The Military Order of the Stars and Bars is a fraternal organization for documented descendants of men who served as commissioned officers in the armed forces

Armed forces

The armed forces of a country are its government-sponsored defense, fighting forces, and organizations. They exist to further the foreign and domestic policies of their governing body, and to defend that body and the nation it represents from external aggressors. In some countries paramilitary...

 of the Confederate States of America

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

 or who are descended from members of the Confederate Congress, or any elected or appointed member of the Executive Branch of the Confederate Government. Its headquarters is in White House, Tennessee

White House, Tennessee

White House is a city in Robertson and Sumner counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The population was 7,220 at the 2000 census. According to the city website a special census was conducted in 2008 that placed the city population at 9,891 residents, with 3,587 households within the city limits...

. Members may join local Chapters as well as State Societies or be a national At-Large Member.

History

Founded in 1938 in Columbia, South Carolina

Columbia, South Carolina

Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...

, during the Great Depression

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

, it is the only active heritage organization created by Confederate veterans. The first meeting was convened by 17 former Confederate officers, with 47 male descendants of Confederate officers in attendance. They voted to begin a new CSA veterans society, with a commitment to hold annual meetings, and chose the name of the "Order of the Stars & Bars". The OSB was unique in its understanding that as the original Confederate officers died, their male descendants had to carry on the purposes of the Order.

In 1976 the organization changed its name to "The Military Order of the Stars & Bars" at the 39th General Convention held in Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....

. They adopted the Confederate battle flag (the square "Southern Cross" incorporated into the second and third National Flags of the Confederate States of America, not to be confused with the "Stars and Bars

Stars and bars

Stars and bars may refer to* The first official flag of the Confederate States of America* A graphical method used to derive the formula for multiset coefficients and other combinatorial theorems* A 1988 film starring Daniel Day-Lewis...

" adopted as the first national flag) as the official insignia of the Order. The leader would be called the Commander General of the Military Order of the Stars and Bars.

Today the fraternal Military Order of the Stars and Bars is a non-profit 501(c) 3, non-political educational, historical, patriotic, and heritage group that is dedicated to preserving Southern history. It has added programs to recognize outstanding contributions in the fields of history, as well as the fine arts that emphasize Southern culture.

It offers college scholarships and awards for the study and communication of Confederate and American history. It awards literary prizes to authors and publishing houses, and recognizes journalists who practice ethical and fair reporting of local and Southern history. It erects monuments to the memory of the CSA soldiers. The organization emphasizes American patriotism and the honoring of all American military veterans. The Order emphasizes family and tradition, and encourages its membership to preserve their family's Confederate history for posterity.

National conventions are held annually. The 2011 Convention will be in Jacksonville, Florida with the 2012 National Reunion to be in San Antonio, Texas. Today the Military Order of the Stars and Bars continues its dedication to the preservation of Southern history which it deems accurate.

See also

Confederate States of America memorials and cemeteries

• Children of the Confederacy
• United Daughters of the Confederacy
  United Daughters of the Confederacy
  The United Daughters of the Confederacy is a women's heritage association dedicated to honoring the memory of those who served in the military and died in service to the Confederate States of America . UDC began as the National Association of the Daughters of the Confederacy, organized in 1894 by...
  
  
• Grand Army of the Republic
  Grand Army of the Republic
  The Grand Army of the Republic was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army, US Navy, US Marines and US Revenue Cutter Service who served in the American Civil War. Founded in 1866 in Decatur, Illinois, it was dissolved in 1956 when its last member died...
  
  

External links

• "Military Order of the Stars and Bars", Official website