Sons of Confederate Veterans
Encyclopedia
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
The SCV has a network of genealogists
Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
to assist applicants in tracing their ancestor's Confederate service. The SCV has programs at the local, state, and national levels for its members, such as marking and restoring Confederate graves and monuments, performing memorial ceremonies, conducting or supporting historical re-enactments, and holding regular meetings to discuss the military and political history, causes and consequences of the American Civil War. Local units of the SCV are called "camps." The SCV publishes books and other media, including the magazine Confederate Veteran. It also provide scholarships to undergraduate students, supports medical research and conducts a national youth camp.
In recent years, the SCV has been active in "heritage defense" in response to what it considers unjust criticism of the Confederacy and its symbols and of the South in U.S. history.
History
Following the Civil War hundreds of thousands of veterans, North and South, joined veterans' organizations for mutual support and camaraderie. Union veterans established the Grand Army of the RepublicGrand Army of the Republic
The Grand Army of the Republic was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army, US Navy, US Marines and US Revenue Cutter Service who served in the American Civil War. Founded in 1866 in Decatur, Illinois, it was dissolved in 1956 when its last member died...
(GAR) in 1866. Most of the Confederate veteran organizations merged into the United Confederate Veterans
United Confederate Veterans
The United Confederate Veterans, also known as the UCV, was a veteran's organization for former Confederate soldiers of the American Civil War, and was equivalent to the Grand Army of the Republic which was the organization for Union veterans....
(UCV) in New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
in 1889.
The Sons of Confederate Veterans is the direct heir of the United Confederate Veterans. The SCV was organized at Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, in June 1896. At first the SCV took care of their literal fathers, but as the veterans died, the organization took on the task of maintaining their graves and monuments and keeping the public aware of the principles for which they had fought.
Reflecting the social and charitable nature of the organization, Presidents Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
and George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
tendered letters of commendation to the SCV and affiliates, as have members of the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
.
On May 25, 2009, President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
garnered praise from SCV Commander Chuck McMichael, who stated, “He upheld the tradition of the office to which he was elected. I do intend to send him a thank you letter. This is the kind of thing that transcends politics.” This statement was in response to Obama's decision to continue the tradition going back sixteen presidents of the U.S. President sending a wreath to the Confederate Monument at Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
on Memorial Day
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
.
Some notable members of the SCV are or have been President Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
, Country Music Legend Hank Williams Jr., Actor Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
, Film Director R. Michael Givens
R. Michael Givens
Robert Michael Givens, born March 19, 1958 in Anderson, South Carolina, is an American film director and cinematographer.-Biography:Michael Givens is a Director/Cinematographer with extensive feature film and commercial production experience at both the national and international levels...
, and Political Commentator Patrick J. Buchanan.
To mark the 150th anniversary of secession, the Georgia chapter of the SCV produced an advertisement in December 2010 which gave their version of events. The History Channel refused to allow the ad to play during their series on the Civil War, calling it "a partisan position on a controversial issue".
Mission and general information
The Sons of Confederate Veterans describes its mission as "preserving the history and legacy of Confederate heroes, so future generations can understand the motives that animated the Southern Cause."Stephen D. Lee's 1906 charge to the SCV is widely cited by the organization as one of its organizing principles:
"To you, Sons of Confederate Veterans, we will submit the vindication of the cause for which we fought; To your strength will be given the defense of the Confederate soldier's good name, the guardianship of his history, the emulation of his virtues, and the perpetuation of those principles he loved and which made him glorious and which you also cherish. Remember: It is your duty to see that the true history of the South is presented to future generations."
The SCV's most well-known activities involve the organization's campaigns to keep parks commemorating the Confederacy from being renamed or rededicated to non-Confederate themes. The organization uses Confederate parks for rallies. The SCV has protested against Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
rallies in the same parks, arguing that the KKK should not be identified with the Confederacy. However, in the past, the Klan has actively sought out recruits in the SCV.
The SCV's home office remained at Richmond for many years, but was in recent times relocated to Columbia
Columbia, Tennessee
Columbia is a city in Maury County, Tennessee, United States. The 2008 population was 34,402 according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. It is the county seat of Maury County....
