CONKEDERATK VKTKKAXS. 



137 



as Forrest Camp at Chattanooga, a charter had 

 been obtained for a general association. On Dec. 

 :!. L887, B.G. Bothrock, John P. Bickman, George 

 1'. Ihu'er. I-'.. !;. Kidiardsoii. Frank Anderson. T. F. 

 Sevi i'.. (inild. Jesse Kly, \V. .). McMur- 



ray. John W. Morton. T. F. P. Allison, and F. S. Har- 

 ris were " constituted a body politic and corporate 

 by the name and style of the Association of Con- 

 federate Soldiers. Tennessee Division." Under 

 this charter ten local associations were formed, 

 called "bivouacs." the first of which was Frank 

 Cheatham Bivouac, at Nashville. The several 

 bivouacs constituted the State division, and were 

 governed by the State association, composed of 

 representatives from the several bivouacs. The 

 plan of organization was somewhat similar to the 

 secret social orders, with grips, passwords, and 

 secret meetings. 



In Louisiana there were three State associations: 

 The Louisiana Division of the Army of Northern 

 Virginia, the Louisiana Division of the Army of 

 Tennessee, and the Veteran Confederate States 

 Cavalry Association. 



In 1889 the first step was taken for the union of 

 the various Confederate bodies into one general as- 

 sociation. This movement came from Louisiana. 

 A circular was issued by a joint committee of the 

 three associations of Louisiana, inviting all Con- 

 federate organizations to send delegates to a con- 

 vention, to be held at New Orleans June 10, 1889, 

 to establish a general association of all surviv- 

 ing Confederate soldiers and sailors. This con- 

 vention adopted a constitution and organized a 

 general association under the name of United Con- 

 federate Veterans. The objects are succinctly stated 

 in the following extracts from the constitution : 



"The objects and purposes of this organization 

 will be strictly social, literary, historical, and be- 

 nevolent. It will endeavor to unite in a general 

 federation all associations of Confederate veterans, 

 soldiers and sailors, now in existence or hereafter to 

 be formed ; to gather authentic data for an impar- 

 tial history of the war between the States ; to pre- 

 serve relics or mementoes of the same : to cherish 

 the ties of friendship that should exist among men 

 who have shared common dangers, common suffer- 

 ings, and privations; to care for the disabled, and 

 extend a helping hand to the needy; to protect the 

 widows and the orphans ; and to make and preserve 

 a record of the services of every member, and as far 

 as possible of those of our comrades who have pre- 

 ceded us in eternity. . . . 



"No discussion of political or religious subjects, 

 nor any political action, shall be permitted within 

 the organization of the United Confederate Vet- 

 erans ; and any camp, bivouac, or association that 

 will have acted in violation of this article shall be 

 declared to have forfeited its membership in this 

 association." 



The association has discarded all secret meetings, 

 grips, and passwords. Its reunions and discussions 

 are as open as day. Speaking as the exponents of 

 the Confederate soldiers, its utterances have been 

 broad, liberal, and national. 



The first constitution established a plan of or- 

 ganization and government, which, though some- 

 what amended, has never been materially changed. 

 Gen. John B. Gordon, of Atlanta. Ga.. was elected 

 commander in chief at the New Orleans meeting in 

 1889, and has been re-elected by acclamation at 

 each subsequent annual reunion. He appointed 

 Gen. George Moorman as adjutant general, who 

 has continued in office to the present time. At 

 the first reunion, at Chattanooga, the organization 

 consisted of 33 camps. Since that time the associa- 

 tion has grown rapidly, and it now has a member- 

 ship of 865 camps, which have about 40,000 com- 



rades enrolled. Nearly all of the Confederate asso- 

 ciations and societies in the South have surrendered 

 their separate organizations and have become united 

 under the constitution of the United Confederate 

 MIS. popularly called the " U. ('. Vs." 



As now organized, under the constitution adopted 

 at Houston. Texas, in is')."), the unit of the asso- 

 ciation is the "camp." The camps are numbered 

 numerically in the order of their incorporation into 

 the association. The distribution of camps is shown 

 in the following list : Texas Division. 215 ; Alabama 

 Division, 88; South Carolina Division. 76: Missouri 

 Division, 71; Mississippi Division. 60; Arkansas 

 Division, 57; Georgia Division. 55: Louisiana Di- 

 vision, 51 ; Kentucky Division. :57 : Florida Division, 

 30; Virginia Division, 30; Tennessee Division, 2!) : 

 North Carolina Division, 29 ; Indian Territory Di- 

 vision. 11; Maryland Division. 6 : Oklahoma Divi- 

 sion, 5 ; West Virginia Division, 5: New Mexico Di- 

 vision. 3 ; Illinois Division. 2 : Montana Division, 2 ; 

 Indiana Division, 1 ; District of Columbia Division, 

 1 : California Division, 1 ; total, 865. In addition 

 to this list about 200 camps are in process of forma- 

 tion. Each camp is composed of members, called 

 comrades, who have given satisfactory proof of hon- 

 orable service in the Confederate army or navy, and 

 honorable discharge or release therefrom. " The 

 officer commanding a camp has the rank of captain. 

 The following article of the constitution explains 

 the organization : 



" The camps shall be organized by departments, 

 divisions, and brigades. 



" The federation shall have as its executive head 

 a general. There shall be three departments, to be 

 called Army of Northern Virginia Department, 

 Army of Tennessee Department. Trans-Mississippi 

 Department. The Army of Northern Virginia 

 Department shall include and be formed of the 

 States of Virginia, Maryland. North and South 

 Carolina, Kentucky, and all the camps and divi- 

 sions not enumerated as belonging to the Army of 

 Tennessee or Trans-Mississippi Departments. The 

 Army of Tennessee Department shall include and 

 be formed of the States of Georgia. Alabama, Ten- 

 nessee, Mississippi. Louisiana, and Florida. The 

 Trans-Mississippi Department shall include and be 

 formed of the States and Territories west of the 

 Mississippi, excepting Louisiana. 



" Each and every State and Territory having 

 within its boundaries ten or more camps, "regularly 

 organized and accepted, shall constitute a division, 

 and no State or Territory shall have more than one 

 division within its boundaries. 



"Camps in States or Territories where there are 

 less than ten camps shall report directly to the 

 department commander, upon whose recommen- 

 dation such camps in contiguous States or Ter- 

 ritories may be formed into a division by the 

 commander in chief, until such States or Territo- 

 ries attain the required number of camps to entitle 

 them to become separate divisions. 



" Divisions upon recommendation of department 

 commanders may be subdivided into brigades, by 

 the commander in chief, provided each brigade 

 shall have at least five camps, and that a majority 

 of the camps of the division shall demand the sub- 

 division." 



Each of the three departments is commanded by 

 a lieutenant general; each State or division by a 

 major general, and each brigade by a brigadier 

 general. These officers are elected for one year 

 the general and the three lieutenant generals at the 

 annual reunions of the association, the major gen- 

 erals and brigadier generals at their respective 

 State or division reunions. Each general officer 

 appoints his own staff, with the appropriate rank, 

 as prescribed by the constitution. 



