The United Daughters of the Confederacy is the outgrowth of many local memorial, monument, and Confederate home associations and auxiliaries to camps of United Confederate Veterans that were organized after the War Between the States. It is the oldest patriotic organization in our country because of its connection with two statewide organizations that came into existence as early as 1890 -- the Daughters of the Confederacy in Missouri and the Ladies' Auxiliary of the Confederate Soldiers Home in Tennessee.
Membership is open to women no less than 16 years of age who are blood descendants, lineal or collateral, of men and women who served honorably in the Army, Navy or Civil Service of the Confederate States of America, or gave Material Aid to the Cause.
The objectives of the organization are Historical, Educational, Benevolent, Memorial and Patriotic to:
- Collect and preserve the material necessary for a truthful history of the War Between the States and to protect, preserve, and mark the places made historic by Confederate valor
- Assist descendants of worthy Confederates in securing a proper education
- Fulfill the sacred duty of benevolence toward the survivor of the War and those dependent upon them
- Honor the memory of those who served or fell in the service of the Confederate States of America
- Record the part played during the War by Southern women
- Cherish the ties of friendship among the members of the Organization
- The United Daughters of the Confederacy collects and preserves rare books, documents, diaries, letters, personal records, and other papers of historical importance relating to the period 1861 to 1865. The Caroline Meriwether Goodlett Library is the repository for these items.
- The Helen Walpole Brewer Library was established in 1996 through a generous bequest of the late Helen Walpole Brewer. It contains microfilm copies of the National Archives Compiled Confederate Service Records and a limited number of regimental histories, family histories, pension records, and cemetery records.
- The libraries are open to United Daughters of the Confederacy members and non-members by appointment. Both libraries are located at the UDC Memorial Building, 328 North Boulevard, Richmond, Virginia 23220-4009, (804) 355-1636.