July, 2011 - Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States
Transcription
July, 2011 - Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States
July 2011 Annual Meeting 2011 A change of command This was a big year for our group as we made several changes at our annual meeting. Joe Coleman ended his term as Commander and was replaced by long-time board member Adam Flint. Joe thanked the board for its service through his term. The treasurer’s job moved to Rob Krogstad from long-timer Tee Adams. Tee moved up to Junior Vice Commander, and will be your contact for address changes as well as the source for invitations, ROTC, and this newsletter. Brian Maloney and Ellis Adams to the board as a council members. Following the meeting, Merion Golf provided another round of drinks, and a buffet dinner. After the swearing in, Adam Flint (right) took over the meeting. Bob Lynch moved to Registrar to handle the new member applications. He takes over from Major Drew Techner who is waiting for a new Army assignment which will likely take him away for a while. Mitchell Schmidt gets the Chancellor’s job, I think for the second time. We also welcome Former Commander Rob Van Gulick swears in the board for 2011-12. From left: Treasurer: Robert Bacon Krogstad, II, Junior Vice Commander: F. Tee Adams, III, Commander: Adam P. Flint, Chancellor: H. Mitchell Schmidt, Registrar: Robert Duane Lynch, Councilor: Brian Wren Maloney, Councilor: Douglass William Hocker, Chaplain: Francis Thomas Adams, Jr., Councilor: Alden R. Ludlow, IV, Councilor: Ellis Calmar Levan Adams. Lincoln’s Birthday at Merion Golf Club On February 5 we gathered at Merion Golf Club to celebrate President Lincoln’s 202nd Birthday. We had our largest group in a while attend this event and they enjoyed hors d’oeuvres and dinner, and plenty of conversation. mid-winter event. Dr. Martin has written several books and some of our members have seen him at other events. (above) Mr & Mrs Paul Lader chat with our speaker. (right) Master of ceremonies Tom Kellogg, greets the guests. (left) Speaker Dr David Martin (below left) Bob Lynch and Doug Hocker Our speaker, Dr David Martin of Peddie School, talked to us about “The wit and humor of Abraham Lincoln.” That was a fun topic for our 2 (above right) Adam Flint, Ed Buchanan and Ellis Adams chat before dinner. Amanda Muckle (right) and Dorothy Hocker were among those representing the Dames, shown here with Mercy Ramsey. (below) The group listens to our speaker at our birthday event. Venue Ideas As we plan future events, we need more help identifying clubs or other venues where they could be held. If you are a member anyplace or know of good places to hold events, please contact Tee Adams at the address on the back page. We have used Merion Golf Club a number of times for our parties, and the summer BBQ. Their attention to detail, the service, quantity and quality of the food have been A+++. If you have a group that needs a place to hold an event, I am sure Merion Golf would do as good a job for you too. 55th Lincoln Death Day The 55th annual Lincoln Tomb Ceremony was held on Saturday, April 16, 2011, in Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, Illinois. Despite the rain, 50 wreath bearers were in attendance to commemorate the 146th anniversary of the death of President Abraham Lincoln. This is a combined MOLLUS and Sons of Union Veterans annual event and this year Adam Flint was the master of ceremonies. National Commander Keith Harrision is at right in this photo. National organization flags from both MOLLUS and the SUVCW headed the parade, which was commanded by the 4th Military District, SVR. A luncheon followed the ceremony at the President Abraham Lincoln Hotel in Springfield. Joe Coleman is presented his ex-Commander’s Star by another former Commander, Rob Van Gulick. Your Wife Could Be a Dame The Dames of the Loyal Legion join with us in looking for more members. To help them, we wish to suggest that your wife, mother or other females in your family may be eligible to become a Dame. The Dames of the Loyal Legion by-laws: Article VIII, Section 1 PA Website Goes Live Welcome to the new MOLLUS-PA website LoyalLegionPA.org. As shown above, initial content has been added. Our current and recent newsletters, membership info, information on upcoming and past parties and outside events we plan to participate in will be listed. A site is only as good as the content it provides. If you have ideas for items to include, or something you can provide to include, we would sure take an interest. You can contact Jim Loudon at recorder@ loyallegionpa.org with anything you think our members would like to see. “The members of the Dames