Autographed and Numbered Limited First Edition

By R. Brad Long. Limited First Edition, signed by the author on the title page; Copy number 23 out of 1,000 copies. Printed April 1990 A.D. Exactly 100 years after the peak membership of the national Grand Army of the Republic, "Our Vanished Army." Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 90-61054. Technical Consultants & G.A.R. Memorabilia Dealers; David E. Wells, Omaha, NE., and David E. Limpert, Manchester, MI. Edits: Photography by Bev Cruse Photography, Martinsville, IL. Printed by R-Pap Products Printing, Martinsville, IL. Printed on the front cover: Regulation past officer's badge taken from the GAR Blue Book in the 1880's. The rank held was that of Colonel. 5 1/2 x 8 1/2, blue soft covers stapled at the center fold, 40 pages. Numerous black and white photographs, historical background of the GAR, The Great Encampments, National Encampment Listings, bibliography, GAR Price Guide, Parts, etc. Excellent condition. Scarce.

WBTS Trivia: The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, Illinois, and grew to include hundreds of "posts" (local community branches) across the United States, both North and West. It was dissolved in 1956 upon the death of its last surviving member, Albert Woolson.

Albert H. Woolson, was born, February 11, 1850, at Antwerp, New York, and he served as a Union Drummer Boy, 1864-1865, in the 1st Minnesota Heavy Artillery. Woolson was discharged from the Union Army, on September 7, 1865. Woolson returned to Minnesota, where he lived the rest of his life. He was a carpenter and later a member of the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.), a powerful political organization made up of Union Civil War veterans. He became senior vice commander in chief in 1953.

In his final days, he lived in Duluth, Minnesota, and died at St. Luke's Hospital in Duluth on August 2, 1956, at what was then thought to be the age of 109, of a "recurring lung congestion condition". He was buried with full military honors by the National Guard at Park Hill Cemetery.

Following his death, United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower said:

"The American people have lost the last personal link with the Union Army ... His passing brings sorrow to the hearts of all of us who cherished the memory of the brave men on both sides of the War Between the States."

Life magazine ran a seven-page feature article upon the death of Albert Woolson, in their August 20, 1956, issue. The article also included much information about the G.A.R., with pictures and drawings of several encampments and conventions. After his death, the Grand Army of the Republic was dissolved because Woolson was its last surviving member. Some of his personal artifacts are on display at the Veterans Memorial Hall Gallery, a program of the St. Louis County Historical Society, in the St. Louis County Depot in downtown Duluth, Minnesota. dicated to him.

In 1956, a monument of Albert H. Woolson was erected in the Gettysburg National Military Cemeytery as a memorial to the Grand Army of the Republic.