MOS&B Facts

History of the Military Order of the Stars & Bars

“Everyone should do all in his power to collect and disseminate the truth, in the hope that it may find a  place in history and descend to posterity.  History is not the relation of campaigns and battles and generals or other individuals, but that which shows the principles for which the South contended and which justified her struggle for those principles.”  Robert E. Lee

 

On June 10, 1889, at New Orleans, LA, the surviving soldiers of the Confederate States of America organized an association called the United Confederate Veterans to protect and defend the honor and dignity of the memory of the Confederate soldier.  On July 1, 1896, at Richmond, VA, this duty was extended to the male offspring of these brave soldiers with the formation of the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

 

As the ranks of the aged veterans began to thin, a group of the surviving Confederate officers met in Columbia, SC, concerned that the unique contributions made by the Confederate leadership were not property chronicled in our nation’s history books.  On August 30, 1938, the first meeting of the “Order of the Stars & Bars” was convened with 17 former Confederate officers and 47 male descendants of Confederate officers in attendance.  It was unique in that the organization was made up of veterans and their descendants with the understanding that as the original Confederate officers died their offspring would continue to carry on the purpose of the Order.

 

In later years, eligibility qualifications were broadened to allow collateral male descendants of Confederate commissioned officers and of any elected or appointed member of the Executive Branch of the Confederate Government.  The name of the Order was changed to “The Military Order of the Stars & Bars” at the general convention held at Memphis, TN, in 1976, and the “Stars and Bars”, the 1st National Flag of the Confederate States of America was accepted as the symbol of the Order.

 

Today the Military Order of the Stars & Bars continues its dedication to the preservation of Southern history.

 

As Jefferson Davis once said, “It is a duty we owe to posterity to see that our children shall know the virtues, and rise worthy of their sires.”

 

Pledge of the Military Order of the Stars & Bars:

“We, the posterity of the Officer Corps and civil officials of the Confederacy, do pledge ourselves to commemorate and honor the service of leadership these men rendered in the cause of the fundamental American principles of self-determination and States’ Rights and to perpetuate the true history of their deeds for the edification of ourselves, our society, and for generations yet unborn.”

 

Salute to the Flag of the Confederate States of America:

“I salute the Confederate Flag with affection, reverence and undying devotion for the Cause for which it stands.”

 

 

The Texas Chapter #5