Almost immediately after the conclusion of hostilities between the Union and the Confederacy, former Confederate soldiers found ways to reunite, and to renew the bonds of brotherhood they forged during so many trials and tribulations. During the Reconstruction Era, many of these meetings were clandestine in nature, for any assembly of former Confederate military men could have subjected those in attendance to arrest and imprisonment. Eventually, "Reconstruction" passed from the scene, and the Veterans were able to meet openly. Reunions of all sizes ~ local, state, and national ~ became a standard of Southern culture which continued until the last national reunion of the United Confederate Veterans was held in Richmond Virginia in 1954. The images collected here represent only tiny fraction of the actual number of these gatherings and, unfortunately, many of the men pictured are not identified by name.