">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
49TH ANNUAL GENERAL CONVENTION CHILDREN OF THE CONFEDERACY AKA "ROAD TRIP TO DELAWARE" On the afternoon of Sunday, July 13, 2003, thirty-three hearty CofC, UDC and SCV members and guests from Mississippi, Louisiana and Akansas set out from Madison, Mississippi, on a road trip to the CofC's 49th Annual General Convention in Delaware City, Delaware. Mississippians participating in the trip and attending the convention were CofC members Quentin Fairchild and Callie Rodgers and UDC members Rebecca Fairchild (Division Director), Ruthie Murdock and Margaret Murdock (CofC Ex-President General). From Arkansas were Hollis Landreth (CofC Division President), John Landreth, Jake Railsback, Gilly Gill, Josh Gill, Susan Milton, Jeremy Thumann, Tony Pardew, Charlotte Scharnhorst, Susan Railsback (UDC Division President), Glenn Railsback, Edie Gill, Trey Gill and Dabney Thumann. From Louisiana were Caitlin Ainsworth, Krystina Harden, Genevieve Walgamotte, Andrew Troquille, Robert Vaughn, Joyce Bridges (UDC Divison President), Nita Doughty, Rosemary Troquille, Diane Chenault, Eugenia Vaughn, Alison Wallis, Lynda Moreau and Eddie Vaughn. Our first stop was none other than...are you ready...Richland, Mississippi! Fuel and a small repair and then we were really off. In Tuscaloosa we made our first food and rest stop (ask somene who went on the trip about our on-bus bathroom - there was a good reason we had an official "Potty Patrol".). Also, we picked up our Alabama riders: Mary Katherine Miller (CofC Division President), Elizabeth Miller, Walter Miller, Mary Ann Ezell and Claude Ezell. Once fortified, we headed out for Lexington, Virginia...or so we thought! It was in Chattanooga that we picked up a new driver...George. George fill in quite well with our group and became one of us very quickly. In many wonderful ways, the trip would not have been the same without George! The fog in Knoxville was HORRIBLE and George couldn't see the highway signs very well. So, when he saw a huge sign that said LEXINGTON, he followed the sign. It was sometime later that he and we realized that we were headed to Lexington, KENTUCKY. What do you do when that happens...you add another state to your trip and enjoy the chance to ride through Kentucky Blue Grass country - of course, it was the middle of the night so we didn't see too much of it. And, had we not had our little detour (as it affectionately became known), we wouldn't have seen the beautiful West Virginia State Capitol just as the sun came up or experience the Blue Ridge Mountains soon after sunrise! We finally rolled into Lexington, Virginia - just a few hours late - and headed straight to Virginia Military Institute. We missed our tour with Col. Keith Gibson, the director of the VMI Museums, because of our detour, but did tour the on-campus museum (where the CofC members participated in the Scavenger Hunt), see the Stonewall Jackson statue and grave of Little Sorrell in the VMI parade grounds and see the beautiful "Virginia Mourning her Dead" by Moses Ezekiel. JACKSON STATUE ON VMI PARADE GROUNDS. After touring, scavenging and even a little shopping, we headed over to the Washington & Lee Campus where we toured Lee Chapel. A guide gave us a welcome to the Chapel and information regarding its history. Thereafter we had the opportunity to see the beautiful recumbent Lee statue and tour the downstairs museums, family crypt and see Lee's office just as it was the day he last was in it. Just outside the Chapel is the grave of Traveller, General Lee's faithful horse. And, again, we did a little shopping. Fortunately, Shelley Miller had to head back to the VMI gift shop to find something...while there she stumbled upon Col. Gibson and he came over to W&L to greet us. He provided us each with a book on VMI and gave us a little history of VMI, Stonewall Jackson and the VMI cadets at New Market, and gave us a guided tour of Stonewall Jackson Cemetery in Lexington. TRAVELLER'S GRAVE AT W&L RECUMBENT LEE AT LEE CHAPEL COL. GIBSON CONDUCTS OUR TOUR AT STONEWALL JACKSON CEMETERY JACKSON FAMILY PLOT AT STONEWALL JACKSON CEMETERY After bidding farewell to Col. Gibson, we did a drive by of the Jackson home in Lexington (the only home