Optional page text here. The Southern Cross of Honor

The Southern Cross of Honor

The Southern Cross of Honor, originally known as The Southern Cross of the Legion of Honor, was created by the UDC as a means of honoring the men who had served in Confederate military units and "gave an exhibition of dauntless, unyielding courage in the face of overwhelming odds..." The idea of bestowing these crosses was conceived during the first Confederate reunion held in Atlanta in July 1898. The design of the cross by Mrs S E Gabbett of Atlanta, was accepted in November 1899, and the first crosses were bestowed on Confederate Memorial Day April 26, 1900. According to the HISTORY OF ATLANTA CHAPTER NO !* OF THE UNITED DAUGHTERS OF THE CONFEDERACY , "General Evans (Clement A.) was the first Confederate Veteran to receive a Cross of Honor, on the morning of April 26, 1900 at 8 o'clock".
Hundreds upon hundreds of Southern Crosses of Honor were awarded to Confederate veterans by the various chapters of the UDC. Atlanta Chapter 18 awarded more than 1700 from 1900 thru 1935. The original applications of Confederate veterans, endorsed by two ex-Confederate soldiers, who received crosses from Atlanta Chapter 18, have now been placed in the Atlanta Historical Society. A book, CROSSES OF HONOR AWARDED BY ATLANTA CHAPTER # 18 UNITED DAUGHTERS OF THE CONFEDERACY FROM 1900 TO 1935, compiled by Isabell Smith Buzzett, containing the names of Confederate applicants, was printed during Georgia's Semiquin centenary Celebration in 1982 and was placed in libraries throughout Georgia.

Source:The Georgia State Archives

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