GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC
A fraternal charitable and patriotic association limited to men who served in the Union army or navy during the Civil War and received honorable discharge.
Its founder was Dr. B . F. Stephenson, who served as surgeon of the Fourteenth Illinois Infantry. In this task he had the cooperation of Rev. William J. Rutledge, Chaplain of the same regiment.
Col John M. Snyder
Dr. James Hamilton
Maj. Robert M. Woods
Maj. Robert Allen
Col. Martin Flood
Col. Daniel Grass
Col. Edward Prince
Capt. John S. Phelps
Capt. John A. Lightfoot
Col. B. F. Smith
Maj. A. A. North
Capt. Henry E. Howe
Col. B. F. Hawkes
all Illinois veterans.
Numerous conferences were held at Springfield in this State a ritual was prepared and the first post was chartered at Decatur, Illinois on April 6 1866.
The Charter members were:
Col. I. C. Pugh
George R. Steele
J. W. Routh
Joseph Prior
J. H. Nale
J. T. Bishop
G. H. Dunning
B. F. Sibley
M. F. Kanan
C. Reibsame
I. M. Coltrin
Aquila Toland
All but one of these had served in Illinois regiments.
At first the work of organization proceeded slowly the ex-soldiers generally being somewhat doubtful of the result of the project but before July 12, 1866 the date fixed for the assembling of a State Convention to form the Department of Illinois thirty-nine posts had been chartered and by 1869 there were 330 reported in Illinois.
By October 1866 Departments had been formed in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa Wisconsin and Minnesota and posts established in Ohio Missouri Kentucky Arkansas Massachusetts New York Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia and the first National Encampment was held at Indianapolis November 20 of that year.
In 1894 there were 7,500 posts located in every State and Territory of the Union with a membership of 450,000. The scheme of organization provides for precinct, State and National bodies. The first are known as posts each having a number to which the name of some battle or locality or of some deceased soldier may be prefixed the second (State organizations are known as Departments and the supreme power of the Order is vested in the National Encampment which meets annually.
As has been said the G. A. R. had its inception in Illinois. The aim and dream of Dr. Stephenson and his associates was to create a grand organization of veterans which through its cohesion, no less than its incisiveness should constitute a potential factor in the inculcation and development of patriotism as well as mutual support. While he died sorrowing that he had not seen the fruition of his hopes, the present has witnessed the fullest realization of his dream.
The constitution of the order expressly prohibits any attempt to use the organization for partisan purposes or even the discussion at any meeting of partisan questions. Its aims are to foster and strengthen fraternal feelings among members to assist comrades, widows, and orphans, and and to inculcate unswerving loyalty. The "Women's Relief Corps" is an auxiliary organization originating at Portland Maine in 1869. The following is a list of Illinois Department Commanders, chronologically arranged.
B. F. Stephenson (Provisional, 1866)
John M. Palmer (1866-1868)
Thomas O. Osborne (1869-1870)
Charles E. Lippincott (1871)
Hubert Dilger (1872)
Guy T. Gould (1873)
Hiram Hilliard (1874-1876)
Joseph S. Reynolds (1877)
T. B. Coulter (1878)
Edgar D. Swain (1879-1880)
J. W. Burst (1881)
Thomas G. Lawler (1882)
S. A. Harper (1883)
L. T. Dickason (1884)
William W. Berry (1885)
Philip Sidney Post (1886)
A. C. Sweetser (1887)
James A. Sexton (1888)
James S. Martin (1889)
William L. Distin (1890)
Horace S. Clark (1891)
Edwin Harlan (1892)
Edward A. Blodgett (1893)
H. H. McDowell 91894)
W. H. Powell (1895)
William G. Cochran (1896)
A. L. Schimpff (1897)
John C. Black (1898)
John B. Inman (1899)
The following Illinoisans have held the position of Commander in Chief.
S. A. Hurlbut (two terms 1866-1867)
John A. Logan (three terms 1868-1870)
Thomas G. Lawler (1894)
James A Sexton (1898)