The main controversy on the internet about the status of Confederate veterans seems to center on two pieces of legislation passed by Congress in 1958. The first is part of Public Law 85-425, an act passed on May 23, 1958 dealing with pension rate increased for widows’ pensions for the “Spanish-American War, Civil War, Indian War, and Mexican War, and…widows of veterans who served in the military or naval forces of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War.” Section (e) of the law states “For the purpose of this section…the term ‘veteran’ includes a person who served in the military or naval forces of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War…”