Grand Army of the Republic membership application   Save
Ohio History Connection Archives/Library
Description: Dated 1893, this is a membership application for the G.A.R., T. J. May Post No. 703 in Charloe, Ohio, for John Stucky. According to the application, Stucky was born in Switzerland, and after settling in Ohio, enlisted as a private in Company K of the 107th Regiment in 1862. He was discharged in March 1863 for "lung trouble, " but re-enlisted in September of 1864 with Company J, 55th Regiment, for the remainder of the war. The application is signed by Jacob Bennett of the G.A.R. Post. The Grand Army of the Republic was one of the largest and most influential veterans organizations to be established following the Civil War. It was founded on April 6, 1866, by Benjamin Stephenson, who intended to form an organization that would provide veterans with political influence and opportunities to meet socially. Any veteran who was honorably discharged from the United States Army, Navy, or Marine Corps qualified for membership. National membership in the organization peaked in 1890 at a little over 409,000, and membership in the state of Ohio peaked at 49,011 in that same year. The G.A.R. continued to operate until 1956, when the final member (Albert Woolson) died at the age of 109. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: VOL1413_01
Subjects: Grand Army of the Republic; Veterans; Military Ohio; Ohio--History--Civil War, 1861-1865; Genealogy & local history
Places: Charloe (Ohio); Paulding County (Ohio)