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[Identification of Item], [box #, folder #], United Daughters of the Confederacy, Southern Cross of Honor Records, 1905-1941, SC 0097, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Va.
This collection was placed on deposit by contract with the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society.
The collection is also available on microfilm in Special Collections at James Madison University, MF 1486.
In order to streamline the process of applying collection numbers, Special Collections staff completed a large-scale renumbering campaign in the spring of 2017.
The Southern Cross of Honor award, which later became known as the Cross of Military Service, originated on October 13, 1862 as an act of the Confederate Congress to recognize the courage, valor and good conduct of officers, non-commissioned officers and privates of the Confederate Army. Due to wartime shortages, however, the medals were unable to be made. The recipients' names were then recorded in an Honor Roll for future reference.
Mrs. Alexander S. Erwin first designed the cross that was used by the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) in July 1898. It featured a cross with a Confederate battle flag on the face surrounded by a laurel wreath and the inscription "The Southern Cross of Honor." On the reverse side the motto of the Confederate States, "Deo Vindice" (God our Vindicator), 1861-1865, appears alongside the inscription "From the U.D.C. to the U.C.V." The Southern Cross of Honor and the Cross of Military Service are the two most prestigious honors awarded by the UDC.
The United Daughters of the Confederacy, Southern Cross of Honor Records, 1905-1941, consist of one half manuscript box arranged in five folders and one oversize folder containing records and applications of Shenandoah Valley residents who received the Southern Cross of Honor and the Cross of Military Service. The folders are arranged topically, with applications arranged alphabetically by name. The first four folders contain applications for the Southern Cross of Honor, which were approved by S.B. Gibbons Camp No. 438, and are signed by veterans, descendants or widows of Confederate veterans. Folder five contains applications for the Cross of Military Service, approved by Turner Ashby Chapter No. 162, and are signed by World War I veterans who are descendants of Confederate veterans. The final oversize folder contains Southern Cross of Honor Recipient records.
The collection is arranged topically, then alphabetically by the names of the veterans in each folder.
United Daughters of the Confederacy, Turner Ashby Chapter Records, 1896-1991, SC 0121, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.