About Us

The Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) was founded in 1896 at Richmond, Virginia as the direct heir to the United Confederate Veterans, making the SCV the oldest hereditary organization for male descendants of Confederate soldiers. Since it’s founding, the SCV has functioned as a historical, patriotic, and non-political organization dedicated to insuring that the true history of the 1861 – 1965 period is preserved.

Membership in the SCV 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.

Chapters of the SCV are called “Camps.” The Samuel R. Watkins Camp was founded in Columbia, Tennessee in 1986. The Camp was named after a soldier from Maury County, Tennessee named Samuel Rush Watkins. Watkins served in Company H of the 1st Tennessee Infantry Regiment. He survived the War and returned home to Maury County, one of only seven men left from Company H. In his old age, he began writing his memories of the War Between the States. These writings were first serialized in the local paper, The Daily Herald (Columbia, TN). Eventually, Watkins compiled his writings into book form and titled the volume Company Aytch (H): Or a Side Show of the Big Show. Always popular with historians for its first-person, common soldier’s view of War, Sam Watkins became even more famous following Ken Burns’ documentary The Civil War. Burns quoted Watkins throughout the series. Watkins is buried graveyard of Zion Presbyterian Church in Maury County, Tennessee.

Camp 29 is still going strong, and meets on the third Tuesday of each month. Meetings generally include a presentation from a regional historian concerning different topics of the War Between the States.

In addition to the monthly meetings, Camp 29 has “work days” throughout the year. Work days could include anything from helping with chores at the General Headquarters of the Sons of Confederate Veterans (Elm Springs) to cleaning and placing flags in a local cemetery. Camp 29 also places tombstones and “Southern Crosses of Honor” in local cemeteries throughout the year.