Who We Are, What We Do,
What We Stand For,
& How to Join Us!
The citizen-soldiers who fought for the Confederacy personified the best qualities of America. The preservation of liberty and freedom was the motivating factor in the South's decision to fight the Second American Revolution. The tenacity with which Confederate soldiers fought underscored their belief in the rights guaranteed by the Constitution. These attributes are the underpinning of our democratic society and represent the foundation on which this nation was built.
Today, the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) is preserving the history and legacy of these heroes so future generations can understand the motives that animated the Southern Cause.
History
The United Confederate Veterans (UCV) was a veteran's organization for former Confederate soldiers of the American Civil War, It was the Confederate equivalent to the Grand Army of the Republic that was the organization for Union Veterans.
Prior to 1889, Confederate Veterans had no national organization similar to the Grand Army of the Republic. There were several separate local and regional fraternal and memorial groups that existed, but they did not have the size, power, or scope to effectively serve the needs of Confederate Veterans. Meeting in New Orleans in 1889, several of these groups united and formed United Confederate Veterans. The charge of the new organization was to serve as a benevolent, historical, social and literary association.
The primary functions of the organization were to provide for widows and orphans of former Confederate soldiers, preserve relics and mementos, care for disabled Confederate Veterans, preserve a record of the service of its members, and organize reunion gatherings. At its height, membership in the organization was approximately 160,000, composed entirely of Confederate Veterans. They were organized into 1,885 local camps.
A privately produced magazine called the Confederate Veteran was popular with UCV members, with articles about events during the war and providing a forum for lost comrades to locate one another. It quickly became the official communications organ for the UCV.
The organizational structure of the UCV was based on a military-style hierarchy with a national headquarters, three departments, divisions within those departments, battallions, and finally local encampments. The UCV organized many local and national reunions of Confederate veterans. These events consistantly attracted thousands of former veterans and even more people that were sympathetic to the Confederate Cause that simply wanted to be a spectator to the events.
The UCV was quite active well into the 1940s, but as the number of living Confederate Veterans declined, its activity level declined as well. Its final reunion was held in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1951.
As the number of living Confederate Veterans began to decline towards the end of the Nineteenth Century, a successor organization, the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) was organized in Richmond, Virginia in June 1896. The SCV was formed by the sons of UCV members and other descendents of Confederate Veterans. from the start, the SCV was charged with continuing the work that was begun by the UCV. At first, the SCV literally took care of their fathers and grandfathers, but as their ancestors left for their eternal rest, the SCV took on the task of maintaining their ancestor's graves and monuments as well as keeping the public aware of the principles for which their ancestors had fought. When the last Confederate Veterans had died, the UCV effectively ceased to exist as an operating organization. Once that occured, as planned, the Sons of Confederate Veterans became the direct heir of the UCV and ever since has carried on its mission.
In 1894, two years prior to the formation of the SCV, another organization was created for the female descendants of Confederate Veterans. It was named the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC). It too carries on the work started by the UCV. Therefore, men of Confederate ancestry are invited to join in and participate with the SCV while women of Confederate ancestry are invited to join in and participate in the UDC, however both groups invite their member's spouses to participate in thier respective groups.
Reflecting the social and charitable nature of the SCV, Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush tendered letters of commendation to the SCV and affiliates, as have members of the United States Congress.
Some notable members of the SCV are or have been President Harry S. Truman, Actor Clint Eastwood, Film Director R. Michael Givens, Political Commentator Patrick J. Buchanan, Trace Adkins, Former Georgia Governor Ellis Arnall, Paul "Bear" Bryant, Former South Carolina Governor Robert Gregg Cherry, Charlie Danials, James Edwards, Senator Jesse Helms, Senator Trent Lott, Former Georgia Governor Lester Maddox, Senator Richard Russell, and Hank Williams Jr., just to name a few.
What We Are Not
As the years have passed, Our country has gone through what can best be termed as a simplistic revisionist history about the War Between the States. Today, most students are taught that the War was all about the issue of Slavery and little else. This is a huge disservice to all of the men that fought in the War either for the Union or the Confederacy. This web page is not the place for a conversation about the War. Therefore, let us say the true reasons for the Southern States to secede and form a new sovereign nation were many. Yes, Slavery was one of those issues, but it was one of many.
