Grand Army of the Republic - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

, US Navy, US Marines and US Revenue Cutter Service who served in the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. Founded in 1866 in Decatur, Illinois

Decatur, Illinois

Decatur is the largest city and the county seat of Macon County in the U.S. state of Illinois. The city, sometimes called "the Soybean Capital of the World", was founded in 1823 and is located along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Central Illinois. In 2000 the city population was 81,500,...

, it was dissolved in 1956 when its last member died. 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, lobbying the US Congress to establish veterans' pensions, and supporting Republican political candidates. Its peak of membership at more than 400,000 was in 1890, a high point of Civil War commemorative ceremonies. It was succeeded by the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War

Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War

Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War is an American fraternal organization, the legal successor to the Grand Army of the Republic . Founded in late 1881, it was originally one of several competing organizations of descendants of Union veterans...

(SUVCW), composed of male descendants of Union veterans.

History

After the end of American Civil War

American Civil War

, 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 together, first for camaraderie and later for political power. Emerging as most influential among the various organizations was the Grand Army of the Republic, founded on April 6, 1866, on the principles of "Fraternity, Charity and Loyalty," in Decatur, Illinois

Decatur, Illinois

, by Benjamin F. Stephenson.

The GAR initially grew and prospered as a de facto political arm of the Republican Party

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

during the heated political contests of the Reconstruction era. The commemoration of Union veterans, black and white, immediately became entwined with partisan politics. The GAR promoted voting rights for black veterans, as many veterans recognized their demonstrated patriotism. Black veterans, who enthusiastically embraced the message of equality, shunned black veterans' organizations in preference for racially inclusive groups. But when the Republican Party's commitment to reform in the South gradually decreased, the GAR's mission became ill-defined and the organization floundered. The GAR almost disappeared in the early 1870s, and many divisions ceased to exist.

In the 1880s, the organization revived under new leadership that provided a platform for renewed growth, by advocating federal pensions for veterans

Veteran's pension

A veteran's pension is a pension for veterans of the United States Armed Forces, who served in the military but did not qualify for a retirement pension from the Armed Forces. It was established by the United States Congress and given to veterans who meet the eligibility requirements...

. As the organization revived, black veterans joined in significant numbers and organized local posts. The national organization, however, failed to press the case for pensions for black soldiers. Most black troops never received any pension or remuneration for wounds incurred during their service.

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.

The pattern of establishing departments and local posts was later used by other veterans' organizations, such as the American Legion

American Legion

The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...

(WWI) and the Veterans of Foreign Wars

Veterans of Foreign Wars

The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States is a congressionally chartered war veterans organization in the United States. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, VFW currently has 1.5 million members belonging to 7,644 posts, and is the largest American organization of combat...

(WWII).

In 1868, Commander-in-Chief General John A. Logan

John A. Logan

John Alexander Logan was an American soldier and political leader. He served in the Mexican-American War and was a general in the Union Army in the American Civil War. He served the state of Illinois as a state senator, congressman and senator and was an unsuccessful candidate for Vice President...

established May 30 as Decoration Day, later known as Memorial Day. (Numerous people and places claim this credit.) In its first celebrations, people used this day to commemorate the dead of the Civil War by decorating their graves with flowers and flags.

The GAR's political power grew during the latter part of the 19th century, and it helped elect several Republican United States presidents, beginning with Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...

and ending with William McKinley

William McKinley

William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...

. Five members were elected president of the United States. For a time, candidates could not get nominated to the Republican ticket without the endorsement of the GAR voting bloc.
With membership strictly limited to "veterans of the late unpleasantness," 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

Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War

as its heir. Although a male organization, the GAR admitted its sole woman member in 1897. Sarah Emma Edmonds 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.

The GAR reached its largest enrollment in 1890, with 490,000 members. It held an annual "National Encampment" every year from 1866 to 1949. At that final encampment in Indianapolis

Indianapolis

Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

, Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

, the few surviving members voted to retain the existing officers in place until the organization's dissolution; Theodore Penland of Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

, the GAR's Commander at the time, was therefore its last. In 1956, after the death of the last member, Albert Woolson

Albert Woolson

Albert Henry Woolson , was the last surviving member of the Union Army, which fought in the American Civil War. He was also the last surviving Civil War veteran on either side whose status is currently undisputed...

, the GAR was formally dissolved.

