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Column
By
Frank Gillespie
The Madison County Journal
April 18, 2001
Frankly
Speaking
 Let's honor the Confederate
soldiers
The Madison County Greys, Camp 1526, Sons of Confederate Veterans
invites you to attend a memorial service for the 400 Madison
County men who served in the Confederate Army.
The service will be Sunday, April 22, at 8 a.m., at courthouse
square in Danielsville.
Why do we honor these men? They volunteered to defend their state
and country against outside invaders. They faced death from combat
and disease. They suffered profound hardship for little or no
pay.
The largest contingent of Confederate soldiers from Madison County
served as Company A, 16th Regiment, known as The Madison County
Greys. Of 159 members, 25 were killed in battle, 51 died of diseases
and another 17 were injured.
Company D of the 16th Regiment, the Danielsville Guard, had 105
members. They lost 10 men in combat, 22 were injured and 28 died
of diseases. The remainder of the 400 locals were divided among
several units, usually combined with men from neighboring counties.
They suffered similar casualties.
As you can see from these figures, these brave men suffered massively
for the cause of Southern Independence. Few of them owned slaves.
Most of them were from small farms operated by family members.
They fought out of loyalty to their state, their families and
their God. They believed that the people of each state have the
right to determine their own destiny.
Many of them suffered injuries and illness that would have forced
the average man from the battle. But time after time, these men
returned to the battlefield after lengthy and painful recoveries.
Many were buried in graveyards far from home. Some of them rest
today where they fell with no stone to mark their graves.
These men deserve to be remembered. If we forget them, we forget
our history and heritage. If we fail to honor their sacrifice,
we will be in violation of the commandment, "Honor thy Father
and Mother."
Each year, the Madison County Greys holds a memorial service
on the Sunday before Confederate Memorial Day. This year, that
date falls on April 22. We will convene on the courthouse square
at 8 a.m. David Mann, Commander of the "Greys", will
speak, followed by Chaplain Walter Singletary. Everyone in attendance
will be invited to name their Confederate ancestor and speak
to their memory.
Following the program, we will parade to the old cemetery for
a final prayer and salute. The program will be over in time for
you to attend regular Sunday church services.
I personally invite all my readers to attend the Confederate
Memorial Service in Danielsville Sunday morning. When you consider
the sacrifices those men gave for us, we can do no less than
honor their sacrifices.
Frank Gillispie is founder of The Madison County Journal.
His web page can be accessed at www.mcga.net. His email address
is frankg@mcga.net.
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Column
By Margie
Richards
The Madison County Journal
April 18, 2001
A Moment
With Margie
 The best things about vacation
A warm, soft breeze blowing, the sound of waves hitting the shoreline
and shrimp boats on the horizon.
When I close my eyes I can still experience those sensations,
but it's back to reality this week.
Last week my husband Charles, and I and our son Zack headed out
to spend spring break at Jekyll Island. I was a little leery
since it was my first time off with just my two guys since Miranda
went off to college.
But I couldn't have asked for a better vacation, really; the
weather was perfect, each day a clone of the last, with moderate
temperatures and not one drop of rain. We each did just what
we felt like doing; for me it was sunbathing in the mornings,
lunch and then either shopping or more sunbathing.
Meanwhile the guys engaged in one of their favorite vacation
(or any other time) activities - sitting in front of the TV.
Jekyll is full of paved bike trails, so we took our bikes along
and spent the late afternoons biking around the island. Although
we've done this on several different occasions, each time we
discover something new.
If you've ever been to Jekyll, but haven't taken either a bike
or walking tour, you really haven't seen it.
Zack spent a lot of time off on his own riding the island and
he would come back telling of the things he'd seen - like the
alligator sunning himself in the middle of a trail.
Only one-third of the island is developed, and since it is owned
and protected by the state, it is set to stay that way. Some
people say they don't like it for this reason, but that's precisely
why I love it. It's chock full of wildlife (I'm convinced there
is an alligator in every puddle of water), maritime forests and
marsh lands (remember Sydney Lanier's poem "The Marshes
of Glynn"? It was written about this area).
Everything pretty much closes down after dark, so this discourages
the "party crowd," which is another reason I like it.
Most of the hotels have restaurants, including the prestigious
Jekyll Island Club in the historic district, but our favorite
is Blackbeard's, with its great view of the ocean.
St. Simon's and Brunswick are just a short drive away with lots
of shopping and other restaurant choices.
One year while visiting there we drove down I-95 to the little
town of St. Mary's to board the boat over to Cumberland Island.
Cumberland is hauntingly beautiful with its glorious beaches,
mansion ruins, herds of wild horses and wildlife. There is also
a hotel on the island (it's expensive and reservations have to
be made well in advance) and the old church that John F. Kennedy
Jr. picked for his private wedding.
This year, we took a 45-minute day trip over to Okefenokee Park
in Waycross. There we took a short train and boat ride through
parts of the swamp, seeing still more alligators and other plants
and animals. It may not seem like a swamp should be thought of
as a beautiful place, but the Okefenokee truly is.
There are two main entrances to the swamp. Besides Waycross,
there is another park further south in Folkston. We visited this
one several years ago, and that is the best one for the money.
Lots of people bring their pets with them to Jekyll - primarily
dogs. But while riding bikes along the beach one evening we spotted
a kitten swimming in the ocean!
I thought I was seeing things at first, but sure enough, the
little thing plowed right into the waves after his owners - two
young girls.
They said it was his first trip to the beach and that sight was
a first for us too.
I don't know if it's this way for everyone, but one of the best
things for me about vacation time is that we all seem to spend
more time just talking to each other. It was a great time for
me to just sort of get reconnected to my husband and son.
Margie Richards is a reporter and office manager for the Madison
County Journal.
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