Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Confederate Veteran Spotlight - Howard Malcolm Walthall Co. D, 1st VA Infantry


The Virginia Flaggers are pleased to announce the release of the first in a series of profiles of Confederate Veterans who resided at the Old Soldiers’ Home, on the grounds of Confederate Memorial Park in Richmond, VA.

For over 140 weeks, the Virginia Flaggers have forwarded the colors, twice a week, on the sidewalk outside of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) after museum officials forced the removal of Confederate Battle Flags from the portico of the Confederate Memorial Chapel.  

One cannot truly appreciate the history and significance of the Chapel, nor the degree of desecration committed when museum leadership, driven by their own misguided prejudice and ignorance, removed the flags, without knowing the (personal) stories of the men who built the Chapel, worshiped in it every Sunday, and gathered each time the bell tolled, to pay their respects to and honor their comrades, as one by one, the Veterans passed over to eternity. 

For many of our Flaggers, this fight is about more than just defending our Heritage against yet another unwarranted and unprovoked attack.  For those whose veins course with the blood of the men who actually lived and died at the Old Soldiers’ Home, it is personal...


Veteran Profile: Howard Malcolm Walthall, Co. D, 1st VA Infantry
By Laurel Kathryn Scott

On April 21, 1861, without consulting his parents, 19-year-old Howard Malcolm Walthall—a clerk in Richmond, Virginia—stepped into a vacant store and enlisted to defend his home. Like his younger brother Robert Ryland Walthall and other locals, he became a private in the 1st Virginia Regiment just days after that state's secession from the Union. "I was in my teens then, and with crude ideas of what going to war meant," he later wrote. But he knew that the Southern states refused to submit to oppressive legislation. He also knew that attempts to prevent secession by military force "fired the southern spirit, and they made ready to resist the invasion."

Photo:  Howard (on the left) with his younger brother Robert (“Ryland”) in their uniforms, 1861 - Courtesy of Grace Walthall Turner Karish
 
Co. D, 1st VA entered the fray July 18, 1861 at Blackburn's Ford. In his post-war memoir, Howard vividly described his involvement in the battles of Williamsburg, Seven Pines, Frayser's Farm and Second Manassas, not to mention Gettysburg (where he survived Pickett's Charge), Plymouth, Drewry's Bluff and Five Forks. He was captured at Second Manassas and imprisoned briefly in Alexandria's Slave Pen and Washington's Old Capitol Prison. In May, 1864, he saw his brother shot at Drewry's Bluff after "standing [and] shouting to the Yanks to come on." Ryland died in Howard's arms. He had fought his last fight, but Howard faced quite an ordeal getting his body out of the swamp and to Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery.

The following spring, after the desperate clash at Five Forks, capture seemed imminent and the men of Howard's company were told to fend for themselves. Howard commandeered a horse and rode to Richmond. There he said goodbye to his family, escaping as the enemy poured into the city and the evacuation fires started. Toting bags of Confederate money for sons of families left in Richmond, he sold the horse and rejoined the remnants of his company at Amelia Court House. During the army's chaotic retreat—possibly from Sayler's Creek—Howard was struck in the arm by a stray bullet. He distributed the money as promised, but as his wound needed tending and he dared not risk capture, he pressed on toward Lynchburg to see a cousin who was a doctor. Soon after his arrival, Howard learned of Lee's surrender. He was paroled at Lynchburg on April 15 and walked back to Richmond, where he found his neighborhood destroyed by fire and his family homeless.

After the war, Walthall rebuilt his life in Richmond and went to work in the tobacco manufacturing business. He married and raised four children, becoming a deacon of the First Baptist Church and traveling around the world. He was also active with R.E. Lee Camp No. 1, Confederate Veterans.

    Photo:  ​Howard Malcolm Walthall, circa 1909
Courtesy of Grace Walthall Turner Karish
 
In 1923, at the age of 82, Howard—by then a blind, feeble widower—applied for residency at the Lee Camp's Soldiers' Home. In a touching letter to the home's superintendant, he asked for a first-floor room because of his difficulty negotiating stairs, and said he looked forward to living among his old comrades-in-arms. "With the care and pleasant surroundings at the home, I hope to be out of doors a great deal," he wrote. "I am well acquainted with several men in cottages ... If Mr. Chamberlin's [old] room is unoccupied next to Mr. Bachelor, it would be very agreeable to have it, as then some of my friends might be of service in my blindness in telling me the time, etc."
Howard left the Soldiers' Home on Jan. 13, 1924 and died two days later at Grace Hospital, his daughters by his side.