of the Loyal Legion shall be (1) lineal and collateral female descendants of the commissioned officers of the Regular and Volunteer Forces of the United States during the Civil War, eligible to membership in the Military Order of the Loyal Legion and (2) mothers, wives, and widows of Companions of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion.” So if you are a member with us, your females should be able to be a Dame. Here is your call to see if we can add to their roster. Contact your editor to have your interest passed to the Dames membership committee. Sorry, there is no Associate group. Newsletter Submissions If you would like to send us an article, pictures, or information on a Civil War related event to include in a future issue, please contact EDITOR, Tee Adams at PO Box 328, Devon, PA 19333; videoboss@aol.com; 610-688-1001 MOLLUS on Facebook “Companions of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the US (MOLLUS)” is up on Facebook. Address below has changed since last issue. Look for additional MOLLUS info and reminders. http://www.facebook.com/groups/49373629875 From the Quartermaster Adam Flint wears many hats. He is also the National Quartermaster. That means if you need a tie, rosette, or other gear, he is your man. For the annual meeting he brought a selection of the items to show off. See the back page of the National newsletter for an order blank or E-mail our Commander, cmdr@loyallegionpa. org 3 Mt. Moriah Cemetery — A Multi-Track Report From information gathered by Major Drew Techner 1) History & Research This is a photo of PVT. Willie Sergeant. This, so far, is the only known photo of any of our soldiers buried in the MOLLUS lot at Mt. Moriah. Drew Techner obtained a clean digital scan from the U.S. Army Military History Institute at Carlisle, Pa. where the original is located. Drew has been compiling all he can find out about the brave boys buried in our two lots. A report is being written and plan is that it will appear in a future issue of the National newsletter. 2) Mt. Moriah a Mess 4 The Cemetery where MOLLUS holds plots is in upheaval. The cemetery abruptly closed in March as a result of a lawsuit by the Philadelphia City Solicitor. The owner essentially denies ownership of the cemetery, claiming the last owner was her husband who died in 2004. It seems that we were duped by this lady and her office manager for a number of years, as we were asked for donations. Fox 29 reports that the State IG office condemned the cemetery years ago. Again, we were not informed of this and the State did not revoke the cemetery’s license. In fact, it was renewed just this past February. This information appeared on TV in local news reports. After the first report, Drew Techner provided information to updates of those reports. Warrior Watch members cleaning up our lots. After that, he was contacted by Warrior Watch, a patriotic group off-shoot of the Patriot Guard Riders. They offered to come help clean up our plots. The week before Memorial Day, they cleaned up the MOLLUS lots like never before. They straightened headstones and their clearing revealed the grave of LT. Jacob Douty who risked his life to re-light a fuse so it would destroy the Confederate “Crater” works at the siege of Petersburg. What is even more astounding was that someone had already cut our lot the week before. This came from a new alliance that he forged with the recently revitalized Friends of Mount Moriah (FOMM) a non-profit organization. They put the word out and a third group had gone out and cut the lawn. Mt. Moriah has had no staff, since the closing. The office was found vandalized, with records strewn about the place. Major Techner undertook to gather as many as possible and turn them over to the police to keep safe. He got others to collect more and to allow the City to preserve those for future use. 3) Veteran’s Administration Major Techner is pursuing a plan to have the Veteran’s Administration take over control of the plots, in part, as they have sections of the cemetery right close to our lots. The only progress in that area was that Drew met with VA representative Darrin White, Superintendent of Washington Crossing, at our lots last November 2nd. They spent several hours reviewing the information Drew had collected and viewing the lots. He expressed an enthusiastic desire for the VA to take over the lot. Drew sent a formal letter requesting the VA to take ownership of the lot. MOLLUS OFFICERS 2011 - 2012 Commander - Adam Polhemus Flint Senior Vice Commander - Thomas R. Kellogg, Esq. Jr Vice Commander & Editor - F. Tee Adams, III Recorder - James W. W. Loudon Treasurer: Robert Bacon Krogstad, II Judge Advocate - Timothy