Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) is a fraternal organization open to male descendents (lineal and collateral) of soldiers who fought for the Confederate States of America during the Civil War. The direct heir of the United Confederate Veterans and the oldest hereditary organization for male descendents of Confederate soldiers, the SCV was organized at Richmond, Va., in 1896. The organization's home office remained at Richmond for many years but was in recent times relocated to Columbia, Tennessee, where it is housed in an historic antebellum mansion, Elm Springs. The same building also serves as the home office for a similar organization for the descendants of commissioned Confederate officers, the Military Order of the Stars and Bars. The two organizations jointly publish a magazine, Confederate Veteran. The SCV continues to serve as a historical, patriotic and non-political organization dedicated to preserving the history of the 1861-1865 period. Membership in the Sons of Confederate Veterans is open to all male descendents of any veteran who served honorably in the Confederate armed forces. The minimum age of membership is 12.

The SCV has ongoing programs at the local, state, and national levels to offer members a wide range of activities. Preservation work, marking Confederate soldier's graves, historical re-enactments, scholarly publications, 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 camps. [www.scv.org]

During a radio interview the Civil War historian James M. McPherson offended many southern heritage organizations when he associated the SCV with the neo-confederate movement and described board members of the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Virginia as "undoubtedly neo-Confederate." He further said that the UDC and their equivalent for female descendants, the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC), have "white supremacy" as their "thinly veiled agendas." The incident outraged members of the UDC and the SCV, who accused McPherson of using a slur against them. Some SCV and UDC chapters subsequently urged their members to boycott his books and engaged in letter-writing campaigns.[1]

External links

• Official Website