HISTORY OF THE
SONS OF UNION VETERANS OF THE CIVIL WAR
OUR PARENT
ORGANIZATION:
THE GRAND ARMY OF THE
REPUBLIC
The idea of forming the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.)
was conceived by Major Benjamin Franklin Stephenson, a Surgeon with the 14th
Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He and former comrades in arms
formed the first Post of the G.A.R., chartered in Decatur, Illinois on
April 6, 1866. The fraternal organization, dedicated to the well being of
Union Civil War Veterans, (and the families of those who did not survive
the war) grew rapidly and spread throughout the country. Its influence
would impact both public and political culture. Our nation’s "Memorial
Day" tradition of honoring deceased veterans by decorating their
graves was initiated by the G.A.R. on May 30, 1868.
By 1890, G.A.R. membership exceeded 408,000 Comrades.
Local Posts were eventually formed in 46 Departments, (state level
organizations). From this peak, each successive year began to take its
toll on G.A.R. membership. As the organization only admitted those who had
been Union soldiers and sailors of 1861-1865, it was destined for
extinction with the death of its last member. Recognizing its fate, the
G.A.R. officially designated the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War
as its successor and legal heir. The last National Encampment of the G.A.R.
took place at Indianapolis, Indiana in 1949, with six surviving members
attending.
The order ceased to exist with the passing of its last
member, Albert Henry Woolson, who died on August 2, 1956 at the age of
109, in Duluth, Minnesota. A veteran of the 1st Minnesota Heavy
Artillery Regiment, Comrade Woolson was the "sole officially listed
survivor" of more than 2,675,000 men who answered President Abraham
Lincoln’s call to help save the Union.
THE LEGACY IS
PASSED ON:
THE SONS OF UNION
VETERANS OF THE CIVIL WAR
The organization that is known today as the "Sons
of Union Veterans of the Civil War" is the result of several
like-minded organizations combining to honor Union Soldiers and Sailors of
the American Civil War, (1861-1865). In 1878, the Anna M. Ross Post No. 94
of the Grand Army of the Republic, (located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
formed a "Grand Army of the Republic Cadet Corps", consisting of
sons of Union Soldiers, Sailors and Marines. It became known as the
Philadelphia or Eastern Pennsylvania Sons of Veterans. About the same
time, Edwin M. Earp, of Lynn, Massachusetts, formed another Sons of
Veterans group that became popular in New England. In 1881, the Sons of
Veterans of the United States of America was organized by Major A. P.
Davis, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The organization’s first Annual
Encampment took place in 1882. Through consolidation with the Eastern
Pennsylvania group, and its own growth, this particular order grew to be
recognized by the Grand Army of the Republic as the sole organization of
"Sons of Union Veterans".
At its 42nd Annual Encampment, the
organization voted to officially change its name to "Sons of Union
Veterans of the Civil War", to better identify its heritage. As time
and nature took its toll on the ranks of the Grand Army of the Republic,
the Union veterans came to recognize and then designate the Sons of Union
Veterans of the Civil War as legal heir to, and representative of, the
Grand Army of the Republic. In 1954, the Sons of Union Veterans of the
Civil War was granted a Congressional Charter by passage of Public Law
605, during the 83rd Congress.
