cushing Camp joins James A. Garfield Camp to honor General James McPhersonBy Brother Tim McCoy, James A. Garfield Camp No.1 Brothers from James A. Garfield Camp 1, Lincoln-Cushing Camp 2 and DC (Mid-Atlantic) Commandery MOLLUS teamed up on July 22 to honor Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson on the 150th anniversary of his battlefield death during the Atlanta Campaign.

Joining in the ceremony, which was held at McPherson’s equestrian statue in Washington, D.C., were Depart-ment Commander Robert D. Pollock (also Commander, DC Commandery MOLLUS), Camp Commanders W. Faron Taylor and Richard Griffin, as well as Kym Elder, manager of the Na-tional Park Service Civil War Defenses of Washington program.

The Civil War Trust’s Douglas Ullman, Jr., delivered keynote remarks and spoke of the exceptionally high regard in which Gen. McPherson was held by both Union and Confederate military leaders.

A memorial wreath, bearing the inscription “Your Sacrifice is Not Forgotten,” was placed at the base of McPherson’s statue. Musical selections appropriate for the solemn occasion were performed by a bagpiper, and a bugler from the U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own” played Taps after the wreath was placed. The cer-emony was spearheaded by Garfield Camp Brother Tim McCoy and attended by about 40 people.

A journalist’s account can be viewed at http://shfwire.com/node/9279

L-C Brother John Higgins, Jr; L-C Commander Richard Griffin; Department Commander Robert Pollock; Garfield Commander W. Faron Taylor; Douglas Ullman, Civil War Trust; Kym Elder, National Park Service.

Garfield Brother Tim McCoy places the wreath.



A SUVCW Brother: A Yesteryear MemoryBy Brother Donald Bishop One summer nearly a half century ago, in Fanwood, New Jersey, my friend Brent Caldwell and I were outdoors, running across a neighbor’s yard.

We hadn’t noticed that there was an old man in a rocking chair on the porch of the house, and we were surprised when he called us over. He introduced himself as Percy Durrell.

“I see you boys are playing ‘cowboys and Indians’,” he said. “I grew up out West, and I spent a few years as a captive by the Indians until the U.S. Cavalry came and rescued us.” Well, he had our full attention, and we sat down on the porch to hear his stories. Captive boys, we learned, were kept in the villages gathering fuel and helping the women of the tribe.

His stories continued. After he was rescued and returned to his family, Buffalo Bill came to town. He talked his way into meeting Annie Oakley, and he pulled from his wallet a well-worn pass to the Wild West Show, allowing free admission to “Percy Durrell and Gang.” He laughed as he told us that the two extra words, “and Gang,” allowed him to bring all his friends to the performances.

This was the time when Gail Da-vis was playing Annie Oakley in a television series in glorious black and white, but here Brent and I were sitting with a man who knew the real sharpshooter, whose signature was on the pass!

We learned that Mr. Durrell had rushed to the colors in the Spanish-American War. He excused himself for a minute, and he returned to the porch with a handful of American flags.

Brent and I had paid attention in his-tory class, and so we recognized the

Betsy Ross flag and the Fort McHenry flag. The Confederate banners, the Pine Tree, “Don’t tread on me” – we knew them. The Texas flag at the Alamo? We’d seen the Disney film, “Davy Crockett,” on the big screen.

Our new senior citizen friend was pleased that two boys knew their American history, but he reached once more into the bundle of flags. “Here’s one I don’t think you’ll recog-nize,” he said. He pulled out a “flag” made of faded maroon upholstery fabric. The edges were not hemmed. Brent and I were stumped.

He explained that this was the flag used by the patriots at the battle of Utah Springs during the Revolution. I was a little confused. Utah was too far west to have been one of the thirteen original colonies. Was Utah in the Revolu-tion? He was talking about the Battle of E-u-t-a-w Springs, we learned.

