Florida Division Commander John W. Adams is a major figure in today's radicalized Sons of Confederate Veterans. Hand-picked by Commander-in-Chief R. G. Wilson to be his Adjutant-in-Chief, Adams also exerts considerable influence as Chief Webmaster, presiding over the SCV National Website as well as the ill-fated SCVDispatch E-mail List. Adams runs a division with approximately 2,000 members, some of whom resent his high-handed dictatorial style.

Two years ago, Commander Adams spoke at a convention of the neo-secessionist League of the South, in his capacity as Florida Division Commander of the SCV. The meeting, held in the Fernandina Beach area, shortly after the terrorist attack on the United States in September 2001, was one of the first open indications of the extremist direction that Adams would lead the SCV in Florida. When questioned by a Florida Division member as to why he would publicly address an organization that had been designated a "hate group," Adams said he did so to ascertain "what threat" the LOS was to the SCV and also to save himself from "complaints of infiltration" by the LOS. Adams stated that the League of the South was not a threat to the integrity of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. "I give them 3 years before they fall apart," he said.

While Adams maneuvers on the political scene, he still finds time to talk out of both sides of his mouth on the issue of Confederate heritage preservation. Stephen Russell Mallory was Secretary of the Navy of the Confederate States of America. In Key West, Florida, there is a monument to Mallory that is maintained by a group of local citizens who are not SCV members. When he learned about this monument, Adams initially praised the Key West group for their maintenance of the marker, but in correspondence with his Florida Division officers he treated it as a joke, ridiculing a group of people who had taken it upon themselves, without any help from the Florida SCV, to honor one of Florida's leading Confederate heroes. Sadly, John Adams, as Florida Division Commander, has often ignored the important and constitutionally mandated role of the SCV in maintaining monuments, cemeteries and historic sites. Instead, Adams has wasted SCV funds on ill-conceived lawsuits against school districts over the issue of the proper attire of students.

One of the most outrageous acts during the Adams regime has been the prosecution/persecution of Randy Kerlin, a Florida camp commander and an officer in the Military Order of the Stars and Bars. Kerlin was convicted of several charges that many felt were the result of a personal vendetta. He had the courage to appeal his unjust conviction to the General Executive Council in early 2003. It was overturned without dissent. That was not a good day for Commander Adams.

Those in Florida familiar with Adams' turbulent and volatile personality point out that he has a disturbing tendency to strike out and attack anyone who dares to question his decisions or opinions. Gutter language and defamatory comments are part of Adams' modus operandi.

Commander Adams has catered to the extremist elements in the Florida SCV by sanctioning the chartering of a new SCV camp in the Fernandina Beach/Nassau County area. This new camp is headed by a well-known activist and officer in the League of the South. In the Tampa Bay area, Adams openly sympathizes and consorts with the leaders of a new break-away camp which is composed of League of the South members and supporters. This extreme element, ushered out of the Capt. John T. Lesley Camp #1282, by responsible SCV members, is scheduled to begin its formal existence as a SCV camp on September 20.  Adams eagerly appoints these extremists to influential positions in the Florida division.

The 1st Lt. Commander of the new "unreconstructed" Gen. Jubal A. Early Camp #556 in Tampa is Michael Herring, a man who joined the SCV in open violation of the rules through the record of a soldier who deserted the Confederate army. Herring is an admitted member of the League of the South and has a record of making vicious and bigoted public statements. When confronted with the fact that Herring had joined the SCV through a Confederate deserter, Adams was unconcerned. "I wish I had 50 more like Mike," he thundered, stating that this was a matter for the "Lesley Camp to handle, not the Florida Division." In an astounding insult to SCV members everywhere, Adams has appointed Herring to the position of 4th Lieutenant Commander of the Florida Division. Even more ridiculous is the fact that Herring is "Heritage Chairman" of the Florida Division. Also, Adams' Chief of Staff, Marion D. Lambert of Tampa, is a notorious member and leader in the Florida League of the South. Lambert, who is Commander of the new Early camp in Tampa, has stated that the Pledge of Allegiance to the U.S. flag is inconsistent with the Stephen D. Lee Charge and has made public statements that clearly evince a nostalgia for the old segregated South. 

John Adams' influence in the SCV goes far beyond his role as Florida Division Commander. After the election of R. G. Wilson as Commander-in-Chief at the Memphis Convention in August 2002, Adams was awarded the plum job of Adjutant-in-Chief by Wilson, thus making him a voting member of the General Executive Council. Adams maintains his public loyalty to the Commander-in-Chief but he has questioned the religious emphasis of Wilson's administration, stating that Wilson "perks my ears when he goes religious on me. He is an excellent leader but is a bit too holy-roller for my taste....LoS [League of the South] in Florida is a joke--a bunch of religious militia nuts or something. Just short of strichnine [sic] drinkers and snake handlers." On other occasions, Adams hypocritically caters to LOS leaders in Florida, no doubt because of LoS president Michael Hill’s public support of CIC Wilson.

In the weeks before the 2003 SCV national convention in Asheville, NC, Adams attacked the Military Order of the Stars and Bars, accusing it of "arrogance and exclusivity." He hailed the fact that CIC R.G. Wilson was moving the SCV towards a "civil-rights" organization, something not contemplated by the SCV Constitution. Adams' unseemly attack on the MOSB and its Commander-General, Jeff Massey, was apparently part of a R. G. Wilson/Allen Sullivant coordinated plan to discredit the MOSB.

In his role as Chief Webmaster, Adams has presided over the infamous SCVDispatch, an e-mail list set up to serve the SCV membership. He has allowed Charles "Chuck" Walker to serve as "Listmaster" of the Dispatch and to run the Dispatch into the ground. When honorable SCV members were accused of being "moles" and were kicked off the Dispatch by Walker, Adams backed him up. Finally, after the whole email scandal became too much to handle, John Adams, with the approval of CIC Wilson, shut down the Dispatch. Although Adams has been confronted with a list of rule violations tolerated and encouraged by Chuck Walker, he has ignored the known abuse of the Dispatch and instead chosen to allow a witch-hunt among SCV members on his official e-mail list. This petulant behavior on the part of John W. Adams has brought disgrace and embarrassment to the SCV.

Despite his shameful record, other national leaders of the SCV tolerate, condone and commend the outrageous behavior of Florida Division Commander/Adjutant-in-Chief John W. Adams. Adams is just one of the problems facing the SCV today. As a recent sampling of hate-filled and bigoted email messages received by Save the SCV suggests, the SCV is being hijacked by militants, radicals, bigots, racists and crazies of all kinds. While Save the SCV supporters are hounded out of Ron Wilson’s SCV and MOS&B leaders are maligned, the extremists prosper.