M. Zearfoss, Esq. Chancellor - H. Mitchell Schmidt Chaplain - Francis Thomas Adams, Jr. Registrar - Robert Duane Lynch Surgeon - John Albert Koltes, M.D. Council Aldan R. Ludlow, IV Brian Wren Maloney J. Michael Coleman Major Drew Alan Techner Harold Durston Saylor, II Douglass W. Hocker Past Commander: Joseph Thomas Coleman Ed. D. Fall Party at the Yacht Club Honoring Gettysburg Address The nicely renovated Corinthian Yacht Club was our venue for the Fall 2010 Gettysburg Address party. We gather every year to remember the speech given by President Lincoln, and hear a speaker, and usually have the address read to us by our Commander. This year was no exception. In addition, one of our Associate Members, Herb Kaufman was the speaker. After dinner he talked about medical practices of the time and how they impacted the wounded of the war. It was a well thought out and well received presentation and we thank our member, Herb, for giving it. We had an extra special guest when our National Commander, Keith Harrison also visited. He took a couple of minutes at dinner to update us on activities of the National group. A gathering of Commanders — Win Seidlarz (PA), Joe Coleman (PA), Adam Flint (now PA), Ben Frick (PA & National), and Keith Harrison (National) Below: (left) Keith Harrison. (right) Herb Kaufman 5 Old Baldy Update Old Baldy has been cleaned up and put on display at the GAR Museum. This fixture of the old Pine St. Museum looks pretty good in his new enclosure, created by Phil Candando of Jamison, PA. It is a worthy update to Baldy’s old glass box. (Jim Loudon Photo) (left) Joe Coleman reads the address. (right) Tom Adams recites the prayer. Newer and long-time members meet over dinner. Close but No Cigar ! Your Newsletter Editor came THIS CLOSE to winning this on E-bay this spring. A small flag, for tabletop display. Seller did not know where it came from. 6 A Home for Silent Sentry Civil War Artist Rediscovered In other business, at the annual meeting, we continued the discussions we have been having considering the disposition of the Silent Sentry statue. The James Michener Museum in Doylestown, is having an art show of works by William T Trego. He is finally being rediscovered years after the war. Andy Waskie has proposed letting the Friends of Laurel Hill Cemetery place it at their facility. They would cover all the costs of moving and maintaining the statue, but the “Sentry” would still belong to MOLLUS-PA. We voted at this meeting to continue those discussions moving in that direction, and the next step is for the lawyers in the group to come up with papers covering the terms of that placement. The statue will be placed in a highly visible spot in the Cemetery, just adjacent to Ridge Avenue, and overlooking the Meade Post #1 burial plot. The monument will also be lit to illuminate it from the road at night, as well as to prevent occurrences of vandalism. “So Bravely and So Well, The Life and Art of William T Trego” is at the Museum through October 2. He lived from 1858-1908 and in that time he created a set of paintings in a style of “realistic portrayal.” He made great efforts to communicate with people of the war and get as many details as he could to make the pictures as detailed as he could. Laurel Hill will need to raise money to cover moving costs, a new base for the statue to stand on, and other related expenses. Once the paperwork is complete they can begin that effort in earnest. He was a painter who could barely hold a brush. He had to move his entire body to mix his colors. Yet William T. Trego was a prize-winning artist with an international reputation, and his highly detailed and powerful battle scenes from the American Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War were widely exhibited and critically acclaimed during the late nineteenth century. Partially paralyzed by a childhood illness, Trego never experienced the horrors of war, but his uncanny ability to portray battle from the point of view of fighting men and horses was much admired. There will be a Curator’s Gallery Talk on Sept 13, from 1-2 pm. That will be presented by Professor Joseph P. Eckhardt, the Helen Hartmann Gemmill Research Fellow 2010-2011. Advance registration is required. For more information look here: http://www.michenermuseum.org/ James A. Michener Art Museum 138 S. Pine St. · Doylestown, PA 18901 215.340.9800 MOLLUS-PA Attends Museum Annual Meeting Civil War Museum of Philadelphia held its annual meeting on June 16, 2010. MOLLUS-PA members, Joe Coleman, Tee Adams, and Alden Ludlow took the train in, to join former commander and current Museum board member Rob Van Gulick meeting at the Philadelphia Club. Our board provided