June 30, 2012...On a day of extreme heat and following severe storms the night before, 6 Va Flaggers made their way to Point Lookout to participate in the Descendants of Point Lookout Organizations' annual pilgrimage.
It was the first trip for all of us, and we were absolutely amazed by the work that has been done by the DOPLO. We were told that the Confederate Memorial Park was created when Confederate flags were no longer welcome at the ceremony at the Federal Monument, and speeches from Confederate friendly speakers were red-lined for "inappropriate content". What they have created is stunning!
The main section is a monument, with the state flags of the Confederacy surrounding it. Throughout the park are tablets with information about the WBTS and Point Lookout. The tablets are beautifully done and the information is free of the Northern bias that taints most "official" Civil War locations today. We were excited to hear Pastor John Weaver speak and he did not disappoint.
The service was beautiful, and afterwards, we visited the Federal Monument, which was magnificent in its size and stately in appearance, but sadly, very poorly maintained, with large weeds growing in the monument. We were happy to see a Confederate Battle Flag flying at the rear of the monument, behind a fence, and it was explained to us that the man who owns the private land behind the monument put up the flag in protest when the restriction on Confederate Flags inside the Monument grounds began. GOD BLESS THE MARYLAND FLAGGERS!
We also visited Point Lookout State Park. There is a one room museum there. The most interesting thing we found was a section on the drawings of Jacob Omanhausser, who is Va Flagger Fred Merridew's ancestor! The actual site of the "rebel camp" on the Peninsula contains just a roadside marker. Of course, we could not leave without leaving a few flags there to honor the men who lived and died in unspeakable conditions. We planted stick flags at the Confederate memorials, both pow-mia and Confederate battle flags, and carried both to honor the memory of our ancestors, and so many others.
Please visit http://www.plpow.com/ for more information about the Descendants of Point Lookout Organization, and support this most worthy endeavor!
For more information on the Confederate POW-MIA Flag, visit this site... http://www.confederatepowflag.com/
More photos here:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151071328594274.488947.698334273&type=3
"The Brave So Far From Home"
Here the brave lay,
who wore the Confederate Gray.
They are all so far from home,
beneath the Heavens dome.
No notice of exchanges were ever sent,
so now they are here under this great monument.
But only their mortal remains are here,
for their Southern souls are God's heirs.
For pride and honor are what they were about,
and now they lay here at this mass grave at Point Lookout.
- John B. Stober, Jr. descendant member
Written on Christmas Eve 2001
- Great-Great-Great Nephew of
Private Rufus Bowden
Company G, 47th North Carolina Infantry
Died January 20, 1865 Pt. Lookout, POW
vaflagger@comcast.net
It was the first trip for all of us, and we were absolutely amazed by the work that has been done by the DOPLO. We were told that the Confederate Memorial Park was created when Confederate flags were no longer welcome at the ceremony at the Federal Monument, and speeches from Confederate friendly speakers were red-lined for "inappropriate content". What they have created is stunning!
The main section is a monument, with the state flags of the Confederacy surrounding it. Throughout the park are tablets with information about the WBTS and Point Lookout. The tablets are beautifully done and the information is free of the Northern bias that taints most "official" Civil War locations today. We were excited to hear Pastor John Weaver speak and he did not disappoint.
The service was beautiful, and afterwards, we visited the Federal Monument, which was magnificent in its size and stately in appearance, but sadly, very poorly maintained, with large weeds growing in the monument. We were happy to see a Confederate Battle Flag flying at the rear of the monument, behind a fence, and it was explained to us that the man who owns the private land behind the monument put up the flag in protest when the restriction on Confederate Flags inside the Monument grounds began. GOD BLESS THE MARYLAND FLAGGERS!
We also visited Point Lookout State Park. There is a one room museum there. The most interesting thing we found was a section on the drawings of Jacob Omanhausser, who is Va Flagger Fred Merridew's ancestor! The actual site of the "rebel camp" on the Peninsula contains just a roadside marker. Of course, we could not leave without leaving a few flags there to honor the men who lived and died in unspeakable conditions. We planted stick flags at the Confederate memorials, both pow-mia and Confederate battle flags, and carried both to honor the memory of our ancestors, and so many others.
Please visit http://www.plpow.com/ for more information about the Descendants of Point Lookout Organization, and support this most worthy endeavor!
For more information on the Confederate POW-MIA Flag, visit this site... http://www.confederatepowflag.
More photos here:
http://www.facebook.com/media/
"The Brave So Far From Home"
Here the brave lay,
who wore the Confederate Gray.
They are all so far from home,
beneath the Heavens dome.
No notice of exchanges were ever sent,
so now they are here under this great monument.
But only their mortal remains are here,
for their Southern souls are God's heirs.
For pride and honor are what they were about,
and now they lay here at this mass grave at Point Lookout.
- John B. Stober, Jr. descendant member
Written on Christmas Eve 2001
- Great-Great-Great Nephew of
Private Rufus Bowden
Company G, 47th North Carolina Infantry
Died January 20, 1865 Pt. Lookout, POW
vaflagger@comcast.net
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