Confederates target Kinston

A small army of Confederates with their sights on Kinston will arrive May 20 for their annual state convention. This will be the group’s first convention in Kinston.

North Carolina’s Sons of Confederate Veterans will visit the city’s battlefield, the unmarked Confederate graves at Maplewood Cemetery, the original CSS Neuse, the Neuse II and other historic sites in and around town.

Jimmy Ward, lieutenant commander and sergeant-at-arms in the SCV’s CSS Ram Neuse Camp 1427, isn’t sure how many members will be here, but said average attendance is between 100 and 200 members.

“It would probably be more if we were in the center of the state,” Ward said. “It’s a long way for some members to drive halfway across the state.”

On the other hand, the May 20 date holds special significance for SCV members. It’s Secession Day in North Carolina, the day of the signing in 1775 of the Mecklenberg Declaration written a year before the Declaration of Independence, and the day of the state’s secession from the Union. For that reason, attendance could be higher than usual.

Sons of Confederate Veterans is a national organization formed in 1896 to “perpetuate the dignity and honor of Confederate soldiers.”

“The torch has been passed to us to make sure we preserve the Confederate soldiers’ good name,” Ward said. “We are the guardians and protectors of history. It means a lot to me that they are not forgotten.”

Congress recognized Confederate solders as American veterans in 1958.

Membership is open to any man who can trace his ancestry to a Confederate soldier. Camps have genealogists who can help, Ward said. SCV is a multi-racial, multi-national organization, with some members who also live in other countries.

“One of the oldest members is Nelson Winbush,” Ward said. “He’s about 80. His grandfather was a slave to Nathan Bedford Forrest. He was 14 when the war started and he was a chaplain for Forrest. Forrest said he was the only one who knew the Bible well enough. Nelson was born when his grandfather was still alive and he told Nelson stories about the War.”

The CSS Ram Neuse Camp 1427 will host the reunion in collaboration with other regional camps, including the Rains Brothers Camp 1370 of New Bern; Major Bryan Grimes Camp 1488 of Greenville, and the Goldsboro Rifles Camp 760 of Goldsboro.

The weekend’s first event will be the Commander’s Reception at Carraway’s Seafood during the evening of May 19. The next day will begin at the battlefield behind King’s Restaurant at 9:30 a.m. with a cannon and rifle volley to commemorate Secession Day in North Carolina. The ceremony will honor the members’ North Carolina ancestors who served the Confederacy from 1861 to 1865, and their ancestors who served against the British in 1775.

The Carteret Grays will provide period-style music for the presentation and reunion ceremonies and vendors will be present.

After members hold their business meeting and reunion at King’s, the men will visit Confederate graves at Maplewood Cemetery and other historic sites in the area.