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, where it is housed in a historic antebellum
Antebellum architecture
Antebellum architecture is a term used to describe the characteristic neoclassical architectural style of the Southern United States, especially the Old South, from after the birth of the United States in the American Revolution, to the start of the American Civil War...
mansion, Elm Springs.
Members are not exclusively white: a notable black member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans is retired educator Nelson W. Winbush
Nelson W. Winbush
Nelson W. Winbush , is an educator, a retired assistant principal who is notable as an African American member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. . He is a member of the SCV's .-Early life and education:...
.
Show the Flag - on License Plates
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, Tennessee, and Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. In each case, the license plate features the Sons of Confederate Veterans logo, which incorporates the square Confederate Battle Flag.
There is some opposition in a number of these states to putting the Confederate battle flag on state license plates, given the widespread association of the flag with racist
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
causes. The North Carolina appellate court upheld the issuance of such license plates in SONS OF CONFEDERATE v. DMV (1998) and noted: "We are aware of the sensitivity of many of our citizens to the display of the Confederate flag. Whether the display of the Confederate flag on state-issued license plates represents sound public policy is not an issue presented to this Court in this case. That is an issue for our General Assembly."
Factionalization
In the 1990s, disagreements over the purpose of the organization emerged within the SCV. At issue was an alleged shift in the SCV’s mission from "maintaining gravestones, erecting monuments and studying Civil War history" to more issue-centric concerns. The SCV's new concerns included "fight[ing] for the right to display Confederate symbols everywhere from schools to statehouses."Increasingly, the more 'activist' members of the SCV gained electoral support and were elected to leadership positions in the organization. Members of the more traditionalist camp alleged that influence of the League of the South
League of the South
The League of the South is a Southern nationalist organization, headquartered in Killen, Alabama, which states that its ultimate goal is "a free and independent Southern republic." The group defines the Southern United States as the states that made up the former Confederacy...
had an impact on the new direction the SCV has taken. One ally of the activist wing claimed that thousands of SCV members are also League of the South members. News reports state that the activists advocate "picketing, aggressive lobbying, issue campaigning and lawsuits" in favor of what they term "heritage defense" to prevent "heritage violations," which the organization defines as "[a]ny attack upon our Confederate Heritage, or the flags, monuments, and symbols which represent it."
In 2002, SCV dissidents formed a new organization: Save the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SSCV), composed of members and former members of SCV. According to SSCV co-Founder Walter Charles Hilderman, "[a]bout a hundred or so individuals and groups identified themselves on the [SSCV] Web site as supporting Save the SCV" not long after the group was founded, though the current membership numbers for the SSCV are not available. The Southern Mercury responded by asserting that most of the dissension had come to an end by 2003 and that the majority of the members of the SCV were agreeing with the heritage preservation activities espoused by the new SCV leadership.
In early 2005, the SCV council sued to expel SCV president Dennis Sweeney from office. The court initially granted the council temporary control of the organization, but its final decision returned power to Sweeney. Thirteen of the 25 council members were expelled from the council shortly after Sweeney regained control. Nine of the council members expelled were former "Commanders-in-Chief" of the SCV, a status that heretofore had come with a life membership on the council.
By the SCV's summer 2005 convention, the activist wing was firmly in control of the council, and severed much of the SCV's long-standing relationship with the more traditionalist Military Order of the Stars and Bars
Military Order of the Stars and Bars
The Military Order of the Stars and Bars is a fraternal organization for documented descendants of men who served as commissioned officers in the armed forces of the Confederate States of America or who are descended from members of the Confederate Congress, or any elected or appointed member of...
(MOSB). MOSB, founded in 1938, had been closely involved with the SCV. MOSB had shared its headquarters with the SCV since 1992 and co-published Southern Mercury with the SCV. The MOSB's Commander General, Daniel W. Jones, citing "the continuing political turmoil within the SCV," moved the MOSB out of the shared headquarters, ended the joint magazine publishing enterprise, and separated the two organizations' finances. In 2006, for the first time the two organizations held separate conventions. The Southern Mercury declares that most of the SCV's members are now united in the fight against the "War on Southern Culture."
