I was told by Bill Watts that his father, Galieo Watts said that either a cousin or uncle of Galieo's went to Brazil after the civil war. Bill isn't sure if the person stayed in Brazil or moved on to some other part of South America or returned to Arkansas.Galieo's father is Henry Lafayette Watts and Henry's father is James Albert Watts. I would appreciate any info. or research tips on this matter. Thanks, Kelly Mitchell >Story posted Monday, 08-Jun-98 10:50:49 - Online Athens >Brazilian descendants of Confederates to get peek at today's South >By Dan Sewell >Associated Press > >ATLANTA - They were eating barbecue and corn-on-the-cob and singing along >to "Dixie." Young men wore Confederate uniforms, young women hoop skirts >with sashes, and most everybody else had on Confederate-themed shirts of >one type of another. One guy even sported a Georgia Bulldogs T-shirt. But >when they chattered to each other in festive conversation, the language was >Portuguese. "It was very impressive - the fact that they have exerted so >much energy to preserve their ties to their heritage," said Allen Trapp, a >Carrollton attorney who leads the Georgia division of Sons of Confederate >Veterans, devoted to the sometimes-controversial mission of preserving and >defending >their Civil War heritage. >Trapp last year traveled nearly 5,000 miles to the truly deep south of >Confederate history, visiting what is something of a lost colony of the >Lost Cause. "The Campo," some two hours north of Sao Paulo in Brazil, is >kept up as a cemetery and monument to the "Confederados," as many as 10,000 >Confederate veterans and their families who abandoned the Reconstruction >South to start new lives on a new continent. > This month, five teen-age descendants of the Confederate emigrants >will get a month-long immersion into the country left behind. >"They're going to a get a workout," Trapp said. On the agenda is a trip to >Gettysburg, Pa., to watch a re-enactment of the climactic battle, visits to >Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's grave and various national battleground >parks, as well as highlights of today's South - a big summer barbecue, an >Atlanta Braves baseball game and "hanging out at a mall." The visit that >begins June 29 is considered a pilot project, which both sides hope will be >expanded in future years, including sending U.S. teens to Brazil. Among >those in the first group will be the 19-year-old daughter of the commander >of "Os Confederados," established in Brazil in 1994 as the second overseas >SCV camp (the other is in Europe). >Also involved in the project is the Fraternity of American Descendants in >Brazil, which maintains The Campo, which includes a museum and cemetery >near the city named Americana after the immigrant settlers. In recent >generations, assimilation has increased among the Confederado descendants, >with most families intermarrying with Brazilians or Italian immigrants and >scattering across the vast nation. >"They (Confederado descendants) expressed an interest in having their kids >up here to establish that linkage with the past, to reconnect with their >Southern roots," Trapp said. >Also, he noted, it gives Confederate descendants in the United States a >look at another impact of the war, with some Southerners leaving for >Mexico, Honduras, or farther. The biggest influx was in Brazil, where they >were avidly recruited by Emperor Don Pedro II, who offered cheap land to >lure their agricultural, textile and educational know-how. Some were also >attracted to Brazil because slavery was still legal, but historians say >most simply didn't want to face "Yankee" occupation of their war-devastated >home region, or just wanted a fresh start. "Their ancestors were not >necessarily the Rebels least willing to be reconstructed; they may simply >have had a stronger taste for adventure," writer Alan Tigay commented in >the April issue of "American Heritage" magazine. Then-Gov. Jimmy Carter delved into the Georgia connection by visiting during a 1972 trip to Brazil. >"None of us could explain exactly why Americana touched us so deeply," >Carter's press secretary, Jody Powell, wrote later. "Part of it was the >feeling that we had discovered a part of ourselves that we hardly knew >existed." "Any time you have the opportunity to get to know someone from >another country and another culture, it's fascinating," Trapp said. "And I >think to see that these kids from so far away still care about their >Southern origins will have an impact on the youngsters here." _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com