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The Confederate Informant
the official newsletter of the Major James Morgan Utz Camp #1815
Sons of Confederate Veterans and the
Brigadier General Francis Marion Cockrell Chapter #84 of the Military Order of the Stars and Bars
November 2015 issue... no meeting this month
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Commander.............................Dave Roper; [email protected]
1st Lt. Commander..................Duane Mayer; [email protected]
2nd Lt. Commander, Florida..............................................Rojer Snyder
2nd Lt, Commander, Pilot Knob...Rob Graham; [email protected]
Adjutant........................................Brad Bludsworth; [email protected]
Treasurer.....................................Bill Bowden; [email protected]
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In this issue..................................................
Commander's Call......page2 Camp News ...page 3 Archibald Gracie III...........pages 4-6 Shoot-Off.......page 7 Liberty Quotes.....Page 8 Palmyra......page 8 IHQ News....page 9 Rick Stubblefield's Confederate Ancestor.....page 9 Camp Calendar.......... page 10
visit our camp website at...www.utzfmc.wordpress.com
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Commander's Call....
Can anyone find anything wrong with this weather? We had our 1st annual Gun Shoot, and Gene Dressel
called us the Rootin”, Toot’in, Sharp Shootin' Utzers. Those that where there include: Jim Hale, Larry Payne,
Brad Bludsworth, Gene Dressel Larry Strassburger, Marty Martin, Ernie Hensley, Tim Tubbs, Tim Father in Law
Brent Bair, Mary Hause, Dave Roper. All had a great time everybody wants to do this event again next year. A
special thanks to Jim Hale for having this at his place. (photos on page 7)
Those planning on being in the Florissant Veterans Day Parade include:
Brad Bludsworth, Bob Arnold, Marty Martin, Rick Morton, Bill Bowden, John Worley, Mike Madura, Charlie
Heisinger, Bill Stranger, Mike Bevill, Charlie Brulle, Jim Erhard, and Dave Roper. Come on out and be a part of
this great event.
There is no Camp Meeting for November. Our next Camp Meeting will be December 12th. We will have guest
speaker Doug Gifford, who will be speaking on the Battle of Lexington MO.
All Camp Meetings at the Community Commons/Spencer Road Library Room 240, at 1 PM. The address is 427
Spencer Road, St. Peters, MO 63376. It is just off Mexico Road and South of the new Menards Home
Improvement Center. You can access Mexico Road from Interstate 70 by exiting either at Mid-Rivers Mall
Drive and go south to Mexico Road, then East to Spencer Road or exit at Cave Springs and go South to Mexico
Road and then West to Spencer Roads When you get to Spencer go south a few blocks to Boone Hills Drive.
The Community Commons Building (427 Spencer Road) is located at the South-East corner of that intersection.
December's guest speaker.......
Doug Gifford's most recent book Where Valor and Devotion Met: The Battle of Pilot Knob, sells for
$15. He will have battlefield tour guides for Lexington, Pilot Knob, Shiloh, Fort Donelson, and Pea
Ridge. They sell for $10. He will also have "Proud Descendant of a Confederate Soldier" t-shirts and
Missouri State Guard t-shirts. They sell for $12. You can preview his books at his author page on
amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/Douglas-L.-Gifford/e/B00MNSE9AO
Amazon.com: Douglas L. Gifford: Books,
Biography, Blog ...
Visit Amazon.com's Douglas L. Gifford
Page and shop for all Douglas L. Gifford
books and other Douglas L. Gifford related
products (DVD, CDs, Apparel).
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camp news...Our October 10th,2015 meeting was very productive. We swore in new
members Brian Cook and Paul Grigsby, and welcomed them into the ranks of the Utz Camp.
We now have 85 members with several more in the
process of joining.
The dues lottery is still in effect with 29 members
having paid in July (they have 4 chances each to win
free dues), 7 members paid in August (3 chances), 8
paid in September (2 chances) and 4 who have paid in
October so far. If you haven't paid your dues yet there
is still time before the November 1st deadline. It was
decided to wait till the dues collection was completed before we come to a decision whether
to continue to subsidize new memberships and continue the dues lottery reward for early
dues payment. (also, see IHQ announcement on page 9)
We have kicked off the 2016 raffle fund raiser. This year we are raffling a .44 Army pistol and
powder flask. We will draw the winner at the
January 2017 Lee/Jackson Banquet.
By-Laws committee chairman, Gene Dressel,
presented the final version of the updated by-
laws. It was decided to table the vote for
further discussion before passing or rejecting
the revised by-laws.
Compatriot Gene Dressel has arranged to
purchase Confederate battle flags from an
import company for $2.50 each. The camp
decided to wait till we sell the flags we paid $6.48 each, before purchasing any of these $2.50
flags. Gene also agreed not to sell any of these flags to camp members at this discounted price
till the others have been sold, however these $2.50 flags will be made available at the
Secession Day dinner at the Lake of the Ozarks on November 7th to everyone interested.
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Archibald Gracie III, Brigadier General
Confederate States Army
General Archibald Gracie SCV Camp #985 of New York City has been in existence since 1893. Woodlawn
Cemetery in the Bronx (where General Gracie is buried) has six Confederate generals buried there, more than
most cemeteries in the South.
