Free Florida First will have a booth at the Newberry Watermelon Festival on Saturday, May 20, 2023

This will be the eleventh anniversary of our first participation in the Newberry Watermelon Festival. In the past we have always had a pleasant and productive day. 

Nevertheless, we remain alert to potential conflict in light of the current political atmosphere, particularly given Newberry’s proximity to the socialist enclave of Gainesville (home of the Marxist University of Florida). But thus far we have experienced very little negative feedback. Still, we never know when BLM or Antifa or some other group of communist agitators may discover us -- regardless, we shall soldier on by the Grace of God.  His will be done!

We always sell a significant number of our flags and meet many like-minded folk.

The event is scheduled to be held from 9am-3:30pm at the Country Way Town Square in Newberry, Florida. Why don’t you come out and introduce yourself to us! (NOTE: Admission is free, but there is a parking fee of $5 per vehicle.)

Newberry Watermelon Festival Web Page
(includes interactive map at the bottom of the homepage):
   https://newberrywatermelonfestival.com/

Newberry Watermelon Festival Facebook Page:
   https://www.facebook.com/newberrywatermelonfestival

Every year we set up booths at several area festivals. It is an opportunity to get ourselves before the public and let folks know that some of us still strive to stand in the old ways and ask for the old paths. We proudly display the banners of our fathers and encourage folks to work for a Free, Independent, Godly, Prosperous, and Traditionally Southern Florida.

Jeremiah 6:16a
Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. . . .

We believe that it is increasingly important for us to show our devotion to the principles that undergirded the Confederate States of America and to make our presence known in our local community.  We strongly advocate for individual liberty and a minuscule government that is truly by the consent of the governed. Won’t you consider joining with us?

Here’s what our booth will look like (we shouldn't be hard to find):

And here are some of our compatriots who have manned the booth with us:

So, come out to the Watermelon Festival, visit with us, and buy some flags to help support our efforts, and then go home and fly them, to show your own commitment to liberty and truth.

Here’s a sample of the 3’ X 5’ flags we offer for sale at the festival for $10 each or three (3) for $25.

The proceeds from our sales help us to continue our work for liberty and truth.

Stand up and show your colors and STAND AND FIGHT FOR SOUTHERN RIGHTS!

By the Grace of God we will continue to do so!

Free Florida First advocates for a Free, Independent, Godly, Prosperous, and Traditionally Southern Florida.

Deo Vindice!

TRUST GOD!

STAY IN THE FIGHT!

NEVER GIVE UP!

NEVER QUIT!

CLICK HERE to view a PDF of our weekly paper, Just for Your Consideration.

CLICK HERE to be added to our email list.

Honoring our Confederate Forebears in 2023

This week I’m sharing a report of our Confederate Memorial Day Observances on April 29 & 30, 2023.

In spite of some forecasts of bad weather, we were blessed with beautiful days and we had a wonderful time of fellowship and remembrance.

A very special blessing was a video greeting sent from our Cossack friends in Russia. And though we are separated by thousands of miles we are like-minded in our love of our God, and in our love of our people, and in our love of our homes, and in our love for liberty. And though we have never met in the flesh, I feel closer to these brethren than I do to most modern day amerikans.

This year we were able to place flags on the graves of more Confederate soldiers than we have in the past, as we identified several additional graves in the Laurel Hill Cemetery in Archer, Florida. 

Brethren, we need to raise up our own memorials and stop appealing to the corrupt and perverted yankee governments! They care nothing for us or for our ancestors. Indeed, they hate such liberty-minded folks.

Let us not only remember them, but let us pick up their banners and continue the struggle against the wicked and perverted amerikan empire!

Begin by seceding in your own heart and in your own mind.

We are that remnant, let us behave as such.

In any case, here is a link the complete photo album of our observances:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/dCfEK3iPDy5B6EAj9

Free Florida First advocates for a Free, Independent, Godly, Prosperous, and Traditionally Southern Florida.

