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CONFEDERATE
HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION OF BELGIUM |
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Due
to the renovation works at the Communal
Museum, the CHAB Club House has moved into
temporary premises at Wolubilis, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert.
Our monthly meetings will thus be held there until
further notice. New Address: 1 place du
Temps Libre - Local A300 - 3rd floor (right when
leaving the elevator).
The building is located along the Cours Paul-Henri
Spaak, just opposite the Woluwe Shopping Center.
The entrance is on the ground floor, left of
the bookstore/restaurant Cook & Book.
See access map |
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NEXT MEETINGS |
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Saturday 11 June 2022 at 6 PM
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As in previous editions, the
annual CHAB supper will take place at the club house of
the Hoegaarden hockey club. Hubert Leroy and Dominique
De Cleer have elaborated an original American menu.
Aperitif of the house – Soup: New England clam chowder –
Main course: Périgord-style burger and vegetable garnish –
Dessert: frozen nougat with red fruit topping –
Coffee/Tea. Price of the meal (drinks not included) - CHAB
members: € 35 - nonmembers: € 45. Please register with our
secretary Dominique De Cleer by e-mail at
d.decleer@scarlet.be and pay the amount of your meal to
the CHAB bank account BE90 3100 9059 2632 with the
reference CHAB supper, before
6 June 2022 at the latest.
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Saturday 10 September 2022 at 3 PM |
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THE CONFEDERATE STATES
MARINES
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At our temporary premises at
Wolubilis,
lecture by Daniel Frankignoul:
The
Confederate States Marines – a corps forgotten
in history. The Confederate Marine Corps
provided security detachments for warships and merchant
raiders, and guarded shipyards. Also used as a landing
force, the maintenance of the main artillery pieces on the
ships and within the coastal batteries was entrusted to
this unit. The theoretical strength of the corps,
commanded by a regular colonel, was forty-six officers and
nine hundred and forty-four men for the whole South, but
it never exceeded six hundred men in the field. The
archives kept by its sole commander, Colonel Lloyd J.
Beall, were destroyed in the fire that gutted his house in
1887. No regulations concerning their uniforms have been
found, so one has to rely solely on a few objects,
documents, surviving newspapers or vintage photographs. In
addition, bibliography on the subject is almost
non-existent so recounting, even briefly, the history of
this elite corps is a real challenge.
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Saturday 8 October 2020 at 3 PM |
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STATUARY AND THE CIVIL WAR
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At our
temporary premises in Wolubilis, lecture by
Maurice Jaquemyns: Statuary and the
Civil War. Civil War commemorative
statuary responds to codes of expression that run
through the entire history of art. We will discuss the
artistic manifestations of this type of representation
used by the belligerents in the conflict and we will
focus our attention on their underlying intentions. We
will end the conference with a general synthesis of our
previous interventions by highlighting the roles and
codes of military representation whatever the medium:
paintings of land and naval battles, comics and
commemorative statuary. |
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Saaturday 5 November 2022 at 7 PM |
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CHAB'S 50th ANNIVERSARY
GRAND BANQUET
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Our association is
celebrating its 50th anniversary this year
(1972-2022). To celebrate this memorable event,
the CHAB is organizing a grand banquet in a
stylish restaurant, details to be communicated
in due course. A private room will be reserved
for for the evening.
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Saturday 10 December 2022 at 3 PM |
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TEXAS, AN INDEPENDENT
AMERICAN REPUBLIC
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At our temporary
premises in Wolubilis, lecture by
Jean-Claude Janssens:
Texas, an independent American Republic
(1836-1845). As of 1520, Texas as
we know it today was part of the Spanish Empire.
Between 1685 and 1690, it was French before
returning to the Crown of Spain; nevertheless,
it was claimed again by France until 1763. In
1821, Mexico – of which Texas was an integral
part – proclaimed its independence from Spain.
From that moment on, the history of this barren
land would accelerate, and at the request of the
government of Mexico, American immigrants
settled there. In 1835, the new Texans numbered
thirty thousand for only eight thousand natives.
