Colgrove-Woodruff Camp No. 22
Battle Creek, Michigan

THE GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC
      The cradle of the "Grand Army of the Republic" was a soldier's tent. On the march to Meridian was born the idea that was to crystallize and develop, and finally produce that brotherhood of soldiers known as the G.A.R.
      During Sherman's expedition to Meridian, in February, 1864, Maj. B. F. Stephenson and Chaplain W. J. Rutledge became tentmates and close friends. As they spoke in glad anticipation of the time when they might exchange the hardships and trials of the field for the shelter and comfort of their homes, t Chaplain Rutledge suggested that when the troops were finally mustered out of the service, it would be but natural to suppose that men who had shared so much suffering, privation, and danger would wish to form some sort of association, that they might meet again to preserve the friendships and memories of the past. This topic became the subject of frequent conversation and they agreed to assist one another in the development of such a project, if they were spared.
      This mutual agreement was not forgotten, especially by Dr. Stephenson, when he returned home after the close of his army service. The more he thought of an organization of perpetual comradeship, the more he was enthused with the idea. He could not forget the many deeds of valor daily performed by his comrades, or the many bloody battlefields won by their prowess. When his thoughts returned to the scenes of that trying time, he could again hear the roar of his comrades' deadly artillery, the terrible crash and racket of their muskets, and the ringing and clanging of their sabres, when they crossed with those of the enemy. He could again see the many battlefields covered with the dead and wounded, and the ground made red with their hearts' blood. He could again hear the vain cry for "water" to sustain the fast ebbing life stream, and the sacred messages whispered in his ear by sufferers racked with pain and far away from home and loved ones, as he bent over them in performance of the duties required by his profession. His duty, as a physician, often called him to the bedside of comrades, who had returned home from the service crippled and maimed for life, and these interviews constantly reminded him of "the groan of the gray-haired sire on learning the sad news; the indescribable look of despair of the widow, on learning that her last prop was taken from her; the shriek of the newly-made bride; the suppressed anguish of the betrothed maiden; and the piteous wail of the bereaved mother, as, with quivering lips, she imparted the sad news to the little ones, who henceforth would be fatherless, and, perhaps, homeless."
      Considerable correspondence on the subject of the organization of the Order, which is now known as the "Grand Army of the Republic," passed between Dr. Stephenson and Mr. Rutledge, until they met, by appointment, in Springfield, Ill., in March, 1866, to arrange for the compilation of a ritual for the proposed Order. The first Post was organized at Decatur, Ill., April 6, 1866, by Maj. B. F. Stephenson, and a ritual was printed under his supervision. The first State Convention was held in Springfield, Ill., July 12, 1866.
      As Commander-in-Chief, Dr. Stephenson issued a general order, dated October 31, 1866, calling the first National Convention of the "Grand Army of the Republic." The convention met in Indianapolis, Ind., November 20, 1866, and representatives were present from Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Wisconsin, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Iowa, Kentucky, Indiana, and the District of Columbia.

OBJECTS OF THE ORDER
      The objects of the G.A.R., as originally set forth in their Constitution, are: First, the preservation of those kind and fraternal feelings, which have bound together, with the strong cords of love and affection, the comrades in arms of many battles, sieges, and marches; second, to make these ties available in works and results of kindness, of favor and material aid to those in need of assistance; third, to make provision, where it is not already done, for the support, care, and education of soldiers' orphans, and for the maintenance of the widows of deceased soldiers; fourt, for the protection and assistance of disabled soldiers, whether disabled by wounds, sickness, old age, or misfortune; fifth, for the establishment and defense of the late soldiery of the United States, morally, socially, and politically, with a view to inculcate a proper appreciation of their services to the country, and to a recognition of such services and claims by the American people."
      The Indianapolis Convention, held November 20, 1866, added the word "sailors" to the Springfield Constitution, and also a new section, taken from the Constitution of the "Loyal Legion," which reads as follows: "The maintenance of true allegiance to the United States of America, based upon paramount respect for and fidelity to the National Constitution and Laws, manifested by the discountenancing of whatever may tend to weaken loyalty, invite to insurrection, treason, or rebellion, or in any manner impairs the efficiency and permanency of our free institutions, together with a defense of universal liberty, equal rights, and justice to all men."

