Welcome to the Home Page of The Department of Rhode Island, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War

William Vieira,
Department Commander
PO Box 40488,
Providence, RI
02940-0488

Our mission is three-fold:

• Honoring Union Veterans
• Preserving and Perpetuating the GAR
• Patriotic Education

Honoring Union Veterans

SUVCW cooperates in doing honor to all who have patriotically served our country in any war. The order participates with other patriotic organizations in the proper observance of our national holidays; especially Memorial Day (May 30), which was established by the GAR in 1868; seeks out and marks the graves of Civil War veterans; observes the care and upkeep of Civil War memorials and brings any failure to do so to the attention of the proper authorities.

Preserving and Perpetuating the GAR

The SUVCW assists in the preservation and making available for research, the documents and records pertaining to the GAR and its members. The order insures that the condition of signage along U.S. Route 6, the GAR Highway, is properly maintained. The SUVCW supplies scholarships, funding to the Lincoln Memorial and Tomb ceremonies, and the Gettysburg Remembrance Day ceremony, and grants for Civil War memorial preservation. Meetings and Encampments are conducted according to the tradition and rituals of the GAR.

Patriotic Education

The SUVCW's patriotic education includes teaching patriotism and the duties of citizenship, the true history of our country, and the love and honor of our flag. Each year, the order conducts presentations in schools and communities.

The SUVCW encourages the proper teaching of American history in our schools. It keeps the public informed of activities and measures that violate or may weaken the spirit and purposes of our country's Constitution and institutions. It promotes and broadly sustains the American principles of representative government, of equal rights and impartial justice for all.