Elijah Gates Camp 570 recognized as best chapter in Missouri Division

The Missouri Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans named the Auxvasse-based Elijah Gates Camp 570 best camp and recognized Gates Camp member Charles (Don) Ernst with the Col. Joseph C. Porter Award for outstanding service.

Commander Noel A. Crowson with Elijah Gates Camp said the group's recent recognition cited two specific 2014 achievements: the research, location and dedication of the Battle of Moore's Mill mass grave and the establishment of a permanent headquarters for the camp.

Twenty-four Union and Confederate soldiers who died in the Battle of Moore's Mill have been unidentified and, until last summer, were unrecognized. Elijah Gates Camp raised $5,000 for a memorial site and held a ceremony to dedicate the mass grave at Moore's Mill in Calwood. Prior to the ceremony, the camp researched the site location and produced a book.

That project, Crowson said, is the perfect example of what the Elijah Gates Camp 570 most enjoys.

"Our group is historically oriented. We like to do original research and answer questions about our county," Crowson said.

The camp is already working on its next project: the location of Camp Jackson. They will also complete research and produce a book on Camp Jackson. Crowson said they have started to work on that project, but are planning to spend more time on it after the grand opening of their new permanent location this month.

Elijah Gates Camp is celebrating its new permanent space, located at 107 Main St. in Auxvasse, with an open house Saturday, April 25. The ribbon cutting that day will be at 11:30 a.m. The group, Crowson said, is excited to have a permanent meeting space as well as a space to house research and artifacts.

"We wanted a place where were could start accumulating civil war research," Crowson said.

The space will make scheduling meetings easier for the group as well, he added. The city of Auxvasse, he said, has been supportive of the camp and its new location. The group's ancestors started in Auxvasse.

"We see this as coming back full circle and completing what our ancestors started," Crowson said.

This is the fourth time the Elijah Gates Camp has received the Missouri Division's best camp award since its establishment in 1996. And, it is the third time a member of the camp has been awarded the Col. Joseph C. Porter Award for outstanding service.

Ernst, Crowson said, is one of the oldest members of the Elijah Gates Camp; he has volunteered with them for 15 years. Ernst's recognition for outstanding service, Crowson said, comes from the amount of time he has given not only Elijah Gates Camp, but other camps as well.

"He's been around for so many years and helped in so many ways," Crowson said. "He's always offered to help."

Ernst said most of his ancestors were southern and fought for the Confederacy. He gives his time because teaching others about Civil War history is important to him.

"We try to educate people about the war," Ernst said. "There are a lot of misconceptions about the war."

The research the group does, Ernst said, is also important to him. And, he added, the group does not show a bias toward Confederate soldiers in their work. When the group did their research for the dedication of Moore's Mill, they found two Union soldiers, too. They included them in the dedication with the Confederate troops.

"The war's been over for 150 years," Ernst said. "These men, no matter what side they fought for, they fought for what they believed and died for it."

When asked how he felt upon hearing he was receiving the award for outstanding service, Ernst said he was surprised.

"I couldn't believe they decided to give it to me," Ernst said. "It was really great. That is a high honor."