EDITORS PmLrP D. JORDAN, PH.D. CHARLF.S M. TBoKAS, PH.D. Miami University Ohio State University ANNALS OF AMERICA VOLUME Ill THE CIVIL WAR VETERAN ~-,··~-~~ -- "l/1///JW~I;~~'/%<%;; ~~ - ~ 1rol 1//1 . • , r ~// f - ~ ~--~ ~A~ ✓/////h C lllli), \//~$1/ ·- ., • ' - (t ~.--... ti 1n,,/lllll!1 ''' 111, "'""' 111111,,. lfov ha..11e livec\ ~ 11 Uu ~ 'l/lll/$l!f/if1f/,' Too /... on,~ J ,tpl, .. 11J;f/j1ir11//1/1 I// ;1;1 . \ l1 lt ~ /~ ~ - 1;-n -)~~ ~ ~~ r ~7 -;/1"' _::;::::,-- - v~ .,,,:,.~~~ -=-:= - //~ ~~ ~~r~ _-::;::-:::::; /' - ..,;·· ~----~ ~~-::::=:-- ·J./@ SCLV eel I ~ 1 l( N cl ·ll 0 ,.,_ .. $ -- ~ SU:ALL IT BE SO? The Veteran and the Politician; a Cartoonist's View (Minneapolis Tribune, January 17, 1892) F R A N K H. H E C K THE CIVIL WAR VETERAN IN MINN ES OT A LIFE AND POLITICS Oxford, Ohio The Mississippi Valley Press 1941 COPYRIGHT, 1941 BY THE MISSISSIPPI V ALIXY PltEss All right.s reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form except by a re­ viewer who may quote brief passages in a re­ view to be printed in a magazine or newspaper. PTinted in the United States of America go &he Glriends o/ cYn'I @olle9e Q)ays EDITORS' FOREWORD This study of the Civil War veteran in Minnesota life and politics is a valuable contribution to an understanding of a na­ tional movement. What happened in Minnesota was occurring in other northern states. There were over a million soldiers in the Union army at the end of the war in 1865. These veterans, if they cooperated, could control the political machinery of northern states and of the nation. The Civil War veterans were unusually successful in securing the passage of such laws as they desired. A later generation in the North looked upon membership in the G. A. R. as synonymous with being a Civil War veteran. Professor Heck shows that this was not always the case. Care­ fully investigating the history of the G. A. R. in one state, he finds the reason why it for years wavered en the point of dis­ solution and disappearance. He traces the parallel in other states during these doubtful years, and then shu\\.'"S the relatively sud­ den booming of the G. A. R to include almost all eligible vet­ erans. He indicates the changing rules of eligibility and explains how and why certain veterans were excluded. The headquarters of the G. A. R., often in one of the best rooms of the courthouse itself, we.re a focal point of gay social life and community activity in many American towns of ·forty years ago. A generation, younger than that of the veterans, then often wondered and now may know what transpired within the ranks of the G. A. R. Its meetings usually were secret, but the publications of veterans' organizations, and manuscript ma­ terials, including the personal papers of many veterans and non­ veterans, have been added to contempory newspaper accounts by Professor Heck to give a well-rounded picture of the place of the G. A. R. in post-war society. P.D.J. C.1\1.T. PREFACE The original purpose of the study which has resulted in this volume was to examine the part played by the Grand Army of the Republic, as a pressure group, in the politics of one northern state. As the investigation proceeded, its scope was, almost of necessity, expanded. It soon became apparent, for one thing, that a well-rounded picture could not be achieved without due consideration of veterans' organizations other than the Grand Army, and of the considerable numbers of ex-soldiers who j cined no veteran group. The G. A. R. early adopted a rule which prohibited the use of the organization for partisan purposes. Accordingly it seemed important to consider, not only the work of the Grand Army on behalf of pensions and other measures of interest to veterans, but also the attempts "\-vhich were made to enforce and to circumvent the order's self-denying ordinance. Again, the veteran, participating as an individual in the political life of his state, called for attention. A growing realization that much of the significance of the G. A. R. and of other veterans' organiza­ tions lay in their contribution to the social life of the community led to a further broadening of the scope of the work. In its own right, the history of 1\1innesota, a blend of North and West during the generation which followed the Civil War, is full of interest. Population increased with startling rapidity, as immigrants from far and near found new homes within the ample boundaries of the state. In its changing life some thou­ sands of men who had served in arms during the civil conflict took such part as they could. If the part which they and the veterans' organizations which they joined was less a dominant one than some have supposed-and that is the conclusion to which the whole investigation leads-it would nevertheless seem