Memorials

Memorials to the Grand Army of the Republic include a commemorative postage stamp, a U.S. highway, and physical memorials in numerous communities throughout the United States:

At the final encampment in 1949, the Post Office Department
United States Post Office Department
The Post Office Department was the name of the United States Postal Service when it was a Cabinet department. It was headed by the Postmaster General....

issued a three-cent commemorative postage stamp. Two years later, it printed a virtually identical stamp for the final reunion of the UCV.
U.S. Route 6
U.S. Route 6
U.S. Route 6 , also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, a name that honors an American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system, running east-northeast from Bishop, California to Provincetown, Massachusetts. Until 1964, it continued south from Bishop to...

is known as the Grand Army of the Republic Highway for its entire length.

Sacramento, California
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...

: GAR memorial and many grave sites in the Sacramento Historic City Cemetery
Sacramento Historic City Cemetery
The Sacramento Historic City Cemetery , located at 1000 Broadway, at 10th Street, is the oldest existing cemetery in Sacramento, California. The cemetery is located at the highest point in Sacramento...

(aka Old City Cemetery).
San Jose, California
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...

: GAR lot in Oak Hill Cemetery.
Rockville, Connecticut
Rockville, Connecticut
Rockville is a census-designated place and a village of the town of Vernon in Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 7,708 at the 2000 census...

: The New England Civil War Museum
New England Civil War Museum
The New England Civil War Museum was established in March 1994. It is housed in the Memorial Building, a former Grand Army of the Republic Hall in Rockville, Connecticut. Its collection includes prints, paintings, lithographs, photos, and original papers. The museum has a large collection of...

is maintained by Alden Skinner Camp 45 Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War
Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War
Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War is an American fraternal organization, the legal successor to the Grand Army of the Republic . Founded in late 1881, it was originally one of several competing organizations of descendants of Union veterans...

. The museum is within Memorial Hall, which was dedicated to the GAR veterans by the former city of Rockville.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

: A monumental memorial honoring Benjamin F. Stephenson, M.D., stands near the National Archives
National Archives and Records Administration
The National Archives and Records Administration is an independent agency of the United States government charged with preserving and documenting government and historical records and with increasing public access to those documents, which comprise the National Archives...

building and the Navy Memorial
United States Navy Memorial
The United States Navy Memorial on Pennsylvania Avenue NW between 7th Street Northwest and 9th Street Northwest in Washington, D.C., honors those who have served or are currently serving in the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and the Merchant Marine....

(38.893565°N 77.021558°W). The GAR Memorial Foundation erected the monument using funds that the U.S. Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

appropriated
Appropriation (law)
In law and government, appropriation is the act of setting apart something for its application to a particular usage, to the exclusion of all other uses....

in 1907. The memorial was dedicated in 1909.
Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

:
- GAR memorial and several gravesites in Union Ridge Cemetery in the Norwood Park
  Norwood Park, Chicago
  Norwood Park is one of 77 well-defined Chicago, Illinois community areas. It encompasses the smaller neighborhoods of Big Oaks, Norwood Park East, Norwood Park West, Old Norwood Park, Oriole Park, and Union Ridge....
  
  neighborhood.
- The current Chicago Cultural Center
  Chicago Cultural Center
  The Chicago Cultural Center, opened in 1897, is a Chicago Landmark building that houses the city's official reception venue where the Mayor of Chicago has welcomed Presidents and royalty, diplomats and community leaders. It is located in the Loop, across Michigan Avenue from Millennium Park...
  
  was formerly the dual-purposed Chicago Public Library
  Chicago Public Library
  The Chicago Public Library is the public library system that serves the City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 79 branches, including a central library, two regional libraries, and branches distributed throughout the city....
  
  and GAR Meeting Hall. Completed in 1897, it occupies property on Michigan Avenue at Randolph Street donated by the GAR.

Decatur, Illinois
Decatur, Illinois
Decatur is the largest city and the county seat of Macon County in the U.S. state of Illinois. The city, sometimes called "the Soybean Capital of the World", was founded in 1823 and is located along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Central Illinois. In 2000 the city population was 81,500,...

: GAR section with approximately 570 graves and monument in Greenwood Cemetery
Hoopeston, Illinois
Hoopeston, Illinois
Hoopeston is a city in Grant Township, Vermilion County, Illinois, United States. It is part of the Danville, Illinois, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,965 at the 2000 census, and 5,602 in 2009.-History:Hoopeston was laid out in 1871...