In 1836, Texas Americans broke away from Mexico.
After almost ten years of precarious
independence, they joined their powerful
neighbor, the United States of America.
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The CHAB committee
wishes to inform its foreign and American
friends that due to severe budget constraints,
the English version of the CHAB News is
no longer published. However, the French
version of our quarterly remains available to
the contributing members of our
association. Thank you for your understanding.
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THE OLD GRAY FOX |
SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS |
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For the first three months of 1864 General Lee
and his staff routinely rode 20 miles through
the mountains and foothills of Orange County
Virginia inspecting the winter quarters of his
army. Lee’s staff members included Major Walter
Taylor, Major Charles S. Venable, and Major
Charles Marshall. Occasionally accompanying Lee
was his old friend and secretary, Armistead
Lindsay Long, who was now a Brigadier General
placed in command of the artillery in General
Ewell’s Second Corps. General Lee had an
abundance of work to do during these winter
months. Preceding battles had lost him many of
his best commanding officers, such as Generals
Jackson, Pender, Armistead and Pettigrew. Many
other officers had been taken out of action with
crippling wounds. The slow process of promotion
bothered experienced officers ready to take on
higher rank. It was General Lee’s job to
re-organize and prepare his army for the
critical and decisive campaign that was to come.
Affectionally know by his troops as “The Old
Gray Fox”, General Lee had big plans for his
army when the season changed, believing like his
men, the war could still be won.
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© All copyrights reserved
by John Paul Strain Historical Art
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In 1775, the
Revolutionary War began in earnest as American
patriots fought the British army for their
independence. The founders of the Constitution
met at the second Continental Congress in
Philadelphia, and George Washington was named
Commander in Chief of the Continental Army. By
June of 1776, the Virginia legislature had
adopted Virginia’s Declaration of Rights and the
First Virginia Constitution. A seal for the
Commonwealth of Virginia was needed, and
delegate George Mason recommended the phrase
“Sic Semper Tyrannis” (Thus Always to Tyrants),
be included. The seal artwork was designed by
George Wythe and featured the Goddess of Virtue
holding a sword and spear, resting her foot on
the tyrant King George. Wythe was a
distinguished Virginia judge, a signatory of the
Declaration of Independence, and a Founding
Father of the United States. Wythe was also a
law professor and mentored Thomas Jefferson,
Henry Clay and John Marshall. In May of 1861,
the Virginia legislature voted to secede from
the Federal government and join the Confederate
States of America. The convention of delegates
also approved an ordinance to establish a flag
for the commonwealth, adopting the pattern of
the Virginia state seal of 1776 surrounded by a
blue field. Virginia brigades would carry these
hand painted flags featuring the Goddess of
Virtue and motto “Sic Semper Tyrannis” into
battle against invading federal forces.
Confederate officers often purchased their own
swords after obtaining a commission in the army.
These swords varied in quality as well as
intricacy in design, depending on the officer’s
rank and wealth. It was fairly common for
Generals of the highest rank to carry an ornate
sword, possibly with brass fittings, silver
plated handle, and their name engraved on the
scabbard. Sometimes, these elegant swords were
donated to the generals by a grateful citizen.
General Robert E. Lee of Virginia carried a Colt
1851 Navy revolver, 3rd model - 36 cal. 6-shot
round cylinder, with a 7 1/2” octagonal barrel.
The piece featured a brass front bead, one piece
walnut handle, silver plated brass trigger
guard, and backstrap. The revolver was engraved
by the W.L. Armsby Company, New York, and had
the serial number 37698. After the war, Lee kept
the revolver in a holster hanging from the
headboard in his bedroom. General Lee would pass
away on October 12, 1870. His revolver was then
emptied with all six shots firing. The motto,
“Sic Semper Tyrannis”, still adorns the Virginia
State flag to this day. Robert E. Lee’s revolver
can be seen in the American Museum of the Civil
War, in Richmond, Virginia.
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© All copyrights reserved
by John Paul Strain Historical Art
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For
information or online orders: |
www.johnpaulstrain.com |
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