J.D.R. Hawkins

One bullet can make a man a hero… or a casualty.

Archive for the tag “Black Lives Matter”

We Can Never Forget

Well, kids, they’re at it again. I don’t know exactly who is behind all this desecration, but the forces that be have decided to attack our beloved American history once more. This round was supposedly brought on by the killing of George Floyd, a repeat offender/drug addict who has become a martyr, crazy as it sounds. So in retaliation for his demise, Black Lives Matter/Antifa has committed numerous murders, looting incidents, and various other crimes. The worst, to me, is their burning the UDC headquarters building in Richmond. What a heartbreaker. The second worst, in my opinion, is their destroying the Lion of Atlanta. And the governor of Virginia has decided to dismantle Monument Avenue, which consists of many amazingly beautiful sculptures. But because they depict Confederate soldiers, they just got ta go.

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So many monuments are under attack right now, as is everything else related to the Confederacy. HBO has removed Gone With the Wind from their movie lineup, which is a serious shame, since the movie features Hattie McDaniel, the very first African American to ever win an Oscar. And Nascar announced that the Confederate battle flag will no longer be allowed to fly at events. Like that hurts anyone? Seriously?

Everyone seems to be losing sight of what the Confederacy actually represented…states’ rights. Slavery was definitely part of it, but then, slavery was legal in nearly every corner of the world back then. And it was also legal in many northern states.

Just for an eye-opener, I’m posting this article for us to witness what it was really like to live through such a terrifying, horrific time. This is what the monuments represent. This is what flying the Rebel flag is all about. If we forget about our ancestors’ peril and suffering, we only set ourselves up to suffer the same anguish ourselves. Because if we erase history, we are doomed to repeat it. History has shown us this time and again.

Ole Miss

The Story of One University Gray 

Come on in and wade around in the blood with me. I live with, and deal with, a lot of Ole Miss Civil War dead kids every day. The ones who died of old age, I can handle. The ones who die of dysentery in an overcrowded hospital, or who are decapitated by a cannon ball, or who bleed to death from a wound, all in their early 20’s, bother me. And then there are the sets of brothers who die, anywhere from two to five in one family. When I started all this I was 32, just a pup who was going to live forever. I had seen very little real death. Now, I can see a light at the end of the tunnel, and I know it is mortality coming to run me over. I have lost my parents, all my uncles, 4 out of 6 of my best friends, and I have known a bunch of parents who have lost children. I have a much better understanding of the Civil War death that I write about, and live with, everyday. When I work on all this hard for 3 or 4 days, it starts to get to me. Lewis Taylor Fant was in the University of Mississippi Class of 1862. He was from Holly Springs. He joined the University Greys that Spring of 1861, he was 19 years old. He fought through the battles of First Manassas, Seven Pines, Gaines Mill, Second Manassas, and Sharpsburg. 

At Sharpsburg, on September 17, of 1862, Hood’s Division, including Law’s Brigade, containing the 11th Mississippi Infantry Regiment, and the University Greys, was called to counter attack in the famous Cornfield, the bloodiest 40 acres in America. Twenty University Greys went into the meadow area below the Cornfield, and then on into the corn. They fought there for less than 30 minutes. Nineteen of the 20 Greys were wounded there that day. Three would later die of those wounds. 

Lewis Taylor Fant was shot in the leg there in the Cornfield. He was captured and he had his leg amputated in a Union field hospital. He was quickly exchanged to Richmond. I knew from his service record that he had died in the hospital at Richmond, but no cause was given. I always guessed an infection killed him. A few years into my research, I was in the State Archives at Jackson going through the Record Group 9 box on the 11th Mississippi. In that box was a roster one of the Greys had typed out, from memory. He had made a few notes for some of the boys, under their names. That afternoon I found out how Fant died. His note said, “fell on the pavement at Richmond, died in 15 minutes from ruptured artery”. They had gotten him up on crutches and he fell. The artery must have retracted back up into the stump and they could not clamp it off. He bled to death, and he lay there and knew he was bleeding to death. I had a long ride back to Memphis that late afternoon. 

Let me tell you about Lewis Taylor Fant’s brothers: 

James (UM Class of 1858, UM Law Class of 1860) joined the 9th Mississippi, rose to Captain, was wounded at Munfordville, Kentucky in September of 1862, and resigned due to his wound. 

Euclid was decapitated by a cannon ball at Knoxville in November of 1863, standing beside his first cousin. 