: GAR memorial and many gravesites Floral Hill Cemetery.
Minier, Illinois
Minier, Illinois
Minier is a village in Tazewell County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,244 at the 2000 census. Minier is part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Minier is located at ....

: GAR monument erected in 1888 by the John Hunter GAR Post 168
Murphysboro, Illinois
Murphysboro, Illinois
Murphysboro is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,970 at the 2010 census. The city is part of the Metro Lakeland area.-Geography:Murphysboro is located at ....

: A cemetery with the graves of several GAR members who were former slaves originally from Tennessee is southwest of the town.
Springfield, Illinois
Springfield, Illinois
Springfield is the third and current capital of the US state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County with a population of 117,400 , making it the sixth most populated city in the state and the second most populated Illinois city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area...
- Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Museum, located downtown at 629 South 7th Street. It is owned and maintained by the Woman's Relief Corps Auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Republic.
- The Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War donated a sundial that was dedicated on the grounds of the Illinois State Capitol
  Illinois State Capitol
  The Illinois State Capitol, located in Springfield, Illinois, is the building that houses the executive and legislative branches of the government of the U.S. state of Illinois. The current building is the sixth capitol of the state since its admission as a state of the United States in 1818. The...
  
  September 8, 1940 during the 74th Encampment of the GAR.
Watseka, Illinois
Watseka, Illinois
Watseka is a city in and the county seat of Iroquois County, Illinois, United States. It is located approximately west of the Illinois-Indiana state line on U.S...

: GAR Cemetery, established for the Williams Post 25, has a memorial and statue as prominent features at the entrance.
Valparaiso, Indiana
Valparaiso, Indiana
Valparaiso is a city in and the county seat of Porter County, Indiana, United States. The population was 31,730 at the 2010 census, making it the 2nd largest city in Porter County.-History:...

: The Memorial Opera House was constructed by the local GAR chapter in 1893.
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...

: In 1922, a banner created for the GAR encampment was declared a permanent memorial and suspended in the rotunda of the Iowa State Capitol
Iowa State Capitol
The Iowa State Capitol is located in Iowa's capital city, Des Moines, and houses the Iowa Senate, Iowa House of Representatives, the Office of the Governor, and the Offices of the Attorney General, Auditor, Treasurer, and Secretary of State...

. A sundial was dedicated to the GAR on grounds of the Iowa State Capitol during the 1938 encampment.
Red Oak, Iowa
Red Oak, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 5,742 in the city, with a population density of . There were 2,887 housing units, of which 2,406 were occupied....

: GAR memorial of a bronze soldier atop a granite base was dedicated in 1907 near grave sites in Evergreen Cemetery.
Mt. Pleasant
Mount Pleasant, Iowa
Mount Pleasant is a city in and the county seat of Henry County, Iowa, in the United States. The population was 8,668 in the 2010 census, a decline from 8,751 in the 2000 census. It was founded in 1835 by pioneer Presley Saunders.- History :...

, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

: GAR monument and grave sites in the pioneer Hickory Grove Cemetery, junction of Hwy 218 & 185th St.
Redfield, Iowa
Redfield, Iowa
Redfield is a city in Dallas County, Iowa, United States, along the Middle Raccoon River. The population was 833 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

: The Marshall GAR Hall was restored in 2008 and houses a small museum.
Waterloo, Iowa
Waterloo, Iowa
Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census the population decreased by 0.5% to 68,406. Waterloo is part of the Waterloo – Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the more populous of the two...

: The Grand Army of the Republic meeting hall has been restored and is operated as a meeting hall and museum by the City of Waterloo. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
Baxter Springs, Kansas
Baxter Springs, Kansas
Baxter Springs is a town situated along the Spring River in the extreme southeastern part of Cherokee County, located in southeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,238...

