But two organizations dominated.īy the 1880s, as many as 400,000 former Yankees belonged to the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), which was founded in 1866 and reached its membership peak twenty years later.Ī veteran of the Union Army shakes hands with a Confederate veteran at the Gettysburg celebration, in Pennsylvania. Some consisted of all the men living in a single town or county, while others were formed by survivors of specific armies, corps, regiments, or even companies, and still, others were formed by unique groups like prisoners of war or members of the signal corps. They were most prominent as members of veterans’ organizations and as participants in Memorial Day commemorations and July Fourth celebrations.Ĭivil War veterans formed many different veterans’ associations. But the “old soldiers,” as they were already being called, were still only in their forties or fifties and still very much a part of the communities in which they lived. But veterans’ importance to American society and to the legacies of the Civil War transcended their political influence.īy the 1880s, many Americans would have walked past monuments to Civil War soldiers in town squares, cemeteries, or other public places in the North and South. presidents during this period had fought for the Union, and scores of veterans from both sides served as governors, senators, and congressmen, while countless thousands served in state and local offices. For one thing, they dominated political offices in both the North and the South. The 1.5 million Union and perhaps 600,000 Confederate veterans were very visible members of post-war society. At the 50th anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg, Union (left) and Confederate (right) veterans shake hands at a reunion, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

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