Selden joined the 9th Mississippi with his brother, at age 15. He survived the War, only to die in the Yellow Fever of 1878. He stayed in town when most men fled. He worked as Secretary and Treasurer of the Relief Committee, until he was stricken with Yellow Fever. 

Glenn was too young to fight in the War, he too died in the 1878 Yellow Fever. He too stayed in Holly Springs to help. He filled the place of the Express Agent when that man died. Glenn finally caught Yellow Fever and died too. 

There you have the story of just one University Grey. I know the death stories of 49 other Greys, plus well over 

one hundred other UM students and alumni, plus at least another hundred Lafayette County men who went to the Civil War. I know a fair amount about their families too, as you see above. 

Now, maybe you know a little more about why their mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, and nieces put a few monuments up to them. Those monuments have nothing to do with slavery and everything to do with the incredible amount of loss those families endured. 

The picture here is the University of Mississippi student body in the 1860 – 1861 school year. There they are, your fellow Alumni. Lewis Taylor Fant is probably there somewhere. 

That is the old, 1848 Southeastern dorm behind them on the right. The building on the left is a double Professor’s residence. The young man on the far right is seated on one of the Lyceum step piers. 

A little over 4 years after this picture was taken, 27% of those kids in that picture were dead. You think about that, and apply that percentage to 20,000 students at Ole Miss, in our last school year. What do you think we would do if 27% of those kids died? Can you envision a monument or two? 

Miller Civil War Tours – Starke Miller

(Article courtesy of The Southern Comfort, Private Samuel A. Hughey Camp 1452, President Jefferson Davis Chapter Sons of Confederate Veterans, Military Order of the Stars and Bars, Volume 44, Issue #6, June 2020)

 

Vandalism Backfires

I love this article! I am so sick and tired of hearing about historically ignorant people destroying monuments. This time, the joke’s on you!

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LEE STATUE DEFACED
The statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee on Richmond’s famed Monument Avenue has been vandalized.

Red paint was splattered on the statue’s base. The letters BLM, an apparent reference to the Black Lives Matter movement, was also sprayed on the base.

Virginia Capitol Police, which is responsible for policing the monuments, told news outlets the vandalism occurred late Friday or early Saturday between patrols.

Within just a few hours of discovering the desecration Saturday morning, cleaning crews arrived on the scene and began working to remove the red paint. By 1:00 pm, clean up was proceeding and our folks on the scene reported that the paint was coming off nicely. Capitol police reported to us that they had collected evidence and an investigation was underway.

This type of violent criminal activity by monument haters only proves to accentuate the real difference between us and them and helps bring more and more citizens to our side. Our folks, who remained on the scene, working with Capitol Police and the cleaning crew throughout the day, reported that most citizens who came by expressed disgust and anger at the vandalism.

By 3:30 pm, less than 10 hours after the vandalism was discovered, crews were putting the finishing touches on the clean up and the result was amazing.

The columns are now bright and shining like new! Almost makes us want to send a note of appreciation to the vandals. Because of them, the monument got a fresh cleaning and looks better than ever!

And on a similar note…
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RICHMOND RALLIES PLANNED
Virginia Task Force, Dixie Defenders, and CSA II have two events planned along Monument Avenue in Richmond.

The first event is on August 19 from 12-4 p.m. at the Jefferson Davis Monument, following the Monument Avenue Commission’s recommendation that the monument be removed.

The second event is planned for September 15.

Monument supporters are encouraged folks to bring flags but flags on poles and signs on sticks are not allowed.

 

(Article courtesy of Dixie Heritage Newsletter, August 10, 2018 ed.)

Leave General Lee Alone!

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Last weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia, “white-nationalists” protested the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee from a park previously known as Lee Park, which has since been renamed. I’m not certain why these groups were demonstrating on behalf of the monument. They epitomize racism, and the KKK has flagrantly used the Confederate battle flag to represent themselves in the past, thus tainting the flag’s original meaning. Counter-protesters arrived and, sadly, one deranged young man, reportedly a Neo-Nazi, killed a demonstrator.

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A flurry of controversy and speculation postings on Facebook and Twitter has taken place about why the incident happened. Many wonder why the cops were told to stand down. Others think it was a way for the main stream media to avoid reporting negative publicity toward the Democrats. I believe that this entire movement is slowly chipping away at Southern heritage by claiming it to be racist, which is completely untrue. Unfortunately, extremist groups have become embroiled in the battle to preserve Southern history. What wasn’t an issue until just a few years ago has become an all out attack on Confederate history.