: GAR monemuent and 163 gravesites in the Baxter Springs City Cemetery
Chalmette
Chalmette, Louisiana
Chalmette is a census-designated place in and the parish seat of St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 32,069 at the 2000 census. It is part of the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

: Chalmette National Cemetery
Chalmette National Cemetery
Chalmette National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located within Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve in Chalmette, Louisiana. The cemetery is a plot adjacent to the site that once was the battleground of the Battle of New Orleans...

in Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve
Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve
Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve protects significant examples of the rich natural and cultural resources of Louisiana's Mississippi River Delta region. The park, named after Jean Lafitte, seeks to illustrate the influence of environment and history on the development of a unique...

contains a monument and the graves of approximately 12,000 Union Soldiers from the Civil War
Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

: A sundial at Warren Avenue and Henry Street in the Federal Hill neighborhood was dedicated in 1933.
Detroit, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

: Grand Army of the Republic Building was completed in 1890 as a meeting place for the local chapter of the GAR. When membership dwindled in the 1930s, the group deeded the property to the City of Detroit who paid a portion of the construction costs. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 and has been vacant for many years.
Bemidji, Minnesota
Bemidji, Minnesota
Bemidji is a city in Beltrami County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was at 13,431 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Beltrami County. Bemidji is the most major city in North Central Minnesota and the largest commercial center between Grand Forks, North Dakota and Duluth,...

: GAR memorial in Greenwood Cemetery.

Grand Meadow, Minnesota
Grand Meadow, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 945 people, 395 households, and 233 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,470.9 people per square mile . There were 407 housing units at an average density of 633.5 per square mile...

: GAR Hall/Museum. Booth Post No. 130 was once a meeting hall for members of the Grand Army of the Republic. The hall is believed to be one of only two remaining in Minnesota and is located on South Main Street between First Avenue SW and Second Avenue SW. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places because of its architectural and social significance.
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...

: Forest Lawn Memorial Park
Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Omaha)
Forest Lawn Memorial Park, also known as Forest Lawn Cemetery, is located at 7909 Mormon Bridge Road in Omaha, Nebraska. It was established in 1885 when the Forest Lawn Cemetery Association was donated in northwest of the city. In 1886, the first internment in the Cemetery was the donor of the...

holds a GAR memorial and many grave sites.
Asbury Park, New Jersey
Asbury Park, New Jersey
Asbury Park is a city in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, located on the Jersey Shore and part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 16,116. The city is known for its rich musical history, including its association with...

: Monument at Grand and Cookman Avenues erected by C.K. Hall Post 41.
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...

: Monument at Providence and Capt. O'Donnell Parkway erected by the Joe Hooker Post 32.
Camden, New Jersey
Camden, New Jersey
The city of Camden is the county seat of Camden County, New Jersey. It is located across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 77,344...

: Plot of the William B. Hatch Post 37 with monument in Evergreen Cemetery.
Egg Harbor, New Jersey: General Stahel Post 62 plot in the Egg Harbor City Cemetery.
Manchester Township, New Jersey
Manchester Township, New Jersey
Manchester Township is a Township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. The township is noted for containing the Lakehurst Naval Air Station, the site of the infamous Hindenburg disaster of May 6, 1937...

: GAR memorial at Oakdale Street and Wellington Avenue.
Port Norris, New Jersey
Port Norris, New Jersey
Port Norris is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Commercial Township, in Cumberland County, New Jersey. It is part of the Vineland-Millville- Bridgeton Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area for statistical purposes...

: GAR Cemetery of the John Shinn Post 6.
South Lyndeborough, New Hampshire
Lyndeborough, New Hampshire
Lyndeborough is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,683 at the 2010 census.- History :Originally granted by the Massachusetts General Court to veterans of New England's first war with Canada from Salem, Massachusetts, the area was known as Salem-Canada...

: The Hartshorn Memorial Cannon
Hartshorn Memorial Cannon
The Hartshorn Memorial Cannon is a decommissioned American Civil War naval cannon that forms the centerpiece of the South Lyndeborough Village Common in Lyndeborough, New Hampshire...

was named and dedicated by the Harvey Holt Post, Grand Army of the Republic, in 1902. The cannon was previously located outside the GAR's headquarters, Citizens' Hall
Citizens' Hall
Citizens' Hall is the government office building and a community meeting place for the town of Lyndeborough, New Hampshire. Built in 1889 in the Eastlake/Stick Style, but one that is also heavily influenced by the Greek Revival, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its...

