The Woman's Relief Corps (WRC) is a charitable organization in the United States, originally founded as the official women's auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) in 1883. The organization was designed to assist the GAR and provide post-war relief to Union veterans. The GAR had been created as a "fraternal" organization and refused to allow women to join up until the creation of this auxiliary. It is largely dedicated to historical preservation of research and official documentation related to the WRC and GAR.
K. B. Sherwood, 2nd Natl. Pres.
C. R. Craig, 6th Natl. Pres.
A. T. Wittenmyer, 7th Natl. Pres.
M. S. McHenry, 8th Natl. Pres.
Grand Army of the Republic
The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army, Union 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" across the North and West. It was dissolved in 1956 at the death of its last member, Albert Woolson.
GAR Uniform Hat Badge from Post No. 146, "RG Shaw Post", named after Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and established by surviving members of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment in 1871 (R. Andre Stevens Civil War Collection)
GAR marker, beside a veteran's grave in Portland Street Cemetery, South Berwick, Maine
Department of Massachusetts GAR Post 144, Dedham Massachusetts 1886
A replica of the USS Kearsarge displayed at the 1893 GAR National Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana
