The Roderick Camp was chartered in April 2006 as part of Confederate History Month at a ceremony at S & G Custom Cycles in Columbia, Tennessee. Since most members ride motorcycles, iron horses, we decided to name our camp for a Confederate horse. The only choice we even considered was General Forrest’s war horse that was killed at the Battle of Thompson Station. Commander Ed Butler spoke at the chartering ceremony and presented the camp with its charter near a rare Harley Davidson. (A 1977 Confederate Edition FLH that only saw 44 produced.)
We chartered with 8 men reinstated from other camps along with 11 new members. We add new members to the rolls every month and have attained 70 members in only 3 years.
Despite being a young camp we have some very active members and have several worthwhile projects under our charge. Our most ambitious task is raising $48,000 to conserve the huge 20th Tennessee Volunteer Infantry’s silk battle flag. (We have raised nearly half this large amount with our annual Confederate Flag Benefit.) Next we help with the upkeep on General Nathan Bedford Forrest’s log home in Chapel Hill. (At the moment we are rebuilding the stone fences in front of the cabin.) Since our camp is named for his horse, we felt obligated to help Mr. Gene Andrews with this honorable task. We also are host to the growing “Tennessee Soldier’s Photo Project” that has over 3,000 identified Confederate and Union photos from the Volunteer State. (It is open to the public and please consider adding your ancestors to our files.) And, of course, we mark soldier’s graves, defend school mascots, and what ever else falls under General Stephen D Lee’s charge to the SCV.
We take a different approach to the SCV. Rather than monthly meetings we take monthly rides to a battlefield, museum, or historic home to see first hand the truth about the War Between The States. And we have fun doing it. We are merely historians with a motorcycle problem. :) So, if you ride a bike let us know and we’ll put you on our electronic mailing list. If you only have car or truck you can still come along. You will have a large time and we might need someone to haul stuff for us!
Be proud of our unique heritage and ride like you would with Forrest!