, before being moved to the village common in 1934.
New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
- Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn was dedicated in 1926 and forms the entrance to Prospect Park. It contains a triumphal arch and other monuments.
- In Manhattan
  Manhattan
  Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
  
  , the west flagpole on Low Plaza at the entrance of Low Memorial Library
  Low Memorial Library
  The Low Memorial Library is the administrative center of Columbia University. Built in 1895 by University President Seth Low in memory of his father, Abiel Abbot Low, and financed with $1 million of Low's own money due to the recalcitrance of university alumni, it is the focal point and most...
  
  on Columbia University's
  Columbia University
  Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
  
  Morningside Heights campus was donated by the Lafayette Post of the Grand Army of the Republic in 1898 and bears the inscription "Love, Cherish, Defend it." (The east pole was donated by the class of 1881 on its twenty-fifth anniversary in 1906.)
- Mount Olivet Cemetery in Queens
  Queens
  Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
  
  contains the burial lot of the Robert J. Marks Post # 560 of the GAR. In the lot are the graves of 25 veterans, 17 wives and a monument.
Columbus
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...

, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

: The Daughters of the Union dedicated a sundial on the grounds of the Ohio State House in 1941, the 75th anniversary of the GAR.
Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

: Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery
Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery (Portland)
The Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery is a cemetery for American Civil War veterans in the U.S. city of Portland, Oregon. It is located at S.W. Palatine Hill Road and S.W. Boones Ferry Road, next to River View Cemetery....

. Salmon Brown, son of the famous abolitionist John Brown
John Brown (abolitionist)
John Brown was an American revolutionary abolitionist, who in the 1850s advocated and practiced armed insurrection as a means to abolish slavery in the United States. He led the Pottawatomie Massacre during which five men were killed, in 1856 in Bleeding Kansas, and made his name in the...

(of the song "John Brown's Body
John Brown's Body
"John Brown's Body" is an American marching song about the abolitionist John Brown. The song was popular in the Union during the American Civil War. The tune arose out of the folk hymn tradition of the American camp meeting movement of the 19th century...

") is buried there.

Carnegie, Pennsylvania
Carnegie, Pennsylvania
Carnegie is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States and is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The population was 7,972 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Carnegie is located at . It is approximately southwest of Pittsburgh...

: When the Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...

Free Library and Music Hall was constructed in 1901, it included a room to house the Captain Thomas Espy Post Number 153 of the GAR. The room is now preserved with artifacts and records left when the last post member died in the 1930s.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

: GAR museum and library maintained by the Philadelphia Camp Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War
Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War
Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War is an American fraternal organization, the legal successor to the Grand Army of the Republic . Founded in late 1881, it was originally one of several competing organizations of descendants of Union veterans...

in the John Ruan House
John Ruan House
The John Ruan House is a historic mansion in the Frankford neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1796 as the home of Dr. John Ruan The John Ruan House is a historic mansion in the Frankford neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1796 as the home of Dr....

. The archive holds numerous GAR post records and the museum has a variety of civil war artifacts.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...

: Soldiers & Sailors Hall
Soldiers and Sailors National Military Museum and Memorial
Soldiers and Sailors National Military Museum and Memorial is a National Register of Historic Places landmark in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States...

dedicated in 1910 as a GAR memorial.
Titusville, Pennsylvania
Titusville, Pennsylvania
Titusville is a city in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 6,146 at the 2000 census. In 1859, oil was successfully drilled in Titusville, resulting in the birth of the modern oil industry.-History:...

:, The original charter and other documents from Cornelius S. Chase Post 50, including its handwritten by-laws, are on display at the Cleo J. Ross Post 368 American Legion in Titusville.
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, the county seat of Luzerne County. It is at the center of the Wyoming Valley area and is one of the principal cities in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area, which had a population of 563,631 as of the 2010 Census...

: G. A. R. Memorial Junior Senior High School
G. A. R. Memorial Junior Senior High School
G.A.R. Memorial Junior/Senior High School is located on 250 South Grant Street, in Wilkes-Barre, located in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States....
Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...

: State Route 15
Vermont Route 15
Vermont Route 15 is an east–west state highway in northern Vermont, United States. Its western terminus is at U.S. Route 2 and U.S. Route 7 in Winooski and its eastern terminus is at US 2 in Danville. It runs for and is known as the Grand Army of the Republic Highway.Its numbering originates from...

is known as the Grand Army of the Republic Highway.
Rutland, Vermont Memorial Hall dedicated in 1899, served as the library until the 1930s
Seattle, Washington: Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery
Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery (Seattle)
The Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery on Seattle, Washington's Capitol Hill is a cemetery situated just north of Lake View Cemetery on the hill's northern slope, on E...

on Capitol Hill, just north of Lake View Cemetery
Lake View Cemetery (Seattle)
Lake View Cemetery is a cemetery located on Seattle, Washington, Capitol Hill just north of Volunteer Park. It is named for its view of Lake Washington to the east. It was founded in 1873 as the Seattle Masonic Cemetery.-Notable interments:...

