History of Annandale G.A.R.
Post 24
Presentation to the Annandale History
Club
March 3, 2008
Brian Partridge
More info:
Brian Partridge has been studying his family history and the Civil War since he was a little boy. His Partridge ancestors founded Fair Haven in 1856 and his maternal grandfather was a minister in South Haven. Two of Brian's ancestors served in the Union Army of the Civil War. Brian is a member of Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War and is a Civil War re-enactor.
G.A.R. (Grand Army of the Republic) was founded in Decatur, Illinois, on April 6, 1866, by Dr. Benjamin Stephenson, a former surgeon of the Illinois infantry. Membership was open to honorably discharged members of the Union armed forces who served between April 12, 1861, and April 9, 1865. Many wounded Civil War soldiers survived and returned home. Some had no family and there was no organization in place to help them. Also, the veterans missed the camaraderie of fellow soldiers. They had a bond in fighting that no previous veterans had.
The G.A.R. was formed to promote fellowship among men who fought to preserve the Union, to honor those killed in the war, and to provide care for disabled veterans, widows and children. The society founded soldiers' homes and was active in relief work and pension legislation. The motto of the G.A.R. was Fraternity, Charity, Loyalty. In 1868, General Order #11 of the G.A.R. called for May 30 as a day of memorial for Union veterans. Originally called Decoration Day, it evolved to Memorial Day. From 1868 to 1971 Memorial Day was celebrated on May 30. In 1971 Congress designated the last Monday of May as Memorial Day. Veterans organizations including the VFW and American Legion had their roots in the G.A.R.
The G.A.R. was based on military tradition and some traditions of Freemasonry. Many of the G.A.R. members were also Freemasons, and the G.A.R. used some of their rules and ideas.
The largest national G.A.R. enrollment was 409,489 in 1890. There was a Grand Army of the Republic in every northern state and later appeared in southern states as union soldiers moved south. Minnesota posts were numbered 1-192. Post No. 1 was in Stillwater and Post 192 was in Minneapolis. Although not an intended purpose, the G.A.R had a strong political influence.
G.A.R. Post 24 formed in Fair Haven March 28, 1883, as the F. M. Johnston Post. The 11 charter members were Buster B. Furwell, William H. Stinchfield, Mack Jarvis Kennedy, Charles Neil, John H. Bliler, Marion F. Johnston, R. R. Sargent, Jotham L. Buzzell, Alanzo Spaulding, F. M. Teitjen and Thomas J. Cadwell. The G.A.R. post owned a building in Fair Haven for their meetings. The name of the post was changed to the J. L. Buzzell Post around 1892. G.A.R. posts were to be named for a deceased comrade, and no other post in the state could use the same name.
Jotham L. Buzzell was born August 30, 1821, in Cherrywood, Maine, and died March 27, 1885, in Fair Haven, Minnesota. J. L. Buzzell was a Lieutenant in Company H, 1st Maine Heavy Artillery, from April 1862 to July 1865. Buzzell was a blacksmith in Fair Haven. His grave is at the Fair Haven Cemetery.
J. L. Buzzell Post 24 was moved to Annandale March 5, 1896. Meetings were held at the Cotton Hall and then at the Town Hall. Both buildings had large meeting rooms on the second floor. Plans were made for a G.A.R. building in Annandale and funds were raised. However, there are no records that a building was acquired. The post held bi-monthly meetings on the first and third Saturdays. G.A.R. members paid dues with part going to the national organization.
Brian found many newspaper articles about the various activities of the Annandale G.A.R. Post. Many of the events were for the whole community and admission was charged. These included special speakers, dramas, musical concerts (local quartets, high school bands, girls cornet band, mandolin band, Pleasant Lake band, and Albert Thayer on the piano). Campfires with a meal and conversation about Civil War experiences were common. Brian found an 1896 newspaper article announcing a slide presentation of Civil War battlefields accompanied by music. Many of the activities were planned with Lookout Circle 24. Memorial Day observances were a community affair. An 1897 article announced Memorial Day services and cemetery visits to the following communities to decorate graves: Maine Prairie, French Lake, Annandale-Southside, German Church, Fair Haven, and Kimball Prairie. A May 6, 1897, newspaper article announced that members of the G.A.R. would meet at the Town Hall and march as a body to the Methodist Church for services and then back to the Town Hall for dinner.
Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic was a branch of the G.A.R. for women whose relatives fought in the Civil War. Lookout Circle 24, Annandale, was organized in 1897 with Emma Cofield as the first president. Lookout Circle celebrated its centennial in 1997. Lookout Circle has six members in 2008 according to Ruby Geisinger, secretary.
In 1881 the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War was created to ensure the preservation of the G.A.R. mission after the Union War veterans had all died. Other allied organizations were Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic, Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War and the Womans Relief Corps.
In 1949 the Lookout Circle displayed several items at the county fair including a musket, records of the Fair Haven G.A.R. Post, a gavel from a tree on Lookout Mountain, and a 100 year-old jewel case from the Civil War era. It is not known what happened to these items. When the Buzzell Post 24 ceased to exist in 1930, the charter was transferred to the Lookout Circle and it fell to them to decorate graves and make sure the flag was flying over the cemetery. These duties are now carried out by the American Legion.
Records from Buzzell Post 24 have not been found. Brian was able to piece together a Buzzell Post membership list of 108 names using the original Post Descriptive Book (names and ranks of members) which was at the Minnesota Historical Society. Names are missing from this list because they were not legible in the book. He also used Lookout Circle minutes, local records, and the numerous newspaper clippings about the J. L. Buzzell Post activities. Brian talked to people involved such as Lookout Circle member Fern Rose Swanson (1900-2004) and Ken Rudolph, grandson of a G.A.R. member. He also found a little information at the national organization.
Veterans came back from the war with their rifles. G.A.R. members wore their uniforms and used their rifles in parades. They wore the G.A.R. membership badge. Some posts were more elaborate and had swords and fancy flags. G.A.R. members got a badge or ribbon every time they attended an encampment. There were souvenirs such as spoons with soldiers on the handles and pictures inside the spoon. Brian displayed group photos of Buzzell Post members and Lookout Circle members.
Members of the Buzzell Post attended national encampments where 25,000 soldiers and families gathered. In 1901 the Soo Line offered the G.A.R. a special rate of one cent per mile to Cleveland for an encampment.
The national G.A.R. was located in Washington, D.C. The G.A.R. was divided into departments at the state level and posts at the community level. Annandale was part of the Northwestern District. A district encampment was held in Annandale June 24, 25, and 26, 1903. There were baseball games between Eden Valley, Monticello, Howard Lake and Annandale teams. There was a tent in the park. There was cannon fire in the morning for flag raising and in the evening for flag lowering. There were events and prizes. The prizes included a dozen oranges, $1 worth of meat, and a shave, haircut and a bath.
There is a G.A.R. monument at Woodlawn Cemetery in Annandale. On May 14, 1900, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows donated a lot for the monument. In October the agreement was rewritten that the G.A.R. purchased the lot for $1. In 1912 the monument made of Minnesota granite from St. Cloud was purchased from A. E James for $450. In 1942 a storm broke off the top half of the monument. The Lookout Circle raised the $100 required, and the G.A.R. monument was repaired in 1943. The monument is topped by an Eagle. On one side of the monument is a carving of the G.A.R. badge and on the other side the Latin inscription Pro Patria, which means For Ones Country.
The last member of the Buzzell Post was William Ponsford (1840-1930). Ponsford was a Private in Co. E, 8th Minnesota Vol. Infantry. William Ponsford's two brothers also enlisted. One was killed during the Civil War and the other was killed out west fighting Indians. William Ponsford's death on March 5, 1930, signaled the end of Annandale's Buzzell G.A.R. Post #24.
Notes by Secretary
Annandale History Club
Members of the G.A.R. photo from the Advocate, date unknown.