The Edward Lea Camp attempts to be active year round except for August when no activities or meetings are scheduled. Our members are not required, nor are they able, to attend every function. Thus, we offer a variety of events so that they might attend as often as practical. Our "typical" year includes a Battle of Galveston Memorial Service together with an Installation of Officers in January; tributes for Civil War veterans on Memorial and Veterans' Days in May and November; and a camp charter anniversary celebration each July. During the remainder months, we hold regular meetings which usually feature a guest speaker on a topic relevant to the Civil War. As we are the only SUVCW camp in the Houston-Galveston area, we attempt to participate in events throughout the region. For details about our meetings, projects and activities, review the below:

Camp Meetings

In general, Camp dinners and meetings are open to anyone interested in our activities. Thus, visitors and guests are welcome and, after attending, are encouraged to apply for membership. Wives and girlfriends are also welcome to attend and observe. For women seriously interested in our organization's goals, however, we encourage them to pursue membership in the Sarah Emma Seelye Ladies Auxiliary. Auxiliary members occasionally attend the camp's regular meetings but also have their own meetings six times a year. Their usual schedule is to meet at various locations on a bi-monthly basis during the odd-numbered months. Visit the Seelye Auxiliary link page for details.

Camp Projects

The Edward Lea Camp has conducted a variety of projects including cemetery clean-ups and grave restoration efforts. The camp has also raised funds to support the installation of historical markers denoting Civil War-related events. Examples include field work in 1995-96 at Camp Groce, a former Confederate POW compound near Hempstead, Texas where Union prisoners from the Battle of Galveston were held; and fund-raising to support the 1998 dedication of a Texas Historical Commission monument in Galveston commemorating the city's namesake battle. An "on-going" project of the camp is graves registration and marking. Between 1996 and 1999, our camp marked nearly fifty graves and recorded the sites of numerous already marked graves of Civil War veterans buried in the Houston-Galveston area.

Our most noteworthy project has been the restoration of the Hancock Post, Grand Army of the Republic, grave plots in Galveston's Lakeview Cemetery. These eighteen graves include veterans who served in both famous and infamous locales during the Civil War. After procuring the service records of the men buried there, new headstones were ordered from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Veterans' stones are provided free of charge and contain minimal data such as name, branch of service, birth and death date. The Lea Camp, however, raised funds and paid to have epitaphs engraved on each headstone denoting the significant service of the veterans. Inscriptions such as "Survived Andersonville Prison" and "Wounded at Petersburg" are a few of the many interesting epitaphs added. These headstones thus serve as more than just memorials; they also function as mediums to teach future generations about the veterans and their Civil War service.

Camp Activities

The Edward Lea Camp holds two events annually that serve as social affairs and promote fellowship. Each January, the camp holds its annual installation of officers wherein we inaugurate new leadership. Usually, this function is held jointly with the ladies of the Sarah Emma Seelye Auxiliary and their officers are installed as well. In July, our camp observes its charter anniversary with a special dinner and program. Both the installation and anniversary events also include a brief ceremony wherein members who joined during the previous six months are "formally" inducted and recognized. These occasions are times to celebrate and we invite our friends and family members to participate.

The majority of our camp activities center on memorial services and headstone dedications. On selected occasions, single headstone services are held to honor noteworthy Civil War veterans. Whether they be organized by the Lea Camp, or by another group who invites our participation, we attempt to provide equal tribute to individuals veterans as we do to collective groups of servicemen. Our camp's major memorial events are held three times a year and usually in cooperation with veterans groups and/or heritage organizations. For example, each January we participate in a special Battle of Galveston memorial service and pay tribute to our namesake, Edward Lea, who is buried at Galveston's Episcopal Cemetery. This ceremony is usually held with Galveston's John B. Hood Camp 50, Sons of Confederate Veterans, and seeks to honor all the casualties of that battle.

For Memorial Day in May, and Veterans Day in November, we salute the Grand Army of the Republic and other selected veterans buried in Galveston and Houston cemeteries. These ceremonies are also joint ventures and typically include delegates from area Sons of Confederate Veterans camps, as well as local representatives from the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion and the Vietnam Veterans of America. We also include members of Houston-area re-enactor groups such as the Texas Brigade, who provide Civil War period uniformed honor guards for black-powder gun salutes. The Seelye Auxiliary often takes part in these activities and supports the Lea Camp in honoring our Civil War veterans.