United Confederate Veterans The United Confederate Veterans , also known as the UCV , was a veteran ' s organization for former Confederate soldiers and sailors of the American Civil War and was equivalent to the Grand Army of the Republic ( GAR ) , which was the organization for Union veterans . History . Prior to 1889 , Confederate veterans had no national organization similar to the Grand Army of the Republic . Several separate fraternal and memorial groups existed on a local and regional level . Meeting in New Orleans , Louisiana , in 1889 , several of these groups united and formed the United Confederate Veterans Association . The organization was founded to serve as a benevolent , historical , social and literary association . The UCV was active well into the 1940s . Its final reunion was held in Norfolk , Virginia , in 1951 . The primary functions of the organization were to provide for widows and orphans of former Confederate soldiers , preserve relics and mementos , care for disabled former soldiers , preserve a record of the service of its members , and organize reunion s and fraternal gatherings . At its height , membership in the organization was approximately 160 , 000 former Confederate soldiers organized into 1 , 885 local camps . A privately produced magazine called " Confederate Veteran " was popular with UCV members , with articles about events during the war and providing a forum for lost comrades to locate one another . The organizational structure of the UCV was based on a military - style hierarchy with a national headquarters , three departments , divisions within those departments , and finally the local camps . The national officers were at first known as " Generals Commanding " and later as " Commander - in - Chief . " Commanders were not based on the actual rank of the veteran while in service . Commanders - in - Chief ranged from former generals to former privates . Former Confederate General John Brown Gordon was the first commander of the UCV in 1890 , holding this position until his death in 1904 , when he was succeeded by Stephen D . Lee . Later commanders included former generals Clement A . Evans , William L . Cabell and George W . Gordon . National Reunions . The UCV organized many local and national reunions of Confederate veterans . Some of the national reunions attracted thousands of former veterans . In 1875 , the Confederate and Union veterans first met in reunion at Bunker Hill . In 1881 Union veterans decorated Confederate graves during Mardi Gras in New Orleans as a sign of respect . Between 1881 and 1887 , Federal and Confederate veterans held 24 major reunions together . The 50th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg attracted 8 , 000 Confederate and 44 , 000 Union veterans . It was common practice for both the GAR and the UCV to produce medals , ribbons , and other assorted memorabilia to commemorate reunions and gatherings . These items are considered collector ' s item s today and are much sought after . At its final national reunion in May , 1951 , a commemorative postage stamp was issued . It was virtually identical to the one printed in 1949 for the last national encampment of the GAR . Legacy . On July 1 , 1896 a successor organization , the United Sons of Confederate Veterans ( USCV ) , later re - designated Sons of Confederate Veterans ( SCV ) was founded at Richmond , Virginia , to consolidate the patriotic societies then composed of male lineal descendant s of Confederate veterans . A similar association comprising female descendants , the United Daughters of the Confederacy , had been organized two years earlier at Nashville , Tennessee .