A Confederate battle flag

hangs daily among others on a

flagpole along U.S. 90.

What has sparked the

controversy is a huge flag that

hangs on the front of the mansion

at Beauvoir on occasion. The next

time it is scheduled to be

displayed is April 22 for Confeder-

ate Memorial Day.

Andi Oustalet said she was

told she is no longer welcome at

Beauvoir after she asked to have

the flag removed from the front of

the home. She is a volunteer who

created and produced two

Christmas at Beauvoir events that

drew 13,000 people each year and

also organized a three-day

celebration for the opening of the

Jefferson Davis Presidential

Library.

Bertram Hayes-Davis, who

resigned this month over the

controversy, is the great-great

grandson of Jefferson Davis and

was executive director of Beauvoir.

His response to Sunday's article

has been a flurry of emails, phone

calls and Facebook postings from

people across the country asking

what they can do to help.

"We've received tremendous

support from the public outreach,"

BILOXI -- Sunday's article

in the Sun Herald about the

internal struggles at Beauvoir

brought a response Monday

from the commander of the

Mississippi Division Sons of

Confederate Veterans.

Allen Terrell emailed the

response to the shakeup that

led to the resignation of

two board members

and the executive

director.

Terrell said the

letter was "on behalf of

the Mississippi Division

Sons of Confederate

Veterans." As an ex-

officio member of the

Beauvoir Board of

Trustees, Terrell said he

was, "in no way

speaking for the

Combined Boards of

Beauvoir."

Rick Forte, chairman of the

boards for 25 years, and

Beauvoir's new acting director

have not responded to the Sun

Herald's request for comments.

"The Mississippi Division

Sons of Confederate Veterans

are greatly concerned over the

events occurring at Beauvoir

and are monitoring the

situation," Terrell said in his

letter.

He also said that Ed

Funchess, the vice chairman of

the board at Beauvoir who

resigned in February, was

correct when he said the

Confederate flag is not the

whole issue at Beauvoir, but is

what began the present

controversy.

Terrell said the Confeder-

ate flag will continue to fly at

Beauvoir.

he said. "They're all shocked

and surprised." ~~ Biloxi Sun-

Herald

In a comment posted to the

above story, SCV Army of

Tennessee Committeeman

Larry McCluney states: "The

Mission as given in the deed by

Mrs. Davis to the Sons of

Confederate Veterans

in Mississippi was to

perpetuate her

husbands memory and

the Cause the

Confederate Soldier

fought for. Many people

do not realize that once

the Mississippi, SCV

took over we were

bound by her charge

and the house was

used as a Confederate

Soldier's Retirement

home. Now it is a

Shrine to Jefferson

Davis and the memory of the

Confederate Soldier. Thus, the

Battle Flag that is flown is in

their memory. The only time

the flag is displayed on the

house is during SCV events

nothing else (Confederate

Memorial Day, Fall Muster, and

Jefferson Davis' Birthday)

Three events out of a year yet

THIS IS AN ISSUE? 365 days a

year and only three weekends

is it flown."

In another comment, past

SCV Chief of Heritage Defense

P. Charles Lunsford stated:

"Anyone who does not welcome

the flag at the home of

President Davis should not be

welcome at the shrine." I'm

sure we all can agree with

Charles' sentiments. The flag

belongs at the home of our

President, perhaps more than

at any other place.

The CourierNewsletter Newsletter Newsletter Newsletter of of of of the the the the Sam Sam Sam Sam Davis Davis Davis Davis Camp Camp Camp Camp No. No. No. No. 1293129312931293

Sons Sons Sons Sons of of of of Confederate Confederate Confederate Confederate Veterans Veterans Veterans Veterans ** ** ** ** BrentwoodBrentwoodBrentwoodBrentwood, , , , TnTnTnTn ** ** ** ** March,March,March,March, 2014201420142014

Dispute at Beauvoir... again

Our 2014 Program Lineup (so far)

March - Ronny Mangrum on

Tennessee Flag Restoration

April - Sam Davis Camp Members

Show & Tell

May - Tim Burgess

June - Camp Picnic

July - Gene Andrews on

"Restoration of the Forrest Home"

March 27th ~~ Sam Davis Camp

meets at Oglesby Community

Center, 6:00 p.m. The Center is

adjacent to the Woodson Chapel

Church of Christ on Edmondson

Pike, 1/2 block South of the

intersection of Edmondson Pike

and Old Hickory Blvd.