Our Confederate Ancestors were proud of their individual States and their new sovereign country. When those were placed in peril by an aggressive Federal force that invaded what they felt was their new sovereign nation, our ancestors took up arms in the best American traditions to defend their States and Nation. The vast majority of these brave men did not own Slaves, nor did they did not go to war in order to keep the Slaves in servitude. They went to war to protect and defend their States and Country from an invading force just as their forefathers took up arms to defend the colonies against the English, French, and Spanish. It is that bravery and courage we celebrate and honor.
Over the past 150 years since the beginning of aggressions between the States and the subsequent surrender of the Confederate forces, people have dumbed-down history to a point where people consider every person that took up the Confederate Cause to be a racist that only wanted Slavery to continue in perpetuity.
This is simply not true and while we acknowledge there were people in the Confederacy that thought that way, we also point out that there were counterparts to these people in the Union too. Furthermore, after the Civil War, certain northern States passed laws that banned the relocation of former Slaves to their States in a version of extreme segregation.
Today, the SCV and its membership absolutely and without hesitation condemn those who practice racism in any form. The SCV has a zero-tolerance for racism in any fashion, shape, or form and those who actively practice racism are simply not welcome in our organization.
We welcome any person of any ancestral origin into our fold, provided they have an ancestor that fought for the Confederate Cause. Yes, we proudly have men of color and different ethnicities as members in the SCV we call our brothers.
What We Do & How We Operate
The SCV has on-going programs at the local, state, and national levels which offer members a wide range of activities. Preservation work, ancesty research, marking Confederate soldier's graves, historical re-enactments, scholarly publications, lectures, and regular meetings to discuss the military and political history of the War Between the States are only a few of the activities sponsored by local units, called encampments, or simply camps.
The SCV works in conjunction with other historical groups to preserve Confederate history. However, it is not affiliated with any other group. The SCV rejects any group whose actions tarnish or distort the image of the Confederate soldier or his reasons for fighting.
All state organizations, known as Divisions, hold annual conventions, and our Georgia Division publishes a bi-monthly newsletter for the membership dealing with statewide issues. Each Division has officers elected by the membership who coordinate the work of camps and the national organization.
Nationally, the SCV is governed by its members acting through delegates that gather at the annual convention. The General Executive Council, composed of elected and appointed officers, conducts the organization's business between conventions. The administrative work of the SCV is conducted at the national headquarters, 'Elm Springs,' a restored antebellum home located at Columbia, Tennessee.
Member Benefits
In addition to the privilege of belonging to an organization devoted exclusively to commemorating and honoring Confederate soldiers, members recieve three periodicals. In the latter half of the 20th Century, the SCV assumed publication of "The Confederate Veteran". It is a professionally produced magazine that is distributed to all SCV members on a bi-monthly basis. The Georgia Division of the SCV produced a bi-monthly newpaper, the "Georgia Confederate" which contains news and information relevant to SCV members in Georgia. Camp Wheeler, our encampment, produces a monthly newsletter that is mailed or emailed to our local membership. Copies of our newsletter are also available for download and viewing on this web site.
The SCV has programs for its members and thier families that range from assistance to undergraduate students through the General Stand Watie Scholarship to medical research grants given through the Brooks Fund. The SCV also sponsors national historical symposiums, the reprinting of rare books, and the erection of monuments. These are just a few of the on-going projects undertaken directly or sponsored or endorsed by the SCV.
On the local level, the SCV is actively involved in preserving the memory of our ancestors by doing ancestrial research, work on long-forgotten gravesites and memorial markers, as well as being Confederate Ambassadors to the general public in order to bring awarenes to the real reasons behind the Confederate Cause. Our encampment allows us to fraternize with like-minded individuals and we engage in topical and educational discussions.
How To Join
We are always looking for good men to join our ranks. If you are interested in perpetuating the ideals that motivated your Confederate ancestor, the SCV needs you! IF you would like to join our ranks, please visit our "Join Us" page for more information.
Mailing Address
Should you wish to send us written correspondence, paperwork, or even donations, our mailing address is:Major General Joseph
Wheeler Camp 863
Sons of Confederate Veterans
Post Office Box
82718
Conyers, Georgia 30013