Grand Army of the Republic
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The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, Illinois, and grew to include thousands of "posts" (local community units) across the North and West. It was dissolved in 1956 at the death of its last member, Albert Woolson.
According to Stuart McConnell:
The Grand Army of the Republic, the largest of all Union Army veterans' organizations, was the most powerful single-issue political lobby of the late nineteenth century, securing massive pensions for veterans and helping to elect five postwar presidents from its own membership. To its members, it was also a secret fraternal order, a source of local charity, a provider of entertainment in small municipalities, and a patriotic organization.<ref>Stuart McConnell, Glorious Contentment: The Grand Army of the Republic, 1865–1900. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1997.</ref>
Linking men through their experience of the war, the GAR became among the first organized advocacy groups in American politics, supporting voting rights for black veterans, promoting patriotic education, helping to make Memorial Day a national holiday, lobbying Congress to establish regular veterans' pensions, and supporting Republican political candidates. Its peak membership, at 410,000, was in 1890, a high point of various Civil War commemorative and monument dedication ceremonies.
History
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After the end of American Civil War, various state and local organizations were formed for veterans to network and maintain connections with each other. Many of the veterans used their shared experiences as a basis for fellowship. Groups of men began joining, first for camaraderie and later for political power. Emerging as most influential among the various organizations during the first post-war years was the Grand Army of the Republic, founded on April 6, 1866, on the principles of "Fraternity, Charity and Loyalty," in Decatur, Illinois, by Dr. Benjamin F. Stephenson.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The GAR almost disappeared in the early 1870s, and many state-centered divisions, named "departments", and local posts ceased to exist.<ref name="suvcw" />
In his General Order No. 11, dated May 5, 1868, first GAR Commander-in-Chief, General John A. Logan declared May 30 to be Memorial Day (also referred to for many years as "Decoration Day"), calling upon the GAR membership to make the May 30 observance an annual occurrence. Although not the first time war graves had been decorated, Logan's order effectively established "Memorial Day" as the day upon which Americans now pay tribute to all their war casualties, missing-in-action, and deceased veterans. As decades passed, similarly inspired commemorations also spread across the South as "Confederate Memorial Day" or "Confederate Decoration Day", usually in April, led by organizations of Southern soldiers in the parallel United Confederate Veterans.<ref name="gilman">Template:Cite web</ref>
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In the 1880s, the Union veterans' organization revived under new leadership that provided a platform for renewed growth, by advocating Federal pensions for veterans. As the organization revived, black veterans joined in significant numbers and organized local posts. In at least one case, in Ohio, an African American was elected as the commander of a predominately white post. This was Robert A. Pinn of Hart Post 124 in Massillon, Ohio..<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> While the national organization may have failed to press the case for pensions for black soldiers, many of them did receive federal pensions, and the papers in these pension files are now a rich source for African American genealogical research.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Some sources emphasize that these pensions for black soldiers were less frequent than for their white counterparts.<ref name="museum" /> Some African American members of the GAR organized the National Memorial Association to advocate for a memorial to black soldiers in 1919.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite report</ref>
The GAR was organized into "Departments" at the state level and "Posts" at the community level, and military-style uniforms were worn by its members. There were posts in every state in the U.S., and several posts overseas.<ref name="museum">Template:Cite web</ref> The pattern of establishing departments and local posts was later used by other American military veterans' organizations, such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars (organized originally for veterans of the Spanish–American War and the Philippine Insurrection) and the later American Legion (for the First World War and later expanded to include subsequent World War II, Korean, Vietnam and Middle Eastern wars).
