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Subject: [MDALLEGA-L] Grand Army of the Republic (GAR)
Date: Sat, 8 Jul 2000 17:27:22 EDT


A couple of weeks ago, someone asked about the GAR. The following information
was posted today on a genealogical mailing list for Bradford County,
Pennsylvania:

Newspaper article, dated 18 October 1956

Federal Court Dissolves Grand Army of Republic

The Grand Army of the Republic, formed by Union Veterans of the Civil War,
has been dissolved by Mississippi-born Judge Burnita S. Matthews. Judge
Matthews wrote the official end to the once-proud GAR by signing an order in
federal district court. She acted on a petition of dissolution presented by
GAR attorneys who noted that the last member of the organization, Albert
Woodson, passed away last August at the age of 109 in Duluth, Minn.

At its height, the GAR numbered nearly a half million members. The remaining
property of the GAR - two flags, a quantity of badges, and a gavel made from
wood taken from Abraham Lincoln's home - is to be given to the Smithsonian
Institute.

Paul Newell

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