“I have always been proud of my service in the Confederate Army, believing that it was my duty, also a privilege to respond to the call to my country’s defense.”
T.F. Meece
The Ike Turner Confederate Veterans Camp No. 321 was organized in Livingston, TX on April 8th, 1893 with an enrollment of (41) charter members. The first officers were as follows:
James E. Hill – Commander (a person in authority, especially over a body of troops or a military operation)
J.J. Canon – 1st Lt. (leads a platoon of soldiers or serves as the executive officer for a company-sized unit)
T.F. Meece – 2nd Lt. (typically serves as a platoon leader, managing a platoon of soldiers (16 to 44) or as a staff officer in a unit)
A.B. Green – Adjutant (a military officer who acts as an administrative assistant to a senior officer.)
J.R. Doughty – Quartermaster (a military officer responsible for providing quarters, rations, clothing, and other supplies)
J.J. Brock – Sgt. at arms (an officer appointed by a deliberative body, usually a legislature, to keep order during its meetings)
J.E. Lee – Vidette (a mounted sentry or picket stationed in advance of pickets or other troops)
D.A. Kirkland – Chaplain (a member of the clergy attached to a private chapel, institution, ship, branch of the armed forces)
“The name, Ike Turner camp, was unanimously adopted, in honor of Captain Ike Turner of Hood’s brigade, who was killed in the Suffolk campaign in Virginia and was a Captain of Company K, 5th Texas Infantry, the “Polk County Flying Artillery.”
The question is, what took so long? The Civil War ended on April 9th, 1865. The selection of the date on which to organize the camp is not lost on anyone. Why did it take 28 years to do so?
The United Confederate Veterans (UCV) was founded in New Orleans, LA in 1889. It sought to unify the many separate organizations scattered across the former Confederate States into one larger regional body. Perhaps the slowness to organize, regionally or nationally, delayed the organization of the smaller camps. Whenever ex-soldiers of the South assembled for some type of celebration or some historic anniversary, there was suspicion in the north that the Confederacy was once again organizing. No doubt, reconstruction had a lot to do with the delayed assemblies as well.
On May 24th, 1900, T.F. was appointed aide-de-camp to Major General K. M. Van Zandt who was commanding the Texas Division of the United Confederate Veterans. T.F. was promoted to the rank of Major. An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant or secretary to a person of high rank, and typically the foremost personal aide. Khleber Miller Van Zandt would eventually be elected to Commander-in-Chief of the UCV from 1918 until 1921.
The Tenth Annual Meeting and Reunion of the United Confederate Veterans was held in Louisville, KY from May 30th until June 3rd, 1900. Under the Texas Division, Northwestern Texas Sub-Division, Brig. General K.M. Van Zandt, Commander, Fort Worth Texas is shown as in attendance. Although, not specifically listed, I can only assume that T.F. was in attendance as Van Zandt’s aide-de-camp.
The successor groups to the UCV are United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV). Ironically, the SCV is located in Columbia, TN where T.F. was born. That’s coming full circle.
Like T.F., K. M. Van Zandt was born Tennessee. His family moved to Texas in 1839. His father Isaac Van Zandt was appointed by Sam Houston to negotiate the annexation of Texas by the United States. He was also a member of the convention that framed the first constitution for the State of Texas. He died in Houston, TX in 1874 while a candidate for Governor.
After attending Marshall University in Marshall, TX, K.M. furthered his education at Franklin College in Nashville, TN. He was admitted to the bar in 1858 and practiced law until the outbreak of the Civil War. According to the 1860 United States Federal Census, he enslaved nine individuals. He helped to organize and he became Captain of Company D, Seventh Texas Infantry. He was later promoted to Major. He took part in the battles of Fort Donalson, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, etc. He was taken prisoner for seven months following the surrender of Fort Donalson.
Van Zandt was an extremely successful businessman in Ft. Worth, TX. He began a dry goods business and then started the Tarrant County Construction Company, which built the Texas and Pacific railroad bed from Dallas to Ft. Worth. He was President of the Fort Worth National Bank and the K.M. Van Zandt Land Company. He was Director of the Fort Worth Life Insurance Company, the Fort Worth and Denver Railway and the Fort Worth Street Railway Company. The Fort Worth Street Railway Company was a streetcar system that operated in Fort Worth, Texas, from the late 19th century until the mid-20th century. It played a significant role in the city’s transportation infrastructure and urban development before being replaced by other modes of transport. He was the co-founder of the Fort Worth Democrat, the town’s first newspaper, and he was a member of the Thirteenth State Legislature. He was described as one “who wanted to lead rather than follow.” He was known locally as Mr. Fort Worth.