VOLUME XIV ISSUE 8 2021

ROUGH The Sons of Confederate Veterans – Camp 265

AND

THE
READYS RANKIN DISPATCH
RANKIN

CAMP
265
Home of the Rankin Rough & Ready’s – Brandon, Mississippi

Commander’s Report
I hope everyone will make plans to attend our August 7, 2021
meeting! We will discuss our 2022 Relic Show, vote in new members,
and have a short informative business session. Everyone is encouraged to
wear a mask and social distance. I heard bringing desserts will ward off
the COVID! If you do not feel comfortable attending the meeting, please
continue doing what you think is best for yourself and your family. I do
not think COVID is going anywhere for the foreseeable future! I look
forward to seeing everyone that is not running fever!

Please come out and show your support for our speaker, Miss Charla
Lewis and new members! We will have new guests, potential members,
good food, & great fellowship! So, come early, bring a someone with you,
and as sure as together we will stand and we divided we will fall, I will
probably see you at Fernando’s in Brandon on August 7, 2021.

– Tim Cupit

Meeting Agenda for August 7th:

Agenda For August 7, 2021 Meeting
- Open with prayer at 7pm sharp by Tom Fortenberry
- Pledge of Allegiance to the US flag and salutes led by 2nd Lt.
Commander Tom Lilly
Trivia by Ralph Smitherman
- Speaker - Charla Lewis; Topic: Her ancestor during the War

Unfinished Business
- Adopt minutes from July 3, 2021 - motion, 2nd, discussion, vote
- Did everyone sign in and get a door prize ticket?
- www.scv265.com and Facebook stats from Chris Merck
- First Thursday Coin Club at Brandon library 6:30pm hosted by Ed
Lofton, draw for door prize
- OCR report from Brandi Gray
- Discuss Relic Show details
- Scrapbook volunteer?

New Business
- New members
- Civil War fiddle
- Fall muster
Our guest speaker for the July 3, 2021 meeting was Mr. Mark Hidlebaugh. He
- Volunteer to call a Sponsor! spoke on the courage and hardships of the Confederate Infantry.
- Open floor / Door prizes
- Close meeting with prayer at approx. 8:25pm

Please help with clean up, and tip your waitress! Keep up with what’s happening in and around
Camp 265 by checking out the official
Rankin Rough & Ready’s Facebook page!
http://www.facebook.com/scv265

Commander’s Quote:
“If it’s important to you, you’ll find a way.
If not- you’ll find an excuse.”
ADJUTANT’S REPORT
by Charles Lewis

“But to tar the sacrifices of the Confederate soldier as simple acts of racism, and reduce the battle flag under which he
fought to nothing more than a symbol of a racist heritage, is One Of The Great blasphemies of our modern age.”
– James Webb, Former Secretary of the Navy

Even with it being July 4th weekend, we had 42 people sign in for door prizes.

Rabi Tom Fortenberry opened the meeting with prayer. Tom Lilly, 2nd Lt., led the pledge and salutes to the flags.

Much hard work went into putting on the Relic Show. From the proceeds of the show Commander Cupit was pleased to
present Cheryle Bruce of Wounded Warriors of Mississippi a check for $2000.00. Mrs Bruce stated their current project was
helping a quadriplegic veteran remodel his home, as well as the ongoing needs of other veterans.

Mark Hidlebaugh, a living historian and veteran reenactor, was the guest speaker. His topic was the infantry during the Civil
War. Along with a power point presentation he discussed the clothes, flags, and life of the soldiers. He spoke on General
Barksdale's charge at Gettysburg on July 2nd, 1863 and his death on July 3rd, 1863. General William Barksdale is buried in
Greenwood Cemetery in Jackson, Mississippi. In appreciation for Mark speaking to the camp Commander Cupit presented him
with a "Southern Comfort" advertising $5.00 counterfeit Confederate note.