April 11-12 ~~ Tennessee Division

Reunion in Union City

April 24th ~~ Sam Davis Camp

meets at Oglesby Community

Center, 7:00 p.m.

May 22nd ~~ Sam Davis Camp

meets at Oglesby Community

Center, 7:00 p.m.

May 31st ~~ Confederate Memorial

Day at the Sam Davis Statue, State

Capitol

June 1st ~~ UDC Confederate

Memorial Services, Mt. Olivet &

Carnton

June 14th ~~ Sam Davis Camp

Picnic at Oglesby Community

Center

June 21st ~~ Annual Forrest

Homecoming at the Forrest

Boyhood Home, Chapel Hill

On March 11, 1861, delegates

from the newly formed Confederate

States of America agreed on their

own constitution. Here is a look at

this little-known third constitution

that controlled the lives of about 9

million people for a short period of

time.

Much of the Confederate

Constitution mirrored the Constitu-

tion of the United States as it

existed at the time, with bigger

differences in the matters of slavery

and states’ rights.

In 1860, there were more than

9 million people, including 3 million

slaves, living in the states and

territories that would leave the

Union, compared with 22 million

people outside those areas.

The document was drawn up

and approved just a week after

Abraham Lincoln became president

of the United States. There were

seven southern states that had

seceded at the time, and a total of

13 would eventually sign the

Confederate constitution.

At first glance, much of the

Confederate document was taken

directly from the U.S. Constitution.

But there were several passages

related to slavery that were much

different. The Confederate version

used the word “slaves,” unlike the

U.S. Constitution. One article

banned any Confederate state from

making slavery illegal. Another

ensured that slave owners could

travel between Confederate states

with their slaves.

The Confederate constitution

also accounted for slaves as three-

fifths of a state’s population (like

the U.S. Constitution did at the

time), and it required that any new

territory acquired by the nation

allow slavery.

In other ways, the Confederate

constitution was closer to the

Articles of Confederation, which

preceded the U.S. Constitution–it

was focused on states’ rights.

The Confederate preamble

begins, “We, the people of the

Confederate States, each State

acting in its sovereign and

independent character…”

The U.S. Constitution starts

with the more familiar, “We the

People of the United States, in

Order to form a more perfect

Union…”

Confederate states had the

ability to impeach federal officials,

collect more taxes, and make

treaties with each other under

certain circumstances. They could

also create lines of credit.

When it came to elected

officials, the Confederate constitu-

tion limited the president to one,

six-year term in office in a person’s

lifetime. The vice president didn’t

have term limits.

The president also had use of

the line-item veto in budget

matters.

Senators and representatives

served under circumstances that

were very similar to rules in the

U.S. Constitution.

It also had a Bill of Rights,

lumped together with rules about

Congress. (Most of the rights in the

U.S. Constitution’s original Bill of

Rights were incorporated.)

One additional right stated that

the government couldn’t impair “the

right of property in negro slaves” to

owners.

The Confederate Congress

operated in a similar fashion to the

United States. But the Confederate

Congress couldn’t pass legislation

about amendments. That role was

reserved for the states.

Cabinet members could also

answer questions on the floor of

Congress.

The Supreme Court system was

also very similar to the one used by

the United States. But it was never

formed during the Civil War

because of the government’s

instability.

The Confederate Congress met

for six sessions during the war.

Political parties didn’t form in the

Confederacy, but there were

political factions in the electorate.

~~ article by the staff of the

National Constitution Center

[ Editor's Note: All of the above

being as it may be, the fact of the

matter was that the Confederate

Congress was also much like the

current U.S. Congress, as this

quote from Robert E. Lee will attest

to: "I have been up to see the

Congress and they do not seem to

be able to do anything except to eat

peanuts and chew tobacco, while

my army is starving."]

KINSTON, N.C. - On Monday,

March 10 at 10 a.m., the N.C.

Department of Cultural Resources'

State Underwater Archeology team

was on the Neuse River searching

for remnants of the ironclad CSS

Neuse using the latest in high

resolution technology. Their vessel,

a 23' boat named the R/V Snap

dragon II, will patrol the river

between the King Street bridge and

the Queen Street bridge for about

five hours. The focus of the

expedition will be to gather data on

any objects from the Confederate

built ironclad that was destroyed in

March 1865.

There was be an initial pre-

launch briefing at 10 a.m. at the

boat ramp off Highway 70 in

Kinston and a follow-up briefing at

4 p.m. to reveal what was discov-

ered during this innovative survey

mission. (Results not known to The

Courier...)

