Founded in 1938 in Columbia, South Carolina, during the Great Depression, it is the only active heritage organization created by Confederate veterans.[citation needed] The first meeting was convened by 17 former Confederate officers, with 47 male descendants of Confederate officers in attendance. They voted to begin a new CSA veterans society, with a commitment to hold annual meetings, and chose the name of the "Order of the Stars & Bars". The OSB was unique in its understanding that as the original Confederate officers died, their male descendants had to carry on the purposes of the order.