List of Grand Army of the Republic commanders-in-chief
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The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marines and U.S. Revenue Cutter Service who served in the American Civil War. Founded on April 6, 1866 in Springfield, Illinois on the principles of "Fraternity, Charity and Loyalty" by Benjamin F. Stephenson, 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 group in American politics, supporting voting rights for black veterans, lobbying the US Congress to establish veterans' pensions, and supporting Republican political candidates. Its peak membership, at more than 400,000, was in 1890. It was succeeded by the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW), composed of male descendants of Union veterans.
The GAR initially grew and prospered as a de facto political arm of the Republican Party during the heated political contests of the Reconstruction era. The commemoration of Union veterans, black and white, immediately became entwined with partisan politics. 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. 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.[1]
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.[1]
Commanders-in-Chief were elected by the membership at the National Encampments for one year terms. Several Commanders-in-Chief were re-elected for additional terms.
Issued General Order No. 11 on May 5, 1868 designating Decoration Day as May 30. It ultimately became a national holiday and today is known as Memorial Day, the final Monday in the month of May.
The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army, Union Navy, and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, Illinois, and grew to include hundreds of "posts" across the North and West. It was dissolved in 1956 at the death of its last member, Albert Woolson.
Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) is an American congressionally chartered fraternal organization that carries out activities to preserve the history and legacy of the United States Armed Forces veterans who fought during the Civil War. It is the legal successor to the Grand Army of the Republic, the large and influential grouping of Union Army veterans that existed in the decades following the Civil War. Most SUVCW activities occur at the "Camp" or local community level. Camps are grouped into state or regional structures called "Departments". The National organization, with headquarters at the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, meets annually in a National Encampment that is attended by SUVCW members, known as "Brothers", from all Camps and Departments.
The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or, simply, the Loyal Legion, is a United States military order organized on April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Union Army. The original membership was composed of commissioned officers of the Regular or Volunteer Army, U.S. Navy, or U.S. Marine Corps who served during the American Civil War, or who had served and thereafter been commissioned and who thereby "had aided in maintaining the honor, integrity, and supremacy of the national movement" during the Civil War.
The Grand Army of the Republic Hall in Litchfield, Minnesota is one of many original and authentic Grand Army of the Republic halls remaining in the United States. Built in 1885 for the Frank Daggett GAR Post No. 35, it is one of four remaining GAR halls in Minnesota. On May 21, 1975, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts played a significant role in national events prior to and during the American Civil War (1861–1865). Massachusetts dominated the early antislavery movement during the 1830s, motivating activists across the nation. This, in turn, increased sectionalism in the North and South, one of the factors that led to the war. Politicians from Massachusetts, echoing the views of social activists, further increased national tensions. The state was dominated by the Republican Party and was also home to many Radical Republican leaders who promoted harsh treatment of slave owners and, later, the former civilian leaders of the Confederate States of America and the military officers in the Confederate States Army.
Washington Gardner was a lawyer, minister, politician and Civil War veteran from the U.S. state of Michigan.
Albert Duane Shaw was an American government official and politician from New York. A Union Army veteran of the American Civil War, he was most notable for his service as Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic and a U.S. Representative from New York's 24th congressional district.
The Dependent and Disability Pension Act was passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by President Benjamin Harrison on June 27, 1890. The act provided pensions for all veterans who had served at least ninety days in the Union military or naval forces, were honorably discharged from service and were unable to perform manual labor, regardless of their financial situation or when the disability occurred. The bill was a source of contentious debate and only passed after Grover Cleveland had vetoed a previous version in 1887.
James R. Tanner was an American soldier and civil servant. He is best known for having lost both his legs below the knee at the Second Battle of Bull Run. Serving during the rest of the war as a government stenographer, he was present at the death of Abraham Lincoln and took notes that are the most comprehensive record of the events of the President's assassination. He later served as the United States Commissioner of Pensions, and helped reorganize and incorporate the American Red Cross.
The Woman's Relief Corps (WRC) is a charitable organization in the United States, originally founded as the official women's auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) in 1883. The organization was designed to assist the GAR and provide post-war relief to Union veterans. The GAR had been created as a "fraternal" organization and refused to allow women to join up until the creation of this auxiliary. It is largely dedicated to historical preservation of research and official documentation related to the WRC and GAR.
The Stephenson Grand Army of the Republic Memorial, also known as Dr. Benjamin F. Stephenson, is a public artwork in Washington, D.C. honoring Dr. Benjamin F. Stephenson, founder of the Grand Army of the Republic, a fraternal organization for Union veterans. The memorial is sited at Indiana Plaza, located at the intersection of 7th Street, Indiana Avenue, and Pennsylvania Avenue NW in the Penn Quarter neighborhood. The bronze figures were sculpted by J. Massey Rhind, a prominent 20th-century artist. Attendees at the 1909 dedication ceremony included President William Howard Taft, Senator William Warner, and hundreds of Union veterans.
Louis Wagner was a German-born American military infantry officer who served in the Union Army and as the 9th Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, 1880-1881.
George Sargent Merrill was an American soldier who served in the Union Army and as the 10th Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, 1881-1882.
Paul Vandervoort was an American soldier of Belgian descent who served in the Union Army and as the 11th Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, 1882-1883.
Robert Burns Beath was an American soldier who served in the Union Army during the American Civil War and as the 12th Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, 1883–1884.
Thomas G. Lawler was a British-born American soldier who served in the Union Army during the American Civil War and as the 23rd Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic from 1894 to 1895.
Wilmon Whilldin Blackmar was a United States military officer who fought with the Union Army as a member of the 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry and the 1st West Virginia Cavalry during the American Civil War. He received his country's highest award for bravery during combat, the U.S. Medal of Honor, for his "extraordinary heroism" for taking the initiative, during a critical stage of the Battle of Five Forks on April 1, 1865, to lead a successful advance upon the enemy while fighting with the 1st West Virginia Cavalry. His award was conferred on October 23, 1897.
Brevet Major Augustus Plummer Davis was a Union Army officer during the American Civil War. He is best known as the founder of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War.
The National Association of Army Nurses of the Civil War or National Army Nurses was an organization of former nurses who served in the American Civil War. It was primarily a social organization, but it also advocated for, and helped to secure, recognition and benefits for nurses who had served in the war.
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