Brandi Gray gave the OCR report and Commander Cupit gave a review on the Relic Show. Approximately 2000 people
attended the 2 day event, and 170 tables are already sold for the 2022 show.

Two new members, Orville Barrett and Thomas Laird, Jr, were voted on and accepted into the camp. Welcome gentlemen.

Ian Powell reported on the SCV MS Division Reunion held in Vicksburg, MS on June 12th and 13th.

Amree Herrmann, Linda Brown, and Larry Eubanks were recipients of three of the prizes from the Relic Show raffle. All
money from the raffle went to Wounded Warriors of Mississippi.

In appreciation for Charles Lewis' work as camp adjutant, Commander Cupit presented him with a print by Allen Winters titled
“Waiting”.

Condolences to Thomas Ramsey on the loss of his pet, best friend and fellow reenactor,
"Peep" the rooster.

The dead line for SCV dues has passed. We are now in the grace period. The grace period ends August 31st; meaning the dues
monies must be in Columbia, TN on that date.(8/31/2021) Therefore, I must have your dues by August 24th. This gives me one
week to process them and get them in the mail in time for them to be in Columbia, TN by August 31st.

Mail check made payable to the Rankin Rough and Ready's in the amount of $55.00. to me-

Charles Lewis
1324 Rosemary Road
Florence, MS. 39073

After August 31st dues will be $62.50. This includes a reinstatement fee you MUST pay in order to be reinstated into the camp.
All camp members that are in good standing (dues paid) will be eligible for an AR15, case, and extra magazine to be drawn for
at the October meeting. Another good reason to pay your dues!

Our next meeting is August 7th and there is an EC meeting on August 21st.

– Charles Lewis, Adjutant, Camp 265

 CHAPLAIN’S REPORT
by Tom Fortenberry

A SOLDIER’S BIBLE
It is not hard today for one to see and hear on tv, news papers, and even more on the internet the troubles and unrest in the world around
us. With all of the events happing in the world it would cause one to draw back in fear. Drawing back in fear is a part of our human nature
and easy to do. Yet, there is a witness in me that causes me to resist drawing back. It is the witness of Gods’Salvation to hold fast to what
He has given to me. I have been so blessed to have been raised in a bible believing home. And it is my prayer that you also have been
blessed to have been raised in a bible believing home. Today as in days past and days to come, we walk in faith. We walk in faith holding
to what has been promised, our inheritance kept secure for us in Heaven.

It is my hope that as you read the following story you will be blessed and that God will strengthen you to walk in faith teaching your
children and others as a witness of Jesus Christ our Lord..

Like many of us I have a bible in my home. And like so many of us we may have one or many bibles in our homes. Bibles come in so
many different sizes, colors, prints and other that it is just purely mind boggling. The following story is about a small bible given to a
confederate soldier.

Asmall New Testament Bible was often supplied to Civil War soldiers. The bible was pocket sized, with small text, many of these Bibles
were printed for the soldiers on both sides of the War of Aggression, Civil War to take with them when they went into battle. Designed to
be read in camp they were often carried in the soldier’s breast pocket out of warms way.

The War ofAggression was the first war in which so many bibles were issued and passed out to soldiers on both sides.

It was a fact as in all recorded wars that most soldiers spent more time in camp than in battle. When in camp the Bibles gave the soldier
something to read in the tedious days in between engagements. Certainly the books gave comfort and inspiration to the men in times of
trial, fear and despair. This is what they were intended to do, but they were also used for other purposes. Many of these small books were
believed to be "bullet-pullers" by those who carried them. They believed that their little bible held secured in their coat
pocket over their heart would divert a bullet aimed at them and would cause the bullet to swerve and hit the Bible held in the breast
pocket stopping it cold. Many tales were told, re-told and exaggerated by superstitious or religious men whose lives were saved in this
miraculous way. Indeed, this was one of the great "old chestnuts" of the Civil War, and was used to either bore or thrill,
depending upon the story- telling abilities of the veterans, generations of grandchildren, often with the mute remains of the Bible held in
triumphant evidence. Many men kept their small Bibles as a kind of supernatural good luck token, and as something to rely upon in the
chaos of battle where they had so little control over the fearsome forces around them.

