Volume IX

Issue 1

SONS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS CAMP 265

COMMANDERS REPORT

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Adjutants Report

Chaplains Report

Agenda Jan

Relic Show Update

Sponsors

SCV 265 Online

www.scv265.com

Facebook:
www.facebook.com/
scv265

Our first meeting of the

year will be informative
as well as entertaining. Al
Arnold will be our
speaker! He is a black
guy who has written a
book about his ancestors
that served in the Civil
War. For those who
missed the talk in October, here is your last
chance. For those who did
hear the talk, this is your
opportunity to invite a
guest and get a signed
copy of the book. We will
have new members to
bring into the camp, updates on upcoming
events, and a great
speaker!

Mr. Al Arnold, author of Robert E. Lees Orderly, will be

our Jan. Camp speaker

So, bring someone with you, invite a friend,

come early, and as sure as we need everyone's
support to have a successful new year, I will
probably see you at Penn's of Brandon on
January 2, 2016 at 7pm.

DECEMBER CAMP MEETING

Potluck Dinner was

enjoyed

Twitter:
@scv265
Randy Richardson of the Dixie
Hummingsbirds performed

Ralph Smitherman reads

the Nativity scene from the
Book of Luke

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Vo l ume I X

A D J U TA N T S R E P O R T
BY SID BOTELER
IN GOD WE TRUST
The last act of Congress ever signed by President Lincoln was on requiring that the
motto. . .IN GOD WE TRUST should hereafter be inscribed upon all our national coin.
The motto, IN GOD WE TRUST, was inscribed in the U. S. House Chamber above the
Speakers rostrum; above the Senates main southern door; on a tribute block inside the
Washington Monument; and on a stained-glass window in the U. S. Capitols Chapel.
President Truman stated October 30, 1949: When the U. S. was established. . .the motto
was IN GOD WE TRUST. That is still our motto and we still place our firm trust in God.
On July 11, 1954, a month after the phrase under God was incorporated into the Pledge of
Allegiance, Congress enacted Public Law 84-140 which put the motto, IN GOD WE
TRUST, on all national coins and currency. In 1956, the phrase IN GOD WE TRUST
was legally adopted by Congress as the United States National Motto.
John F. Kennedy stated February 9, 1961: The guiding principle of the Nation has been, is
now, and ever shall be, IN GOD WE TRUST.
President Reagan stated in his National Day of Prayer proclamation, March 19, 1981: Our
Nations motto, IN GOD WE TRUST was not chosen lightly. In reflects a basic recognition that there is a divine authority in the universe to which this Nation owes homage.
President George H. W. Bush met with Amish and Mennonites at Penn Johns Elementary
School in Lancaster, PA, March 22, 1989. When a Mennonite leader stated: We want to
keep that theme, IN GOD WE TRUST, which is stamped on our money, President Bush
replied: Its staying there. Nobody can knock that off.
In 2011, the House of Representatives passed an additional resolution reaffirming IN GOD
WE TRUST as the official motto of the United States in a 396-9 vote.
On March 7, 2011, the Supreme Court denied the challenge by an atheist who was intolerant
of the National Motto by letting the decision of a Federal Appeals Court stand.
From Miracles in American History by William J. Federer

SONS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS CAMP 265

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C H A P L A I N S R E P O RT
B Y T HO M A S FORT E N BE RRY
The Gray Line
I wrote the following story many years past and it has remained in my heart and mind to
share. I hope you will receive a blessing in reading the Gray Line.
I awoke the other morning early before dawn and as is my custom to set the new day with
prayer. As I sat by the window in the warmth and comfort of my home. I knew it was cold
outside because of the moisture which had condensed on the inside of the window pane.
Not being able to see out the window I reached out and touched the window pane with my
hand. Water ran down the inside of the window as my hand brushed its surface which somehow reminded me of tears as if someone would wipe their eyes to see.
Through the window now could be seen the dripping of water from the roof as the heavy
frost lost its frozen grip. The fields were white and vegetation was observed bend over with
its burden soon to be set free by the rising of the morning sun.
Light became more with each passing moment as night fled from where it had been. The
woods and the fields now stood apart as if to set the stage for that which was to come. I
waited faithfully and in expectation and was not disappointed.
A few hundred yards across the open field the woods which had sheltered the darkness of
shadow now brought forth a gray fog. I watched from my window as the mass of gray began
to move ever slowly out from under the distanced trees and then in a pace as a man would
walk across an open field it moved even more with unshakeable resolve. And with each
passing second the mass of fog could be seen moving ever faster as it drew closer.
Often I have seen fog rising from a ponds, lakes, and open fields as the warmth of the morning sun was soon to lift it up. And yet this mass of gray fog remained unmoved from its
mission and unbroken as it steadfastly made its way forward as if men were marching shoulder to shoulder.
Often our God comforts us with the remembrance of times past. Let us never forget those
who fought for a just cause. Let us never forget that unbroken Gray Line is not just those
who fought some 150 years ago during the War of Aggression.
The gray fog that I saw that morning was not a fog that disappears. Although it had first appeared as a fog seen through my window that morning. It became clearer to reveal that it
was an army of soldiers, the Confederate Soldier, the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Camps,
Divisions, and Generations of those who hold to the Just Cause of Southern Heritage and the
remembrance of the Confederate Soldier.
It is my prayer that as we enter into the new year that each of us become stronger in faith
and service for we are all a part of that Lone Gray Line, standing shoulder to shoulder unbroken and unturned from our just cause. God Bless

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Vo l ume I X

AG E N DA F O R J A N UA RY M E E T I N G
Open with prayer at 7pm sharp
Pledge of allegiance to the US flag and salutes
Trivia
Guest speaker: Mr. Al Arnold
Q&A
Adopt minutes from November 7, 2015 make a motion, second, discussion, vote
Unfinished business
Camp T-shirts are $20 proceeds go to fund the Relic Show
www.scv265.com and stats
First Thursday Coin Club meeting at Brandon library 6:30pm
Dues are now $75 Through July 31st, 2017
Franklin Relic Show report
Gun Show report
Library workday report
New business
New members
Get Mr. Al Arnold to sign a book for you after the meeting!
Door prizes
Close with prayer at approximately 8:20pm
~ Please leave a dollar tip for the cleanup crew~

2 0 1 6 R E L I C S H OW U P DAT E
-We will have a 2nd Library Work Day on March 19th,
2016.
-The Franklin Civil War Show produced 10 more tables for
our show and a lot of good leads!
-We have sold 150 tables for our show as of 12-16-2015.
-Money is raised by selling ads in our newsletter or soliciting donations. Any help with this endeavor would be
greatly appreciated by all of us at Camp 265.
-We also need to find people willing to do a living history
at our Relic Show.
2015 Franklin, TN Civil War Show

SONS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS CAMP 265

Page 5

***Our Next Meeting is Saturday, Jan.

2nd at Penns in Brandon on Hwy. 80 at
7pm. Come Early!***