. Established in 1895, it was turned over to the Parks Department in 1922.
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....

: Grand Army of the Republic Conference Room at the Wisconsin State Capitol
Wisconsin State Capitol
The Wisconsin State Capitol, in Madison, Wisconsin, houses both chambers of the Wisconsin legislature along with the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the Office of the Governor. Completed during 1917, the building is the fifth to serve as the Wisconsin capitol since the first territorial legislature...

.

In popular culture

John Steinbeck

John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. was an American writer. He is widely known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden and the novella Of Mice and Men...

'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.

Another Nobel Prize winning author, Sinclair Lewis

Sinclair Lewis

Harry Sinclair Lewis was an American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. In 1930, he became the first writer from the United States to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, "for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humor, new types of...

, refers to the GAR in his acclaimed novel Main Street
Main Street (novel)
- Plot summary :Carol Milford is a liberal, free-spirited young woman, reared in the metropolis of Saint Paul, Minnesota. She marries Will Kennicott, a doctor, who is a small-town boy at heart....

.

Charles Portis

Charles Portis

Charles McColl Portis is an American author best known for his novels Norwood and the 1968 classic Western novel True Grit , both adapted as films. The latter also inspired a film sequel and made-for-TV movie sequel...

's classic novel, True Grit

True Grit (novel)

True Grit is a 1968 novel by Charles Portis that was first published as a 1968 serial in The Saturday Evening Post. The novel is told from the perspective of a woman named Mattie Ross who recounts the time when she was 14 years old and sought retribution for the murder of her father by a scoundrel...

, makes reference to the GAR.

The GAR is briefly mentioned in William Faulkner

William Faulkner

William Cuthbert Faulkner was an American writer from Oxford, Mississippi. Faulkner worked in a variety of media; he wrote novels, short stories, a play, poetry, essays and screenplays during his career...

's novel, The Sound and the Fury
The Sound and the Fury
The Sound and the Fury is a novel written by the American author William Faulkner. It employs a number of narrative styles, including the technique known as stream of consciousness, pioneered by 20th century European novelists such as James Joyce and Virginia Woolf. Published in 1929, The Sound and...

.

The GAR is also mentioned in the seldom sung second verse of the patriotic song You're a Grand Old Flag
You're a Grand Old Flag
"You're a Grand Old Flag" is a patriotic song of the United States. The song, a spirited march written by George M. Cohan, is a tribute to the U.S. flag. In addition to obvious references to the flag, it incorporates snippets of other popular songs, including one of his own...

.

The GAR is referenced in John McCrae

John McCrae

Lieutenant Colonel John Alexander McCrae was a Canadian poet, physician, author, artist and soldier during World War I and a surgeon during the Second Battle of Ypres...

's poem He Is There! which was set to music in 1917 by Charles Ives

Charles Ives

Charles Edward Ives was an American modernist composer. He is one of the first American composers of international renown, though Ives' music was largely ignored during his life, and many of his works went unperformed for many years. Over time, Ives came to be regarded as an "American Original"...

as part of his cycle Three Songs of the War.

In Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...

, the Clone Wars are fought between the Grand Army of the Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, an apparent reference to the Civil War.

External links

GAR page at Library of Congress
SUVCW official website
ASUVCW official website
DUVCW official website
DUVCW Tent #102
DUVCW Tent #48
Grand Army Museum, Lynn, MA at Essesx National Heritage website
Theodore Penland grave site
The GAR medal looks similar to the Medal of Honor in photos or on gravestones, see comparison
Photographs of Members of the Stevens Post, Seattle, Washington
Grand Army of the Republic Museum and Library, Philadelphia, PA
The Grand Army of the Republic. Philip R. Schuyler Post, No. 51 records, including membership records, constitution and by-laws, correspondence and minutes of the Philip R. Schuyler Post No. 51, are available for research use at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Historical Society of Pennsylvania
The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a historical society founded in 1824 and based in Philadelphia. The Society's building, designed by Addison Hutton and listed on Philadelphia's Register of Historical Places, houses some 600,000 printed items and over 19 million manuscript and graphic items...

.
The History Tavern
Geocache on the Memorial Highway

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History

Memorials

In popular culture

See also

External links