The GAR's political power grew during the latter part of the 19th century, and it helped elect several United States presidents, beginning with the 18th, Ulysses S. Grant, and ending with the 25th, William McKinley. Six Civil War veterans (Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Chester A. Arthur; Benjamin Harrison, and McKinley) were elected President of the United States; all were Republicans. (The sole post-war Democratic president was Grover Cleveland--he bought a substitute and did not serve in the Civil War, but he did veto many pension laws passed by Congress.) Of the six mentioned US Presidents, at least five were members of the GAR but there is no record of membership for Chester Arthur, who was a Union general:
- Ulysses S. Grant (Lt General of the Union Armies) Became a member of the Philadelphia PA George G. Meade Post GAR Post # 1 May 16, 1877<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- Rutherford B. Hayes (Brevet Major General) Became a Member of the Fremont Ohio Manville Moore GAR Post<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- James A. Garfield (Major General) Possibly a member of the GAR – a GAR Post publication refers to the death of Comrade James Garfield, President of the United States<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- Benjamin Harrison (Brevet Brigadier General) Became a member of the Indianapolis Indiana General George H. Thomas GAR Post<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- William McKinley. (Brevet Major of the 23d Ohio) Became a member of the Canton Ohio GAR Post # 25 July 7, 1880 [It was later renamed McKinley GAR Post # 25]<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
With membership strictly limited to soldiers, sailors or Marines who served in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, or Revenue Cutter Service of the United States of America during the War of the Rebellion 1861–1865, the GAR encouraged the formation of Allied Orders to aid them in various works. Numerous male organizations jousted for the backing of the GAR, and the political battles became quite severe until the GAR finally endorsed the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War as its heir.
The GAR, according to Stuart McConnell, promoted, "a nationalism that honored white, native-stock, middle-class males and ...affirmed a prewar ideal of a virtuous, millennial Republic, based on the independent producer, entrepreneurial capitalism, and the citizen-soldier volunteer."<ref>George McJimsey, "Glorious Contentment: the Grand Army of the Republic, 1865–1900." Annals of Iowa 52.4 (1993) pp. 474–476, citing Stuart McConnell, Glorious contentment: The Grand Army of the Republic, 1865–1900 (U of North Carolina Press, 1997) p. 222.</ref>
Female members
[edit]The GAR had at least three women who were members.
The first female known to be admitted to the GAR was Kady Brownell, who served in the Union Army with her husband Robert, a private in the 1st Rhode Island Infantry at the First Battle of Bull Run in Virginia and with the 5th Rhode Island Infantry at the Battle of New Berne in North Carolina. Brownell was admitted as a member in 1870 to Elias Howe Jr. Post #3, in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The GAR insignia is engraved on her gravestone in the North Burial Ground in Providence, Rhode Island.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 1897 the GAR admitted Sarah Emma Edmonds, who served in the 2nd Michigan Infantry as a disguised man named Franklin Thompson from May 1861 until April 1863. In 1882, she collected affidavits from former comrades in an effort to petition for a veteran's pension which she received in July 1884. Edmonds was only a member for a brief period as she died September 5, 1898; however she was given a funeral with military honors when she was reburied in Houston in 1901.<ref name="trust">Template:Cite web</ref>
Dr. Mary Edwards Walker was a surgeon in the Union Army during the Civil War and a recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor. She treated soldiers from both sides of the conflict, as well as civilians, and was captured by Confederate troops in 1864. Prior to her death in 1919, she was admitted to the Grand Army of the Republic.
Mary Bostwick Shellman was made an associate member of the Wilson Post No. 1 of the Department of Maryland Grand Army, circa 1899,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> for her lifelong work caring for soldiers and veterans, first as a teenage volunteer nurse and later for creating and continuing to lead one of the nation's oldest Decoration Day Parades in Westminster, Maryland. She made remembering and caring for veterans her life's work and saved at least five Union soldiers from having "pauper burials."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
It is possible that other women were members of the GAR, as well.
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Kady Brownwell
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Sarah Emma Edmonds
Later years
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The GAR reached its largest enrollment in 1890, with 410,000 members.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> It held a "National Encampment" in 1866 and then every year from 1868 to 1949.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Interesting anecdotes from the war were told around the many campfires at these reunions and compiled in a book of campfire "chats", including descriptions of the festivities at the 1884–1886 encampments in Minneapolis, Portland, Maine and San Francisco.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> At the final encampment in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1949, the few surviving attendees voted to retain the existing officers in place until the organization's dissolution. Theodore Penland of Oregon, the GAR's Commander at the time, was therefore its last.<ref name="suvcw"/> At the time of the last national encampment, 16 members were still living and six were able to attend, including James Hard, the last combat veteran, who had fought at First Bull Run, Antietam, and Chancellorsville.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1956, after the death of the last member, Albert Woolson, the GAR was formally dissolved.<ref name="suvcw">Template:Cite web</ref>
Memorials, honors and commemorations
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There are physical memorials to the Grand Army of the Republic in numerous communities throughout the United States.
