Confederate Heritage Youth Day 2017

Greetings friends and fellow travelers!

On Saturday, May 20th my travels took me once again up to North Carolina to Lewis Farm, just north of Gastonia near Spencer Mountain for the 8th Annual Confederate Heritage Youth Day sponsored by my friends and compatriots of the Major Charles Q. Petty Camp #872 Sons of Confederate Veterans of Gastonia. 

One of the educational programs sponsored by the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Confederate Heritage Youth Day is a free annual event that takes place every May after Confederate Memorial Day for young people and their families to learn about Southern history and Confederate heritage from the War Between The States. 

In addition to learning history of the Civil War period from a Southern point-of-view,  young people and their families get to enjoy Lewis Farm itself, which is a pretty fantastic place. The animals seem to enjoy the attention -- and the food -- given to them by the kids. 

The event also gives Confederate descendants like yours truly another chance to come together in fellowship and brotherhood, and to share information about our family history, or to simply enjoy each other's company. 

Above all though, it is about teaching the next generation to respect the sacrifices that the Confederate soldiers -- their ancestors -- went through and the positive aspects of the legacy they left to the Southern people as a whole. 

Here are some of the photos taken by me at this event: 

Lewis Farm with Spencer Mountain in the background.

Confederate Reenactors lining up for the flag raising ceremony.

Confederate Reenactors Pastor Creighton Lovelace
& Sgt. Brian Duckworth preparing to raise the Dixie Cross banner.

Confederate Reenactors presenting arms.

Mr. John H. Ellis teaches a lesson about the various
flags of the Confederacy & the Union during the War Between The States.

Pastor Creighton Lovelace outstanding presentation about Christianity and faith in the
Confederate Armies & the American Southland during and after the War.

Civil War artillery demonstrations.

KABOOM!

Life in camp and the war gear of Confederate soldiers explained.

Confederate Reenactors demonstrating war era muskets & telling
humorous stories about camp life and re-enacting.

Kids learning the manual of arms and practicing with tomato posts.

Mrs. Kelly A. Hinson poses with a young
fella sporting a Confederate coat and hat.

Transmission towers atop nearby Spencer Mountain.
Has nothing to do with the event, I just thought this was an interesting shot.

Lunch is served.

The event took place between 9 AM till 2 PM and the young people all had a good time -- even though a couple of the teenagers spent half their time on their mobile devices (sighs). 

The younger kids enjoyed dressing up like the reenactors, and the weapons demonstrations. The presentations about camp life, the stories about the flags, what the soldiers went through, and about the Christian faith of many of the Southern people were all well done. 

I am also thankful to know that while the reenactors taught the kids these things, they refrained from presenting the War itself as something glamorous. Indeed, those presenting the lessons pointed out on many occasions that the men who fought and the women and others at home on both sides suffered greatly as a result of the war. Instead they focused on the devotion to duty, the bravery and the faith of the soldier and the people on the homefront. 

As always I hope y'all enjoyed my post on this event and the photos that I took. Please let me know what you think in the comment section. 

Y'all have a great Dixie Day, and please come again now, ya hear?