Pictures from 2013

 

December 3, 2013:  Our guests this evening were Susan Caraway and her husband Scott.  They perform various styles of
music and are known as "Virginia Dare".  Susan is currently the Virginia Division UDC Custodian.  Tonight they played
tunes that were popular during the WBTS.  Each song won them more cheers!

Also on December 3, 2013, our meeting was attended by Brendan and his son Hunter who are interested
in joining the Avengers Camp.

On December 3, 2013, Commander Tony Griffin presented Tommy Thomas with a Brigade Commander medal.
Tommy is our Chief of Staff and has recently been selected to be the 1st Brigade Commander within the Virginia Division SCV.

U.D.C. member, Mrs. Myrna Sharon, organized this meeting from the decorations to the buffet menu.

 

On November 5, 2013, our usual meeting place (the Ruritan Club House) was an election polling place.  
Thankfully, Compatriot Frank Hall and his wife, Pat, allowed the Camp to meet at their beautiful home in Smithfield.

Our guest speaker was Dr. Mallory Read, Commander of the Norfolk County Grays Camp # 1549.
He gave a very detailed and professional analysis of "Lincoln's Lues", and how syphilis effected Abraham Lincoln's brain
which in turn negatively influenced his presidency and the War Between the States.

 

Also on November 5, our Chief of Staff, Tommy Thomas, invited his nephew, Brennan Kimball, to attend our meeting.
Brennan will be of minimum age to join the SCV within a few months and is expected to join the Avengers Camp.

 

October 1, 2013:  Col. Norm Cooper (U. S. Army, retired) gave an interesting presentation about
human interest "Stories from the 1862 Peninsula Campaign".  

 

September 3, 2013:  Mrs. Billie Earnest spoke to the Avengers Camp about General William Mahone.  She
emphasized his service at the Battle of the Crater in Petersburg, VA on July 30, 1864, and his many
accomplishments after the War.  The wife of the A.N.V. Commander also displayed many original papers.


During our business session on September 3, 2013, Commander Tony Griffin pinned his son, Compatriot
Brett Giffin with the SCV Life membership pin and certificate.

 

 

July 27, 2013:  The Isle of Wight Avengers Camp #14 of the Sons of Confederate Veterans awarded a $500 scholarship
to Shelbie C. Dashiell for her winning essay entitled “The Confederacy and Me”. Commander Tony Griffin
presented the check at the grave of Shelbie’s 3rd great grandfather, Eugene E. Edwards, at the Central Hill Baptist
Church cemetery. Pvt. Edwards served in Company A, Virginia 19th Heavy Artillery Battalion. After the War,
Edwards became a farmer and served as the Commissioner of Revenue for Isle of Wight County from 1891 to 1893.
Miss Dashiell is a recent graduate of the Isle of Wight Academy and will attend Virginia Polytechnic Institute
and State University (Virginia Tech).

Ten compatriots of the Avengers Camp and 4 family members attended the presentation.

 

Commander Tony Griffin (l) of the Isle of Wight Avengers Camp #14 of the Sons of Confederate Veterans,
presented Amanda Chappell with a $500 scholarship check on Saturday, July 13. This is the first of two scholarships
to be presented by the Camp this month.  Amanda’s winning essay about The Confederacy and Me
concentrated on her own Confederate ancestors.  Amanda received the check with her 3rd great
grandfather’s grave in the background at the Chappell family farm.  Pvt. Linneus T. Bishop served in Co. B of Martin’s Battery
of Light Artillery.  Miss Chappell is a graduate of Windsor High School will be attending Longwood University.

In attendance with Cdr. Tony Griffin were his sons Josh and Brett, Ed Whitley and wife Jo, Tommy Davis,
Keith Morris, Earl Hall, Buddy Jones and wife Joan, and Amanda's grandparents, Wayne and Cindy Chappell.


Our flags flew proudly at the club house on June 4, 2013.

 

Katheryn Hamilton was our special guest speaker on June 4, 2013.  She spoke about her ancestor, Jason Boone, a Black Confederate Veteran who served with Co. K 41st Virginia Infantry known as the South Quay Guards.



June 6, 2013:  Past Cdr. Keith Morris and Commander Tony Griffin inducted John Edwards into the Avengers Camp!  
Congratulations to our newsest memberr!


Also on June 4, 2013, Commander Tony Griffin surprised Chief of Staff Tommy Thomas with a
Distinguished Service Certificate
from the Virginia Division of the SCV for hard work and his outstanding service.

 

Army of Northern Virginia Commander Frank Earnest spoke to the Avengers on May 7, 2013 about the Emancipation Proclamation.

 

On April 20, 2013 many Avengers turned out for our first annual Confederate History and Heritage Month Memorial
Service in front of the court house.  Josh and Brett Griffin were the Color Guard.  Byran Britt laid the wreath.  
Most of the Camp's officers were present along with the three Hall brothers, and Frank & Myrna Sharon.

 

 The Avengers are happy to announce that we are offering 2  scholarships to area high school graduating seniors!

 We thank the Smithfield Times for advertising the scholarships
 (October 31, 2012, page 12).

 The scholarships are for $500 each!

Our scholarships will soon be awarded to young ladies about to graduate from Windsor High School and the Isle of Wight Academy!

 

April 2, 2013:  The Avengers had 2 special guests.  The first was Dennis Frazier from The Smithfield Times where he is
employed as an advertising consultant.  He spoke on his Confederate ancestry and is a SCV member.  He assisted the
Camp with the advertisement for Confederate history month.


Our guest speaker was Marcus Robbins, Command Historian and Achivst for the NNSY. He discussed
the history of the Gosport shipyard before,during, and after the War Between the States.


Compatriot Jeff Toalson of the James City Cavalry Camp #2095 was invited to speak to the Avengers Camp on March 5, 2013 in recognition of his
3rd book, Mama, I Am Yet Still Alive--A Composite Diary of 1863 in the Confederacy.  He spoke of the "voices" he heard as he read the actual letters
written to and from the soldiers and their families.  Jeff punctuated his presentation with direct quotes from the letters, and all from memory!  Also during his presentation, Jeff displayed several of his Confederate flags and challenged us to tell which unit used each flag. Shown below is the Polk battle flag used by the command in General Polk's Corp of the Army of Tennessee.


This flag below is the Van Dorn pattern battle flag used by General Earl Van Dorn's men in campaigns in Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana.

 

February 8, 2013:  Suffolk historian and author Kermit Hobbs spoke to the Avengers Camp about the Siege of Suffolk.

Commander Tony Griffin inducted Ed Whitley into the Avengers Camp on February 8, 2013.


Also on February 8, 2013, Cdr. Griffin presented Aaron Anderson a Camp Membership certificate.  Aaron is a transfer member from another Camp.

 

On January 8, 2013, the Avengers welcomed past Army of Northern Virginia Commander Henry Kidd who
brought many examples of his art.  As he showed each print, he told us a story about the scene such as
about the person, the battle, or what inspired him to paint the picture.  More of his work is displayed at Kidd Historic Gallery.