Confederate group meets in Gainesville this weekend

GAINESVILLE - Don't be surprised if you seen men dressed in Confederate gray, women in 1860s era dresses and lots of Confederate flags around Gainesville starting Friday.

The Georgia Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans' 109th Annual Reunion will be held Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Gainesville and 300-400 members and their guests are expected in town.

The reunion committee is headed by Stan McDaniel, Commander of Camp 1404, 27th Georgia Regiment, SCV in Gainesville. Five SCV camps are partnering with the Gainesville in hosting the get together. They are in Cleveland, Dahlonega, Cumming, Habersham County and Lawrenceville.

The opening ceremonies will take place at the Olympic Rowing Boathouse on Lake Lanier at 6:00 Friday night where a barbecue dinner will be followed by welcome messages from North Georgia dignitaries and Division officers.

Also included will be a Dixie concert by a 30-voice choral group which will feature Confederate music and army songs and a special tribute to the 50th anniversary of the 1956 Georgia state flag.

The feature of the evening will be a battle on Lake Lanier between two ironclads from the National Civil War Museum: the USS Monitor and the CSS Richmond. A crew of six in respective uniforms from the museum will man the ironclads.

Friday's events will close with a 21-gun heavy artillery salute to the two Confederate heroes the reunion has chosen to honor: General James Longstreet and Sidney Lanier. The public is invited but there will be a charge of $10 per adult; children, accompanying a parent, will be admitted free of charge..

The program on Saturday will include business meetings starting at 9:00.

Elections for Division offices for the coming two years will take place. Since it is also an election year in the international SCV organization, many candidates and guests are expected for the reunion in Gainesville, according to reunion organizers.

The Keynote Lunch and Awards Program will take place at 12:00 on Saturday at the Gainesville Civic Center. According to a posting on the Georgia division's Web site, at the same time, there will be a tour and lunch "for the ladies and kids at the various Gen. Longstreet historic sites, with chartered busses and guides."

On Saturday evening, beginning at 7:00, the President Davis Birthday Ball will begin with a buffet supper. This program will also feature the introduction of the Georgia debutantes for 2006. Dress is either period or party dress. The public is invited to the buffet and ball. Adults $20; kids with parents, $8.

Sunday morning will feature a memorial service followed by a meeting of the newly elected Division Executive Committee.