Just as the women of the North had founded an organization to honor the service of their soldiers, so did the women of the South.  Any female 16 years of age or older who can document direct lineal or collateral descent from a soldier who served honorably in the Army, Navy or Civil Service of the Confederate States of America is eligible to join.

 

The organization was founded in 1894, by two women, Caroline Meriwether Goodlet and Anna Davenport Raines.  The purpose of the UDC is to preserve the history of the Confederacy, honor the memory of those who served, and to preserve and mark historical locations.  Their motto is, “Love, Live, Pray, Think, Dare.”

 

The United Daughters of the Confederacy maintain a library at their headquaters in Richmond, Virginia.  They preserve and house a collection of rare books, letters, diaries, and other papers relevant and important to the history of the war.  The UDC also awards a scholarship for original research about Confederate history.

 

The metal marker is a replica of the emblem of the UDC.  A laurel, gathered together with a ribbon with two dates 61 and 65, the beginning and ending of the war, surrounds a Confederate flag and the intertwined letters U D C.