Deo Vindice!

TRUST GOD!

STAY IN THE FIGHT!

NEVER GIVE UP!

NEVER QUIT!

CLICK HERE to view a PDF of our weekly paper, Just for Your Consideration.

CLICK HERE to be added to our email list.

Invitation to Confederate Memorial Day 2023 at Landmark Baptist Church

 Remembering Those Who Fought Against the Immoral Invading Hordes from the north.

On April 29th and 30th, Landmark Baptist Church and Free Florida First will jointly mark Confederate Memorial Day 2023.

This commemoration is by Confederates to the memory of Confederates. There will be no recognition of the evil yankee empire, nor of it striped rag. That villainous flag is dripping with the blood of our ancestors and with the blood of many other innocent victims since that time.

You will find an online invitation and details of our events here:
www.libcfl.org/invite/

According to Florida Statutes, Confederate Memorial Day is a recognized legal holiday.
http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0600-0699/0683/Sections/0683.01.html 

In today’s political climate, it’s not surprising that attempts are made virtually every year to eliminate the Confederate Memorial Day holiday, but fortunately it has been avoided to date. But regardless of what carpetbagger and scalawag politicians may do, our celebration will continue on, by the Grace of God. We can’t control Tallahassee or DC, but we can control ourselves. 

In 1900 a red St. Andrew’s cross was added to our Florida’s State Flag as a remembrance of our Confederate ancestors and defenders.

The Confederate soldier is most worthy of remembrance and recognition. Those soldiers fought in defense of their homes, their families, their way of life, and their state. In spite of the manifest lie that the modern day storm troopers of the amerikan empire are fighting for our freedom, the truth is that the Confederate soldier was the last veteran to fight in defense of our God-given rights.

The amerikan empire is certainly no less tyrannical today. So, more than a mere remembrance, we have dedicated ourselves to taking up the banners and the sacred Cause of our Confederate forebears. We seek a truly Free, Independent, Godly, Prosperous, and Traditionally Southern Florida. 

You will find a large display of historical flags at our observance, even some early US flags. You’ll see the Betsy Ross flag (designed by the Southerner, George Washington). You’ll see the 15 striped “Star-spangled Banner” of which Southerner Francis Scott Key wrote his memorable poem. Ironically, the tyrant Ape Lincoln imprisoned Key’s grandson within the walls of Fort McHenry for his opposition to the yankee cause from within the pages of his newspaper. And you’ll see many other flags of our Southern Nation (over 50).

You’ll see the Florida secession flag of Colonel William Chase, who removed the multiple stars of the failed union from the blue field of the US flag and replaced them with the single-star of a Sovereign and Independent Florida.

 

What you will NOT see are any modern US flags (since we sought to go our separate way in 1860). We DO NOT honor the flag of the invaders of our country, not on this day – not on any other day. Nor will we ever pledge allegiance to the tyrannical union by reciting a “Pledge of Allegiance” written by a South hating, socialist yankee.

 

Above is a replica of the Battle Flag of Florida’s Marion Light Artillery, in which my G-G-Grandpa, Sergeant John Cauthen Strickland, served. As the banner declares, he and his compatriots fought for “God and Our Rights” as free Southern men. By the Grace of God, we hope to continue that struggle against the increasingly evil and thoroughly perverse amerikan empire.

The following link contains descriptions of all the flags displayed during Confederate Memorial Day:

https://libcfl.org/articles/flags4.pdf

Quite simply, when it comes to the striped rag of the amerikan empire: “Ain’t my flag; Ain’t my country.” It has not been so since 1861. It appears to me that the time is approaching when true Southerners will be called upon to fight against that banner once again.

 

In the words of Major Innes Randolph, C.S.A. (taken from his poem, “I’m a Good Ole’ Rebel”): “I hates the glorious Union – ‘Tis dripping with our blood - I hates their striped banner, I fought it all I could . . . I'm glad I fit against it, I only wish we'd won, and I don't want no pardon for anything I done.”

