The Grand Army of the Republic, known as the GAR, was a social - service organization composed of Union Civil War veterans. The local groups were known as Posts. A number of Posts were grouped into Departments.

The GAR founded soldier's homes and encouraged legislation that gave pensions to eligible veterans.

The GAR claims the founding of Memorial Day. In 1868, John A. Logan, the Commander-in-Chief, issued an order that called for all Posts and Departments to remember the sacrifices of those who gave their lives in the war. May 30th was selected, and the event was called Decoration Day.

The federal government adopted the day and the name as a formal holiday, and it was celebrated nation-wide, except for a few southern states that were members of the Confederacy. The name was eventually changed to Memorial Day, and the veterans of all wars were honored. In 1971, the date was changed to the last Monday in May.

In 1890, over 490,000 men were members of the GAR. In 1949, six surviving members permanently closed the organization. There are auxiliary societies, such as the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War and the Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic.

Information on Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War can be found on their website, http://suvcw.org/home.htm

Information on Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic can be found on their website, http://www.rootsweb.com/~nlgar/home.html
When the Civil War veterans applied for membership in the GAR, they filled out an application. The application contains information on their service and where they were living at the time. When the Posts ceased to exist, the records were turned over to the state Departments. Many of those were later turned over to state historical societies and museums. Some have been published or microfilmed and are listed in the Family History Library Catalog. (Find this at Family History Centers or online at http://www.familysearch.org.)

In Oregon, a man by the name of Spencer Leonard went through all of the Oregon Post records and made up a file card for each member. Leonard gathered additional information from the 1890 Civil War Veteran's census lists, the Adjutant General's burial lists, and newspaper articles. The file cards are housed in the "Rare Book Room" at the Genealogical Forum of Oregon's library in Portland. Anyone who had a Civil War veteran who served from any state and who may have lived in Oregon for even a short time would be well advised to check out this resource.

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© 2002–2009

Connie Lenzen, CG

CG, Certified Genealogist is a service mark of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, used under license by Board-certified genealogists after periodic evaluation, and the board name is registered in the US Patent & Trademark Office.

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