LIFE LIST UPDATE – No. 297: Join the Sons of Confederate Veterans

I scratched another item off my “life list” Tuesday of last week when I officially joined the Sons of Confederate Veterans. This is something that I’ve wanted to do for years, but had just never taken the steps to do, that is, until recently.

For those of you unfamiliar with the SCV, it’s a heritage and historical organization that’s open to the male descendants of the soldiers and sailors who served the Confederate States of America during the War Between the States. Organized in Richmond, Va. in 1896, the SCV works to preserve “the history and legacy of Confederate heroes, so future generations can understand the motives that animated the Southern Cause.” Well-known members of the SCV include Trace Adkins, Paul “Bear” Bryant, Pat Buchanan, Clint Eastwood, Trent Lott, Harry S. Truman and Hank Williams Jr.

To join the SCV, you have to be able to prove that you're descended from a former Confederate service member and this isn’t always easy. Fortunately, I was able to collect enough family history information on my own and then rely on several local historians to help shore up my application. Over the course of about two months, my application was reviewed by SCV officers locally and at the national level. Eventually, I got their stamp of approval and was welcomed into the fold.

Members of my family in the reading audience might be interested to know that I joined under my great-great-great-grandfather, Lewis Lavon Peacock. At the age of 17, Lewis enlisted in Kolb’s Battery in 1862 and served in campaigns in Kentucky and Tennessee, including at Chickamauga. Eventually promoted to the rank of corporal, Lewis was with the Army of Northern Virginia when General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox, Va. on April 9, 1865. He returned to Alabama after the war and died in 1920.

Local chapters of the SCV are called “camps,” and since Lewis lived most of his life in Conecuh County, Ala., I decided to join the Col. Pinckney D. Bowles Camp, No. 1840, in Evergreen, Ala. To say the least, Bowles was an interesting man. He moved to Conecuh County to practice law in 1859 and served as an officer during the Civil War. He fought in numerous battles, but was never wounded. After the war, he became very active in the United Confederate Veterans, which was a forerunner of the SCV. He’s buried in the Old Evergreen Cemetery, not far from where the local SCV camp holds its meetings today.

I was drawn to the SCV due to its emphasis on history and genealogy. Like most people, I’m interested in knowing more about my family history, and through the SCV I hope to be able to learn even more about my Confederate ancestor and his war experiences. I also hope that through my membership, other members of my family, like my children, nephews and brothers, might also come to learn more about their family history.

In the end, how many of you out there have Confederate ancestors? Have you ever considered joining the SCV? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments section below.