From time to time, some folks will admonish us that the war is over and that we should simply forget and move on. We have no intention of doing so. We happen to agree with Pastor R. L. Dabney, who served as Chief of Staff for Lt. General T. J. “Stonewall” Jackson:

“What, forgive those people who invaded our country, burned our cities, destroyed our homes, slain our young men, and spread desolation and ruin over our land? No, I do not forgive them.”

R. L. Dabney

Furthermore, it’s not over yet -- not by a long shot. It’s not over as long as there are any of us who remember. It is not over as long as there are any of us still committed to picking up the banner and the Cause of our fathers and to continuing their struggle for independence and self-determination. That is why they hate our banners, our monuments, our remembrances, and above everything else – why they hate us.

We pray along with our great chieftain, Robert E. Lee, that God may be pleased to “give us a name and a place among the nations of the earth.”

If you are likewise inclined, come out and mark this day with us. On Saturday there will be a special memorial service at our flag pole, followed by placing flags on Confederate soldiers’ graves in a local cemetery.

 

Sunday there will be a special Confederate Memorial Day church service, in which Pastor Wilson will preach on the Theological principles that precipitated the war. Last year he preached on the Christian symbolism of our Confederate Flags. If you like, you can listen to last year's Confederate Memorial Day service here:

Part 1: https://libcfl.com/sermons/042422_1.mp3

Part 2: https://libcfl.com/sermons/050122_1.mp3

Handout: https://libcfl.org/sermons/FLAG_SERMON_Handout.pdf 

Pastor Wilson on Confederate Memorial Day

We do not mark this day simply because some of our ancestors served in the Confederate Army or Navy. Many who will celebrate with us have no Confederate ancestors. We mark this day because those who fought against the northern invasion were right in their actions and pure in their motives and we seek to stand with them. 

We do not seek simply to remember those who struggled against the yankee invaders, but as our ancestors noted in the Declaration of Independence in the First War for Independence, “we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor” in the struggle against Leviathan in the 21st Century. 

 

Come out and encourage yourself and others as you fellowship with like-minded Southern patriots. 

Online invitation and details of our events here:
www.libcfl.org/invite/

Free Florida First advocates for a Free, Independent, Godly, Prosperous, and Traditionally Southern Florida.

Deo Vindice!

TRUST GOD!

STAY IN THE FIGHT!

NEVER GIVE UP!

NEVER QUIT!

CLICK HERE to view a PDF of our weekly paper, Just for Your Consideration.

CLICK HERE to be added to our email list.

Honoring Our Own

Last week a friend and I placed a Southern Cross of Honor in Paran Baptist Cemetery (Putnam County, Fla.) on the grave of a recently identified Confederate soldier. Below is a link to a photo album of that occasion:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/gfZKxzEmjYVhVi2y5

Previously, in 2017, I set eleven (11) Crosses of Honor on the known Confederate graves in that cemetery, including the graves of my Great-Great-Grandpa, my Great-Great-Great Grandpa, and two Great-Great Granduncles. I cataloged that in the following photo album:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2302824846609562.1073741860.100006462071604&type=1&l=7721167d64

It is indeed a great privilege and honor to remember the service of those brave Confederates who fought against the evil amerikan empire, seeking to protect their homes, their families, and their way of life from the invading northern hordes.

While it is not wrong to protest against the removal of Confederate memorials, statues, flags, names, etc., we continue to see them come down or be removed. The problem is, we are vastly outnumbered by the ignorant masses [remember that the “m” in “masses” is most often silent].

In the evil amerikan political system, the majority rules and we are outnumbered in that empire at large and in our individual states. Perhaps there are still a few counties throughout the South where we are not yet outnumbered, though I have my doubts about that. Regardless, we are NOT outnumbered in our local church or at our Free Florida First meetings. My friend and I were NOT outnumbered at Paran Cemetery.

My point is that we will never prevail if we meet them on their chosen field of battle – "democratic" politics.