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The fact of the matter is, none of these monuments should be or should have been removed. In fact, none of the street names, schools, etc. should be renamed. History should never be erased, or we will forget where we came from. And those monuments are not a reminder of slavery, they are a reminder of how Southerners suffered and died for truths they believed in, and for defending their homes. In their eyes, the North was a tyranny, and they had every legal right to secede. To claim Robert E. Lee was a racist is nothing less than ridiculous. He was an honorable soldier and family man with strong Christian morals and beliefs. He didn’t own slaves during the Civil War. In fact, he inherited them and set them all free. So to claim he was a racist is ludicrous.

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I don’t think the white-nationalists had any business protesting the removal of General Lee’s statue. This should have been done by heritage groups. When word got out that this protest would take place, the Charlottesville police department should have anticipated trouble and should have been ready. Removing monuments, which honor our American war veterans and are supposed to be protected by law, is disgraceful. Destruction of these monuments of Confederate veterans and war heroes will only lead to more eradication of our history and national landmarks. Ex-presidents who are not considered to be politically correct today, such as Andrew Jackson, Thomas Jefferson, and the father of our country, George Washington, are all future targets. This is the disintegration of America, taken down from within. President Lincoln predicted it himself.

And today, another Confederate monument went down:

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2017/08/just-protesters-destroy-confederate-monument-outside-durham-county-nc-courthouse-video/

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How is This Any Different?

Last weekend, I flew out to California to visit my youngest son. While I was there, he told me about a trip he and his best friend took a few weeks ago to Sequoia National Park. I had never been there, so I was fascinated by the photos and beautiful scenery. That is, until he showed me photos of the Sherman Tree and the Grant Tree.

Sherman

The Sherman Tree, named after Union General William Tecumseh Sherman, is the largest living single stem tree in the entire world. This massive tree is estimated to be about 2000 years old. The tree is 275 feet tall. The Sherman Tree is a giant sequoia located in the Giant Forest of Sequoia National Park. Likewise, the Grant Tree is the largest giant sequoia in the General Grant Grove section of Kings Canyon National Park in California, and it is the second largest tree, by trunk volume, in the world.

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I think these two trees are spectacular and amazing, but one thing bothers me about them: their names. How is it that the NAACP has a problem with all the Confederate statues, street names, school names, etc., but not with the Sherman Tree? Afterall, General Sherman was probably the biggest bigot the Union Army had to offer. He didn’t hesitate in drowning hoards of freed slaves who were following the Union Army in search of refuge and freedom. And he certainly didn’t have a soft spot for any Native Americans. In fact, he waved off the offer to run for public office, which is what his contemporary, General Grant did. Instead, Sherman went out West to annihilate the Indians. I don’t know of any Confederate officers who were so blatantly racist, and yet, there are plenty of street names, school names, and even a giant sequoia named after Sherman. By the way, Grant was no friend to the Native Americans, either.

This double standard is appalling to me, but perhaps I should be patient. Maybe after the NAACP and other groups like Black Lives Matter do away with Confederate heritage, they will attack other historical figures, like Sherman, Grant, Jefferson, Washington, and Jackson, to name a few. And let’s not leave out Lincoln. He was the one who wanted to ship the freed slaves off to their own little island, or back to Africa, and said the two races (whites and blacks) could never co-exist.

Maybe he was right. Maybe the NAACP and BLM would back off if it were their ancestors being attacked. How can they be offended by white heroes of times past? How is it that it’s okay for those of us who are against the demolition of history to be offended? Let me know what you think about this subject. I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter. In my opinion, all this political correctness nonsense needs to end NOW. Moving statues around isn’t going to solve the problem.

Mississippi Won’t Cave to Political Correctness (But Ole Miss Might – Again)

Recent debate about controversy surrounding the Confederate battle flag prompted several government agencies to remove the flag over the last few months. Sadly, South Carolina and Virginia, among other states, had the flag removed for various reasons, the most prominent being that it is supposedly interpreted as offensive to certain ethnic groups. Pressure came from racial hate groups, such as the NAACP and Black Lives Matter, to remove the flag and anything else associated with the Confederacy. However, they failed to sway the people of Mississippi.

