The Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) was a fraternal organization for veterans of the Union Army that was formed in 1866. The soldiers formed this organization in order to maintain contact with and connect with their former comrades. The City of Bridgeport hosted its own Chapter of the G.A.R., the Elias Howe Chapter. The G.A.R. did not did not typically accept women who had participated in the war efforts into their ranks. As a result, the Women’s Relief Corps was founded in 1883 as an Auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Republic. The final encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic was held in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1949, and officially dissolved 1956 following the death of its last member. The Women’s Relief Corps is still in operation to this day, dedicated to collecting and preserving information about their predecessors and the GAR.
The collection focuses on the annual conventions of the Grand Army of the Republic and Women’s Relief Corps, on both a national and state level. Within these materials are rolls with member names, proceedings, conduct, and portraits of high-ranking officials within both groups. The Grand Army of the Republic hosted yearly national and statewide encampments for its members every year from 1866 to 1949, and journals recorded the opening proceedings. The Women’s Relief Corps. Rolls recorded the names of the attendees. Genealogy researchers may find these documents valuable sources of information when researching family members that were in attendance. The rule and ritual books in this collection give insight into how both groups were formed and conducted themselves. Programs that are featured in this collection often hold a description of the location that they were held at, and may give an insight into what a host city was like during the period, as well as how it developed overtime into present day.