Criticism
In 2002, the SCV was criticized in the media and by a group of SCV dissenters for the SCV's views of Civil War history and the organization's alleged association with neo-confederateNeo-confederate
Neo-Confederate is a term used by some academics and political activists to describe the views of various groups and individuals who have a positive belief system concerning the historical experience of the Confederate States of America, the Southern secession, and the Southern United...
individuals and organizations. Joe Conason, writing in Salon
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
, and Jason Zengerle, writing in The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
, have argued that the SCV has morphed from an apolitical organization dedicated to Civil War history to a politicized organization dedicated to preserving the "Lost Cause
Lost Cause of the Confederacy
The Lost Cause is the name commonly given to an American literary and intellectual movement that sought to reconcile the traditional white society of the U.S. South to the defeat of the Confederate States of America in the American Civil War of 1861–1865...
" version of the history of the Civil War and the 1861–1865 era. The SCV states that "[t]he preservation of liberty and freedom was the motivating factor in the South's decision to fight the Second American Revolution".
Civil War historian James M. McPherson
James M. McPherson
James M. McPherson is an American Civil War historian, and is the George Henry Davis '86 Professor Emeritus of United States History at Princeton University. He received the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for Battle Cry of Freedom, his most famous book...
has associated the SCV with the neo-confederate movement and described board members of the Museum of the Confederacy
Museum of the Confederacy
The Museum of the Confederacy is located in Richmond, Virginia. The museum includes the former White House of the Confederacy and maintains a comprehensive collection of artifacts, manuscripts, Confederate imprints , and photographs from the Confederate States of America and the American Civil War...
in Richmond, Virginia as "undoubtedly neo-Confederate." He further said that the SCV and their equivalent for female descendants, the United Daughters of the Confederacy
United Daughters of the Confederacy
The United Daughters of the Confederacy is a women's heritage association dedicated to honoring the memory of those who served in the military and died in service to the Confederate States of America . UDC began as the National Association of the Daughters of the Confederacy, organized in 1894 by...
(UDC), have "white supremacy
White supremacy
White supremacy is the belief, and promotion of the belief, that white people are superior to people of other racial backgrounds. The term is sometimes used specifically to describe a political ideology that advocates the social and political dominance by whites.White supremacy, as with racial...
" as their "thinly veiled agendas." The incident made McPherson a controversial figure among Confederate history groups and prompted a UDC boycott call and letter-writing campaign against him. In response to this boycott, McPherson stated that he did not mean to imply that all SCV or UDC chapters or everyone who belongs to them promotes a white supremacist agenda. He said that some of the people have a hidden agenda.
Notable members
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See also
- Confederate States of America memorials and cemeteries
- Southern Cross of HonorSouthern Cross of HonorThe Southern Cross of Honor is the name of two separate and distinct military honors presented to Confederate military personnel and veterans. The original wartime medal, aka Confederate Medal of Honor, was a military decoration meant to honor officers, noncommissioned officers, and privates for...
- Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil WarSons of Union Veterans of the Civil WarSons of Union Veterans of the Civil War is an American fraternal organization, the legal successor to the Grand Army of the Republic . Founded in late 1881, it was originally one of several competing organizations of descendants of Union veterans...
- Sons of the American RevolutionSons of the American RevolutionThe National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution is a Louisville, Kentucky-based fraternal organization in the United States...
- McGavock Confederate CemeteryMcGavock Confederate CemeteryThe McGavock Confederate Cemetery, , the largest privately held Confederate cemetery in the United States is located in Franklin, Tennessee. It was established on land donated by the McGavock planter family....
- H. L. Hunley JROTC AwardH. L. Hunley JROTC AwardThe H. L. Hunley JROTC Award is awarded to cadets of the United States Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps who have demonstrated strong corps values, honor, courage and commitment to their unit during the school year...
External links
- Official website
- United Daughters of the Confederacy/Sons of Confederate Veterans Collection (MUM00452) owned by the University of Mississippi.
- The Political Graveyard website list of SCV members