State of Tennessee Department of State Tennessee State Library and Archives UNITED CONFEDERATE VETERANS. TENNESSEE DIVISION, BIVOUAC RECORDS, 1862-1941 COLLECTION SUMMARY Creator: United Confederate Veterans. Tennessee Division Inclusive Dates: 1862-1941, bulk 1888-1907 Scope & Content: This collection consists primarily of individual United Confederate Veterans (UCV) bivouac membership applications, rosters, and minutes. Also included are minutes, membership applications, registers, and a letter book for the Association of Confederate Soldiers. Physical Description/Extent: 12 cubic feet Accession/Record Group Number: Ac Nos. 388; 1101; 1234; 1235; 68-200; 70-067; 73-004; 90-165; 91-078; 91- 087; 91-060; 2008-114 Language: English Permanent Location: XIII-G-6; XIII-H-1-4 Mf. No. 1548 Repository: Tennessee State Library and Archives, 403 Seventh Avenue North, Nashville, Tennessee, 37243-0312 Administrative/Biographical History In 1888, Baton Rouge druggist Leon Jastremski returned from a visit to the annual reunion of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) with an idea to form a similar fraternal organization for Confederate veterans. Simultaneously, a Chattanooga businessman, J. F. Shipp, sought the creation of the first national military park at Chickamauga. Together, these men invited former Confederate cavalrymen to a reunion and fundraiser in New Orleans on February 13, 1888. Former horse soldiers representing local veterans' societies from Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana deemed the gathering a resounding success and laid plans to host a broader convention the following year. In June 1889, fifty-two delegates representing nine veterans' associations met again in New Orleans and founded the United Confederate Veterans Association (UCV). Its constitution of fourteen articles defined the organization's purpose as "strictly social, literary, historical, and benevolent." The delegates unanimously selected John B. Gordon of Georgia to serve as commander-in-chief, a position he held until his death in 1904. Other officers included Adjutant General George Moorman, Chaplain General J. William Jones, and Quartermaster General J. F. Shipp. Continuity in leadership provided the early UCV with stability and strength. Over 150,000 Confederate veterans eventually joined the association in one of 1,850 "camps," indicating a grassroots strength to which Tennessee was no exception. Many former Confederate regiments already met informally at annual picnics across Middle and West Tennessee. By the end of the 1870s, some groups had amalgamated into larger organizations with more formal leadership structure and official programming that stressed the importance of the Confederate experience. This avid association-building lent itself favorably to urban settings, and Nashville veterans formed Frank Cheatham Bivouac No. 1. Originally, the monthly meetings in Pythian Hall recorded an average attendance of fifty men, but many of Nashville's most prominent ex-Confederates flocked to join the organization. By 1900, Bivouac No.1 had swollen to 345 members and ranked first in the state among UCV camps. In November 1885, members of Cheatham Bivouac (W. D. Gale, R. H. Dudley, Charles D. Elliott, the Reverend J. H. McNeilly, William H. Jackson, and Frank Porterfield) played a conspicuous role in revamping a statewide veterans' organization known as the Tennessee Confederate Memorial and Historical Association. The men expanded the original goal of funding a commemorative monument to Confederate valor and included plans to care for Confederate graves and bring living veterans into closer fraternal relations through benevolent programs for ill comrades, indigent widows, and destitute orphans. They also hoped to encourage the preparation of historical accounts of the war that would honor and vindicate the Confederate cause. To meet these goals, they formed the Association of Confederate Soldiers, Tennessee, which became the first chartered organization of its kind in the South. The association met in annual state reunions that rotated between host cities in each of the three Grand Divisions. The last general UCV reunion was held in 1951. Source: The Tennessee Encyclopedia, 2009. Organization/Arrangement of Materials The collection is arranged by series. The first thirty-six series are arranged alphabetically by the last name of each bivouac. Series XXXVII is the Tennessee Division of the United Confederate Veterans, and the last series is the Association of Confederate Soldiers. Each series is arranged alphabetically and then chronologically. Conditions of Access and Use Restrictions on Access: No restrictions Restrictions on Use and Reproduction: While the Tennessee State Library and Archives houses an item, it does not necessarily hold