The latter half of the 18th century saw a heyday for fraternal organizations in the United States. These associations provided their largely male memberships with opportunities to share common cultural, occupational, and religious backgrounds while often hosting social and recreational events for members and their families.
One of the most prominent and powerful of these organizations was known as the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR). Membership in the GAR was open to all honorably discharged personnel, both officers or enlisted, from the Union Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Revenue Cutter Service (forerunner of the Coast Guard) who served during the Civil War.
The GAR was founded in 1866 by Dr. Benjamin Stephenson who served as a surgeon with the 14th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment. After the war he established a medical practice in Springfield, Illinois. Working with several veteran colleagues, he helped organize the first GAR post in nearby Decatur.
The GAR Memorial
One of the GAR’s principal activities was building and dedicating monuments to the sacrifices of Union forces and to the work of the GAR itself. As Union veterans aged, the GAR stepped up their efforts to build such memorials. In Washington DC, a GAR monument is located in Indiana Plaza in Washington’s Penn Quarter neighborhood. Several historic buildings frame the plaza and the Archives-Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter Metro Station brings consistent foot traffic to this busy area.
The GAR Memorial, also known as the Benjamin Stephenson Memorial, is triangularly shaped to reflect the GAR’s motto of Fraternity, Charity and Loyalty. Each side of the 25-foot high sand colored granite block has a bronze sculpture, featuring a weathered green patina.
The southern facing side reflects Fraternity with a sculpture of a Union soldier and sailor standing side by side. Below the sculpture is an oval image of Dr. Stephenson in his Army uniform, also rendered in bronze, surrounded by a laurel wreath carved into the granite.
A statue of a woman with a sword and a shield represents Loyalty on the Grand Army of the Republic Memorial.
Charity is portrayed on the northwest side by a woman wearing a robe and protecting a young child. Unfortunately, a thick coat of urban grime makes viewing this statue more difficult. Finally, Loyalty is represented on the northeast side by a statue of a woman bearing a sword and holding a shield.
The monument was dedicated on July 2, 1909 in a ceremony attended by President William Howard Taft and hundreds of aging Civil War veterans. The GAR Members in the crowd that day may not have realized it, but they were part of one of America’s earliest and most powerful single-issue advocacy societies.
The Legacy of the GAR
When Dr. Stephens founded the GAR, the original focus was to raise money and organize relief efforts for wounded veterans, as well as surviving widows and children. But in short order the GAR would move to lobbying State and Federal officials for expanded pensions for Union veterans, hiring preferences for government jobs, and the building of veterans homes and hospitals. Membership soared, reaching its peak in 1890, when the GAR boasted more than 400,000 members.
A woman and small child represent Charity on the Grand Army of the Republic Memorial.
The GAR grew politically prominent and was especially influential within the Republican Party. In the second half of the 19th century, five Republican GAR members were elected to the presidency. Many more GAR members were elected to Congress, governorships and state legislatures.
One reason the GAR was so politically effective was its formal structure of organized components across the country. State level units were known as departments and local bodies were known as posts. Every state had a department and posts were found in communities nationwide. GAR posts were also found in US territories and international locations.
The national headquarters, state departments and local posts operated under a common set of by-laws and had an established chain-of-command. Each year from 1868 through 1949, the GAR organized national reunions known as encampments. These encampments were so well attended they grew larger than the political conventions of the day. Encampments were moved from state to state and localities welcomed the gatherings for the positive economic impact they provided.
The bronze relief of Dr. Benjamin Stephenson, founder of the Grand Army of the Republic.
Locally, posts raised money, built memorials, organized commemorations and ceremonially buried deceased veterans. They also assumed important civic functions not always tied to veterans, directing fundraising to local causes, organizing the broader community to address local issues, and sponsoring recreational events open to all. The GAR’s organizational model and many of its practices were later adopted by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (founded in 1899) and the American Legion (founded in 1919) and are still in use today.
At at time when membership in fraternal organizations was often limited by race, GAR membership was open to all veterans, including the African Americans who fought as U.S. Colored Troops or had enlisted in the other services.
Membership in the GAR was exclusive to veterans and therefore only open to men. However, there were at least three female members: Kady Bromwell, who served along with her husband in two different Rhode Island Infantry Regiments; Sarah Edmond, who disguised herself as a man and fought with the 2nd Michigan Infantry Regiment; and Dr. Mary Edward Walker who served as a Union Army surgeon.
The GAR formally disbanded in 1956 upon the death of its last member, Albert Woolson. Woolson, whose father had died of his combat wounds, enlisted in the 1st Minnesota Heavy Artillery Company as a drummer boy in 1864. He was about 14 years old the time. After his death, Life magazine ran a seven page story about his life.
While the GAR has been gone for over seventy years, its legacy remains. Many patriotic acts we practice today, such as placing flags on veterans graves, observing Memorial Day each May, standing for the National Anthem and saluting the flag all originated with the GAR.
While the GAR may only be seen today through its monuments, its boot steps still echo through our stadiums, cemeteries, Legion posts and veterans homes.
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Route Recon
The memorial is located at Indiana Plaza in the Penn Quarter neighborhood. The small public plaza, located across the street from the Archives-Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter Metro station, is bounded by 7th Street to the west, Indiana Avenue to the north, and Pennsylvania Avenue to the south.
Travel Objective DC 