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Established in 1866, The Grand Army of the Republic
(G.A.R.) was a fraternal organization of Union veterans. After the Civil War many local communities organized
days of remembrance for the dead. In 1868, Union veterans adopted May 30 “for
the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of
comrades who died in defense of their country.” Many southern states recognized
Confederate Memorial Day on a different date, reflecting lingering sectional
bitterness.
Many veterans groups
sprang up in the South after the war. In
1889 a national organization called the United Confederate Veterans was
formed. The purpose of
the group was not to stir up old hatreds but to foster “social, literary,
historical, and benevolent” ends. The
United Confederate Veterans (U.C.V.) grew rapidly throughout the 1890s. Some 1,555 local organizations (called camps)
were represented at the 1898 reunion. In 1911 an estimated crowd of 106,000
members and guests attended one re-union.
Meetings continued until 1950 when only one member could attend.
The above photograph shows Union veterans marching at
the 36th National Encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic
(G.A.R.) in Washington, D.C. on October, 1902. The organization disbanded in
1956 with the death of the last Union veteran.
The last Union veteran, Willard Woolson died in 1956 at the age of 106. Woolson
was a drummer boy. The last Union combat
soldier, James Hard, died in 1953 at the age of 109. Claims and counter-claims
swirl around the age and status of the last veterans, both Union and
Confederate. The last verifiable Confederate veteran is thought to have been
Pleasant Riggs Crump (1847-1951), although several men subsequently claimed to
be the “oldest” Confederate soldier. Crump
was from Alabama and served at the Siege of Petersburg.
A brief look at love, sex, and marriage in the Civil War. The book
covers courtship, marriage, birth control and pregnancy, divorce, slavery and
the impact of the war on social customs.
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