ELIGIBILITY TO MEMBERSHIP
      According to the Rules and Regulations of the Grand Army of the Republic, A.D. 1893, all "Soldiers and Sailors of the United States Army, Navy, or Marine Corps, who served between April 12, 1861, and April 9, 1865, in the war for the suppression of the Rebellion, and those having been honorably discharged therefrom after such service, and of such State regiments as were called into active service and subject to the orders of the U.S. General officers, between the dates mentioned, shall be eligible to membership in the Grand Army of the Republic. No person shall be eligible to membership who has at any time borne arms against the United States."

POLITICAL TENDENCIES
      Many prominent citizens, not bound by kindred ties to the Grand Army of the Republic, are of the opinion that it is T little more than a political organization, and, therefore, take no interest in it. There are, also, a great many soldiers throughout the country who would be enrolled as members were it not that they, too, are of the same opinion. This is a great injustice to the Order, as the following bit of history will show that the Post-room is a place " where the partisan and sectarian are not heard."
      During the political campaign of 1866, the disputes between President Johnson and the majority in Congress were the means of greatly hindering the growth of the G.A.R.; for, notwithstanding the fact that a great many soldiers who entered the war as Democrats returned with different political opinions, and that the great mass of the soldier vote in 1866 was Republican, it was by no means a unit, for many thousands of gallant soldiers, who were Democrats when they enlisted in the service, returned as such ; and during this political campaign hundreds of political clubs were organized among the Veterans, some advocating the principles of the Republican, and others, the Democratic party. Naturally, when a question of a political nature found its way into a Post-room, any argument in its favor was sure to be hotly rebutted by some representative of the opposite party.
      This condition of affairs soon caused a discord in the Post-room, and comrades by the hundred withdrew from the Order, especially those with Democratic views; as a result, the public soon began to look upon the G.A.R. as a political organization, and the tendency of the whole Democratic party was to work against any move that would tend to strengthen the ranks of the Order.
      The leaders of the G.A.R. soon saw that even the discussion of political questions in the Order was greatly detrimental to its best interests. They realized that as the Rebellion was put down by "individual efforts united," on this principle alone could they secure legislation in behalf of the soldiers' orphans, widows, and dependent parents; or, for the maintenance of homes for disabled Veterans, and for the more successful carrying out of the principles and objects for which they were organized. They were not long, therefore, in taking steps to repair the breach which the political tendencies of the Order had made in its ranks, and in January, 1868, at the National Encampment, held in Philadelphia, Pa., while declaring that it was the purpose of the Grand Army "to secure the rights of the defenders of their country by all moral, social, and political means in their control," the following clause was added to the fifth section of their Declaration of Principles, "yet this Association does not design to make nominations for office, or to use its influence as a secret organization for partisan purposes."
      In the next year, 1869, the following article was added to the Rules and Regulations of the Order: "No officer or comrade of the Grand Army of the Republic' shall, in any manner, use this organization for partisan purposes, and no discussion of partisan questions shall be permitted at any of its meetings; nor shall any nominations for political office be made." Under this law, which has never been changed, the "Grand Army of the Republic "grew very rapidly.

