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FOUNDER Or THE G. A. R.Major Stephenson ar.d the Memorial to Him Erected In Washington.President Taft put off his trip with ]; his family to ISevcrly, Mass., in order ‘ | to be present on .Inly it at the ttnveil-j Ing of the monument which has been ] creeled in Washington to the memory ; of the founder of the (fraud Army of the ltepublic, Major llenjamiu F. Stephenson. The site of the monument Is a triangle, and near by is tlie heroic statue of General Hancock.The three facea monument bears four bronze tablets. The front has the tablet '‘Fraternity.” a soldier and sailor , under the flag. “Charity is repre- j seated by a woman giving a cup of coid water to a child, who la underithe snpnrsaos atoxtnmrr. her protecting cloak. “Loyalty” is represented by a woman of noble proper • tions, who holds a sword In one band and the great seal of the United States njion a shield In the other. •The three words represent the motto of the Grand Army of the Rcpub- i lie and of the Woman’s Relief corps, the auxiliary of the G. A. R. It is also the motto of the Ladles of the G. A. R.Just below the bronze tablet Fraternity is a fine bas-relief of Major Stephenson in uniform. The cost of tin- monument was $.'15,000, the major portion of which was raised bv subscript iou. the remainder having been appropriated by congress. General la siis Wagner of Philadelphia conducted tiie work of collecting the lumls. Tiie memorial is tlie work of tlie noted New* York seuiptor J. Massey ithind.The origin of the (1. A. It. dates b:»ek to tic* period when north and south wen* still engaged in struggle. Major Stephenson was born in Wayue county. 111., in 1S22 and was a graduate of Itush Medioal culioge. Chicago, class of IMPTiP. 1‘pon the organization 'f tin- Fourteenth Illinois infantry'. May 25. ttSK-L Hr. Stephenson was elected its surgeon. Another 111:111 was mustered into tlie position, though General Stephenson had been unanimously elected by the officers and enlisted men of the regiment under the laws of Illinois.Later Hr. Stephenson was appointed regimental surgeon of the regiment, and he was mustered in at Pittsburg Landing April 7, 1SC2. He served his term of three years ami was mustered out June 24, IStrl.The Fourteenth Illinois was a part of tne Meridian expedition. In the long watches of the nights, upon the march and in the bivouac Chaplain W. J. Rutledge and Major Stephenson discussed the fact that .soldiers when mustered out of service naturally desire some association to preserve friendships and memories of common trials and dangers. As they talked together their thoughts expanded into the widest fields of conjecture as to the capacity for good in such an organization of veterans, and they agreed that.if they were spared they would together work out some such project. It was In this way that the order which has since come' to be such a potent one arose.
Newspaper Details
Daily Bulletin
Brownwood, Texas, US
Fri, Jul 16, 1909
Page 7
Full Page
Clipped by
San A.
TX, USA 17 Jun 2024
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