THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 30, 1995 TAG: 9504290090
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines
``Dixie'' and other songs of the South played in the cassette. It was a March meeting, forerunner to last Sunday's organizational meeting of the Suffolk Chapter of Sons of Confederate Veterans, Tom Smith Camp.
``We want to remember the sacrifices of the Southern soldier,'' said Randy Turner Jr., commander. ``We want to honor his good name.''
The Sons have been doing it for seven years in Franklin, where the Urquhart-Gillette Chapter boasts about 100 members, including several from Suffolk.
The Suffolkians want to meet on home territory - specifically, in Bunny's Restaurant. They have about 20 members, and more are sought.
Membership is open to all descendants of any veteran who served honorably in the Confederate armed forces.
``My great-grandfather, Spencer D. Walker, was with the 5th Regiment, Alabama Cavalry,'' said Woodie Walker, treasurer. Turner is also honoring his great-grandfather, who fought with the 9th Virginia Infantry and was captured at Gettysburg during Pickett's Charge.
The man most honored, the man for whom the Suffolk chapter is named, is Col. Thomas W. Smith who, in 1895, organized the SCV forerunner called Confederate Veterans, and served as its first commander.
A former president of both the Farmers Bank and Suffolk National Bank, he provided the funds to erect a monument in Cedar Hill Cemetery - unveiled in 1889 - to commemorate the Confederate soldiers who died in the Civil War.
For many years following the war, Smith was in demand as a speaker. A 1905 edition of ``Confederate Veteran'' recalls a portion of a speech he made in Portsmouth: ``I am one of the men whose proudest boast is, ``I followed Lee.''
SCV members can boast of their knowledge of history, their knowledge of their ancestors, and the battles, people and dates connected with the conflict.
Programs of Sons of Confederate Veterans, organized in Richmond in 1896, include preservation work, marking Confederate soldiers graves, historical re-enactments, and dispensing information via publications.
One of the men's favorite things takes place at the meetings - discussing the military and political history of the War Between the States.
The Sons of Confederate Veterans is not alone in its study of that war. The northern counterpart is Sons of Union Veterans.
These are the companies that were mustered in Suffolk and Nansemond County during the Civil War:
Company F, 3rd Va. Infantry - ``The Nansemond Rangers,'' part of Pickett's Division. Their leader was Capt. William J. Arthur. They served at Gettysburg and were in on Pickett's Charge.
Company E, 6th Va. Infantry - ``The Nansemond Guards,'' sometimes referred to as ``Rice Button Co.,'' were part of Mahone's Division.
Company F, 9th Va. Infantry, part of Pickett's Division.
Company B, 13th Va. Cavalry, W.H.F. Lee's Division.
Company I, 13th Va. Cavalry, the ``Hamshire Cavalry.''
Company A, 16th Va. Infantry, Mahone's Division.
Company B, 16th Va. Infantry, the ``Suffolk Continentals'' were part of Mahone's Division. Led by Capt. Francis D. Holladay, they distinguished themselves at the Battle of the Crater.
Company K, 24th Va. Cavalry, Gary's Division of the Hampton Legion.
Companies I and K both 41st Va. Infantry, Mahone's Division.
Roy's Scouts were boys and young men who passed rather freely back and forth through Federal lines, carrying information to troops in and around Chuckatuck. ILLUSTRATION: Photos by FRANK ROBERTS
Randy Turner Jr., standing, commander of the Suffolk Chapter of Sons
of Confederate Veterans, welcomes James A. Lynch, a new recruit.
This is the Sons' banner. The group's members include 20
Suffolkians.
AT A GLANCE
WHAT: Tom Smith Camp, Sons of Confederate Veterans
WHERE: Bunny's Restaurant
WHEN: 6:30 p.m. May 22 (and fourth Monday each month)
COST: $32 the first year, $30 thereafter
CALL: 539-5647
by CNB