I am of the opinion that long after all our public monuments are torn down, long after all the names are changed and nothing remains in the public realm that honors our Confederate ancestors or our Godly Confederate heritage those crosses in Paran Cemetery will still be standing. The Confederate statues and pictures and plates and flags within my own home will still be there and I will still be flying a Confederate flag.

I suppose I could waste my time appealing to the lowlife scum in Washington or Tallahassee, but I choose instead to set Confederate Crosses of Honor, to publicly display my Confederate sentiments (via flags, clothing, etc.), and to meet with and encourage likeminded folks at Free Florida First and at Landmark Baptist Church.

As far as I am concerned all those cowardly carpetbaggers and scalawags in politics and the entire amerikan empire can go to perdition! The system is corrupt to the core, and I have determined not to corrupt myself by becoming involved in it. No, I’ll not be casting a vote for my next political would be master.

By the Grace of God, I will stand with my own kith and kin and with my Christian and Confederate ancestors!

So help me, God!

Free Florida First advocates for a Free, Independent, Godly, Prosperous, and Traditionally Southern Florida.

Deo Vindice!

TRUST GOD!

STAY IN THE FIGHT!

NEVER GIVE UP!

NEVER QUIT!

CLICK HERE to view a PDF of our weekly paper, Just for Your Consideration.

CLICK HERE to be added to our email list.

Confederate Saint Augustine, Florida – Is no longer . . .

This is an update of a blog originally published on September 7, 2018. That blog was entitled: "Confederate Saint Augustine, Florida – See It While You Can . . ."

Well, you no longer can . . . 

I am posting the original blog, interspersed with updated comments. NOTE: Updates are indented and italicized, like these introductory paragraphs.

My wife and I took a day trip to St. Augustine to mark our 46^th wedding anniversary, and we were also privileged to visit the Confederate monuments there before they are “contextualized” or worse.

This past year we marked 50 years of marriage. God has been particularly good to us. In 2018 I expected the Confederate monuments in St. Augustine to be "contextualized" or worse -- the "or worse is what took place."

One of our first stops was the old public burying grounds. Work is being done in the cemetery, so we could not actually enter, but many of the markers and monuments could be seen from outside the fence.

There are several Confederate soldiers buried in the cemetery, including Captain George C. Powers, commanding officer of Company I of the 10^th Florida Infantry. 

To my knowledge they have not yet dug up the Confederates in the City Cemetery, though I don't doubt that the day will come. The grave robbers have been active the past several years and not only in St. Augustine. We will consider the desecration of General Loring's grave soon, but as many know, General Forrest and his wife were removed from Memphis, General A. P. Hill was removed from Richmond, etc. I suppose the few Confederates buried in Arlington will be dug up in conjunction with the removal of the Confederate Monument from there.

Next we proceeded to the Memorial to Saint Augustine’s Confederate Dead, located in La Plaza de la Constitution.

The monument was erected by the Ladies' Memorial Association and the funds for the memorial were raised from the impoverished local populace following the War of Northern Aggression.

Inscribed on the monument are the names of 44 of Saint Augustine’s sons who lost their lives in defense of their homes, and families, and way of life. Amongst them are several members of the “St. Augustine Blues” (Co. B, 3^rd Florida Infantry), whose distinctive Battle Flag carried the motto: “ANY FATE BUT SUBMISSION”.

These simple and moving words are found on the monument:

OUR DEAD. IN MEMORIAM. OUR LOVED ONES WHO GAVE UP THEIR LIVES IN THE SERVICE OF THE CONFEDERATE STATES.

THEY HAVE CROSSED THE RIVER AND REST UNDER THE SHADE OF THE TREES.

THEY DIED FAR FROM THE HOME THAT GAVE THEM BIRTH BY COMRADES HONORED AND BY COMRADES MOURNED.