Archibald Gracie III was born into a wealthy New York family with interests in exporting cotton from Mobile,
Alabama. After his elementary education, Gracie traveled to Germany for five years of further studying at the
University of Heidelberg. After arriving back in the United States Archibald started his education at West
Point, at the time of Robert E. Lee's superintendency. Gracie came to Lee's attention when, after intentionally
stepping on fellow cadet Wharton J. Green's heels while marching, he was challenged to a fight on the parade
grounds. When a teacher broke up the fight, which Gracie was losing badly, Green fled, and Gracie refused to
tell who he'd been fighting. Days later, Green went into Lee's office to admit his role and demand an equal
punishment. Lee decided to punish neither of them, and Gracie and Green became fast friends. After graduating
in 1854, he was appointed a second lieutenant.
On November 19, 1856 Archibald Gracie married Josephine Mayo, a niece of General Winfield Scott. The couple had a daughter who was born the day before Gracie's death. The couple were also parents of Archibald Gracie IV, the famous survivor of the Titanic.
In 1857 Gracie resigned his post to join his father's firm, established during the 1840s in Mobile, Alabama, as
agents of the London banking firm of Baring brothers Later Gracie became the President of the Barings Bank
of Mobile It was here in Mobile that he joined the Washington Light Infantry and became its captain. By the
orders of Governor Andrew B. Moore, Archibald and his men seized the arms at the Mobile arsenal.
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When Alabama seceded in 1861 Gracie enlisted in the Confederate States Army. In June 1861 he became major
of the 11th Alabama Regiment. From March to April 1862, he commanded a small company of sharpshooters,
who were some of the first to reinforce General Magruder during the Battle of Yorktown. In July of that year,
Gracie was put in command of a brigade near Chattanooga, Tennessee, consisting of the 43rd Alabama Infantry,
55th Georgia Infantry, 12th Georgia Infantry, 1st Georgia Artillery, and 1st Florida Dismounted Regiment.
Through his successes in Huntsville, Tennessee, he was promoted to brigadier general on November 4, 1862, at
the age of 29. His company was the guard of the rear of General Bragg's army in Harrodsburg during his retreat
from the Battle of Perryville, and during his retreat after the Tullahoma Campaign. General Gracie's command
took an active role during the Battle of Chickamauga, loosing over 700 men.
Gracie and his unit then joined General James Longstreet's army at the Battle of Bean's Station. During this
battle, Gracie was shot in the arm, causing temporary paralysis of his little and ring fingers. After his recovery,
he was sent to Richmond to join General Beauregard. While there, he had a horse shot out from under him, but
came away relatively unscathed. During the Siege of Petersburg, General Robert E. Lee was at "Gracie's Mortar
Hell" inspecting Gracie's defenses. When Lee raised his head over the wall to glance at the Union position,
Gracie climbed the wall in front of him. Lee then stated, "Why, Gracie, you will certainly be killed." Gracie
replied, "It is better, General, that I be killed than you. When you get down, I will."
Gracie family plot, Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx; the fallen marker is the general's
Gracie grave marker, fallen off base
Between July and December 1864, Gracie served in the trenches of Petersburg, Virginia, during the Siege of
Petersburg. On December 1, Gracie's 32nd birthday, his second child, a girl, was born, and he was to take a
leave to see the baby on December 3. On December 2, however, Archibald Gracie was looking out at the Union
lines through his telescope when an artillery shell exploded in front of him, killing him instantly. Because of his
actions at the Battle of Chickamauga Gracie's name was put into consideration for a promotion to a major
general, but his death caused the consideration to be suspended.
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Archibald Gracie I Mansion is now the official residence of the Mayor of New York City. Built in 1799, (by
General Archibald Gracie's grandfather) it is located in Carl Schurz Park, at East End Avenue and 88th Street
in the Yorkville neighborhood of Manhattan. The mansion overlooks Hell Gate channel in the East River.
In 1896 the municipal government seized it, and made its grounds part of (yankee general) Carl Schurz Park. It
served various functions as part of that park (at various times it housed public restrooms, an ice cream stand,
and classrooms) until 1924. From 1924 until 1936, it housed the Museum of the City of New York, and from
1936 until 1942, it was shown as a historical house.
In 1942, Robert Moses convinced Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia to appropriate the house as a mayoral
residence. Its main two floors are open to the public on a limited basis for guided tours and serve as a small
museum.
The house may only be used for official city business. Only visiting public officials and the mayor's family may
reside with the mayor at the mansion, even for a single overnight stay. As a result, Mayor Rudy Giuliani was
unable to have his mistress live with him there, because it would have violated using a taxpayer-funded home
for a private citizen. Giuliani was forced to relocate.
Mayor Bill de Blasio (inaugurated in 2014) now lives in the Gracie Mansion. The mayor and his wife, Chirlane
McCray, are now in the process of removing all things pertaining to American history (including a painting of
"slave-owner" George Washington) from the mansion in an effort reflect the multi-cultural nature of their
Liberal/ Marxist regime.
