To All,

The following is the first information announcement that is being made via this communication medium on this VERY special occurance. In the formative planning stages for the past 9 months this effort is nearing fruition. Although this post is in a since long what it will do is to inform you of the different aspects of this "happening" in an overview sense.

Marion D. Lambert

1st Lt Cmdr, Captain John T. Lesley Camp 1282, SCV

Vice-President, Preserving Our Heritage, Inc.;

Board of Directors, Southern League of Florida

Private Benjamin F. DeVane Is "Coming Home"

Upon his release in mid June, 1865 from Point Lookout, Maryland POW camp, Private Benjamin F. DeVane, described as "greatly debilitated", wished only to return to his family, which included his parents, wife, and children, one of whom was a young son he had never seen. Being a veteran of four years of faithful service with the 4th Florida and then with the 5th Florida Infantry in the Army of Northern Virginia, Private DeVane was battle hardened and knew well the privations and sufferings of the Southern soldier. He had been seriously wounded and captured on the field at Sharpsburg. After his parole and exchange he saw service in the spring of 1863 and was a participant on the 2nd and the 3rd day at Gettysburg. During Pickett’s Charge, with the Florida Brigade supporting, Benjamin's brother, George, also of the 5th Florida, was mortally wounded. Private Benjamin DeVane was there to witness the horrific and stubborn struggle in the Spring and early Summer of 1864 as the Southern Army defended with its lifeblood, Richmond. Then through the terrible Petersburg and Richmond siege of 1864-65, Private DeVane did his duty. During the fall of Richmond on April 3, as the blue hordes strangled the life out of the South, Private DeVane was captured again, imprisoned at Libby Prison, and shipped to Point Lookout. It was from there that on June 8, 1865 he started literally walking toward his home. He got as far as Savannah, Georgia where on July 4, 1865, at 30 years and three months of age, he succumbed to disease and was buried in Laurel Grove Cemetery with 1,000 other soldiers of the South. One hundred and thirty two years later Private Benjamin Franklin DeVane is coming home. Home to be buried in a graveyard with his mother, father, wife, his brother Samuel, and two of his sons, one of whom is the "young son" he never knew. =========================================================================== Please help us to honour and pay our last respects to this real life Confederate Soldier, as we bring him home! ============================================================================ We ask that you be involved in one or more of three ways:

1.) Be involved in Georgia in the ceremonies on the 22nd of March or the motorcade on the 23rd from Savannah to just north of Jacksonville.

2.) Fall into the motorcade as we travel with the hearse from Jacksonville to Tampa and then Brandon, Florida.

3.) Participate in the 1 1/2 mile funeral procession and the funeral which will be fitting for a hero on the 29th of March in Plant City, FL.

For information contact the following:

GEORGIA: General Information Mr. Keith Smith (Coordinator) (912)927-1999 Ga. Division, SCV Mr. Don Newman (912)748-7387 Military Protocol & Lt. Jerry Morris Ceremony Co B Palmetto Battalion (803)541-7504

SOUTH CAROLINA: General Information Mr. Kenny Cone Day ((803)632-3303

FLORIDA: General Information Mr. Marion Lambert (813)839-5153 Final Funeral Procession Gen. Tom Jessee Department of the Gulf (941)667-1984 Military Protocol & Capt. Don Lewis Ceremony Co K 7th Florida (813)685-4308

On March 22, the Georgia Division, SCV will disinter the remains from the Confederate section of Savannah’s Laurel Grove Cemetery. After a funeral procession through Savannah the casket will lie in state at the Confederate monument until late in the afternoon.

On Sunday, March 23 Private Benjamin DeVane’s remains will travel south on I-95. At 12 Noon on Sunday, March 23, at the first Florida Welcome Station coming south on I-95, the Georgia hearse will transfer the flag draped pine casket to a Florida hearse. During the transfer the current Georgia state flag will be replaced with the current Florida state flag. That hearse with motorcade will travel I-95 to I-10, I-10 to I-75, and then I-75 south to Stowers Funeral Home (401 W. Brandon Blvd.) in Brandon, which is next to Tampa, Florida. Just north of Tampa three units of the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Department will join the escort. All are encouraged to join and to be apart of this procession wherever along the route it is convenient. ============================================================================ ALSO, ALL VEHICLES IN THE PROCESSION ARE ENCOURAGED TO FLY A CONFEDERATE CAR FLAG! Motorcade Itinerary in Florida Georgia to Florida Transfer Noon I-295 & I-10 1:00 PM I-10 & I-75 1:50 PM Gainesville (Rest Stop) 2:50 PM Leave Rest Stop 3:15 PM Ocala 3:45 PM Wildwood 4:10 PM Brooksville 4:35 PM Hwy 54 & I-75 @ (Rest Stop) 4:57 PM Leave Rest Stop 5:15 PM I-275 & I-4 (Tampa) 5:40 PM Stowers (Brandon) 6:00 PM =========================================================================== Private DeVane will "lie in state" at the funeral home from 4-8 PM on Friday, March 28. On Saturday, March 29, after a noon chapel service, Benjamin DeVane will be transported to the "staging area" for the 1 « mile funeral march to Mount Enon Baptist Church and Cemetery for the 2:30 PM funeral service. This procession will include a horse drawn hearse, family, Confederate reenactors, SCV, UDC, and the public. This staging area is located at the Lakeland Regional Industrial Park which is 1/5 mile south of I-4 at exit 15 on County Line Road. Mt. Enon is located 8/10 of a mile west of County Line Road on North Frontage Road (which is just north of I-4). All participants in this funeral march are greatly encouraged to be at the staging area (as shown on the map) no later than 12 noon on the 29th. ============================================================================ The "Coming Home" of Private Benjamin F. DeVane is underwritten by Mrs. Alice Arnwine, g-granddaughter of Benjamin DeVane and Mr. Jeffrey E. Arnwine, gg-grandson of Benjamin DeVane. This is an effort of the Tampa based Capt. John T. Lesley Camp 1282, Sons of Confederate Veterans, Tampa Chapter 113, United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Georgia Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans. This effort is supported by Preserving Our Heritage, Inc. (a Florida corporation) and the Southern League of Florida (a Florida not-for-profit corporation). Many credits will be due before this "Coming Home" is finished.

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