Page News & Courier
Heritage and Heraldry
Early Confederate Veteran and Descendant Organizations in Page County
Article of March 4, 1999
While one of my columns this year covered the local United Daughters of the Confederacy Chapter which is still in existence, I found my way through old copies of the Confederate Veteran Magazine (1890's - 1930's) to find more about other organizations that existed in Page County at the beginning of the century. After scouring the three volume index for all entries related to Page County, Page Valley, Luray, etc., I found over 50 entries - most dealing with the old veterans of the county.
The Rosser-Gibbons Camp No. 89, United Confederate Veterans, was apparently the first recorded organization of ex-Confederates in the county. Named for Page County native Colonel Simeon B. Gibbons (one time commander of the 10th Virginia Infantry killed at the Battle of McDowell) and General Thomas L. Rosser (former commander of the Laurel Brigade), the camp was initially mentioned in the July 1898 issue as having been organized in Luray, with sixty-seven members. Former Captain Richard S. Parks was elected commander; Samuel N. Judd, James W.T. Warren, and Paul Miller, Lieutenants; William E. Grayson, Adjutant; John S. Hershberger, Sergeant-Major; Thomas E. Schwartz, Treasurer; Dr. Thomas B. Amiss, Surgeon. A photo of the June 17, 1924 reunion for the camp has been included in previous issues of the Page News & Courier. The photo included 26 Confederate veterans supporting a last National flag of the Confederacy (with camp identification) and James Wade Laconia of Pennsylvania wielding a U.S. flag. As the lone �Yankee� veteran in the photo, Laconia seemed to be enjoying ribbing the old Rebels.
Through 1931, various Page County Confederate veterans were mentioned in obituaries or small articles. The obituaries included those of Robert C. Bragonier, Ambrose C. Huffman, James A. Melton (all in 1905); Tilman S. Weaver (1909); Joseph Groves (1910); Erasmus L. Bell (1920); Isaac N. Kibler, Richard S. Parks, M. Warfield Yates, and William H. Rogers (1922); Theodore H. Lauck and Enoch V. Kauffman (1923); Silas K. Wright, Martin V.B. Gander, George K. Fitch, James W. McCoy, Charles E. Beidler, and Henry C. Shenk (1926); James A. Matthews, John S. Hershberger, John P. Grove, and John W. Stover (1927); W. Peter Broy (1928); and lastly, Harrison M. Strickler (1929). Enoch V. Kauffman and David C. Grayson often wrote the tributes to their slowly thinning ranks of veterans in gray.
The first mention of a Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp in Page County was made in the December 1906 issue - though leaving a question as to when the organization had formed. The Summers-Koontz Camp #490, S.C.V. included F.T. Amiss as commander and A.A. Grove as lieutenant commander. The number and names of other members is uncertain. Named for the two men killed in the postwar incident (another previous article) the camp was only mentioned three times in all of the issues. The camp�s last note of existence was in November 1914.
The long gray line of Page�s Confederate veterans has passed on well over fifty years ago. Likewise, the original �sons� from the Summers-Koontz Camp have all likely joined the fathers that they honored (though I await a roster). The exact date that the S.C.V. Camp last held a meeting is uncertain, but presumed to have been prior to 1920. Today, those in Page that continue the legacy of honoring their Confederate heritage belong to different camps including the Waller Tazewell Patton Camp in Greene County.
Anyone with ANY information regarding the Rosser-Gibbons Camp or the Summers-Koontz Camp is encouraged to contact me in order to more accurately document the respective histories of the two organizations.
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