Cool Spring Cemetery
Rededication
In honor of the 7 confederate soldiers buried here, one of which, Thomas Edmonds, was a New Salem 
Invincible, we the members of Camp 2107 of the SCV New Salem Invincibles and Chapter 37 of the Order of the Confederate Rose, the Invincible Rose welcome you to Cool Spring for a dedication of this cemetery for these brave and wonderful men.
I am going to try to thank everyone, but there is always the danger of leaving someone out when you start to say people or groups by name, but I will try. If I do skip you, I can assure you it was not on purpose nor was it in any way meant as a slight.
First, the members of Camp 2107 and the ladies of Chapter 37, for their time, money, and labor.Vance King and his wife who first got me interested in Cool Spring, who came all the way from Denton that first work day, left a donation along with a day of hard work.
Mr. Medford for the use of his dozer.The Alford foundation for the grant without which we would still be raising money.
Judson Watkins who did the work to acquire said grant. His granddad and grandma, Mr. and Mrs. Jack Watkins for material, labor, equipment, knowledge and money. Mr. John Simmon's daughter and son-in-law for their work.For the people of New Salem and surrounding area for donations and I have no idea who they all are.
Camp 2107 member Mark Bassett and his son, Ben, and his wife,
Veronica, for their work and his tractor and corner post. To Larry and Renea Taylor for their ranch hands labor to clean the fence
row and build fence.
I want to say something else about Jack Watkins; he is a master when it
comes to the knowledge of fence building.To my brother, Wes and his wife, Luanne, for the entrance ways, gates,
crosses, welding, paint, and hard work.To Mr. Rissinger for his work. And to our adjutant, Duane Bobbitt and his
wife, the President of Chapter 37 of the Rose, Cindy and their daughter,
Heather, all who in my opinion went beyond the call of duty.And most of all, to Ms. Nancy, who allowed us to do this. And to Glen
Allowine who has cows on this land.
On this day, 143 years ago, Lt. Dick Dowling and 47 volunteers turned back
an invasion force at Sabine Pass of several ships and I suppose several
thousand men. How they did this, I don't know. On Friday, February 21,
1862 at the Battle of Val Verde Crossing on the Rio Grande River in New
Mexico with the tide of battle turning against the rebels, Col. Tom Green
sent Lt. Col. J. S. Sutton with company B, F, and I of the 7th Texas
Volunteer Regiment and F company of the 5th Texas Volunteer Regiment.
F Company of the 7th being the New Salem Invincibles to engage a battery
of seven 24 pound cannons who was overwhelming the Texans.
They charged this battery, firing grape shot and the 100's of infantry who accompanied them and was armed with the best the era had to offer. The rebels charged them with shot guns and pikes. The Yankees poured a deadly volley of grape shot into the rebels. Col. Sutton was killed, but according to Lt. Col. Conrad Crane of the American Army, the Texans fell upon the union artillery with a hand to hand savagery rarely seen in the annuls of American military history.
The Union troops broke and ran for Fort Craig. Now that they are trying to
rewrite history, the new books all speak of the many Yankee troops that were shot in the back. I think that is what happens to you when you throw down and your rifle and run. How you stop and invasion with 47 men, I don't know. How you charge those cannons with shotguns and sticks, I don't know. Jefferson Davis said it best in the last days of his life and I quote, "Our cause was so just, so sacred that had I known all that was to be inflicted upon me, all that my country was to suffer, all that our posterity was to endure, I would do it all over again."
Camp 2107 thanks you and I turn the military portion of this dedication over to past Commander of the James P. Douglas Camp at Tyler and his cannons, Commander Johnny Holley and past Commander of Stone Fork Camp at Nacogdoches in command of the Rifle Squad, Commander Johnny Key.