United Daughters of the Confederacy

The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) is an American lineage society, founded in 1894, for female descendants of Confederate veterans.

History
Across the South, associations were founded after the Civil War, many by women, to organize burials of Confederate soldiers, establish and care for permanent cemeteries for Confederate soldiers, organize commemorative ceremonies, and sponsor impressive monuments as a permanent way of remembering the Confederate cause and tradition. They were "strikingly successful at raising money to build Confederate monuments, lobbying legislatures and Congress for the reburial of Confederate dead, and working to shape the content of history textbooks." They also raised money to care for the widows and children of the Confederate dead. Most of these memorial associations eventually merged into the United Daughters of the Confederacy, which grew from 17,000 members in 1900 to nearly 100,000 women by World War I.

The organization encouraged women to publish their experiences in the war, beginning with biographies of major southern figures, such as Varina Davis' of her husband Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy. Later, women began adding more of their own experiences to the "public discourse about the war", in the form of memoirs, such as those published in the early 1900s by Sara Pryor, Virginia Clopton and Louise Wright and others. They also recommended structures for the memoirs. By the turn of the twentieth century, a dozen memoirs by southern women were published. They constituted part of the growing public memory about the antebellum years and the Lost Cause, as they usually defended the Confederacy.

During World War I, the organization supported 70 hospital beds at the American Military Hospital at Neuilly-sur-Seine, France and contributed $82,069 for French and Belgian orphans. At home, members purchased $24,843,368 worth of war bonds and savings stamps. They also donated $841,676 to the Red Cross. During World War II, the U.D.C. assisted the National Nursing Association by donating financially to student nurses until the United States Congress passed the Bolton Act, which created the first Cadet Nurse Corps. The organization was later commended by the American Red Cross for their contributions to the overall war effort.

Membership
Individual membership is through a local chapter where the prospective member resides. Chapters typically come under jurisdiction of a state "Division".

Scholarships

 * The Mrs. Simon Baruch University Award provides $2,500 toward publication of select monographs or full-length books on Confederate history.
 * The Annabella Drummond McMath Scholarship provides aid to eligible women over the age of thirty (30) to begin or continue their education.

Magazine
The UDC Magazine is published eleven (11) times annually (the June and July issues are combined). Special features include General Officer columns, historical articles, Confederate Notes, and U.D.C. Division News.

Children of the Confederacy
The UDC has a youth auxiliary called the Children of the Confederacy. The UDC is open to both males and females "from birth" to the CoC convention after their 18th birthday, who can trace their lineage to a Confederate ancestor, or to a member of the UDC. The group has historically held meetings with veterans, widows and historians of the Civil War, observed Confederate Memorial Days, decorated graves, sponsored scholarships and published pamphlets and catechisms presenting the "Southern version" of the Civil War. Today they also engage in activities such as book drives for Beauvoir, fundraising for the Ronald McDonald House, canned food drives as well as veterans causes. The first CoC chapter was organized by the Mary Custis Lee Chapter Chapter of the UDC in Alexandria, Virginia in 1896. It was formally incorporated on May 6, 1897. New chapters were established in Virginia and Alabama by 1898.

The Children of the Confederacy Creed:



Because we desire to perpetuate, in love and honor, the heroic deeds of those who enlisted in the Confederate Services, and upheld its flag through four years of war, we, the children of the South, have united in an Organization called the Children of the Confederacy, in which our strength, enthusiasm and love of justice can exert its influence.

''We, therefore pledge ourselves to preserve pure ideals; to honor the memory of our beloved Veterans; to study and teach the truths of history (one of the most important of which is, that the War Between the States was not a rebellion, nor was its underlying cause to sustain slavery). and always to act in a manner that will reflect honor upon our noble and patriotic ancestors.''

The auxiliary currently has divisions in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Chapters outside of divisions are present in California, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah and West Virginia.