He told us that during the fighting in South Carolina, Colonel William Washington’s dragoons had no flag. A woman admirer cut some silk from a chair backing (or, in another ac-count, from a damask curtain), and this became their standard at the 1781 battles of Cowpens and Eutaw Springs. Percy had seen the original flag, and when he found an old sofa whose fabric matched the color of the Eutaw Flag’s, he cut it out to show young patriots like ourselves.

“Yes, boys,” he said. “Not many Americans recognize this flag. I’ve found that only graduates of The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, know it. Now you do, too.”

When I returned home after listen-ing to Mr. Durrell, my father was angry that an old coot was telling tall tales to gullible young people. Indian captive? A pal of Annie Oakley? He stormed out of the house to give the old fellow a piece of his mind – not to be spinning stories to boys. A little later, he returned to our house, chas-tened. He told my mother, “he really did do those things.”

The wonders of the internet now allow us to sketch out the lives of forbears, relatives, and acquaintances. Here’s what I now know of the old man on the porch with the flags. He died a few years after Brent and I met him.

Percy Brooks Durrell (1881-1958) was born in Chicago. During the War with Spain, he was a corporal in the 3rd Missouri Volunteer Infantry. The regiment was deployed to Virginia and Pennsylvania, but did not serve overseas. (Continued on Page 7)



Brother Calvin Zon, PCC releases new book Divided We Fall: The Confederacy’s Collapse From Within

Brother and past camp com-mander, Calvin Goddard Zon, has released his second book--Divided We Fall: The Confederacy’s Collapse From Within. Much has been writ-ten about Northern opposition to the war--the Copperheads, the New York draft riot, the McClellan peace candidacy. But Zon makes the case that active opposition to the war was greater in the South than in the North and that Southern dissent played a major role in the Confederacy’s defeat.

Writes Winston Groom, author of Forrest Gump, Shiloh 1862, Vicksburg 1863, and Shrouds of Glory: From Atlanta to Nashville, “Calvin Zon has made a substantial contribution to Civil War his-tory by relating the discontent and outright resistance in some cases by Southern-ers who dissented with the South’s decision to secede from the Union in 1861.”

Camp Commander Richard N. Griffin, author of Three Years a Sol-dier, writes, “Zon demonstrates that active and passive resistance to gov-ernment authority was widespread, even within the Confederate capital. Resistance ranged the gamut from disgruntled soldiers, dirt farmers who were upset that wealthy slave-holders got special treatment, oppo-nents to slavery, and loyal Unionists. Some opponents organized guerrilla

bands that fought Confederate forces, and some provided

crucial intelligence to Union authorities. Divided We Fall provides many insights

into the many faceted resistance to Confederate authority and the role it played in its ultimate col-

lapse. It would be a wel-come addition to any Civil

War library.”

The 104-page book, with 20 illus-trations, is available as an e-book and

in paperback from Amazon.com using this link: http://tinyurl.com/pn46thz

2014 Officers and Appointments | Lincoln-Cushing Camp Camp No. 2

Commander: Richard [email protected]

Senior Vice Commander: Brin [email protected]

Junior Vice Commander: David J. [email protected]

Secretary and Treasurer: Lee Stone, [email protected]

Patriotic Instructor: Donald [email protected]

Camp Chaplain: John E. Higgins, [email protected]

Members of the Camp Council:

Calvin Zon, PCC Fr. Charles Nalls, PCCCharles “Ben” Hawley, PCC

mailto:[email protected]








An SUVCW Brother: A Yesteryear Memory (Continued from Page 5)

After the war, he continued in the National Guard in Ohio and Illinois, and he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Ohio Guard in 1908. He was rated Marksman.

He and his wife Fannie lived in many places – Michigan, Maryland, and West Virginia among them. They moved to New Jersey in 1928, and in 1946 he retired from the Socony Vacuum Company, one of the oil companies that now comprise Exxon Mobil. The signs at its filling stations featured the red flying Pegasus.

In 1942, he had registered for Selec-tive Service in the fourth, “Old Man’s,” registration, intended to survey the industrial capacity and skills of men born between 1877 and 1897. He thus became a member of “Uncle Sam’s 1-2-3 Boys,” Spanish war veter-ans who volunteered for the First and Second World Wars too.

