Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 118, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 May 1913 — The G. A. R. State Encampment at Indianapolis. [ARTICLE]

The G. A. R. State Encampment at Indianapolis.

For the third time in the history of the organization, the Grand Army of the Republic, Department of Indiana, will invade Indianapolis next week, May 21, 22 and 23, for its annual encampment. It will be like returning to old shrines, forjt was there on November 20,1866, that Indianians ,who fought in the civil war met to institute what later became the greatest patriotic body in American history, the Grand Army of the Republic. The Indiana warriors had with them on ‘this occasion a large number of their comrades from Illinois and they effected an organization that has grown to marvelous strength. The Indiana G. A. R. continued its headquarters there until 1894, when, the decision was made to hold the encompments in other cities of the state, and Ft. Wayne was chosen as the first outside of Indianapolis encampment city. The Grand Army of Indiana changed its encampment place each year until 1902, when, in May, it met in Indianapolis to dedicate the Indiana Sailors’ and Soldiers’ monument, one of the world’s memorial masterpieces. Then the encampments moved from city to city again and, after eleven years, returns this year to Indianapolis for sessions on May 21, 22 and 23. Indianapolis is the first city to be honored with the encampment for the third time. Ft. Wayne, South Bend, Lafayette, Terre Hants and Richmond each hate had it twice, and the old soldiers have held encampments at Kokomo, Crawfordsville, Madison, Columbus, Anderson, Muncie and Logansport. There are not many men living who attended the meeting in 1866 at Morrison’s opera house, which stood at the corner of Meridian and Maryland streets, where the patriots of Indiana and Illinois got together to form a patriotic body that afterward became a factor in the great national Grand Army. Indiana and Illinois did not meet again, as each State formed its own organization and then affiliated with the national body. It was from that humble beginning that Indiana’s veterans of the civil war built up a state department that, in 1893, reached its high tide. In that year the roster contained 24,215 names. In 1892 the books showed 23,009 members. In 1894 ffie list dropped back to 21,918, and death has gradually eliminated names from the roster ever since until now there are only 11,537 left on the honor roll of life. About seven hundred members of the Indiana Grand Army have marched to death’s peaceful bivouac during the last year. According to the records in the office of the assistant adjutant general of Indiana, the G. A. R. in this state has gained 1,732 members in the last seven years and has lost 4,200 members by death.