THE GRADE SYSTEM OF MEMBERSHIP
      Another great drawback to its growth was the adoption of "The Grade System," which, according to Past Commander Robert B. Beath's "History of the Grand Army of the Republic," provided for three distinct grades of membership: 1. The grade of "Recruit;" 2. The grade of "Soldier;" 3. The grade of "Veteran." The "Recruits" could only be advanced to the grade of "Soldier" after two months' service, and were not eligible to office, or privileged to act, speak, or vote. All business was transacted by the second grade, or "Soldiers," except that pertaining to advancement to the third grade. The "Soldier" could not be advanced to the third grade until he had been a member of the second grade at least six months. "The third grade, or Veterans,' only were eligible to National or Department offices, or to membership in National or Department Encampments, or to offices filled by appointment of Commander-in-Chief or Department Commanders; and to the offices of Post-Commander, Vice-Commanders, Adjutant, Quartermaster, Surgeon, Chaplain, Officer of the Day, or Officer of the Guard."
      Many members strongly objected to such complicated manoeuvres as was required in passing from one grade to another in the "Grand Army," and "Recruits," full of enthusiasm when they joined, were disgusted at having to wait two months before having a vote." After a two years' trial, this Grade System' of membership was entirely abolished." Since that time the Order has flourished and grown until, to-day, it is a powerful influence for good, and no one can deny that it has done much to remove from the nation "the shame of permitting men, who saved its life, to live, die, and be buried as paupers in the land they helped to save."
      I cannot better express my opinion of the G. A. R. than to quote the words of Past Commander-in-Chief William Warner, in his report of the administration of his office, to the twenty-third annual session of the National Encampment of the G.A.R., held in Milwaukee, Wis., August 28, 1889:
      "The Grand Army of the Republic is the grandest civic organization the world has ever seen — its list of membership is the Nation's roll of honor, containing the most illustrious names in history, the names of the brave men who, in the darkest days of the rebellion, followed the Stars and Stripes as the emblem, not of a confederacy of States bound together by ropes of sand, but as the emblem of an indissoluble Union of indestructible States.
      "They followed that flag, whether in sunshine or in storm, victory or defeat, with more confidence and greater reverence than did the children of Israel the pillar of cloud liy day and of fire by night. The men who compose this organization are they who, when others faltered, laid their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honors' upon the altar of liberty and Union, that a government of the people, by the people and for the people' should not perish from the earth.
      "As the war recedes the men who shared together the privations of the frozen camp, the hardships of the forced march, the dangers of the battlefield, the sufferings of the field hospital and the untold agonies of the prison pen, long for the touch of a comrade's elbow as of old, and seek the Post-room, where the partisan and sectarian are not heard. The teachings of the Grand Army of the Republic are so conservative, its practices so patriotic, its comradeship so universal, that all honorably discharged Union soldiers and sailors of '61 and '65, who have done nothing in civil life to cast a stain upon their honorable record in liberty's cause, feel that they are at home when in the Post-room, in the house of their friends.
      "It is there that the general and the private, the merchant prince and the clerk, the millionaire and the laborer, sit side by side as comrades, bound each to the other by ties the tenderest yet the most enduring of any in this world, outside of the family circle.
      "There are bonds of all sorts in this world of ours,
      Fetters of friendship and ties of flowers,
           And true lovers' knots, I ween;
      The boy and the girl are bound by a kiss,
      But there is never a bond, old friend, like this —
           We have drank from the same canteen.'
      "The membership of the Grand Army of the Republic constitutes the great conservative element of the Nation, the champion of civil and religious liberty, recognizing the dignity of labor, but having no sympathy with anarchy or communism, recognizing no flag but the Stars and Stripes, believing that loyalty is a virtue and that treason is a crime."
      When we come to consider the true American principles which form the foundation of the Order, is it any wonder that its membership, in about twenty-seven years, has reached the gigantic proportions of 7,626 Posts, and a membership, in good standing, of more than 400,000 men? What true American citizen can consider for a moment the vast amount of labor, time, and money expended yearly by the Grand Army of the Republic, in order that the soldier's widow might be comforted and supported; that his orphans might be fed, clothed, and educated, and that society might be compelled to give them a home, alike comfortable and respectable, without acknowledging what a blessing to the welfare of our country this Grand Soldier Organization has been, and how faithfully they have adhered to their motto of "Friendship, Charity and Loyalty"?