A Mason for 54 years, he also found time to be a Boy Scout commissioner in Virginia and Kentucky.

And… he was also a member of the Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War. Alas, there’s no comprehensive archive of past members. It seems likely he may have been a Real Son.

I think of Percy Durrell when I think of how memories from childhood can stay with a man.

My neighborhood playmate and high school classmate Brent went on to at-tend the Citadel. He and I were at dif-ferent colleges, but we were both Air Force ROTC cadets, and we served in Vietnam – he at Pleiku and I at Phu Cat – the same year.

After our conversation on the porch, I always remembered the Battle of Eu-taw Springs. I thought of Mr. Durrell in high school when I first read the poem by Philip Freneau (1752-1832), “To the Memory of the Brave Ameri-cans,” portraying that battle.

At Eutaw Springs the valiant died:Their limbs with dust are covered o’er –Weep on, ye springs, your tearful tide;How many heroes are no more!

Freneau structured the poem around opposite motions. As the British re-treated, they unleashed a volley of fire on the advancing American cavalry, the “brave Americans.” In Freneau’s telling:

They saw their injured country’s woe;The flaming town, the wasted field;Then rush’d to meet the insulting foe;They took the spear – but left the shield.

Led by thy conquering genius, Greene,The Britons they compell’d to fly;None distant view’d the fatal plainNone grieved, in such a cause to die.

But, like the Parthian, famed of old,Who, flying, still their arrows threw;These routed Britons, full as bold,Retreated, and retreating slew.

Fast forward to September 12, 2001, to the memorial service held by the

American Embassy in Nigeria the day after the airliner attacks in New York. I recalled Freneau – and Percy Durrell – and I thought of opposite motions. While office workers at the World Trade Center walked down the stairs, firemen walked up to fight the flames on the 92nd floor. And in another opposite motion, the building fell, taking those “brave Americans” to their deaths. In my own comments to the gathered American community, I drew on Freneau’s image.

From time to time I have attended promotion ceremonies for members of our armed forces. When it comes time for the line of friends and col-leagues to offer congratulations, I hold out my hand and say…

“I once shook the hand of a veteran of the Spanish-American War, so today you are only two handshakes away from that time. My grandfather had shaken the hands of many Civil War veterans, so now you’re only three handshakes from the Union Army. Hold on to their spirit.”

At his inaugural address in 1861, President Lincoln spoke of how “mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union.” These grand sentiments touch the heavens, but they pass from gen-eration to generation in ways quite humble – like boys sitting on a porch to hear from an old man, proud to be a Son of a Union Veteran of the Civil War, a member of our order.

Hold on to our forebears’ spirit, and tell their stories to the young.



Casualties are summarized in the following table.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this message, the project is not finished. If you haven’t submitted your ancestors’ infor-mation to me, please do so. Who knows what other stories may be discovered! Eventually, we plan to post a spreadsheet on our website, with all the data that has been submitted. It is envisaged that the spreadsheet will allow readers to search and sort the information contained therein.

Brothers, I have been honored to serve as your 39th Commander. Thank you for your support and participation in the life of Lincoln-Cushing Camp.

Attire: Business or SVR Uniform Cost for the meal is $28 per person. Checks should be made out to Lincoln-Cushing, Camp 2 and sent to Secretary/Treasurer Lee Stone, PDC at the following address: Lee Stone, PDC 536 Wordsworth Circle Purcellville, VA 20132 Please mail your check in time to arrive by 28 November so that an accurate count can be given to the establishment. If you can’t get your check in by 28 November, please call Brother Lee at 540-338-5831 or 571-217-0160 and let him know that you plan to attend and bring your check with you. Please see the back page for the reservation form and menu selections.

next camp meetingO F T H E L I N C O L N - C U S H I N G C A M P N O . 2

Our next Lincoln-Cushing Camp meeting will be held at 11:30 am on 6 December,

at the Dubliner Restaurant on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC (4 F Street, NW, just off Mass. Ave and

North Capitol NW). All members of the Camp, Auxiliary, and their guests are welcome.

