Father Abram J. Ryan, Camp 302 - San Diego

The Father Abram Joseph Ryan-San Diego Camp 302 was organized on March 27, 1993 in El Cajon, California. The parent Camp was the General John B. Hood Camp 1208 in Los Angeles. The membership area of Camp 302 is San Diego, Riverside, Imperial and Riverside Counties, but members are welcome wherever they may reside.

The Camp is named after Father Abram Joseph Ryan (image, right), THE "POET LAUREATE OF THE SOUTH." Father Ryan, a Catholic Priest who served as Chaplain with the Confederate troops in Missouri, Tennessee and Virginia, is best known as the author of the poem The Conquered Banner, or as it is sometimes called, Requiem Of The Lost Cause, in 1865. He died in Louisville, Kentucky, on April 22, 1886, a poet, a patriot, and a Catholic priest.

The introduction of a poetry book, published in 1897, says this of Father Ryan: “So distinguished a character and so brilliant a man cannot be passed over lightly, or dealt with sparingly...for Abram Ryan's fame is the inheritance of a great and enlightened Nation, and his writings have passed into history to emblazon its pages and enrich its history.”

The Camp’s number, 302, is the resurrected number of the old Robert E. Lee camp active in San Diego during the 1920s. The Camp meets regularly the second Saturday of each odd-numbered month. Each meeting includes a program on a Confederate topic. The public is invited to attend these free programs.

If you are a Confederate descendant and wish to preserve the honor and memory of the Confederate soldier, as well as learn more about Confederate history, please join us.

For information on San Diego Camp 302 contact the Camp Adjutant.