the copyright on the item, nor may it be able to determine if the item is still protected under current copyright law. Users are solely responsible for determining the existence of such instances and for obtaining any other permissions and paying associated fees that may be necessary for the intended use. Index Terms Personal Names: Dudley, R. H., fl. 1885-1889 Elliot, Charles D., fl. 1885 Gale, W. D., fl. 1885 Gordon, John B. (Brown), 1832-1904 Jackson, William H. (Hicks), 1835-1904 Jastremski, Leon, 1843-1904 Jones, William, fl. 1888 McNeilly, J. H., fl. 1885 Moorman, George, fl. 1888-1891 Porterfield, Frank, fl. 1885 Shipp, J. F., fl. 1888 Corporate Names/Organizations/Government Bodies: Association of Confederate Soldiers United Confederate Veterans. Tennessee Division Confederate States of America -- History -- Sources United Confederate Veterans. Tennessee Division. Camden, Benton County Camp 1014 (Camden, Tenn.) -- Records and correspondence United Confederate Veterans. Tennessee Division. Daniel S. Donelson Bivouac No. 6 (Gallatin, Tenn.) -- Records and correspondence United Confederate Veterans. Tennessee Division. Dibrell Bivouac No. 12 (Lewisburg, Tenn.) -- Records and correspondence United Confederate Veterans. Tennessee Division. E. L. Bradley Bivouac No. 38 (Riddleton, Tenn.) -- Records and correspondence United Confederate Veterans. Tennessee Division. Fitzgerald Lamb Bivouac No. 16 (Paris, Tenn.) -- Records and correspondence United Confederate Veterans. Tennessee Division. Forbes Bivouac No. 21 (Clarksville, Tenn.) -- Records and correspondence United Confederate Veterans. Tennessee Division. Forrest’s Cavalry Corps. -- Records and correspondence United Confederate Veterans. Tennessee Division. Frank Cheatham Bivouac No. 1 (Nashville, Tenn.) -- Records and correspondence United Confederate Veterans. Tennessee Division. Fred Ault Bivouac No. 17 (Knoxville, Tenn.) -- Records and correspondence United Confederate Veterans. Tennessee Division. General N. B. Forrest Bivouac No. 4 (Chattanooga, Tenn.) -- Records and correspondence United Confederate Veterans. Tennessee Division. Hiram L. Bradford Bivouac No. 28 (Brownsville, Tenn.) -- Records and correspondence United Confederate Veterans. Tennessee Division. James E. Rains Bivouac No. 14 (Dickson, Tenn.) -- Records and correspondence United Confederate Veterans. Tennessee Division. Jenkins Bivouac No. 19 (Dresden, Tenn.) -- Records and correspondence United Confederate Veterans. Tennessee Division. Joe Brown Bivouac No. 37 (Covington, Tenn.) -- Records and correspondence United Confederate Veterans. Tennessee Division. John C. Carter Bivouac, No. 33 (Arlington, Tenn.) -- Records and correspondence United Confederate Veterans. Tennessee Division. John Ingram Bivouac No. 5 (Jackson, Tenn.) -- Records and correspondence United Confederate Veterans. Tennessee Division. John L. McEwen Bivouac No. 4 (Franklin, Tenn.) -- Records and correspondence United Confederate Veterans. Tennessee Division. Joseph B. Palmer Bivouac No. 10 (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) -- Records and correspondence United Confederate Veterans. Tennessee Division. Joseph E. Johnston Bivouac No. 25 (Alamo, Tenn.) -- Records and correspondence United Confederate Veterans. Tennessee Division. Leonidas Polk Bivouac No. 3 (Columbia, Tenn.) -- Records and correspondence United Confederate Veterans. Tennessee Division. Pat Cleburne Bivouac No. 37 (Cookeville, Tenn.) -- Records and correspondence United Confederate Veterans. Tennessee Division. Pierce B. Anderson Bivouac, No. 21 (Tullahoma, Tenn.) -- Records and correspondence United Confederate Veterans. Tennessee Division. O. F. Strahl Bivouac No. 26 (Trenton, Tenn.) -- Records and correspondence United Confederate Veterans. Tennessee Division. Thomas W. Armstrong Bivouac No. 34 (Somerville, Tenn.) -- Records and correspondence United Confederate Veterans. Tennessee Division. Robert Hatton Bivouac No. 23 (Lebanon, Tenn.) -- Records and correspondence United Confederate Veterans. Tennessee Division. Shackleford Bivouac No. 11 (Fayetteville, Tenn.) -- Records and correspondence United Confederate Veterans. Tennessee Division. S. S. Stanton Bivouac (Gainesboro, Tenn.) -- Records and correspondence United Confederate Veterans. Tennessee Division. Stonewall Jackson Bivouac No. 20 (McKenzie, Tenn.) -- Records and correspondence United Confederate Veterans. Tennessee Division. Sumner County Bivouac No. 6 (Sumner County, Tenn.) United Confederate Veteran. Tennessee Division. Turney Bivouac No. 13 (Winchester, Tenn.) -- Records and correspondence United Confederate Veterans. Tennessee Division. Troop A (Nashville, Tenn.) -- Records and correspondence United Confederate Veterans. Tennessee Division. Troop B (Nashville, Tenn.) -- Records and correspondence United