Skip to main content

Grand Army of the Republic Montana Department records

 Collection
Identifier: MC-205

Scope and Contents

This collection is arranged in four subgroups. The first subgroup contains Department of Montana records of the Grand Army of the Republic, the Woman's Relief Corps, and the Ladies of the G.A.R., including general correspondence (1893-1934, undated); outgoing correspondence (1885-1936), including general and special orders, and circulars; financial records (1887-1918); organizational materials (1903, 1933, undated); miscellany, including encampment programs and minutes, index to records of local posts, histories, membership information, and roster books, etc.; a scrapbook (1939-1965); and clippings (1920-1921, undated). A second subgroup contains the records of Local Posts, including John Buford Post #1, Fort Custer; Lincoln Post #2, Butte; Wadsworth Post #3, Helena; George H. Thomas Post #4, Deer Lodge; Custer Post #5, Soldiers' Home, Columbia Falls; William English Post #10, Bozeman; Frederick Winthrop Post #11, Missoula; James B. McPherson Post #13, Boulder Valley; George G. Meade Post #16, Anaconda; Sheridan Post #18, Great Falls; John C. Fremont Post #21, Hamilton; and George B. McClelland Post #24, Columbia Falls. Records included are correspondence, minutes, descriptive books of members, rosters, and ledgers. Not all posts include all these records. The third subgroup in the collection contains records of Woman's Relief Corps local posts including Wadsworth Post #1, Helena and Lincoln Post #6, Butte. Records include ledger books for Helena, and correspondence, minutes, and reports for Butte. The fourth subgroup consists of records of the Ladies of the G.A.R. local post at Butte, entitled the John F. Reynolds Circle #14. Records include correspondence, financial records, minutes, and reports.

Dates

  • Creation: 1881-1941

Language of Materials

English

Biographical / Historical

The Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) was the national organization of Union Army veterans of the Civil War. The first G.A.R. post in Montana was the John Buford Post, No. 15, Department of the Mountains, established at Fort Custer on August 20, 1881. In October 1883 the Department of Utah was organized, and Montana became part of this new department. On March 10, 1885, the Department of Montana was formed. Posts from the Department of the Mountains and the Department of Utah were re-numbered as posts within the Department of Montana. Montana eventually had 26 posts, although not all were active at the same time. The National Woman's Relief Corps, auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Republic, was organized in Denver, Colorado, on July 25, 1883. The Montana division, added on May 3, 1888, originally was under the jurisdiction of the Department of North Dakota, but after six corps were formed in Montana, making the state eligible for a department of its own, the Department of Montana was created on April 15, 1893. Starting with a membership of 215 in 1893, the Woman's Relief Corps Department of Montana, grew to 850 members in 1922. The organization's primary duty was to care for veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic, and in Montana it was partially responsible for the passage, in 1895, of a bill to establish and maintain a solders' home at Columbia Falls. The Corps was also involved in relief work and fundraising of a general nature, raising money for famine and flood victims throughout the world.

Extent

5 linear feet

Abstract

This collection consists of records of the Montana Department of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) and of the Woman's Relief Corps. Records include correspondence, financial records, organizational materials, rosters, minutes, and miscellany for locals in Anaconda, Butte, Boulder Valley, Columbia Falls, Deer Lodge, Fort Custer, Great Falls, Hamilton, Helena, and Missoula.

Arrangement

Arranged by series and subgroup. Some material housed in Archives Map Case and Manuscript Volumes, see inventory below for more information.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Fragile material copied on MF 429. See inventory below for specific items.

Physical Location

12:3-7

Physical Location

146:1-2 (volumes 1-3)

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Acquisition Information available upon request

Related Materials

See MF 429 for microfilmed copies of fragile material.

Separated Materials

Artifacts separated to Museum. See inventory below for more information.

Title
Guide to the Grand Army of the Republic Montana Department Records 1881-1941
Author
Finding aid prepared by MHS staff
Date
2004
Description rules
Finding Aid Based On Dacs ( Describing Archives: A Content Standard 2nd Edition)
Language of description
English
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Repository Details

Part of the Montana Historical Society, Research Center Archives Repository

Contact:
225 North Roberts
PO Box 201201
Helena MT 59620-1201 United States
406-444-2681
406-444-2696 (Fax)