Who Can Join the SCV?
Membership in the Sons of Confederate Veterans is open to all male descendants of any veteran who served honorably in the Confederate armed forces. Membership can be obtained through either lineal or collateral family lines. The minimum age for full membership is 12, but there is no minimum for Cadet membership.
If you are interested in perpetuating the ideals that motivated your Confederate ancestor, the SCV needs you. The memory and reputation of the Confederate soldier, as well as the motives for his suffering and sacrifice, are being consciously distorted by some in attempts to alter history. Unless the descendants of Southern soldiers resist those efforts, a unique part of our nation’s cultural heritage will cease to exist.
Proof of kinship to a Confederate soldier can take many forms. One 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 states’ 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 their veterans and their widows. All of these records contain a wealth of information that can be used to document military service. The SCV has a network of genealogists to assist you in tracing your ancestor’s Confederate service.
Once you have all the information needed, download the application form here.
Applicants should submit an application form, along with a detailed genealogy describing your relationship to the veteran, and proof of his service to a local Commander of a SCV Camp or type in your information at the main SCV Headquarters site.