well to tell their story for its own intrinsic interest. That it n1ay be told more clearly, three chapters dealing with the ever-shifting patterns of party politics in the North Star state have been inserted. While preparing this study for publication, I have become in­ debted to .Professor E.W. King and Mr. L. S. Dutton of the 1\1i­ ami University library for many courtesies. And it is difficult, in a few words, to express adequately my gratitude for the scholarly and friendly assistance which I have received, first and last, from the staff of the Minnesota Historical Society, notably from Dean Theodore C. Blegen, formerly superintendent of the Society; from his successor, Dr. Arthur J. Larsen; from Dr. Grace Lee Nute, curator of manuscripts; from Dr. Lewis Bee­ son, curator of newspapers; from Miss Gertrude Krausnick, li­ brarian; and from Miss Lois Fawcett and Mrs. Irene B. Warm­ ing, reference librarians. A letter by John Lind is reprinted from Professor George M. Stephenson's John Lind of lvf.innesota, p. 204, by permission of the publisher, The University of 1\1innesota Press, Minne­ apolis, Minnesota. Above all, I am very much a debtor to Professor Lester B. Shippee of the University of Minnesota, who first suggested to me the desirability of investigating the place of the Civil War veterans in American politics. The obligation grew as the work proceeded under the stimulus of his friendly encouragement and criticism. I am grateful, also, to my colleague, Professor William J. McNiff, who read the entire manuscript and contributed much sound counsel; to Professor Merrill E. Jarchow of South Dakota State College, who likewise made a number of improv­ ing suggestions; and to my brother, John P. Heck, who did all manner of chores incident to such an undertaking. The editors, Professors Jordan and Thomas, have given me the benefit of their editorial judgment and historical scholarship, with all pa­ tience and generosity. It will be understood, of course, that though the helpful advice of these friends has enabled me to avoid sundry pitfalls, they are in no wise to be held responsible for any into which I may have slipped. Frank H. Heck l\.1iami University Oxford, Ohio October 6, 1941 CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE .. .tors' Foreword Vll Eal . Pref ace . lX I. Fraternity, Charity, and Loyalty .............. I II. Gro,,tth and Decline; the G. A. R. in Minnesota .. IO III. Good Fellowship Among Comrades ........... 33 IV. G. A. R. Department Activities ............... 46 V. Lesser Veterans' Organizations ................ 70 VI. Party Irregularity in a Republican Stronghold ... 84 VII. The Machinery of Democracy ................ 104 VIII. Intra-Party Factions ......................... I 3 I IX. The Veteran As a Parry Worker .............. 144 X. The Veteran As an Office Seeker .............. 156 XI. The Politician Seeks the Soldier Vote .......... 1 77 XII. The Veteran Point of View .................. 200 XIII. The Veteran and the Pension Issue ............ 208 XIV. The Veterans' Legislative Program ............ 224 xv. The G. A. R. and Party Politics in Minnesota . 238 Appendix . 2 57 Bibliography ............................... 261 Index . .. 283 MAPS Location of Important G. A. R. Posts in Minnesota . 2 1 Political Dissent in l\1innesota . 89 CHAPTER I FRATERNITY, CHARITY, AND LOYAL TY URING THE GENERATION which followed the Civ­ il War, Minnesota was the home of a considerable number ofD organizations composed of men who had served during the conflict in the army or navy of the United States. Of these, the Grand Army of the Republic was by all odds the most signi­ ficant. Other associations of veterans appealed in each case to a smaller number of potential members. None had a history as long as its seventy-five year record, extending from 1866 and not yet closed. None exerted an influence on public sentiment as steady and sustained as that of the Grand Army. None so appealed to the imagination of the generation which flourished between the early 188o's and the eve of the War of 1914. Indeed the practice of assuming that the terms "Civil War veteran" and "member of the G. A. R." were synonymous was not uncom­ mon then, and certainly is not uncommon now. 1 As a matter of fact not all veterans of the Civil War were eligible to membership in the Grand Army. Of those who were eligible, not all, by any means, sought n1embership. Of those who sought membership, some, though eligible, were for one reason or another, denied admission. \Vhile the rules and regulations of the G. A. R. were amended ,vith comparative ease and indeed marked frequency, the re­ quiren1ents for membership remained practically unaltered after the date of the third national encampment, held at Cincinnati in May, 1869.