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Sons of Confederate Veterans meeting held at local museum
Posted: Wednesday, September 23, 2009 8:01 pm
The Gen. Otho French Strahl Camp 176, Sons of Confederate Veterans camp commander Joe Dillon (second from right) and adjutant Jimmy Williams (right) recently presentated Friends of the SCV certificates to (from left) Jerry Ring and David Ring.
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The Gen. Otho French Strahl Camp 176, Sons of Confederate Veterans, held its September meeting at the Obion County Museum on Edwards Street in Union City recently.
There were 17 members and one guest in attendance.
The meeting was called to order by commander Joe Dillon, who led the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States Flag and the SCV flag salute. Chaplain Mike Alexander led the opening prayer.
The main item of business was the refurbishing of the “Unknown Confederate Dead” Monument in preparation for a 140-year anniversary rededication on Oct. 18 at 3 p.m. at the old Confederate cemetery.
Col. Jeffrey Forrest Brigade commander and Camp No. 176 member Bill Foster presented the history of the monument as written in Marshal’s 1941 “Obion Co. History.” The “Unknown Confederate Dead” monument, while listed on the National Historic Register, is little known today. It is, however, the first-ever monument erected to the unknown Confederate soldiers and maybe to any Confederate soldier in the South.
Foster, being inspired by four separate articles appearing in The Union City Daily Messenger October-November 2005 under the KOB: “A View from the Country,” began a search to answer the question presented in these articles regarding Charlie Sheppard, a black man, and the only known person buried in the cemetery whose marker indicates he was a body servant to Gen. George Maney. It was learned the mystery has finally been solved. An obituary, which appeared in the Aug. 8, 1900, Memphis Commercial Appeal, explained that Sheppard, who was “known to every Confederate soldier in the county and to nearly every other person,” had died Aug. 7, 1900, and had been buried in the Confederate cemetery, “an honor which has never been, nor will likely in the future, be accorded a colored man.”
Sheppard had requested to be “buried by his white friends, and that some preacher who was a Confederate soldier should conduct the funeral service.” None were available on that date and the services were instead performed by the old Confederates, Col. J.M. Coulter and Andy J. Lawson.
The article goes on to say that Sheppard was “born in the Andrew Jackson family of negros; passed into the Donaldson family, living near the Hermitage, and subsequently became the property of Mr. Sheppard, who was comptroller of the State of Tennessee. When James K. Polk made his campaign for governor against James C. Jones, his carriage was driven by old Charley, who faithfully drove the president-to-be, over most of the state.”
During the meeting, Lenny Stover III was presented his new membership certificate.
The Sons of Confederate Veterans is the nation’s largest Southern heritage, history and honor organization open to all male descendants of a Confederate soldier who served honorably in the War for Southern Independence.
For more information, call 1-800-MYSOUTH or visit the Web site SCV.org.
Published in The Messenger 9.23.09
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Sons of Confederate Veterans, The Gen. Otho French Strahl Camp 176
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