More than 2.5 million Americans would fight on the Union’s side to end the southern states ... In 1866, the Grand Army of the Republic was organized to fill that need. Admission was limited ...

The Grand Army of the Republic was first organized by Union veterans of the Civil War in 1866 in Illinois. The history published on the website of the Meeker County Museum and GAR Hall states that ...

Breckinridge carved off pro-slavery allies into a “Southern Democrats Party ... In Santa Cruz, a special G.A.R. (Grand Army of the Republic) section of Evergreen Cemetery was dedicated ...