Jackson ever owned) and drove through the historic portion of the town. Our next stop was the New Market Battlefield State Park that is managed by VMI. There we were met by two VMI Cadets - one modern day cadet and one WBTS era cadet. We had marching and saluting drills, dressed up like WBTS soldiers, looked around the museum. Because it was raining, we didn't get to shoot our muskets or have a walking tour of the battlefield. We did take a driving tour of the battlefield. Most spectacular at New Market was the Hall of Valor and it's stained glass tribute to the young soldiers, CSA and USA, who fought at New Market. STAINED GLASS WINDOW AT HALL OF VALOR NEW MARKET BATTLEFIELD STATE PARK With everyone clamoring for a REAL MEAL, we headed to Johnny Appleseed's in New Market (upon the recommendation of those at the Battlefield) for some good ole Southern cooking. And then it was on to our first night of real sleep - in Front Royal, Virginia. We were met by our local hostess, Suzanne Silek, and everyone was quickly dispatched out to where they were staying - we think it is safe to say that EVERYONE crashed that night!!!! Tuesday morning dawned bright and early as we all gathered for breakfast at the Warren Rifles Confederate Museum - which is owned by the UDC Chapter in Front Royal. Mr. Sam Riggs and Mrs. Silek gave us a wonderful driving tour of Front Royal and the many WBTS sites in and around town. WE stopped at Asbury Chapel, tested George's driving skills down a narrow dirt road, visited Prospect Hill Cemetery, heard of the importance of the Shenandoah River in the defense of Front Royal, Visited Rose Hill Plantation and toured the Chapter's Museum. While at Prospect Hill Cemetery, we saw the Confederate Monument which covers a mass grave of unknown soldiers and is surrounded by the graves of the identified dead. We also learned about Mosby's Rangers and saw the monument to them - five of them were executed in Front Royal. Oh, and the highlight of our trip the cemetery was, of course, seeing Suzanne's headstone!!!! We had the afternoon free - folks went to the movie, shopped, rested, swam and ran errands. CONFEDERATE MONUMENT PROSPECT HILL CEMETERY MOSBY MONUMENT PROSPECT HILL CEMETERY NORTH FORK OF THE SHENANDOAH RIVER - NOTE THE OLD BRIDGE WORKS IN THE BACKGROUND Tuesday afternoon, we were joined by a some more folks from Alabama: Braxton, Crum, Katherine, Helen and Mildred Cook (Ex-President General UDC). That evening the Warren Rifles UDC Chapter hosted a picnic for our group - lots of Virginians (CofC, UDC, SCV and guests) joined us as well. Kickball was the sport of the evening - we're still not sure who won! David Silek was the chef for the evening. KICKBALL IN THE BACKYARD THE CHEF ~ DAVID SILEK ENJOYING EVERYONE'S COMPANY We so appreciated the efforts and generosity of the Warren Rifles UDC Chapter and Mrs. Silek for hosting our group in Front Royal. Our trip would not have been as much fun had they not done so much for us. Mary Katherine Miller and Hollis Landreth presented Mrs. Silek with a card fr and a John S. Mosby Ron Wall miniature soldier from our group. They also presented the Chapter with a cash contribution as a way of saying THANKS! THANKS. L to R. MARY KATHERINE MILLER, SUZANNE SILEK AND HOLLIS LANDRETH It was off to Gettysburg, PA the next morning. En route, we passed through Harper's Ferry, Frederick and other sites. Upon our arrival at Gettysburg, we visited the Cyclorama and the Electric Map. We also had a two hour driving tour around the Battlefield. We stopped at the monuments of each state represented in our group - Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Virginia. After some time to shop, we at supper at the appropriately named General Picket's Buffet. And then we headed to Delaware City - careful to make sure we went through Wilmington, Delaware... not Wilmington, North Carolina! THE WHOLE GANG WITH MRS. SILEK AT THE VIRGINIA THE MISSISSIPPI GROUP AT THE MISSISSIPPI STATE MONUMENT - AT ITS TOP IS GENERAL ROBERT L to R: MARGARET MURDOCK, RUTH MURDOCK, E. LEE (NOT SHOWN) CALLIE ROGERS, QUENTIN FAIRCHILD, REBECCA FAIRCHILD. A CONVENTION REPORT AND PICS WILL BE POSTED WHEN THOSE PICS ARE DEVELOPED!!! |
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