It was a known fact that bullets fired from muzzle loaded muskets of the War ofAggression did not have the penetration power of today’s
high-tech rounds. Soldiers and sailors of the War remarked that a deck of cards or even a piece of hardtack in the left breast pocket of the
uniform jacket would often stop a bullet just as well, and in the case of the hardtack, perhaps even better.

Other soldiers kept their Bibles throughout the war as special keepsakes from their mother, wife, sweetheart, sister or daughter.
Inscriptions in these books often reveal the desperate heartache of women sending their men off to a brutal war with the very real
consequences of death or capture. These inscriptions were sometimes read more often than any single text in the Bible. These
sentiments kept the bonds of affection tighter for those loved ones who went into harm’s way.

The types of Bibles varied according to the family circumstances. Those who were well off could afford expensive copies with good
paper and leather bindings. Those less wealthy would often get cheaper paper editions from the home church or the chaplain. When that
staunch Presbyterian elder, Colonel John Wood of the 4th NC, was killed in action at Snicker’s Gap, Virginia, his will bequeathed
$500.00 to buy small Bibles and Testaments for the soldiers of his regiment.

One story of a young Confederate lieutenant from early in the war tells of these beliefs. In late June or in early July of 1861, nineteen-
year old Lt. William Preston Mangum, pictured above, made his last trip home to Durham, NC, before going into battle. His sister had
given him a Bible to carry with him to war, but it was too big and heavy to carry easily. Preston wanted a smaller Bible to carry in his
breast pocket. His sister mentioned the request to her cousin, a minister who was also the chaplain of Preston’s regiment. But his sister or
the preacher could not find a small Bible anywhere in Raleigh or Durham. The pocket Bibles had all been bought up by other soldier’s
families, and none were to be had for love or money. CONTINUED
 CHAPLAIN’S REPORT
by Tom Fortenberry

A SOLDIER’S BIBLE – Continued

During the battle of First Manassas (Bull Run), it was said of the young officer, "When the charge was ordered, he bravely passed
to the onset and with waving sword and thrilling voice, cheered and rallied the heroic column as it staggered before the fiery
storm." Lt. Preston Mangum and his men captured a Federal artillery battery. When the action was all over, and as Preston
"sat down beside or under the shadow of one of the deserted guns" to catch his breath and to collect his thoughts after his
first taste of battle, an enemy minie ball slammed into his chest. His comrades opened his jacket and found a large wound in his left
breast. They also found a Bible shredded by the musket ball. The large Bible he had carried was spread open and stuffed in his jacket in
place of the small pocket-sized one he had asked his sister to buy.

The open Bible had deflected the bullet away from his heart, but had not stopped it from entering his chest. Instead of dying
immediately on the battlefield, he was taken to a nearby home for care. But only a week after the battle, and riddled with gangrene,
young Preston died.

Perhaps a small pocket Bible, instead of the spread open larger volume, would have saved his life. Today, there is a small marker placed
at the Manassas National Battlefield Park to show where young Lt. William Preston Mangum was killed.

After the ending of the War of Aggression soldiers are still issued bibles as they enter service. In World War I, World War II, the Korean
War, Vietnam War, and conflicts to the present, Bibles have been given to troops.

During World War II a bible called the "Heart Guard," was issued to troops. It was exactly like the pocket Bibles used by the
soldiers and sailors during the War of Aggression. The name “Heart Guard” came from the fact that the bible had an additional cover
made of a steel plate which slipped over the front cover, to give additional protection from the bullets of the enemy when worn over the
heart.Apicture of the “Heart Guard” Bible is shown below.

In the Korean War veterans also were issued a bible which like the “Heart Guard” Bible did not have a steel cover. The Korean bible had
a similar brass plated cover instead of a steel cover.

