We are a local Hanover County, VA camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. The Sons of Confederate Veterans was organized in 1896 in Richmond, Virginia and is the direct heir of the United Confederate Veterans. It is a non-profit, patriotic, historical, civic, and benevolent organization created to preserve the history and legacy of the Confederate soldier so future generations can understand the motives that animated the Southern cause.
Our camp consists of Christian men who love our heritage, our God, and our country. All our meetings begin and end with a prayer and we say out loud the pledge of allegiance to the United States of America. We participate in various local activities including cemetery headstone cleanings, banquets, memorial services, reenactments, living history exhibitions, and other educational programs to inform the public of Confederate history from the Southern point of view.
We do not subscribe to the oversimplified theory that the “noble” North invaded the “evil” Southern states to free an oppressed people. Slavery was a TOTAL U.S. problem and existed in the Northern states too.
Unfortunately, at that time, the U.S. Constitution did not prohibit slavery and it was an accepted institution.
The issues of trade, access to markets, taxes and tariffs, and state’s rights were also important issues of the day yet they are largely overlooked by people today. In 1860, the Southern states were larger in size and had a farming/agricultural economy. So because they were fewer in number and also in population, the Northern states were able to consistently outvote the South in the U.S. Congress. This caused resentment as the North’s industrial economic agenda always received priority.
In 1861, the Southern states had enough and did not want to participate in the United States anymore so they seceded and formed their own country with it’s own government and leaders. Virginia voted to secede only after Lincoln committed to send troops across its soil to attack neighboring states.
States did not give up their right to sovereignty when the United States was formed. None of the seceding states individually, or the Confederacy collectively, threatened violence against the North and none had declared war on the Union. The Confederacy sought only to go its own way and take its place among the nations of the world.
Our ancestors like their predecessors during the American Revolutionary War sought independence and fought bravely in a complicated difficult environment against overwhelming odds. They were defending their new country from foreign invasion and protecting their family and property.
Our camp does not exist to defend slavery or spread hate. And we never advocate violence or vandalism of any kind. All we seek to do is be good citizens and tell our ancestor’s full and true story in order to preserve their honor and memory.