a $1,000 contribution to the ongoing efforts to keep the Museum operating. Commander Coleman (right) presented the check to board chairman Oliver St. Clair Franklin. As a participant, I thought it was good for members of both entities to meet and chat. MOLLUS has two members on their board. Since then we have added another of their board members to our group. Jon C. Sirlin (left on horse) was voted in at our annual meeting in June, 2011, as an Associate Member. ROTC Awards Program Grows By Tee Adams - Award Coordinator The Pennsylvania Commandery has been making an effort to expand our ROTC awards program as part of our outreach. Several years ago we were appearing only at Drexel. That expanded to five colleges. This year we have had a massive increase in major part to contact information provided by the Society of the War of 1812 group which also has an awards program. We provided medals and certificates to 12 colleges, and at several we awarded to several services to bring our award total to 15 for the season just ending. The program was coordinated by Tee Adams. Presenters included Bob Lynch, Richard Smith, Mitchell Schmidt, Joe Coleman, Andy Waskie and Drew Techner. They were backed up by Adam Flint who provided the medals and Jack Kane who created the certificates. Those were signed by our Commander, Joe Coleman, and Recorder, Jim Loudon before being sent on to the colleges. Our award is presented to Lehigh Cadet James G. Kratovil IV. Here’s a place we could use a presenter in early April for 2012. Bob Lynch (below) traveled to Carnegie Mellon University to present to Navy Midshipman 3/c Matthew Burnett. Bob did double duty also going to Rowan University’s event to present to cadet Glenn McCallum (not pictured). We grew so fast this year that we had to let several college’s staff members present the awards. They were OK with that, but there’s a job opportunity for next year. See the * on the list at left for places needed a presenter. We are always looking for more help to attend the events and present an award at a PA college with an ROTC program. 7 The ROTC awards program is very satisfying to administer. The colleges and cadets are thrilled to have our participation. Our members are well received when they go out to present. The only issue is the contact person at the colleges keeps being rotated to other duties and that is where the 1812 information collected by their awards coordinator, Sam Hoff was invaluable. ROTC Awards 2011 Carnegie Mellon – Midshipman 3/c Matthew Burnett Drexel – Cadet, William E. Brenner & Cadet, Justin A. Sochor * IUP – Cadet, Robin Haake * Lehigh – Cadet, James G. Kratovil IV Pennsylvania State – Army, Travis O’Neill; Air Force - Ian Merritt; Navy - Aaron DeWitt St Joseph’s – Air Force - Dreddrick J. Brown, Jr. * Scranton – Cadet, Margret Troxell * Shippinsburg – Cadet, Sarah Antonelli Temple – Cadet, Kendal S. King Widener – Cadet, Mark LaPenta Rowan – Cadet, Glenn McCallum Valley Forge – Cadet, William Mlinarich Commander Joe Coleman presented the award to Valley Forge Cadet William Mlinarich at our last event of the season. A MARTYR FOR THE NORTH By Adam Flint The first officer to die in the Civil War was a dashing 24 year old colonel whose very name - Elmer E. Ellsworth - was a synonym for patriotism to millions of Northerners. In a time when every town sponsored its own volunteer militia, the colonel was America’s foremost soldier and, in the popular imagination, the Union’s most promising military talent. Colonel Ellsworth had earned his reputation as commander of the U.S. Zouave Cadets, whom he had transformed from a lackadaisical group of Chicagoans into the national-champion drill team. Ellsworth modeled his unit after the exotic French Zouaves of Crimean War fame, dressing the men in baggytrousered uniforms. He developed his own variations of the Zouave drill, featuring hundreds of swift and sometimes acrobatic maneuvers with musket and bayonet. 8 In the summer of 1860, with war clouds threatening to break, Ellsworth toured 20 cities in the East, challenging all comers to compete against his Zouaves. He became a celebrity overnight; editorial writers lionized him, women swooned over him, and politicians sought his friendship. Abraham Lincoln called him “the greatest little man I ever met.” Ellsworth campaigned for Lincoln during the Election of 1860. He accompanied the Presidentelect to Washington as his bodyguard and became such a close family friend that he caught the measles from the Lincoln’s sons Willie and Tad. When war came, Ellsworth sounded the call to arms and raised a regiment of tough soldiers from the New York City Fire Department. “They are sleeping on a volcano in Washington,” he warned New York Tribune editor Horace Greeley on the 17th of April, 1861. “I want men who can go into a fight now.” Twelve days later, the colonel and his green regiment, called the New York Fire Zouaves, left for Washington amid great fanfare. There Ellsworth pulled political strings to guarantee that his men would be the first outfit to invade the South. In the early-morning hours of May 24, 1861, the day after Virginia officially seceded from the Union, Federal troops were ordered to cross the Potomac River and seize critical points on the Virginia side. Colonel Ellsworth had chosen a choice objective for his Fire Zouaves - the port city of Alexandria. He dressed for the assault in a new uniform and pinned on his chest a gold medal that was inscribed in Latin, “Not for ourselves alone but for country.” At daybreak, a steamer put Ellsworth and his regiment ashore on an Alexandria wharf. The Union men encountered no resistance; Alexandria’s only Confederate troops, a sprinkling of Virginia militia, were hurriedly leaving town. Ellsworth dispatched one company of soldiers to take the railroad station while he and a small detachment set off to capture the telegraph office. A few blocks up King Street the group came upon an inn, the Marshall House, which was flying a large Confederate flag. Ellsworth wanted that flag taken down immediately. Ellsworth stationed guards in the inn and dashed upstairs with four comrades. After cutting down the flag, he started back down the stairs, preceded by Corporal Francis E. Brownell and followed by reporter Edward H. House of the New York Tribune. At the third floor landing, innkeeper James W. Jackson stood waiting with a double barreled shotgun leveled at them. Instinctively Corporal Brownell batted the shotgun with the barrel of his musket, but the innkeeper pulled the trigger. Ellsworth was hit and, as House remembered, “He dropped forward with a heavy, horrible headlong weight which always comes with sudden death.” Jackson fired his second barrel at Brownell and missed. The Corporal fired simultaneously and hit the innkeeper flush in the face. As Jackson fell dead, Brownell bayoneted the body and sent it crashing down the stairs. Then the Union men turned to Ellsworth. He lay in a heap on the bloody Confederate flag, his gold medal driven into his chest by the shotgun blast. Ellsworth’s death plunged the North into mourning. Bells tolled. Flags flew at half-staff. President Lincoln was grief stricken. At the sight of his young friend’s body, he sobbed, “My boy! My boy! Was it necessary that this sacrifice should be made?” At the President’s orders an honor guard brought the body to the White House, where it lay in state on May 25, 1861. A funeral ceremony followed, attended by Cabinet members and high military officers. The casket was then moved to City Hall in New York, where thousands filed past to pay their last respects. Finally a train bore Ellsworth’s remains to his hometown of Mechanicsville, New York, for burial in a grave overlooking the Hudson River. Opportunities to Participate We have several needs for members to participate in the group’s activities. ROTC: Some of the other Commanderies also provide checks to cadets when awards are given in the spring. If you would like to contribute toward a cash award to those heading off to serve in the armed forces of our country, here is your opportunity. Contributions will be pooled and split among the cadets we provide awards to. With 15 awards in 2011, and plans to hopefully add more, the pool of funds needs to get to $150 or so to give each person $10. Your contribution can be of any size to bring the pool of funds to that level and beyond. Mail to our treasurer, whose address is at right, and label it ROTC Fund, in the memo space or note. MUSEUM: Board member Alden Ludlow has taken an interest in how the Pine St Museum left our control and how we got to the situation we are in where the collection is loaned out across the state and elsewhere and we don’t have a place in Philly to display it. If you were in any sort of position to know the WHY of any of that, he would love to chat with you. If you have articles or documents covering any of that, even better. Please contact him directly: Alden R. Ludlow, IV 1042 Haverhill Road Chester Springs, PA 19425-3141 610-827-7910 (C) 610-585-1277 aldenludlow@comcast.net AWARDS: The National side of MOLLUS has an Award of Merit they can give out at the Congress. It can go to any member who does good works for the group. If you know anyone you think might qualify, please make that known to our Recorder, Jim Loudon - recorder@loyallegionpa.org. CONGRESS: This year the meeting of the