It was a sunny and warm day in Gastonia, North Carolina in the early afternoon of Saturday, March 4th as nearly 150 proud Confederate descendants of all ages stood together as one at the Gaston County Courthouse to celebrate Confederate Flag Day. The Rally To The Colors event was sponsored by the members of the Major Charles Q Petty Camp #872, NC Division Sons of Confederate Veterans (NC SCV) of Gastonia.
The group stood before the Confederate soldiers monument in front of the courthouse holding a variety of historic Confederate flags and modern-day replica Dixie Cross banners as several speakers -- including a REAL Son of a Confederate soldier -- talked passionately about the moral defense of the Confederate soldier's good name as an American Veteran and the defense of the flag -- the living symbol -- that represented his memory and our shared Southern-Confederate historical heritage and cultural identity.
"Dixie" played gently over a speaker as the crowd assembled, then the ceremony kicked off with prayer at 1 PM. The minister prayed for memories of the Confederate soldier, the moral defense of the Dixie Cross flag and all those who gathered for the event. Speakers asked that God save the Confederate flag and its heritage, and the crowd saluted a large flag during the ceremony.
The following photos were taken by me and my brother Roy "Sharky" Wallen during the 90 minute event.
The group stood before the Confederate soldiers monument in front of the courthouse holding a variety of historic Confederate flags and modern-day replica Dixie Cross banners as several speakers -- including a REAL Son of a Confederate soldier -- talked passionately about the moral defense of the Confederate soldier's good name as an American Veteran and the defense of the flag -- the living symbol -- that represented his memory and our shared Southern-Confederate historical heritage and cultural identity.
"Dixie" played gently over a speaker as the crowd assembled, then the ceremony kicked off with prayer at 1 PM. The minister prayed for memories of the Confederate soldier, the moral defense of the Dixie Cross flag and all those who gathered for the event. Speakers asked that God save the Confederate flag and its heritage, and the crowd saluted a large flag during the ceremony.
The following photos were taken by me and my brother Roy "Sharky" Wallen during the 90 minute event.
 |
| The Gaston County Confederate Soldiers Monument. |
 |
| A friend of mine from facebook, Miss Maeve Magdalen from Greenville, SC. (originally California) carrying a modern-day South Carolina/Dixie Cross banner & the State Flag of California. |
 |
 US Military Veteran & Real Son of a Confederate Veteran, Mr. Hamm. God Bless Him! |
 |
| Yours truly carrying my new personalized Dixie Cross banner -- a replica of a cavalry guidon that appeared near the end of the War. |
 |
| My brother Roy "Sharky" Wallen holding my flag for the photo. |
 |
| One of the keynote speakers for the event, my friend Mr. Kirk M. Carter of Clover, SC. |
 |
| Members of the SCV Mechanized Cavalry gathering after the service to induct a couple of new members into their ranks. |
 | |
| Standing in front of the Gaston County, NC Confederate Soldiers Monument. Left to right: Donny Raborn, John T. Misskelley, Kirk M. Carter, and Carl W. Roden. My brother Roy gets credit for taking the photo. |
Once again I hope that y'all enjoyed my photograph and blog post. Be sure to leave a comment or questions below if you have any.
My next blog post will detail the trip me and Roy took after getting lunch to a popular tourist spot in Gastonia: The Schiele Museum of Natural History. Be sure to check it out.
My next blog post will detail the trip me and Roy took after getting lunch to a popular tourist spot in Gastonia: The Schiele Museum of Natural History. Be sure to check it out.
As always, y'all have a wonderful day!
No comments:
Post a Comment