RSVP by 28 November. Hope to see you there!

Our Civil War Ancestors (Continued from Page 2)

Wounded in Action Shiloh (1), Port Hudson (1), Wildcat Mountains, KY (1), Fredericksburg (1) Mortally Wounded Spotsylvania Courthouse (2), Mount Zion Church (1) Killed in Action Corinth (1), Vicksburg (1), 3rd Winchester (1) Prisoners of War (returned to regiment) Sabine Cross Roads Died in Prison Camps Cahaba Camp AL (1), Andersonville GA (1)



Brothers Cambell and Mortorff elected (Continued from Page 1)

Though the Department of Georgia/South Carolina is a relatively new de-partment, the Brothers created a most impressive Encampment, including an actual campfire at the Campfire cer-emony Friday evening, in defiance of the Georgia heat. Those who did not

attend missed a great opportunity to learn how the Order operates, and to engage in camaraderie with Brothers from across the USA.

Make plans now to attend next year’s National Encampment, to be held

in Richmond, VA, here in our own Department of the Chesapeake. If all goes as expected, our own Brother Gene Mortorff will be requesting our votes to elect him to be Commander-in-Chief.

133rd National EncampmentM a r i e t t a , G e o r g i a

R E S E R VA T I O N F O R M

Yes, I, _______________________________will be attending the meeting and am bringing _________________________________ as my guest, and

____________________________ as a potential candidate for membership.

Enclosed is my check for $____________ ($28.00/ per person).

My entree choice: Chicken Pot Pie Guinness Burger Fish & Chips

My guest’s choice: Chicken Pot Pie Guinness Burger Fish & Chips

No, I, _________________________________ regret that I will not be able

to attend, however, enclosed is a donation to our Camp’s charitable

works for $___________.

Please detach and mail to: Mr. Lee D. Stone, PDC 536 Wordsworth Circle Purcellville, VA 20132

You do not need to buy a dinner to participate in the meeting.

SONS OF UNION VETERANSOF THE CIVIL WAR

Brin Lewis, Editor

3504 Wilson StreetCity of Fairfax, VA 22030-2936

Return Service Requested

Lincoln-Cushing Camp No. 2DEPARTMENT OF THE CHESAPEAKE

STATEMENT OF PUBLICATION: THI S NEWSLETTER IS THE OFFICIAL HOUSE ORGAN OF THE LINCOLN-CUSHING CAMP NO. 2 , DEPARTMENT OF THE CHESAPEAKE, SONS OF UNION VETERANS OF THE CIVIL WAR. Published in the City of Washington, DC, United States of America. News Walker (c) 2014 to the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. All Rights Reserved. Brin Lewis, Editor. News Walker is distributed via Post and email to SUVCW members and friends. SUVCW, its officers or members accept no responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or quality of any material forwarded to and published in the News Walker or any referrals or links to the content. There is no intent to use any verifiable copyright protected material. We accept no responsibility for any loss or damage suffered by any person relying directly or indirectly on any information from the News Walker. You may not copy, reproduce, distribute, publish, enter into a database, display, perform, modify, create derivative works, transmit, or in any way exploit any part of The News Walker, except for your own personal use.

R S V Pby 28 Nov.

December Quarterly Camp Meeting Lincoln-Cushing Camp No. 2

Luncheon meeting to be held at

the Dubliner Restaurant

Date: 6 December, 2014 RSVP: 28 November, 2014 Time: 11:30 am (Social Hour) Lunch: 12:30 pm Location: Dubliner Restaurant 4 F Street, NW Capitol Hill, Washington, DC

Lunch Selections: - Chicken Pot Pie - Guinness Burger - Fish and Chips

Attire: Business or SVR Uniform

Cost: $28 per person (Cash Bar)

Documents

News Walker, Lincoln-Cushing Camp, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War