Athens, Alabama
24 January 2008
Fellow Compatriots,
We are a very pivotal time in our history. In a few short years we will be at the sesquicentennial of the War Between the States. All around our Confederation there are events already being planned and this is going to bring a focus on us, the Sons of Confederate Veterans. We need to take total advantage of this time and use it to our advantage. If we proceed in the proper manner we will see a huge spike in the membership of our honourable organization. We need the proper leadership to see that this is accomplished in gentlemanly and orderly fashion.
To meet this challenge we need men who bring talents to the table, and who will not embarrass our organization. It is time that we move beyond contentiousness, and to bring our membership together under a common banner to meet the Charge of Gen. S.D. Lee. Our “enemies” are outside our organization, it is time that we make our organization something that our members will enjoy partaking in, and ignore those who seek to divide us. |
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I treasure and cherish my family’s Confederate heritage and wish to celebrate our common bonds as Brothers in the Cause.
Basically, boys, it is time for US to make the SCV fun!! There is a bright future for us, if we will only step up and embrace it.
The SCV is the largest and most recognizable organization for the promotion of Confederate Heritage. It is time for the SCV to meet its full potential, and for us to take our place in “mainstream” America, in an honourable fashion. |
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We have serious work to do, that needs to be done in an aggressive and imaginative manner, emulating the principles our ancestors stood for. It is time to look at our problems with new eyes, keeping in place the wisdom gleaned from the lessons of the past.
In the coming weeks my website will be up and running and I would like for you to visit it at www.strain-scv.com. I also plan on attending as many of your Division reunions as I possibly can during the coming months. This being said I would like to ask you to support me in my endeavour of being YOUR voice on the GEC as YOUR AoT Councilman.
Thomas. V. Strain Jr.
Deputy Chief of Staff
Sons of Confederate Veterans
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Charge to the Sons of Confederate Veterans
"To you, Sons of Confederate Veterans, we will commit the vindication
of the cause for which we fought. To your strength will be given the
defense of the Confederate soldier's good name, the guardianship of his
history, the emulation of his virtues, the perpetuation of those principles
which he loved and which you love also, and those ideals which made him
glorious and which you also cherish. Remember, it is your duty to see that
the true history of the South is presented to future generations."
Lt. General Stephen Dill Lee, Commander General,
United Confederate Veterans,
New Orleans, Louisiana, April 25, 1906
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