Commanders Comments November/December2008
I have spoken with Grady McCollum about "Christmas In The Park" for this year and he advised we will be located in the same general area we were in last year and they will give us plenty of firewood for our location. The reason we are in the same place again is because they want to try to get people in the back part of the park too, and not just up front. They seem to think we'll be a big draw. The event will be held on Thursday December 4th and Friday December 5th and the city has asked that we be there for both nights.
We are still waiting for our IRS tax ID number to come in. I spoke with Ben Sewell, executive director of the SCV on Tuesday and he said that he expected it any day as two more numbers that he applied for at the same time had come in on Monday. As soon as these numbers come in, we can send in the otherwise completed applications for financial support for our Trion cemetery project.
Christmas Parade
We have the opportunity to be in the Christmas parade in Summerville, this year without charge. We may want to ask either the Rome or Chickamauga Camps to bring their float as an entry this year (provided they have one) and either ride on it or march in front or around it. This is something we need to discuss at the next meeting so I can contact which ever camp we select before they make other plans.
A Christmans Letters from a Soldier of the Confederacy
This is Merry Christmas. This morning we resumed our march early and moved down the valley nearly to Kernstown, where we encountered the Yankees and gave them a Christmas greeting in the shape of a few shell . We took the same position we held at the battle of Kernstown last spring. About sixty sharpshooters advanced on our position and attempted to drive us away. We opened fire on them with two guns and fired three rounds, which thoroughly settled the sharpshooting business for this Christmas. Their line fell back in a rather stirred-up mixture, and that was the I saw of the sharpshooters. We remained in battery till sunset, to see whether the yanks intended to advance on us in force. Their infantry camp was not far away, for I heard their drummers beating the long roll immediately after we opened fire on their sharpshooters. After dark this evening our cavalry kindled camp-fires all around the place we held today, to make the Yanks believe that we were many, and holding the position. We fell back to Middletown and camped.