This is a touching remembrance to young lives lost -- and yet, low-life, despicable scum begrudge us this memorial to our ancestors and faithful defenders. One particular organization, “Take em’ down, St. Augustine”, is demanding the removal of this monument, and of any and all reminders of St. Augustine’s Confederate past.

Thus far the city has resisted the removal of the monument, but has indicated a willingness to place markers to “contextualize” it. What that means is explaining to visitors how the 19^th Century residents of St. Augustine were evil, racist and white supremacists, and how the Confederate soldiers who are remembered were wicked defenders of slavery --  or something like that.

And while the “contextualization” is not yet complete, there is a marker assuring us that a correction to history is on its way.

This monument is now gone. It just would not do to remember those brave men who stood against tyranny and for their families and homes. In September 2020, it was dismantled, loaded on a trailer, and unceremoniously carted away. [See below]

Next we visited the monument and burial place of Confederate General William Wins Loring. Loring grew up in St. Augustine, having moved there with his family from North Carolina when he was four years old. Loring began his military career in Saint Augustine as a fourteen year old, participating in numerous engagements with the Seminole Indians. Throughout his long and illustrious military career, he served in the US Army, the Confederate Army, and then after the war in the Egyptian army.

The University of Florida manages the property where Loring’s monument is located. Thus far, they have rejected efforts to have it removed or “contextualized”, but as we all know, nothing is settled or secure when we struggle with the enemies of the truth, and those who hate our Southern history and culture.

In August of 2020 General Loring's monument was removed and his grave was disturbed by government approved vandals. All that was left of the beautiful monument was an ugly scar. [See below]

One thing I’ve always found terribly ironic is that no one seems to be offended by the statues of a genuine tyrant and murderer, General Pedro Menéndez de Aviles. In addition to multiple statues, parks and streets are named for him throughout the city. Menéndez was the founder of Spanish St. Augustine and personally responsible for the murder of hundreds of captured French Huguenots. In some instances the Huguenots were promised to be spared if they would surrender, but were subsequently slaughtered when they refused to renounce their faith and become Catholics. An inlet in Saint Augustine, near where one of these massacres occurred, is named “Matanzas” (slaughters) in remembrance of Menéndez’s depredations.

So evidently fondly remembering a murderous, Catholic bigot is all right, but memorializing the brave young defenders of St. Augustine, who gave their lives in the struggle against the immoral and unconstitutional onslaught of northern scum, is not to be permitted.

On a more positive note, a resistance to historical revisionism remains. At least two of the local businesses that I visited unashamedly displayed Confederate Battle Flags and offered them for sale. I had very encouraging discussions with the proprietors of both establishments. I would encourage you to visit these folks if you are ever in St. Augustine, offer them your support, and send them some of your business. While I am, of course, well stocked in Battle Flags, I was able to purchase a MOLON LABE flag, which I did not recall having seen before.

VISIT THESE FOLKS IF YOU GET THE OPPORTUNITY:

Old City Army Navy

https://www.facebook.com/oldcityarmynavy/

St. Augustine Textiles
http://staugustinetextiles.com/

And finally, one of the street musicians struck up a rousing rendition of “Dixie” when he saw us pass. Of course, you have to dress appropriately to get such a reaction, but I always dress “appropriately”, as I am always looking for an opportunity to meet fellow Confederates and to encourage them. And yes, I dropped a “tip” (and a Free Florida First business card) in the musician’s box.

My final update comment. I have no desire to ever visit St. Augustine again. There's nothing left there for me. Hopefully I can revisit some places like the Olustee Battlefield, the Natural Bridge Battlefield, and the monuments that remain in Marianna before they too are destroyed or removed. 

Stay Southern, my friends!

Free Florida First advocates for a Free, Independent, Godly, Prosperous, and Traditionally Southern Florida.

Deo Vindice!

TRUST GOD!

STAY IN THE FIGHT!

NEVER GIVE UP!

NEVER QUIT!

CLICK HERE to view a PDF of our weekly paper, Just for Your Consideration.

CLICK HERE to be added to our email list.