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Confederate Veterans and Federal Law
Confederate and Union Veterans are Equal
Confederate Veterans of War
Congress, Federal Law, Confederate Vets
Confederate Veterans are American Veterans.... By Law
The United States Government Honors
Confederate Veterans and the Confederacy.
For those who believe that the Confederate States of America and the men
and women who pledged allegiance to that constitutionally established government and spilled their blood and treasure in its
defense are somehow illegitimate and not worthy of honor and protection by the American government, below are those laws and
proclamations honoring them and their service and which proclaim that they were equal in honor and worthiness to those who
served the Federal cause. Such official proclamations by the Government of the United States removes all claims against the
Confederacy and those who served it and protects, defends and honors their symbols, monuments and heroes. In other words,
the current assault upon all things Confederate is contrary to the laws of the United States of America and must be resisted
vigorously.
Congressional Act of 9 March 1906 ~ We Honor Our Fallen Ancestors
(P.L.
38, 59th Congress, Chap. 631-34 Stat. 56)
This act authorized the furnishing of headstones for the graves of Confederates
who died, primarily in Union prison camps and were buried in Federal cemeteries. Remarks: This act formally reaffirmed Confederate
soldiers as military combatants with legal standing. It granted recognition to deceased Confederate soldiers commensurate
with the status of deceased Union soldiers.
U.S. Public Law 810, Approved by 17th Congress 26 February 1929
(45
Stat 1307 - Currently on the books as 38 U.S. Code, Sec. 2306)
This law, passed by the U.S. Congress, authorized the "Secretary of War
to erect headstones over the graves of soldiers who served in the Confederate Army and to direct him to preserve in the records
of the War Department the names and places of burial of all soldiers for whom such headstones shall have been erected."
Remarks: This act broadened the scope of recognition further for all Confederate
soldiers to receive burial benefits equivalent to Union soldiers. It authorized the use of U.S. government (public) funds
to mark Confederate graves and record their locations.
U.S. Public Law 85-425: Sec. 410 Approved 23 May 1958
Confederate
Iron Cross (US Statutes at Large Volume 72, Part 1, Page 133-134)
The Administrator shall pay to each person who served in the military or
naval forces of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War a monthly pension in the same amounts and subject to
the same conditions as would have been applicable to such person under the laws in effect on December 31, 1957, if his service
in such forces had been service in the military or naval forces of the United States.
Remarks: While this was only a gesture since the last Confederate veteran
died in 1958, it is meaningful in that only fifty-seven years ago, the Congress of the United States saw fit to consider Confederate
soldiers as equivalent to U.S. soldiers for service benefits. This final act of reconciliation was made almost one hundred
years after the beginning of the war and was meant as symbolism more than substantive reward.
Additional Note of Critical History: Under current U.S. Federal Code,
Confederate Veterans are equivalent to Union Veterans.
This reconciliation period[*] led up to the Congressional Act of 9 March
1906, U.S. Public Law 810 Approved by 17th Congress 26 February 1929, and the final crown of reconciliation with U.S. Public
Law 85-425: Sec. 410 Approved 23 May 1958. [*known as The Grand Bargain~ Editor]
By the President of the United States of America ~
A Proclamation
The years 1961 to 1965 will mark the one-hundredth anniversary of the American
Civil War.
That war was America's most tragic experience. But like most truly great
tragedies, it carries with it an enduring lesson and a profound inspiration. It was a demonstration of heroism and sacrifice
by men and women of both sides who valued principle above life itself and whose devotion to duty is a part of our Nation's
noblest tradition.
Both sections of our now magnificently reunited country sent into their
armies men who became soldiers as good as any who ever fought under any flag. Military history records nothing finer than
the courage and spirit displayed at such battles as Chickamauga, Antietam, Kennesaw Mountain, and Gettysburg. That America
could produce men so valiant and so enduring is a matter for deep and abiding pride.
The same spirit on the part of the people at home supported and strengthened
those soldiers through four years of great trial. That a Nation which contained hardly more than thirty million people, North
and South together, could sustain six hundred thousand deaths without faltering is a lasting testimonial to something unconquerable
in the American spirit. And that a transcending sense of unity and larger common purpose could, in the end, cause the men
and women who had suffered so greatly to close ranks once the contest ended and to go on together to build a greater, freer,
and happier America must be a source of inspiration as long as our country may last.
By a joint resolution approved on September 7, 1957 (71 Stat. 626), the
Congress established the Civil War Centennial Commission to prepare plans and programs for the nationwide observances of the
one-hundredth anniversary of the Civil War, and requested the President to issue proclamations inviting the people of the
United States to participate in those observances.
Now, Therefore, I, Dwight D. Eisenhower, President of the United States
of America, do hereby invite all of the people of our country to take a direct and active part in the Centennial of the Civil
War.
I request all units and agencies of government--Federal, State, and local--and
their officials to encourage, foster, and participate in Centennial observances. And I especially urge our Nation's schools
and colleges, its libraries and museums, its churches and religious bodies, its civic, service, and patriotic organizations,
its learned and professional societies, its arts, sciences, and industries, and its informational media, to plan and carry
out their own appropriate Centennial observances during the years 1961 to 1965; all to the end of enriching our knowledge
and appreciation of this momentous chapter in our Nation's history and of making this memorable period truly a Centennial
for all Americans.
In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the
United States of America to be affixed.
DONE at the City of Washington this sixth day of December in the year of
our Lord nineteen hundred and sixty, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and eighty-fifth.
DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER
By the President:
CHRISTIAN A. HERTER, Secretary of State
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