GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC ENCAMPMENT BANNER, BELOIT, WISCONSIN, 1929

A compelling relic of Civil War remembrance in the twilight of the veterans’ era.

Painted and lettered silk parade or reunion banner for the 63rd Annual Encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic, held in Beloit, Wisconsin, June 24–27, 1929. Rectangular in format, the vivid crimson silk field with gilt fringe border, suspended from a wooden header with twisted red, white, and blue hanging cord, boldly stenciled in white with the welcoming inscription: “WELCOME G.A.R. / 63RD ANNUAL ENCAMPMENT / JUNE 24-25-26-27, 1929 / BELOIT, WIS.” 

Centered beneath the text is a striking emblematic composition incorporating a spread-winged eagle above crossed weapons and the five-pointed star badge associated with the Grand Army of the Republic, the principal fraternal and commemorative organization of Union veterans of the Civil War. The design, with its forceful contrast of white lettering against the lustrous red ground, possesses the direct graphic power characteristic of ceremonial veterans’ material produced for public display.

By the time of the 1929 Beloit encampment, the ranks of surviving Union veterans had thinned dramatically, lending such reunion material a particular poignancy.

[Civil War, Union, Confederate]  [Relics, Militaria] [Medals, Corps Badges, Badges, Ribbons]