History and Structure
The SCV is the direct heir of the United Confederate Veterans, and the oldest hereditary organization for male descendants of Confederate soldiers. Organized at Richmond, Virginia in 1896, the SCV continues to serve as a historical, patriotic, and non-political organization dedicated to insuring that a true history of the 1861-1865 period is preserved.

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 direct or collateral family lines and kinship to a veteran must be documented genealogically. The minimum age for membership is 12.

Proof of kinship to a Confederate soldier 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's 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.

The SCV has ongoing programs at the local, state, and national levels which 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. 
All state organizations, known as Divisions, hold annual conventions, and many publish regular newsletters to the membership dealing with statewide issues. Each Division has a corps of 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 to 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 ante-bellum home at Columbia, Tennessee.