National group will be in Philadelphia, in October. (See pages 10-11 for the program and sign-up form) As we get closer it would be nice to have a few extra members on hand to help host the event, guide people between segments, and help them get back and forth to the Saturday lunch event on the Battleship New Jersey. We may even need a van driver or two, as that is the method discussed to transport people there. And before dinner Saturday, we will take a group picture of members. It would be good to have PA represented well there. Joe Coleman, proudly holding the MOLLUS flag participated in a parade in Philadelphia to celebrate the 150th r anniversary of the start of the Civil War. There were speeches and many re-enactors present. We think we need to be more visible. Participating as MOLLUS-PA in such events would help us. Here is a video of the event: www.youtube. com/watch?v=Sj6DQG8WX8Q We have a new treasurer Rob Krogstad has taken on the Treasurer’s job. Actually Rob is returning to the job. He was our treasurer in the late ’90s. All dues payments will now go to: Robert Krogstad 4312 Clear Way Allentown, PA 08103-6102 robkrogstad@rcn.com If you haven’t paid your dues, please reply to the 2nd mailing. NOTE: Congress forms will still go to Tee Adams, as the change didn’t come until after the forms were needed by National. Dues & Contact Update The response to the first dues mailing has been impressive. Thanks to the many of you who have replied. We are coming down to the final few holdouts for dues. We need a reply each year to keep you on the rolls. We did drop a handful of members this year for lack of replies or payment over a number of years. We will unfortunately drop some more in 2012. For life and other non-dues paying members, kindly update the Treasurer with any changes to your contact information, including phone numbers and E-mail addresses. A quick reply indicating you are receiving the newsletter and other mailings at least annually is appreciated by mail, E-mail or phone. Having current information will insure receipt of this newsletter and invitations to our events. 9 10 11 Military Order Of The Loyal Legion Of The United States - Pa Commandery PO Box 328 Devon PA 19333-0328 Address Service Requested 12 CALENDAR Board of Officers Meeting Wednesday, September 7, 2011 Merion Golf Club MOLLUS Annual Congress October 14-15, 2011 Union League Philadelphia, Pennsylvania MOLLUS-PA Remembrance Day Commemoration November 18 OR 19, 2011 Details to come Gettysburg Remembrance Day Parade Saturday, November 19, 2011 at 1:00 pm Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Board of Officers Meeting Wednesday, December 7, 2011 Merion Golf Club General George G. Meade Birthday Celebration and Champagne Toast Saturday, December 31, 2011 at noon Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania For information on any event or MOLLUS-PA matter, contact your Editor: Mr. F. T. Adams, III PO Box 328, Devon, PA 19333-0328 videoboss@aol.com 610-688-1001 MOLLUS The principal objectives of MOLLUS are to foster military and naval science, promote allegiance to the United States government, perpetuate the memory of those who fought to preserve the unity and indivisibility of the Republic and to honor the memory and promote the ideals of President Abraham Lincoln. Membership Options: There are currently four categories of membership within the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States: Hereditary, Junior, Associate and Honorary. Hereditary - Direct male descendants of the age of 18 years or more of a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army, Navy or Marines who served during the War of the Rebellion, or male descendants of a brother or sister of any such officer. Junior - Direct male descendants under age 18 years of an eligible officer or of a brother or sister of any such eligible officer. Junior Companions cannot vote or hold office. Associate - Male persons of the age 18 years or more who are not known to be eligible for Hereditary membership and who subscribe to the Preamble, Principles and Objects of the order and who have demonstrated a serious interest in the War of the Rebellion, and whose membership will advance the objects of the Order. Associates may vote and serve on committees, but may not hold office. Not all Commanderies provide for this particular membership category. Honorary - Bestowed by the Commandery-in-Chief and Commanderies under the provisions of the Constitution and By-Laws. For membership information, contact ourour Registrar, Bob Lynch, For membership information, contact Recorder, James W. registrar@loyallegionpa.org 856-795-4226 W. Loudon 215-663-0240 jloudon@hotmail.com