CIVIL WAR GAR REPRESENTATIVE BADGE 1912 1920 LOT

Lot of two Civil War National Officers badges of the GAR Grand Army of the Republic for the years 1) 1912 NATIONAL ENCAMPMENT LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA. Grand Army of the Republic badge is the official National Encampment badge for the annual meeting held in 1912, Los Angeles, California. The badge is made of four parts attached by metal loops: a bald eagle gripping a sword and scrolls, a representative GAR badge with the letters ‘GAR’ in red, white and blue, a badge featuring the imagery of California behind a large bear, and a medal denoting this as the ‘Forty-sixth National Encampment 1912’. Attached to the verso is a yellow ribbon. Overall 6 in. in length. The GAR would hold these National Encampments every year in a different big city for veterans to attend with their families. 2) 1920 NATIONAL ENCAMPMENT BADGE INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA. Badge is surmounted by a large spread-winged eagle over crossed cannons and artillery shells. Reverse has the original pin. Suspended from this top piece is a gold silk ribbon approx. 6.00 inches long. The top bar has several drops. The first is of brass and consists of a laurel wreath pierced through the center by a riband with “REPRESENTATIVE” on it. Above the riband is a small GAR membership badge while below the riband is a red, white and blue “GAR” supported by another riband that reads “WHEN WILL THEIR GLORY FADE.” The second drop is of white metal and shows a Civil War monument with a scroll at bottom that reads “INDIANAPOLIS.” The final drop is a bronze circular disc with a bust of President Benjamin Harrison. During the Civil War Harrison served as a Captain in the 70th Indiana finishing the war as a Brigadier General. Reverse of the drop reads “54TH NATIONAL ENCAMPMENT GAR SEPT. 19-25 1920 INDIANAPOLIS, IND.” Both badges are in excellent condition. The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, Illinois, and grew to include hundreds of "posts" (local community units) across the nation (predominantly in the North, but also a few in the South and West). It was dissolved in 1956 at the death of its last member, Albert Woolson (1850–1956) of Duluth, Minnesota. Linking men through their experience of the war, the G.A.R. became among the first organized advocacy groups in American politics, supporting voting rights for black veterans, promoting patriotic education, helping to make Memorial Day a national holiday, lobbying the United States Congress to establish regular veterans' pensions, and supporting Republican political candidates. Its peak membership, at 410,000, was in 1890, a high point of various Civil War commemorative and monument dedication ceremonies. It was succeeded by the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW), composed of male descendants of Union Army and Union Navy veterans.