  Photo by Jimmy Creech
 
90 years after Howard Malcolm Walthall left this earth, his cousin, Laurel Kathryn Scott, is determined that his sacrifice, courage and devotion to God and country will not be forgotten, as she forwards the Colors in his memory, and in protest of those who have desecrated the Confederate Memorial Chapel and the hallowed ground on which it rests, and dishonored our gallant Confederate Veterans. 

God bless the Walthall brothers, and God bless those who stand and speak for those who no longer have a voice!

RETURN the flags!
RESTORE the honor!

Virginia FlaggersP.O. Box 547
Sandston VA 23150
info@vaflaggers.com 

Point Lookout Pilgrimage, 6/28/2014

This weekend, descendants of Point Lookout POW's, guests, and visitors will gather at Confederate Memorial Park at Point Lookout, MD to honor the men who lived and died in the Yankee prison there.


We hope you will consider making the trip, to honor our Confederate heroes, and to support the Descendants of Point Lookout Organization, and those who have worked so hard to make sure that the men who died there, as well as those who survived, will not be forgotten.
"If you have never been to a Pilgrimage, you should make up your mind to come this year.
If you have never been to Point Lookout, you should make up your mind to come this year.
Life goes on everyday at the Point. Folks come and go, passing by grounds that contain the earthly remains of the ancestors of many of our members.
You should make up your mind to come this year.
The men, women, and children who suffered at the hands of the northern government at Point Lookout could have abandoned their principles. But, they didn't. They withstood abuse that we can't imagine, leaving us a valuable inheritance.....truth, honour, faith, courage,and steadfastness.  Once a year, we honour them.
You should make up your mind to come this year."
My Great-Great Grandfather was imprisoned at Point Lookout after being captured at the Wilderness in May, 1864, and before being transferred on to HELLmira.

I am honored to be able to have a part in this ceremony, in his memory, 150 years later.
I hope you will consider joining us.

Sincerely,
Susan Hathaway


Virginia Flaggers
P.O. Box 547
Sandston VA 23150
info@vaflaggers.com

Thursday, June 19, 2014

VMFA...and The Cause for Which We Stand

There are many people who are angry that we are standing up, speaking out, and fighting back against the PC establishment regarding the honor of ancestors. They have tried, unsuccessfully, to paint us as ill-mannered haters, and uneducated "racists". History shows that these types of attacks, both from our enemies and from within, usually are effective, as the innocent victims (quite understandably) throw down their arms, rather than deal with the fallout.

This September will mark three years since the Va Flaggers first stepped onto the sidewalk in front of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA)... and despite efforts to stop us, we are determined to stand and fight... until the Confederate Flags are returned to the Confederate Memorial Chapel, and the honor is returned to the men who lived and died on the grounds of the Old Soldiers Home.

Why do we do what we do?

Yesterday afternoon, in temperatures that neared 100 degrees Fahrenheit, Flagger Tommy M. was one of 1/2 dozen Va Flaggers who answered the call to forward the colors on the Boulevard.  In this photo,he displays his inspiration:



Pvt Alexander Morris (His Great Great Grandfather)
Pvt James Henry Morris (His Great Great Uncle)
Both served with the 3rd Va Reserves (Bookers Regiment), from Buckingham,Va. Home Guard, defending High Bridge in Prince Edward, Va


God Bless Alexander and James Morris, and God bless the Flaggers!

RETURN the flags!
RESTORE the honor!


Virginia Flaggers
P.O. Box 547
Sandston VA 23150
info@vaflaggers.com

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Remembering On Father's Day

“I Am My Father’s Son”
By D.G. Bickers

I am my father’s son, and for that reason one may see
That something noble and heroic is expected now of me.

I know that each must stand or fall, upon his own account
Each generation bear the justly chargeable amount
It owes to duty; and I know my father could not do
The thing expected of his son, and still, this too, is true:
He left a precious legacy into my keeping; now
I am responsible for this, its safety and just how
It shall be kept untarnished, how its value shall increase
From day to day through trying times of war, or times of peace –
The name I bear, it is the bond, for faithfulness to trust
And to the challenge sacredly, I answer now, “I must.”

I am my father’s son and for that reason one may see
That something noble and heroic is expected now of me.

 From the Confederate Veteran magazine
Volume XXVI
Nashville, TN
February, 1918

Photo: Meeting Georgia's last Real Son of a Confederate Veteran, H. V. Booth, June, 2013

Susan Hathaway
Virginia Flaggers
P.O. Box 547
Sandston VA 23150
info@vaflaggers.com

Thursday, June 12, 2014

I-95 MEMORIAL BATTLE FLAG CHESTER SITE WORK DAY POSTPONED!

