Abby Eller on “The Grand Army of the Republic: Fraternity, Charity, Loyalty”

The largest and most powerful Civil War veterans’ organization, the Grand Army of the Republic as one of many fraternal orders that flourished throughout America in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The GAR shaped American nationhood in many ways still with us today.

Abby Eller is fascinated by the enormous impact the Civil War had, not only on our own country’s history, but many other parts of the world as well. Abby keeps in mind what her favorite Civil War historian Bruce Catton had to say about Civil War history: “It deserves all the attention we can give it.”