MOULTRIE — Along with learning about the newest and latest agricultural equipment, visitors to the Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition this week could learn a little about their family history.

The Georgia Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) had a small stand at Expo with access to a database of known Confederate Civil War veterans. Visitors could use the database and find a listing of all potential relatives who served the Confederacy during the Civil War.

Sons of Confederate Veterans Division Commander Jack Bridwell said the database contains all known Civil War veterans who served in the Confederacy’s Army, Navy, Marines and Home Guard. A search could be performed from the database using a person’s last name.

After putting in a person’s last name, Bridwell said, the database would pull up every soldier with the same last name who served in the Confederacy. Most of those names included where the veteran was from and what unit they served in.

From the list of all names, Bridwell said he would then find out a person’s home state. He would remove all soldiers who were not from their home state, which typically narrowed a search down significantly.

Bridwell said the next step would be to take the list of veterans from the home state and speak with the family’s oldest living relative. If most of a family is deceased, obtaining an elder family member’s death certificate can also be helpful because it provides their parents’ names.

Once there is a potential match for a relative who served during the Civil War, Bridwell said to contact the Sons of Confederate Veterans at 1-866-SCV-IN-GA, or 1-866-728-4642. The state SCV will give directions to contact a local chapter and help confirm whether the soldier is indeed a relative.

With end of the Expo on Thursday, Bridwell said anyone can visit the Georgia SCV Web site at www.georgiascv.com and perform a genealogy search there. Information found on the site or the SCV phone number can provide further contact information.

For anyone who would be interested in joining the SCV, Brigade Commander Gary Ursery said a requirement is having an anscestor who served for the Confederacy. Once a relation has been identified, there is an application process, screening and oath prior to obtaining membership, but all people are welcome.

Ursery said the International SCV has members from all across the country and from countries throughout the world. It is the second oldest historical organization in the U.S.

Despite how it may have been portrayed, Ursery said the SCV is simply a civic organization. It is a non-political and non-profit organization that preaches the “true history” of the Confederacy, he said. Local chapters, called camps, hold various community service projects, such as cleaning cemeteries, and they will provide assistance to anyone who is in need.