Heavy rain today has turned the flag site into a muddy mess and more rain is expected tomorrow. We won't be able to get the heavy equipment we need in and out, and conditions will not be safe for our volunteers.

Stay tuned for rescheduling information...

General Lee In Ft. Myers

From our friends in Florida...
Good news for a change.
 
William Footman Camp in Fort Myers did our cause well this morning with the rededication of the Robert E. Lee bust renovation. After years of weather wear General Lee was atoned in bright gold and resting at the top of the monument downtown.
 
Commander Rob Gates and his camp managed the entire project with many city and Lee County dignitaries on hand as you will see in the attached file. Gates is a past recipient of the Ulmer Award.
 
Compliments to 15th Brigade Commander Tom Fyock, and member Charlie Hickman for their hours of work and planning. Also in attendance was Florida Division Heritage Chairman Graham Smith from Tallahassee and 11th Brigade Commander Leon Arthur.
 
The Footman camp defended Lee's portrait in the Commissioners Chambers earlier this year with a heritage victory.
Forward the Colours
Mike Herring
5th Lt. Commander
Florida DivisionSons of Confederate Veterans 
Comm Pendergrass, Mayor Henderson, Cmdr Gates, UDC Pres Macomber

Macomber, Mayor Henderson, Stickles, McLain, Cmdr Arthur, Lewis

Susan Hathaway
Va Flaggers

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Confederate flag at Citadel protected under state law, AG says

The Post & Courier, Charleston Jun 10 2014

A Confederate naval jack hangs in the Summerall Chapel. Russell Pace/The Citadel.
The Confederate Naval Jack flag in Summerall Chapel at The Citadel is allowed under state law, the Attorney General's Office announced today.
"In our opinion, this flag would be protected in its present location by the Heritage Act as a 'monument' or 'memorial' erected on public property of the state," Solicitor General Robert D. Cook states in a letter to the two senators requesting the ruling.

"The General Assembly has mandated, by virtue of the Heritage Act, that monuments and memorials honoring the gallantry and sacrifice of this state's various wars are protected," Cook says.

"It is thus our opinion that the Flag referenced in your letter, the Confederate Battle Flag, placed in Summerall Hall in 1939 is protected by the Heritage Act," Cook says.

Charleston County Council member Henry Darby raised questions about the appropriateness of the flag in a house of worship on The Citadel campus.

Last week, County Council voted to delay disbursement of $975,000 in funding for the debt on Johnson Hagood Stadium renovations pending the outcome of the AG's opinion.

"It's time for us to move on. It's not a battle between the county and The Citadel. It's not our fight," said County Council Chairman Teddie Pryor.

Darby raised the issue at the request of constituents, Pryor said. Darby was not immediately available for comment.

Pryor said the college will receive the check for stadium renovations in the new budget starting in July.
The Citadel Veterans will not be dishonored! We join citizens across the country in thanking God for this key, decisive victory, but can't help but assume that the Confederate Battle flags at the Confederate Memorial Chapel in Richmond would have been protected, and the Battle Flags at General Lee's mausoleum at Washington & Lee University would not be in danger...if Virginia had a similar law...

Let's make a Virginia Heritage Act a priority for the next legislative session...and protect ALL of Virginia's history!

Susan Hathaway
Virginia Flaggers
P.O. Box 547
Sandston VA 23150
info@vaflaggers.com

Monday, June 2, 2014

Fredericksburg Flag Poll ... Please Vote

A sampling of the press coverage of the raising of the Fredericksburg I-95 Memorial Battle Flag.

ABC: This one has a poll...please vote and share!
http://www.wric.com/story/25673065/virginia-flaggers-raise-another-confederate-flag-on-i-95#WNPoll131670

...and a great new photo!




"The Virginia Flaggers have raised another controversial confederate flag on Interstate 95, this time near Fredericksburg and the group says they're not done yet."


CBS:  http://wtvr.com/2014/06/02/virginia-flaggers-erect-second-confederate-flag/

NBC:  http://www.nbc12.com/story/25663862/kelly-tba

Best of all, is an EXCELLENT article by Christine Barr...
http://www.parispi.net/opinion/columns/article_6b81f690-ea75-11e3-aab8-001a4bcf887a.html


RETURN the flags!
RESTORE the honor!

Va Flaggers



Virginia Flaggers
P.O. Box 547
Sandston VA 23150
info@vaflaggers.com