November 12, 2002
Palestine, TX
Father-Daughter Receive Awards from UDC

Two Butler County natives, father and daughter, were notified today that they were among those who received special awards at the United Daughters of the Confederacy National Convention in late September in Waco, TX. Awards were given to the Charlie Watson Stinson and Mildred Stinson Brown in recognition of their Butler County ancestor, John Andrew Cooper Stinson who served with the Confederate States Army.

PVT. John Stinson, Co. A, 1st Alabama Artillery, CSA was captured by Union soldiers at Fort Morgan, AL. Both John and his father, PVT. Leander Stinson, were prisoners in Elmira Prison Camp, New York. Only John survived and returned to his Starlington home at the end of the War Between the States in 1865.

Charlie Watson Stinson, 79, a great grandson, was the recipient of the UDC’s most prestigious award, the Cross of Military Service. The medal was awarded in recognition of his World War II military service in the United States Army. He resides in Elkhart, TX.

Mildred Stinson Brown, 54, a great great granddaughter, was also honored during the UDC Convention. She was the recipient of a Certificate of Appreciation based on her military service with the United States Army during the mid-1970s. She is the daughter of Charlie and Lucile (Smith) Stinson. She resides in Palestine, Texas.

Cross of Military Service
The Cross of Military Service is an outgrowth of the Southern Cross of Honor
bestowed on Confederate Veterans by the United Daughters of the Confederacy
and has been established as a testimonial to the patriotic devotion of certain Confederate
Veterans and their descendants.

Description of Crosses
The Cross of Honor dated 1861-65. Foreground: A Crusader Cross in bold relief,
each bound to the other by the Battle Flag of the Confederacy and linked by the
entwined monogram, UDC, to ribbon. It is attached to a laurel leaf as a special
mark of valor for those who distinguished themselves in feats of courage. The
color of the ribbon signifies the War of Conflict in which the recipient served.
Motto: “Fortes Creantur Fortibus” - “The brave beget the brave.”
Crosses of Military Service are the most prized awards bestowed by the United
Daughters of the Confederacy.