--- title: "Why Confederate soldiers are not considered ‘US veterans’" date: "2020-02-05" modified: "2020-10-22" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-trending/why-confederate-soldiers-are-not-considered-us-veterans/" categories: - "Civil War" - "History" - "War History" --- # Why Confederate soldiers are not considered ‘US veterans’ ![]() The question over whether or not Confederate soldiers were U.S. veterans is largely a symbolic one today. Only [one Civil War pension is still being paid]() (that pensioner [was a veteran of both sides]() of the conflict), and by the time Confederates received real benefits, they were all dead by the following year. No specific legislation exists that identifies Confederate veterans as having equal status to all other American veterans. --- However, provisions exist that could add up to that protected status. Under the law, that is. President Lincoln considered Confederate citizens and soldiers "[Americans in rebellion]()," and not citizen of a foreign country. His view dominated in the days following the end of the war. Lincoln even began the Reconstruction process early with the 1863 Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction, which pardoned the average Joe Confederate troop still fighting for the South. ![]() *For a brief period after Lee's surrender, Union and Confederate soldiers freely intermingled.* President Johnson continued the amnesty policy in 1868, [granting a full pardon to most former Confederates](), including men who fought the Union directly. They all regained their citizenship and voting rights, but were not granted veterans status by the federal government, which means they did not receive the same benefits promised to those who fought for the Union. As the 19th century turned to the 20th, Americans [began to care for Confederate graves]() the way they cared for Union ones. But this was not because any Federal act told them to, it was just the spirit of reconciliation in a nation fresh from a victory over Spain. Eventually it was codified into law. U.S. Code 38 does require the government, when requested, to put up a headstone for soldiers of the Union and Confederate armies of the Civil War, which was confirmed again in 1958 under [Public Law 85](). That same law also extends veterans' pensions "to widows of veterans who served in the military or naval forces of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War." ![]() *At the 50th anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg, Union (left) and Confederate (right) veterans shake hands at a reunion, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.* The closest Confederates come to U.S. veteran status is in [a 2001 U.S. Court of Appeals ruling]() about whether or not the Confederate flag was able to be flown over a national cemetery, administered by the VA. The court upheld the VA's treatment of the rebel graves as equally honored, and that it was not obligated to fly any flag except the American flag over the cemetery. The CSA flag was not considered a legitimate symbol of the United States and the Confederates buried there were honored as citizens, not as veterans. ![]() *Elderly Civil War veterans playing cards together, 1930.* So when added up, a Confederate's benefits amounted to much of what was received by a Union veteran, but they'll never be called American veterans. The closest they ever came was "American citizens" ..."who served in the military or naval forces of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War." ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()