If your Confederate ancestor served
with honor, SCV is looking for you

The Sons of Confederate Veterans are looking for a few good men.

But they have to be descendants of any veteran who served honorably in the Confederate armed forces.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) was created in 1896 by Confederate veterans concerned that as they aged and passed on there should be someone to carry on the memory of Confederate soldiers and sailors.

Membership in the SCV can be obtained through either direct or collateral family lines and kinship to a veteran must be documented genealogically. An ancestor’s name, unit, state of service and information as to his honorable service: discharged, captured, wounded, killed is required. The minimum age for membership is 12.

To prove ancestry, many use family histories, Bibles and oral traditions as a starting point in their search for ancestor information. Proof of kinship to a Confederate soldier or sailor can take many forms. The easiest method is to contact the archives of the state from which the soldier fought and obtain a copy of the veteran’s military service record.

All Southern state archives have microfilm records of the soldiers who fought from that state and a copy of the information can be obtained for a nominal fee. In addition, the former Confederate states awarded pensions to veterans and their widows. All of these records contain a wealth of information that can be used to document military service.

Spokesmen for the Kentucky Division of the SCV have said they would be pleased to get applicants started off in the right direction in their research. Prospective members are asked to contact the Kentucky camp about their interest in joining the SCV and provide questions they may have.

The Kentucky Division represents 24 local units, or camps, located across the state.

Benefits of membership include participation in local, state and national events, a membership certificate, and a subscription to Confederate Veteran magazine, published six times a year.

Applications can be obtained from and mailed to Kentucky Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans, P.O. Box 583, Pikeville, KY 41502. The address for the state archives is Kentucky Dept. for Library & Archives, P.O. Box 537, Frankfort, KY 40602-0537.