U.S. Route 6 is known as the Grand Army of the Republic Highway for its entire length.<ref name="fhwa">Template:Cite web</ref>
The Commemoration of the American Civil War on postage stamps began during the conflict by both sides. In 1948, the Grand Army of the Republic was commemorated on a stamp.<ref name="50years">A. Template:Cite web
B. Template:Cite web</ref> In 1951, the U.S. Postal Service printed a virtually identical stamp for the final reunion of the United Confederate Veterans.<ref name="ucv">Template:Cite web</ref>
State posts
[edit]Every state (even those of the former Confederacy) fell within a GAR "Department," and within these Departments were the "Posts" (forerunners of modern American Legion Halls or VFW Halls). The posts were made up of local veterans, many of whom participated in local civic events. As the posts were formed, they were assigned to the home Department of the National Commander-in-chief of the year that they were chartered. There was no GAR post in London, but there was a Civil War Veterans Association Group that had many GAR members belonging to it.
As Civil War veterans died or were no longer able to participate in GAR activities, posts consolidated or were disbanded.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Posts were assigned a sequential number based on their admission into the state's GAR organization, and most posts held informal names which honored comrades, battles, or commanders; it was not uncommon to have more than one post in a state honoring the same individual (such as Abraham Lincoln) and posts often changed their informal designation by vote of the local membership. See:
- List of Grand Army of the Republic posts in Kansas
- List of Grand Army of the Republic posts in Kentucky
In literature and the arts
[edit]John Steinbeck's East of Eden features several references to the Grand Army of the Republic. Despite having very little actual battle experience during his brief military career, cut short by the loss of his leg, Adam Trask's father Cyrus joins the GAR and assumes the stature of "a great man" through his involvement with the organization. At the height of the GAR's influence in Washington, he brags to his son:
Later in the book, references are made to the graves of GAR members in California in order to emphasize the passage of time.<ref name="ed">Template:Cite web</ref>
Sinclair Lewis also refers to the GAR in his acclaimed novel Main Street<ref name=Lewis>Template:Cite book</ref> and in his novel It Can't Happen Here,<ref name=CantHappen>Template:Cite book</ref> as does Charles Portis in his classic novel True Grit.<ref name=Portis>Template:Cite book</ref> The GAR is briefly mentioned in William Faulkner's novel The Sound and the Fury<ref name="faulkner">Template:Cite book</ref> and Willa Cather's short story "The Sculptor's Funeral" briefly references the organization.<ref name=Cather>Template:Cite web</ref>
The GAR is mentioned in the seldom-sung second verse of the patriotic song "You're a Grand Old Flag".<ref name="LOC">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
The GAR is referenced in John McCrae's poem He Is There! which was set to music in 1917 by Charles Ives as part of his cycle Three Songs of the War.<ref name="song">Template:Cite web</ref>
In Ward Moore's 1953 alternate history novel Bring the Jubilee, the Confederates won the Civil War and became a major world power while the rump United States was reduced to an impoverished dependence. The Grand Army of the Republic is the name of a nationalistic organization working to restore the United States to its former glory through acts of sabotage and terrorism.<ref name=jubilee>Template:Cite book</ref>
The name appears in the Star Wars prequel era. Star Wars: The Clone Wars refers to the clone army as "The Grand Army of the Republic".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Notable commanders-in-chief
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Benjamin F. Stephenson, 1866
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John Alexander Logan, 1868
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Ambrose Burnside, 1871
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John Frederick Hartranft, 1875–1877 [Medal of Honor]
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Paul Vandervoort, 1882
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John S. Kountz, 1884
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John G. B. Adams, 1893 [Medal of Honor]
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John Peter Shindel Gobin, 1897
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Wilmon W. Blackmar, 1904 [Medal of Honor]
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James R. Tanner,1905
![John Frederick Hartranft, 1875–1877 [Medal of Honor]](/index.php/File:JFHartranft.jpg){kind=link}
![John G. B. Adams, 1893 [Medal of Honor]](/index.php/File:US_Army_MOH_recipient_John_G._B._Adams.jpg){kind=link}
![Wilmon W. Blackmar, 1904 [Medal of Honor]](/index.php/File:Gen._Wilmon_W._Blackmar,_U.S._Medal_of_Honor_Winner_and_Commander-in-Chief,_Grand_Army_of_the_Republic,_1904.jpg){kind=link}
Women's auxiliaries
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The Woman's Relief Corps was founded in 1879 as a "secret" organization and recognized in 1883 as the "official women's auxiliary" to the GAR.
The Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic was also a significant organization. It was founded by Lelia P. Roby.<ref name="WillardLivermore-1893">Template:Cite book Template:Source-attribution</ref> As a congressionally chartered non-profit organization, it is the oldest women's hereditary organization in the United States. The original objectives of the organization included promotion of patriotism and loyalty to the Union, and participation in community service, especially for the aid of our Veterans and their dependents."<ref name="LGAR">Template:Cite web</ref>
As original Union veterans of the GAR, organized in 1866, grew old, many women's groups formed to aid them and their widows and orphans. The Loyal Ladies League was established in 1881 as an auxiliary to the GAR; in 1886 the organization went more national and changed its name to "The Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic."<ref name="LGAR-history">Template:Cite web</ref> It was incorporated by Public Law 86-47 [S.949] of the 86th Congress on June 17, 1959 <ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
In 1899, the president was Dr. Julia P. Shade of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Its president in 1922 was Mrs. Ethel M. Irish, of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.<ref name="winslow1922">Template:Cite book</ref>
See also
[edit]- Social history of soldiers and veterans in the United States
- Charles Sumner Post No. 25, Grand Army of the Republic
- Grand Army of the Republic Hall (disambiguation), list of halls across multiple states
- G. A. R. Memorial Junior/Senior High School, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
- Hamilton County Memorial Building, (Cincinnati, Ohio)
- Joel Minnick Longenecker
- List of Grand Army of the Republic commanders-in-chief
- National Association of Army Nurses of the Civil War
- Russell A. Alger
- Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War
References
[edit]Further reading
[edit]- Ainsworth, Scott. "Electoral Strength and the Emergence of Group Influence in the Late 1800s The Grand Army of the Republic." American Politics Research 23.3 (1995): 319–338.
- Cimbala, Paul A. Veterans North and South: The Transition from Soldier to Civilian after the American Civil War (Santa Barbara: Praeger, 2015). xviii, 189 pp.
- Dearing, Mary R. Veterans in Politics: The Story of the GAR (1974) online, a scholarly history
- Gannon, Barbara A. The Won Cause: Black and White Comradeship in the Grand Army of the Republic (2011)
- Goldman, Stephen A. One More War to Fight: Union Veterans' Battle for Equality through Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the Lost Cause (2023)
- Jordan, Brian Matthew. Marching Home: Union Veterans and Their Unending Civil War. New York: Liveright, 2015.
- McConnell, Stuart. Glorious Contentment: The Grand Army of the Republic, 1865–1900. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1997, a major scholarly history.
- Marten, James Alan. Sing Not War: The Lives of Union & Confederate Veterans in Gilded Age America (Univ of North Carolina Press, 2011).
External links
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- Anthony Waskie, "The Grand Army of the Republic" Virginia Center for Civil War Studies at Virginia Tech (2024)
- GAR page at Library of Congress
- SUVCW official website
- ASUVCW official website
- DUVCW official website
- Medals related to the GAR in the collection of the American Numismatic Society
- Grand Army Museum, Lynn, Massachusetts at Essex National Heritage website
- Template:Usurped
- Photographs of Members of the Stevens Post, Seattle, Washington
- Grand Army of the Republic Museum and Library, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Grand Army of the Republic, Department of Kansas Encampments, 1882–1944
- Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery deceased records and online map at Chronicle Cemetery Map
- Pages with broken file links
- Grand Army of the Republic
- 1866 establishments in Illinois
- 1956 disestablishments in the United States
- American Civil War veterans and descendants organizations
- Aftermath of the American Civil War
- Decatur, Illinois
- Defunct organizations based in the United States
- Organizations established in 1866
- Organizations disestablished in 1956
- Patriotic and national organizations chartered by the United States Congress
- American veterans' organizations