I'm sure that General Gracie is rolling in his grave. ed.
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First annual Utz Camp Shoot-off.............October 17th Compatriot Jim Hale's Place
Shooters: Commander,Dave Roper; Tim Tubbs; Larry
Strassburger; Jim Hale; Marty Martin; Gene Dressel and Ernie Hensley;
Range Safety Officers: Larry Payne & Brad Bludsworth
Event winners.....22 - Pistol - Ernie Hensley; 22 - Rifle - Brad Bludsworth ; Black Powder Pistol - Larry
Strassburger; Black Powder Rifle - Dave Roper
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Liberty Quotes.........
A man can never have too much red wine, too many books, or too much ammunition. Rudyard Kipling Lincoln was a master politician, which means he was a consummate conniver, manipulator, and liar." -- Economist Murray Rothbard "You and we are different races. We have between us a broader difference than exists between almost any
other two races. Whether it is right or wrong I need not discuss, but this physical difference is a great disadvantage to us both, as I think your race suffers greatly by living among us, while ours suffer from your presence.... It is better for us both, therefore, to be separated." -- Abraham Lincoln, speech to a group of black freedmen in Washington D.C., August 1862 Laws control the lesser man. Right conduct controls the greater one. Chinese proverb
Palmyra, 2015.....
Once again we went to Palmyra to honor those that were murdered at the Palmyra Massacre. Those that
attended but not in photo; Gene Dressel, Mary Hause, Brenda Martin. In the photo are: Larry Payne, Danny
Payne, Paul Grigsby, Brain Cook, Carl Cullens, Dave Roper, Bill Bowden, James Martin, Duane Mayer, Mike
Madura, Jim Pliml, Tim Tubbs and Brent Bair.
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News from SCV Headquarters....... Timeline Extended for suspension of fees! Lt. Commander-in-Chief, Tom Strain announced that the SCV was temporarily suspending the $5 new member application fee and the $5 reinstatement fee . Commander-in-Chief, Kelly Barrow has extended this until 31 December 2015. Make sure all new member applications, reinstatements, and payments are postmarked by 31 December 2015 to receive this promotion. Any applications or reinstatements post marked on 1 January 2016 or later must include the $5 fees. Keep checking the Official SCV Facebook page, SCV HQ Twitter account, and the SCV Telegraph for our future one day half price life membership deal - you will only see it on social media. You will have to be a member in good standing to participate. If this is after 1 November, you will be considered delinquent and not eligible for this one day deal. We will not tell anyone when this date is until it is published at midnight of that day.
My Confederate Ancestor; Compatriot Rick Stubbblefield
Robert Mitchell Stephens, was born Dec. 22, 1838 in Rome, Floyd County, GA. He enlisted in
the Confederate Army as a Private on May 13 1861 in Rome GA., and was assigned to
Company H 8th Regiment GA. Infantry. He was mustered into service May 28 1861. Robert was
medically discharged on Oct. 26 1861 with measles, but reenlisted in Company E 3rd Battalion
of Infantry, Cobb Co. GA. In Sept. 1862 the 3rd Battalion was serving in eastern TN. Later that
month they joined the KY. Campaign. in Jan. 1863 the Unit was ordered to Vicksburg MS. They
surrendered on July 4 1863 with the Confederate Army at Vicksburg. In Sept. 1863 the
Company was paroled. They reorganized, and by Nov. 1863 they fought in the Battles of
Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, and the Atlanta Campaign. They were also engaged in
the Nashville Campaign. On Apr. 12 1865 the Company was captured in the Battle of Salisbury,
N. C. They were sent north to a prisoner-of-war camp at Camp Chase, Ohio where Robert was
paroled on June 12 1865. In 1876 he married Sarah Margaret Lumpkin in Floyd Co. GA. They
had 3 children together. Robert passed away Mar. 15 1927 in Silver Creek, Floyd, GA. He is
buried with Sarah in Wax Community Cemetery in Silver Creek, Floyd, GA.
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Camp Calendar.......
November 7th - MOSB Secession Day Dinner 5:30 PM at the Inn Grand Glaize at 5141 Hwy 54 Osage
Beach MO.
November 8th- Florissant Veterans Day Parade. We will meet at 10:00 AM at the Florissant Civic Center (also
called the James J. Eagan Civic Center). Address is 1 James J. Eagan Drive, Florissant MO. We will have several
vehicles and a 16 feet trailer to ride in or on. Anyone wishing to walk is welcome, but its 2 miles long. All
vehicles and trailers need a fire extinguisher. Each will have a American Flag that must be taller the any other
Flag. Anyone that can dress out in you Confederate Uniform please do.
If you are going to go let me know so call me at 618-304-7758 or email me at [email protected].
November 14th or 21st- Pilot Knob Satellite Camp Meeting, 1 PM at Pilot Knob Fire House
December 12th- Regular Utz Camp Meeting
December 19th-20th - Pacific (or Bridgeton) Gun Show (tentative)
January 9th - Annual Pot Luck Luncheon and Camp Meeting
January 23rd (tentative date)- Annual Lee/Jackson Day Dinner at Boonville
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