Camp 1745 Ancestors

James Hall Bendy and wife, of Woodville, TX
Private, Company A, 25th Texas Cavalry CSA
Great-great-grandfather of a Camp 1745 member

James Hall Bendy's grave marker in Colmesneil Cemetery.
Note the "C" etched on the top.

Photo of Colonel Benjamin H. Norsworthy. During the war he organized a unit known as "The Lone Star Rifles".
He was wounded at the Battle of Thompson's Station (1863) in Tennessee and again at the Battle of Jonesboro,
Georgia (1864). He moved to Orange after the war and became a merchant and rice farmer.
He was elected as Mayor of Orange for three terms.

Adrian Michel
This is Granvel Block's great-grandfather's cousin; he served in the 29th Texas Infantry.
The 29th Infantry Regiment [also called 28th Regiment] was organized during the
early spring of 1862 as a battalion, then in May was increased to regimental strength.
Assigned to General Shoup's Brigade in the Department of  Mississippi and East Louisiana,
the unit was active at Chickasaw Bayou and during the Vicksburg siege lost 16 killed and
57 wounded. After the exchange, it served in General A. Thomas' Brigade, Trans-Mississippi
Department. It participated in various engagements in Louisiana and disbanded in the spring
of 1865. The field officers were Colonel Allen Thomas, Lieutenant Colonel Joseph O. Landry,
and Major C. M. Pegues.       More info on Mr. Michel

Walter Mitchel Morris c. 1903
This is Granvel Block's great-grandfather.
Mr. Morris was a long-time resident of Orange.
He was a private in the 21st Texas Cavalry, 1st Texas Lancers, CSA.
The 21st Texas fought although East Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana. They
were also involved in the Red River Campaign.
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Confederate Memorial Day, April 29, 2006 Evergreen Cemetery
80 Confederate veterans are buried here, along with several Union veterans. Here is a list of the names.

What is "Southern culture?"

"Southern culture is saying 'Yes, sir" and "Yes, ma'am;' it's opening the door for and tipping your hat to a lady; it requires standing your ground even when you know the odds are against you; it's saying 'Hello' to people when you pass them on the street; it is self-sufficiency and being thankful for what you have instead of being bitter about what you don't have; it is saving for what you want and paying in cash; it is living within your means instead of trying to keep up with the Joneses; in short, it is courtesy, modesty, thrift, chivalry, as well as a hundred other currently outmoded concepts."

~ Paul B. Martin, First Lieutenant Commander, Robert E. Lee Camp 239, Ft.
Worth, Texas, Sons of Confederate Veterans

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Originally Posted by Steve Acker

To James Phillips, 12th Virginia Infantry, who buried your brother at Spotsylvania and to Captain Brown who died leading your company through the Miller Apple Orchard, I apologize for my self-important belief that somehow, I understand what you went through and can recreate it authentically. I can never truly understand nor do I want to recreate the hell you lived. I do my best to honor the memory, to educate myself and the public but my efforts fall short because I've not seen Gettysburg, Shiloh, drill or camp the way you have. I have never seen a wounded man crawl through the fires of the Wilderness. I've never scratched at lice, gone to sick call, felt a march to Perryville or returned home scarred by war. I wear cool stuff for two days then head to Taco Bell for a Nacho Bellgrande. Oh yeah, I've read a bunch of books too.

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Rebel Johnny - Anthem

Oh, I'm a good old rebel,
Now thats just what I am,
And for this yankee nation,
I do not give a damn.
I'm glad I fought a'ginner,
I only wish we'd won.
I ain't asked any pardon for anything I've done.

I hates the yankee nation and eveything they do.
I hates the declaration of independence, too.
I hates the glorious union, just dripping with our blood.
I hates the striped banner, and fit it all I could

I rode with Robert E. Lee,
For three years, thereabout.
Got wounded in four places,
And I starved at Point Lookout.
I caught the Rheumatism
Campin' in the snow.
But I killed a bunch of Yankees
And I'd like to kill some more.

3 hundred thousand Yankees
Is stiff in southern dust.
We got 3 hundred thousand
Before they conquered us
They died of Southern Fever
And southern steel and shot
I wish there were 3 million
Instead of what we got.
I can't pick up my musket
And fight 'um down no more
But I ain't gonna love 'um
Now that is certain sure
And I don't want no pardon
For what I was and am
I won't be reconstructed
And I do not give a damn.

Oh, I'm a good old rebel,
Now that's just what I am,
And for this yankee nation,
I do not give a damn.
I'm glad I fought a'ginner,
I only wish we'd won.
I ain't asked any pardon for anything I've done.
I ain't asked any pardon for anything I've done.

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"Old Gray Coat"

Well, they gave me this old coat
Said "It'll keep you mighty warm
It'll see you through the winter
It's your 'By God' uniform!"
So I wear it everyday
And I sleep in it at night
Now it's twenty shades of ray
And the waist is shrunk too tight
And the bottom's caked and muddy
And the buttons are half gone
But just like you and me
This old gray coat wears on
And when I die in this gray coat
I'm gonna' march through heaven's door
I'm gonna' walk up to St. Peter
And tell him "Send me back for more"
Cause I'll be damned if I'll just sit around
While you boys win the war
Cause even when I'm dead
Shot full of Yankee lead
There'll be part of me keeps hangin' by a thread...
Of this old gray coat
When I think of all the places
This old coat and me have been
Through the fat and lean and in between
Double quick through thick and thin
From the ballrooms down in Richmond
To the top of Marye's heights
From Manassas to the Wilderness
And a hundred other fights
Now the collar's torn and tattered
And the elbow's worn clean through
But, buddy, in a pinch
This old gray coat will do
And when I die in this gray coat
And when they come to bury me
If they commence to speechafyin'
And singin' "Nearer, Lord, to thee"
Well, be damn sure I ain't just sleepin'
Cause I flat out guarantee
That even when I'm dead
Shot full of Yankee lead
That the toughest part lives on in every shred
Of this old gray coat
You can cut my throat
You can sink my boat
But you can never stop this old gray coat
When my bones you tote
When that's all she wrote
I'll fight on inside this old gray coat
Cause when I die in this gray coat
I'm gonna march through heaven's gate
I'm gonna walk up to St. Peter
And tell him "Send me back for more"
Cause I'll be damned if I'll just sit around
While you boys win the war
Cause even when I'm dead
Shot full of Yankee lead
There ain't nothin' that I'd rather wear instead
Of this old gray coat
This old gray coat
I'll go down in this old gray coat
This old gray coat