Sons of Confederate Veterans - Organization

Organization

The SCV has a four tier system of organization that consists of Departments, Divisions, Brigades and Camps. The basic unit of organization is the Camp. A Camp can be chartered by the application to the General Headquarters of a group of at least seven individuals meeting the eligibility requirements. Each Camp is assigned a name and number by the General Headquarters. Camps are autonomous within the limits of the SCV Constitution and Standing Orders and can write their own constitutions, elect (or cause to be appointed) their own officers and define their officers' duties. Camp officers must include four offices whose duties are defined in the SCV Constitution, and such others as they see fit. The required officers are: Camp Commander (president); Lieutenant Commander (vice-president); Adjutant (treasurer); and Chaplain. These officers are collectively known as the Executive Committee.

When five regularly chartered Camps are formed in any state or territory of the Union, or region outside the United States, they may be chartered as a Division by the General Executive Council. All Camps within the Divisions jurisdiction must be a member of their Division. Divisions draw up their own constitutions and may elect (or cause to be appointed) their own officers, provided that a majority of the members of the Division Executive Committee shall be elected by the membership. These officers consist of: the Division Commander, Lt. Commander, Adjutant, Treasurer, Chaplain, Sergeant-at-Arms, Historian, Editor, Public Affairs Officer, Chief of Staff, Parliamentarian, and Color Sergeant. Each Division holds a convention at least every year. A Division may be subdivided into Brigades for administrative and representational purposes, and to foster the formation of Camps in their area. Those Divisions who wish to have Brigades may specify the numbers, boundaries, and method of electing officers, if any, in their constitutions. The heads of Brigades are known as Brigade Commanders.

The SCV divides the United States geographically into three Departments which comprise all Divisions and Camps not attached to a Division within their jurisdiction. Camps formed outside the US are assigned Departments by the General Executive Committee. These Departments are named after Civil War-era Confederate Army formations:

• Army of Northern Virginia Department - Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
• Army of Tennessee Department - Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.
• Army of Trans-Mississippi Department - Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

Camps within the Department elect one Department Councilman to represent them on the General Executive Board. There is also a Department Commander who acts as an intermediary between the Camps and Divisions and General Headquarters, and can also call Department meetings as his pleasure, though the Department does not have any legislative power and cannot levy fees or dues.

With the consent of the General Executive Committee any Camp or Division may incorporate itself under the laws of their jurisdiction as a non-profit corporation, provided that they state in their incorporation papers that they are a subordinate to the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Inc.