To the victors belong the spoils! That axiom of war has held true in conflicts throughout history. The American Civil War was not immune to these rules of engagement. Not only were the Confederacy’s political views felled by the sword, but the citizens of the South continued to suffer for years to come.
But just because soldiers of the Southern Cause were on the losing side, the Sons of Confederate Veterans in Christmas refuses to let their history also be laid to waste on the battlefield. This newly formed group held a solemn ceremony on April 19, honoring Confederate soldiers buried in Christmas Cemetery.
With the thunderous echoes of a 21-gun and cannon salute muted by a bugler playing taps, men and women dressed in period uniforms commemorated those who sacrificed their lives. On this day, 10 Confederate battle flags were planted by gravestones in Christmas Cemetery, signifying the final resting places of these soldiers.
“These men have never had a proper ceremony. They are a part of history,” said Camp Commander Larry Rowe. Rowe explained that because the Confederate States of America was not a part of the United States during the Civil War, from 1861-1865, it is inappropriate to pay homage to Confederate soldiers on Veterans Day.
But despite the Confederacy’s place in history, Rowe, who was born and raised in Union Park but has lived in Christmas for 22 years, said soldiers from the South deserve their respect. The Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) is an organization of male descendants of soldiers who served the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War.
The SCV has programs at the local, state and national levels for its members, such as marking Confederate soldiers’ graves and historical re-enactments. Local units of the SCV are called “camps.” The United Confederate Veterans was formed in 1889, evolving into the SCV seven years later. While the group is generally apolitical these days, there are some current goals of the organization that involve political action.
While nine Southern states allow vehicle owners to request a license plate featuring the SCV logo, which incorporates the square Confederate battle flag, Florida does not. Richard W. Lee, deputy commander of the SCV Florida Division, which boasts 52 camps, said the group is currently seeking permission to have the SCV logo made available on Florida specialty license plates.
Lee, who has family in Oviedo, traveled from Brevard County for the ceremony and the opportunity to honor his heritage. Another driving force behind the SCV, he said, is to correct a historical wrong in the way many people view the Civil War, which the group prefers to call the War Between The States or the Second American Revolution.
“Our goal is to educate the youth of America about the real causes of the war. It was not about slavery. The real reason was protecting states’ rights,” Lee said. He added that people today do not realize the injustices done to the South, and to Florida in particular, in the name of war. During the Civil War, the Union Army confiscated livestock from Florida cattle ranches, thereby preventing shipment of beef to the Confederate Army.
By 1865, it was estimated that more than 4,000 head of cattle had been taken from cattle farms by Union cavalry units. The Confederates organized a special battalion of the state militia with the sole purpose of stopping the Union raids. The battalion, commanded by Col. Charles Munnerlyn, was made up of Confederate soldiers as well as cattle drovers who were exempt from the Confederate Army.
They became known as Munnerlyn’s Cattle Guard Battalion or the “Cow Cavalry.” And, with this shared history, the new Christmas chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans is known as Munnerlyn’s Cattle Guard Battalion Camp 2120. Christmas ancestors honored Christmas resident Cecil A. Tucker II believes the story of their ancestors has largely remained untold, citing the many hardships they faced during the conflict.
Through his own research, Tucker discovered that of the 973 men who fought in the 4th Florida Infantry of the Confederate Army, including 926 troops and 47 officers, just 23 men were left alive at war’s end. Other Florida infantry regiments suffered substantial losses, as well. And many of the survivors endured even more transgressions after the war in the 10-year period known as Reconstruction.
He explained that the United States confiscated much of the land that belonged to white Southerners, such as his great-great grandfather, John R.A. Tucker, who was forced to leave his plantation in northern Florida in 1866. “Anybody who owned property was disenfranchised,” Tucker said. “When the soldiers came back, they found that they had lost everything they had.”
John R.A. Tucker was among a group of pioneers that would come to settle in east Orange County, an untamed wilderness that was mainly used for cattle grazing and raising crops such as corn, rice, sweet potatoes and sugar cane. The efforts of these founding families continue in evidence even to this day.
At the first-time observance in Christmas Cemetery, Tucker and his wife, Mart, laid a rose at the headstone of his great-great-grandfather. The Tucker family knows all-too-well the landscape of this cemetery, where many of their ancestors have been laid to rest, including Emily, John R.A. Tucker’s daughter, who was the first person buried in Christmas Cemetery in 1867.
Also placing a flower at a burial site was Thelma Jane Bowen, a longtime resident of the Christmas area and granddaughter of Confederate soldier William Jackson Osteen. In fact, there would not be a Christmas Cemetery without the contributions of these families. Emily’s father, John Tucker, donated the original land for the cemetery, which would eventually purchase an additional five acres from the heirs of William Jackson Osteen in 1985.
“These people were our pioneer ancestors who created this community. They fought for a cause that they believed in and it’s important that they be remembered,” said Tucker, who is the camp’s historian, an active member of the Fort Christmas Historical Society, charter president and current head of the Seminole County Historical Society, and a proud descendant of one of the founding families of Christmas.
“Our history is being lost. In this day of political correctness, our ability to recognize our ancestors is being restricted. There are a few of us rebels still out there.”
