History of the South Carolina Division
On May 28, 1896, a group of women met in the Senate Chamber of the
State House in Columbia. Their escort of honor was appointed from the Camp
Hampton Confederate Veterans. Minutes of the meeting state, "Vases of
flowers had been placed upon the tables by the United Confederate Veterans
and the faculty of South Carolina College. Every courtesy was shown the
delegates."
Representatives from the following chapters were in attendance:
Abbeville, Charleston, Columbia, Edgefield, Greenville, Georgetown,
Johnston, Marion and Spartanburg. Mrs. Augustine T. Smythe of Charleston
was appointed temporary chairman. Upon the satisfactory examination of
chapter credentials by an appointed committee, "The report of the
committee was adopted, and the State Division was declared
organized." The first business was the adoption of a Constitution and
Bylaws. Not only was Mrs. Smythe elected as the first Division President,
but the first Honorary Life President.
The South Carolina Division ladies met again in Charleston, December 5,
1896, with twelve chapters represented. Also present were Confederate
Veterans from Camps Sumter and Moultrie. Mrs. Ellison Capers, wife of
Brigadier General Capers, then Bishop of Episcopal Church of South
Carolina, was elected as the second Division President. During the
presidency of Mrs. Capers, a committee was appointed on "Women's Work
in War". This led to other committees, which collected material for
the book, South Carolina Women of the Confederacy. In that year there were
eighteen chapters in South Carolina.