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The state is the only one left that includes the Confederate battle flag in its banner. In 2001, the state voted, and the people decided by a wide margin, that the Mississippi state flag would remain as it was. After the political correctness influx of last summer, the state is still going to keep the same flag, regardless of threats from Congress to have it removed from government buildings. Governor Bryant has ignored the threats and is standing firm on keeping the flag the way it is. Good for him!

However, the University of Mississippi, or Ole Miss, isn’t as open minded. A small group of student senators has pressured the school to remove the state flag from the university. If this happens, there will certainly be repercussions. A state university denying the use of the state flag? The same state that is funding the school? Ludicrous!

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This isn’t the first time Ole Miss has given in to political correctness. A few years back, they decided to get rid of Colonel Reb as their mascot, and replace him with a black bear. Needless to say, Colonel Reb still lives on, despite what a few claim is “racist.” I’m sure their next attack will be on the beautiful monuments to Confederate soldiers that adorn the campus. Maybe they’ll even bulldoze over the cemetery, also on campus, that holds the graves of the University Grays, those brave students who went off to fight for the Southern cause. (During the Battle of Gettysburg and Pickett’s Charge, the University Grays sustained 100% casualties – all we either killed or wounded.)

It’s shameful that these cherished reminders of the Confederacy are gradually being swept away. When our history is lost, then it has the opportunity to repeat itself, and the government has the opportunity to take total control by removing our identity.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/20/us/ole-miss-state-flag-confederate-vote/

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/10/18/ap-mississippi-refuses-strip-confederate-symbol-state-flag/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social

“Black Lives Matter” Interfering With National UDC Convention

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I was recently alerted to a dismaying situation that I find daunting, to say the least. Apparently, the group Black Lives Matter has threatened the United Daughters of the Confederacy’s annual convention. I am a proud member of the UDC, and I find it a national calamity that violence and intimidation of this nature is being tolerated. To single out any group and attack them is unacceptable. Because they are targeting the UDC, it only shows their ignorance toward the organization and what it has done for this country, particularly the South. Not only does the UDC honor our current veterans, but we show honor toward those who fought for the South during the Civil War. To attack this organization is insane, and it’s extremely sad that this is being allowed to happen.

According to the UDC’s website, “the UDC was incorporated under the laws of the District of Columbia on July 18, 1919. As stated in the Articles of Incorporation, the Objectives of the society are Historical, Benevolent, Educational, Memorial and Patriotic.”

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Below is a letter written by my friend, Mark Vogl:

For the first time in my life, I am now experiencing what so many human beings, in so many third world nations experience.
 
The United Daughters of the Confederacy annual convention in Louisiana is being targeted by a violent, out of control group which has caused the host hotel to block all vendors from selling items at the convention.  Therefore, I was called today by the president of the La. UDC and told that I could not be a vendor…at an event planned for more six months… product ordered a year ago, made overseas, shipped into the US …not allowed to be sold because of the threats of violence and vandalism at the host hotel!
 
The women are experiencing threats of violence.
 
Business interests now must fold to the threat of violence. 
 
Investments, travel plans, etc.
 
The police in Baton Rouge appear unable to provide security for the event.
 
This is the result of the Obama Presidency, the Supreme Court, and the McConnell – Boehner leadership in Congress.  America…petrified.
 
Where is the FBI?  Where is Homeland Defense when this kind of domestic terrorism occurs?
 
Folks, if you think this is limited to Southern heritage organizations you are forgetting 1968, and you are forgetting Ferguson and every other race based riot.
 
It would appear that President Barack Obama has either lost control of “community” or is encouraging a state violence in order to declare martial law… something America has never done, not even during the Civil War!
 
Thank you to all those in public office, or have been in public office who have allowed this situation in the United States of America.  This is the result of rejecting Christ, rejecting American heritage and culture, and the election of race oriented, anti-American socialist into the White House.  If you say that is not true, please show me President Obama’s reaction to the ongoing violence in this nation?!  Please show me his Executive Orders directing the FBI and other agencies to crack down on Black Lives Matter, the New Black Panthers and other Hate groups!
 
Remember the Jews in Germany?  That’s how I as a Southerner feel now..but there is one difference…and I will use it to defend my life, my home, my family and my faith.  And I stand ready to follow that leader who will react to this direct attack on the American Way.
 
God Bless the South, and I pray for His Protection and Providence.
 
Mark Vogl
As you can tell, Mark is very upset about this. Let me know what you think we can do to end this type of unnecessary intimidation and threats of violence.

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