Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) is an organization of male descendants of soldiers who served the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. SCV membership is open to male descendants (lineal and collateral) of soldiers who fought for and honorably served the Confederate States of America.

History
The Sons of Confederate Veterans describes its mission as "preserving the history and legacy of [Confederate] heroes, so future generations can understand the motives that animated the Southern Cause."
The SCV's home office remained at Richmond for many years, but was in recent times relocated to Columbia, Tennessee, where it is housed in an historic antebellum mansion, Elm Springs.

License plates
In the 1990s, disagreements over the purpose of the organization emerged within the SCV. At issue was an alleged shift in the SCV's mission from "maintaining gravestones, erecting monuments and studying Civil War history" to more issue-centric concerns. The SCV's new concerns included "fight[ing] for the right to display Confederate symbols everywhere from schools to statehouses."

Factionalization
In 2002, the SCV was criticized by left-of-center publications and a group of SCV dissenters for the SCV's views of Civil War history and the organization's alleged association with neo-confederate individuals and organizations. Joe Conason, writing in Salon, and Jason Zengerle, writing in The New Republic, have argued that the SCV has morphed from an apolitical organization dedicated to Civil War history to a politicized organization dedicated to preserving the "Lost Cause" version of the history of the Civil War and the 1861-1865 era.

Notable members

Confederate States of America memorials and cemeteries
League of the South
Mcgavock Confederate Cemetery
Southern Poverty Law Center