"The Neuse River is in great

condition for this project right

now," said John Morris III, Deputy

State Underwater Archeologist for

the Department of Cultural

Resources. "The river is currently

high enough to conduct this type of

investigative work." The river survey

is a combined project between the

Office of State Archeology and State

Historic Sites, both divisions of the

N. C. Department of Cultural

Resources.

"This will be the first detailed

survey of this part of the river using

modern side scan sonar, a

magnetometer, and a differential

Global Positioning System,"

continued Morris.

The CSS Neuse was con-

structed in Whitehall, now known

as Seven Springs, from October

1862 until the summer of 1863

when she was taken down river to

Kinston for completion. She was

officially launched in April 1864

with the intention of steaming down

river toward New Bern, which had

been occupied by Union troops

since March 1862. The Neuse never

made it that far, running a ground

on a sandbar just south of town.

After being stranded there for a

month, she was refloated and

brought back to Kinston, where she

remained until March 1865 when

the ship was scuttled by her own

crew to prevent it from being

captured.

"We are hoping this survey will

tell us what, if anything, is

salvageable." said Keith Hardison,

Director of Historic Sites. "We need

to gather information about what is

there so we can begin to explore the

possibility of recovering additional

pieces of the ship to add to the CSS

Neuse Civil War Interpretive Center

in downtown Kinston." The

interpretive center is currently open

for visitors to tour and watch as the

museum takes shape.

The CSS Neuse remained

underwater until the early 1960s

when several attempts were made

to recover her from her watery

grave. In 1964, most of the ship

was salvaged and brought to the

site of the Governor Richard

Caswell Memorial on Vernon

Avenue. The recovery process was

documented by Mr. Bill Rowland,

who is also a member of the

steering committee for this survey

project. The ship remained under a

shelter on Vernon Avenue until the

summer of 2012 when she was

moved to her new home on the

corner of Queen and Caswell

Streets in downtown Kinston.

"It's very significant because it's

the only commissioned Confederate

ironclad left from the Civil War."

said Matthew Young, Site Manager

for the CSS Neuse Civil War

Interpretive Center. "We know there

are still sections of the ship in the

river. What we don't know is how

significant they are to our under-

standing of how she was built and

operated. There may be pieces of

iron armored plate, a propeller, or

even one of the ship's anchors still

in the river." Donations to support

this effort are encouraged and

welcome.

The CSS Neuse Interpretive

Center is located at 100 N. Queen

St., Kinston, N.C. Hours are

Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

SACRAMENTO (AP) — A bill

introduced by a Democratic

lawmaker would prohibit the sale of

Confederate flags on California

state property.

Assemblyman Isadore Hall of

Compton introduced the bill Friday.

He says Confederate flag memora-

bilia is being sold at the Capitol gift

shop and was on sale during last

summer’s state fair on the Cal Expo

Fairgrounds.

The issue came to his attention

after his mother spotted replica

Confederate money on sale in the

Capitol gift shop. Hall, who is black,

calls the Confederate flag a symbol

of racism, exclusion and violence.

The ban would apply to

property owned or operated by the

state.

Hall says his bill has bipartisan

support and will send a message

that California does not promote

racism and hate.

Meanwhile in Georgia, the

redesigned SCV specialty tag

features a very nice half-tone battle

flag background. Cool, huh?

Published by The Sam Davis Camp #1293, Sons

of Confederate Veterans, P. O. Box 3448,

Brentwood, Tenn. 37024

Commander ~ Nelson Boren

1st Lt. Commander ~

2d Lt. Commander ~

Adjutant ~ Allen Sullivant 971-7454

Treasurer ~ James Turner 335-6944

Chaplain ~ Tony Rocchietti 399-1606

Newsletter Editor ~ Allen Sullivant 971-7454

Web Address ~ http://www.samdaviscamp.org

This is a photo, circa 1950, of the relief map of the

Battle of Franklin as it was being placed on the overlook at

Winstead Hill. Note that the current roof/shelter was not

yet in place. The view from the hill at that time was

perhaps little changed from that of November, 1864.

Treasurer James Turner is currently completing a grant

application to secure funds to repaint the relief map from

Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation.

MTEMC regularly donates to historic preservation projects

in the Franklin area, and we think it likely they will

eventually designate a few dollars for our hill and the

preservation of the improvements there.