G.A.R.

Grand Army of the Republic

“We stood resolutely and unconquerably together for God, Man and Country, that this glorious Republic… Of man… By man… For man and his Maker should… under the Benediction of Divine Providence, remain one and inseparable forever… that it should never perish while man remained in the image of his maker… conceding the same rights and privileges to others that he asked for himself… doing onto others the same equal and exact justice that he asked for himself…. bearing each other’s burdens and sharing each other’s joys.” – Patrick Henry Coney, 1906

The Grand Army of the Republic in Kansas

Originally Chartered on December 7, 1866, the Department of Kansas, Grand Army of the Republic became the fifth “official” Department of the G.A.R. The Department of Kansas went through a re-organization after nearly faltering and was then re-chartered as a permanent Department on March 16, 1880, twenty second in rank.

Headquarters for the Department from 1866 until 1914 were located in the lower level of the State Capital building. In 1914, the Department Headquarters re-located to plush new offices occupying the majority of the 2nd floor of the newly built “Memorial Building” in Topeka. The G.A.R. and its Allied Orders (Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, Ladies of the G.A.R., Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, and the Womens Relief Corps) continued to occupy offices in the Memorial Building until the disbandment of the G.A. R. Department in the mid 1940’s after the last Kansas G.A.R. member died.

The offices previously occupied by the G.A.R. and its Allied Orders were then used by the Kansas State Historical Society, which had occupied the remainder of the building up until that time. Many of the artifacts and records of the Department of Kansas, Grand Army of the Republic can today be found in the collections of the Kansas State Historical Society in Topeka.

Numerous artifacts and records of the individual Posts of the Department of Kansas can be found in the collections of various Museums and Historical Societies around the State. As part of a statewide project, we are presently attempting to locate as many of these artifacts and records as possible and will be providing a listing on this website when obtain the information. Please check back often for updates on the information.

The above photo is of A.W. Dawes, Private, Company I, 7th Wisconsin Infantry
(Photo courtesy of the Mitchell County Historical Society & Museum)

Post 147 G.A.R. in the 1884 Memorial Day Parade – Beloit
, Kansas
(Photo courtesy of the Mitchell
County
Historical Society & Museum)

See a listing of the known Kansas Grand Army of the Republic Posts, originally compiled by the late Dean K. Speaks, PDC, with additional entries provided by Blair D. Tarr.