In 1886, the GAR made the last changes to its membership badge. Rounded wings, nice fletching to the wings, pin back with open loop catch. Reverse depicts a camp fire scene. Hallmarked “PAT. MAY 4. 1886 / JUNE 22. 1886” The clasp is composed of the figure of an eagle, with cross cannon and ammunition, representing defense; the eagle with drawn sword hovering over and always ready to protect from insults or dishonor of the National Flag. 

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 thousands of "posts" (local community units) across the North and West. It was dissolved in 1956 at the death of its last member, Albert Woolson.

The Grand Army of the Republic, the largest of all Union Army veterans' organizations, was the most powerful single-issue political lobby of the late nineteenth century, securing massive pensions for veterans and helping to elect five postwar presidents from its own membership. To its members, it was also a secret fraternal order, a source of local charity, a provider of entertainment in small municipalities, and a patriotic organization.

After the end of American Civil War, various state and local organizations were formed for veterans to network and maintain connections with each other. Many of the veterans used their shared experiences as a basis for fellowship. Groups of men began joining, first for camaraderie and later for political power. Emerging as most influential among the various organizations during the first post-war years was the Grand Army of the Republic, founded on April 6, 1866, on the principles of "Fraternity, Charity and Loyalty," in Decatur, Illinois, by Dr. Benjamin F. Stephenson. The GAR almost disappeared in the early 1870s, and many state-centered divisions, named "departments", and local posts ceased to exist.

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