Today, history repeats itself. There was a recent article in the local newspaper that spoke of the religious materials given by families and
churches to the men going off to Operation Iraqi Freedom. Families and others still give small Bibles and Testaments to their soldiers
going into harm’s way. The Bibles are still pocket-sized, but instead of steel and brass plate covers. They have camouflaged cloth
covers. I know this, since I was also issued one prior to Desert Storm in 1991. It is my prayer that the custom of issuing bibles to soldiers
will continue for many years to come and will keep them safe from enemy bullets.

Today some 150 years since the sound of guns were heard on fields close and far away, we still carry our “Heart Guard” to keep us from
harm. May the Word of God secure and guard your hearts to extinguish the arrows of our adversary. And may your faith grow stronger
in life through the living Word of our Lord.

– Thomas Fortenberry, Chaplain, Camp 265

 Bryan Skipworth and others gathered at the Vicksburg National Military Park to
honor their ancestors that fought along side one another.

Members of the MAFOCR traveled to Kenner, LA to attend the OCR Confederation

of State Societies Meeting. Mrs. Robbie Lewis took second place for her entry in the
scrapbook competition. Congratulations!

ANCESTOR MEMORIAL
by Bo Pitts
PVT CHRISTOPHER G. PITTS
Enlisted in Marion, AL - Age 18
Co. G, 4 Reg't Alabama Infantry
Killed in Action May 6, 1864
Battle of the Wilderness
Spotsylvania, VA

For more information about SCV Camp 265,

the Rankin Rough & Ready’s, visit us online at:

ROUGH
AND
http://www.scv265.com Members from several SCV camps gathered at the Vicksburg Courthouse Museum
in memory of the historic “Call to Arms” in July 1861.
READYS
RANKIN

CAMP
265
A rare photo of Abraham Lincoln giving the Gettys bird a dress.

Ms. Charla Lewis was the guest speaker at the memorial service honoring
Captain Hiram Morgan.

It is such a pleasure for the members of Camp 265 and the MAFOCR to be able to
see the fruits of our labor in the form of a monetary donation to a worthy cause. No
cause is more worthy than the Wounded Warriors of Mississippi. Cheryle Bruce (far
right) was presented a check for two thousand dollars, and said the money will be
used to help a disabled quadriplegic veteran. OUTSTANDING!
There was a great number of folks that attended the SCV meeting to elect new board
members at Beauvoir on the Mississippi Gulf Coast!
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS - THEY SUPPORT US!

CAPTAIN KEVIN NELMS

SCV MECHANIZED CAVALRY
25 COUNTY ROAD 112
MISSISSIPPI 1G
CORINTH, MS 38834
WWW.SCVMC1G.ORG
KEVNELMS@GMAIL.COM
662-603-2140

LAW Security Group, LLC The Chatham Company Jones Chiropractic

www.joneschiropracticms.com
WWW.LAWSECURITYGROUP.COM
Sustainable Natural Resources
Blake Stanley and Forestry Products 121 Executive Dr.
Madison, MS 39110
Director of Security Operations
Willard & Maureen Chatham Jeffery P. Jones, D.C. Phone: 601-856-8850
Doctor of Chiropractic Fax: 601-856-8957
P.O. Box 471 Cell - (601) 502-4489 w.chatham527@gmail.com
Ridgeland, MS 39158-0471 Fax - (601) 510-9410 601-212-4262 Office Hours: CONDITIONS TREATED
Membership MFA, RCFA M, T, W, Th, F Headaches, Neck, Shoulder, and Arm
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THE RANKIN DISPATCH NON-PROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
317 Lake Heather Road BRANDON, MS
Brandon, MS 39047 PERMIT NO. 265

Our next meeting is August 7th at:

Fernando’s Mexican Restaurant
2146 Hwy 471
Brandon, MS 39047
at 7:00pm. Come early!