A Fraternal History of Marin County California - Grand Army of the Republic (GAR)

Grand Army of the Republic (GAR)

The Gen. McDowell Post No. 90 of the Grand Army of the Republic was formally inaugurated in San Rafael on the 16th of November, 1885 by Commander R.H. Warfield, Past Commander, Inspector Cutting, Assistant Adjutant-General Taylor and Colonel Taylor. The following offices were elected: J.B. Lauck, Post Commander; C.N. Miller, S.V.C.; Henry Harrison, J.V.C.; Harry Deane, Officer of the Day; George Kahler, Chaplain; D. Farrell, Officer of the Guard; Thomas Curry, Quartermaster; H. Balink, Adjutant. Captains H.A. Goreley and J. B. Lauck were most instrumental in organizing this post of the G.A.R. (Marin County Toscin, Jan., 1886.)

Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) - Background, History, Ritual and Emblems

The Grand Army of the Republic was established on April 6, 1866 at Decatur, Ill. Its founder was Dr. Benjamin Franklin Stephenson, who had been surgeon of the Fourteenth Illinois Infantry (elected May 25, 1861 and commissioned April 7, 1862 at Pittsburg Landing, mustered out June 24, 1864). Cyclopedia of Fraternities, Albert Stevens (1896) at 366. His idea of creating a fraternity for Civil War veterans was shared with his tent mate, Rev. William J. Rutledge during Sherman's expedition to Meridian in February, 1864. Id. Stephenson related his idea to Rutledge that,

the soldiers so closely allied in the fellowship of suffering would, when mustered out of the service, naturally desire some form of association that would preserve the friendship and the memories of their common trials and dangers.

Id. After developing this idea (including a ritual) through correspondence after both being mustered out, a conference was called in March 1866 at Springfield, IL., that included the following veterans who organized the new Civil War veterans fraternity: Dr. Stephenson, Colonel John M. Snyder, Dr. James Hamilton, Major Robert M. Woods, Major Robert Allen, Chaplain William J. Rutledge, Colonel Martin Flood, Colonel Daniel Grass, Colonel Edward Prince, Captain John S. Phelps, Captain John A. Lightfoot, Captain (since Colonel) B.F. Smith, Brevet Major A.A. North, Captain Henry E. Howe, and Lieutenant (since Colonel) B.F. Hawkes, "which finally resulted in the Grand Army of the Republic." Id. Following this conference, Captain John S. Phelps traveled to St. Louis and obtained a copy of the ritual of the Soldiers' and Sailors' League, a portion of which was thereafter utilized by the G.A.R. Id.

Stevenson died at the age of 49 on August 30, 1871 at a low ebb in the young society's history, not living to see his creation weather the financial panic of 1873 to the business revival in 1879 after which the order grew to encompass about one-half of the surviving Union soldiers and sailors of the War of the Rebellion. Id. at 369. The expansion of the G.A.R. west of Ohio owed much to the formation of service men's partisan political clubs (Boys in Blue); the clubs were a ready made nursery for new G.A.R. posts since many members of the Boys in Blue were qualified for membership in the G.A.R. owing to their Union service in the Civil War. The political clout of the organization was apparent: Five Presidents were elected that were G.A.R. members, and during the Reconstruction Era, most of the Governors in the northern states were members. Further, for a time, over one fifth of the national budget went toward veteran pensions. On the down side, the public began to associate the G.A.R. with partisan politics until in 1869 regulations were instituted by the G.A.R. prohibiting all involvement in or discussion of partisan politics at G.A.R. meetings.

One non-partisan activity of the G.A.R. is still with us today. The first Memorial Day was instituted under the administration of the G.A.R.'s Commander-in-Chief John A. Logan whose General Order No. 11 issued from headquarters at Washington, D.C., May 5, 1868 designated May 30th as Memorial Day for the purpose of decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the Civil War. In the order was expressed the hope that the observance would be continued from year to year, "while a survivor of the war remains to honor the memory of his departed Comrades." Since then Memorial Day has been adopted as a legal holiday. Id. at 367.

The Grand Army of the Republic reached California and the Department of California and Nevada was Organized February 21, 1868. Eventually there were 187 posts in California in major cities and even small towns as Bodie, pointing to the fact that a substantial number of Union Civil War veterans eventually settled throughout California.

Prior to the founding of the Grand Army of the Republic, its acknowledged founder, Benjamin Franklin Stephenson, was an Odd Fellow: to his family's knowledge the Odd Fellows was the only other "secret society" to which he belonged. Cyclopedia of Fraternities, Albert Stevens (1896) at 366. "While the founder of the Grand Army was, as stated, a member of no other secret society except the Odd Fellows, the earlier Grand Army ritual, produced by the joint labors and suggestions of more than a dozen gentlemen, presents evidence of the Masonic affiliations of some of them. Id. at 366-367.

The ritual of the Grand Order of the Republic went through several revisions. Salient points in the ritual of the G.A.R. were the initial capture of the candidate found to be lacking the proper pass by the camp's pickets, interrogation to ascertain whether he was a friend or spy and qualifications, an encounter with a firing squad near a grave complete with open coffin, spade, shovel, and usual implements used for military executions that is prepared to execute a perjured traitor for treason, the obligation, charge, and explanation of secrets (salutation, sign of recognition, grip, and general password). Ritual of the Grand Army of the Republic, adopted Jan. 17, 1868. In 1869, at the Cincinnati National Encampment, the degrees of Recruit, Soldier, and Veteran were proposed, which provided for a reorganization of the G.A.R. While they were designed to draw new members and hold existing members, the degrees proved so unpopular they were discontinued and the former ritual restored after a two year trial. Cyclopedia of Fraternities, at 368. "Radical changes" in the ritual went into effect in 1871 that placed the G.A.R. on "a better working basis." Id. at 369. In May 1879, at the Washington National Encampment, a committee was established to prepare an installation and burial service. Also created were committees to consider the advisability of auxiliary organizations for spouses and children.

Membership in the Grand Army of the Republic was limited to honorably discharged veterans of the Union Army, Navy, Marine Corps or the Revenue Cutter Service who had served between April 12, 1861 and April 9, 1865. Each member was voted into membership using the "Masonic system" of casting black or white balls (except that more than one black ball was required to reject a candidate for membership). A rejected candidate was reported to the G.A.R. Department (state body) which in turn issued a General Order to record that person's name in each Post's "Black Book."

The requirement that each member had served in the Civil War dictated the ultimate extinction of the fraternity. The final Encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic was held in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1949. At that Encampment, it was decided that the installed officers would remain in office for the remaining life of the organization. The last member of the Grand Army of the Republic, Albert Woolson, died in 1956 at the age of 109 years.

Despite the veteran's branch of the fraternity having become extinct with the passage of Albert Woolson, the G.A.R. had provided for a successor in interest: The meeting rituals and induction of members have been handed down to the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War.

Was your town home to a Post of the Grand Army of the Republic?