During the Civil War, Confederate leaders were plagued with infighting and internal power struggles that undermined the Southern cause.

That condition appears to be genetic.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans, a group of descendants of Confederate soldiers with more than 30,000 members worldwide, has erupted this month in its own civil war that threatens to tear the organization apart.

While shots have not been fired, a lawsuit has been filed; a temporary restraining [order] has ousted recently elected Commander-in-Chief Denne Sweeney; members have unceremoniously been kicked off the group's executive council; rancorous emails are flying; and, of course, many lawyers have been hired.

Who is in charge of the group is unclear. While the SCV Web site has announced a Sweeney replacement, it still posts his photograph as their leader. Sweeney, now back at his home outside Ferris, Texas, calls himself "commander-in-chief in exile."

"I'm aghast at this whole situation. It's basically a coup d’etat," said Brag Bowling, who was SCV national spokesman under Sweeney. "They are going to reap the whirlwind now," Bowling said of Sweeney's overthrowers.

The organization, headquartered in an antebellum mansion in Columbia, Tenn., has brewed this fight for years, as two factions "traditionalists and activists" skirmished over the direction of their quintessentially Southern organization. Founded in 1896, the SCV once was considered a reserved, even stodgy institution. Now, however, the white gloves are off.

Self-proclaimed traditionalists, who oppose Sweeney, argue the organization should remain nonpolitical, per its constitution. They view the SCV as a group dedicated to preserving Southern history through educational talks and commemorations such as Confederate Memorial Day. And they say they have taken the drastic step of rousting Sweeney and his allies to save the organization from coming under the control of Southern radicals, some of whom advocate re-secession from the Union. Their detractors label them "old bulls," elitists who want the SCV to be a sleepy "history club."

Charges of radicalism

Self-declared activists, headed by Sweeney, think the SCV must start become more political: to lobby, protest and agitate in support of Confederate symbols on state flags and Confederate flags waving over state capitols. They say they are trying to revamp the organization to meet modern political realities, where Confederate symbols ‘from flags to monuments" have come under attack as racist. Sweeney's supporters deny connections to radical groups.

But detractors of the Sweeney faction say some of his supporters "though not Sweeney " have links to fringe political groups like the League of the South, which advocates that the Southern states once again secede from the United States.

The current crisis began Feb. 16, when a majority of the SCV's General Executive Council, its ruling committee, met and kicked Sweeney, plus three other supporters, out of the leadership. They next day, the council filed a lawsuit in state court against Sweeney in Columbia, alleging that he had violated the group's constitution.

The council then elected a doctor, C. Anthony Hodges of Chattanooga, to be the group's new commander. He could not be reached for comment, but in an open letter e-mailed to members, Hodges wrote that "extraordinary circumstances" required the council to act. He wrote that Sweeney violated the SCV's constitution by holding illegal meetings, illegally suspending opponents and trying to fire staffers.

"Never before have we faced such an atmosphere of intimidation and recrimination in the SCV," Hodges wrote, adding,

"Our pride in history and heritage has become, for a few, a facade masking anger, resentment and an apparent desire to browbeat the SCV into a new direction, one with politically ideological path determined by a select few."

Court fight ahead

The Chancery Court of Maury County, Tenn., granted a temporary restraining order, approving Sweeney's removal pending the outcome of the suit. The court gave control of "Elm Springs," the group's headquarters, to the council group for the time being.

Since then, the SCV has been in chaos. Nasty e-mails have been flying across cyberspace like lead bullets at the battle of Gettysburg. Executive councils in Georgia and 11 other states have passed resolutions calling for Sweeney's reinstatement.

Sweeney supporters have set up a legal defense fund and some have openly talked about creating a rival Confederate descendants' group. Sweeney opponents have rallied supporters from various camps across the country.

Sweeney, 65, said past commanders-in-chief and members of the SCV's elite Military Order of the Stars & Bars wanted him out. The Order, which includes Hodges as a member, is made up of descendants of Confederate officers. Sweeney said his opponents decided to get rid of him in December, when he suspended two SCV officers for alleged misconduct. Sweeney said his attorneys, whom he would not name, are preparing a legal counterattack. "The storm is gathering," he said.

Mark L. "Beau" Cantrell of El Reno, Okla., an SCV council member who voted for Sweeney's dismissal, said the court will uphold the council's move to unseat Sweeney. If some members don't like the move, "then what they need to do is leave and start an organization that is compatible with what they want," he said.

Sweeney supporters say they are planning to raise a ruckus at the SCV's next convention, to be held this summer in Nashville. James Dark, 41, of Arlington, Texas, a Sweeney supporter recently booted from the SCV's General Executive Council, says the fight now centered in a Tennessee courtroom will not end with compromise.

"One side is going to go home a winner and one side is just going to go home," he said.