POST CIVIL WAR, GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC, GAR, VETERANS LAPEL PIN The inside of this lapel pin/badge is hallmarked: "PAT. MAY 22.1894" Oval lapel pin with stud fastener on the reverse. Measures 5/8 inches in diameter. G.A.R. logo on the obverse with vignette of the figure of Liberty in the center flanked by a Union sailor and soldier clasping hands in fraternity. Two children are kneeling in the foreground representing charity and the assurance of protection from their military comrades. Grand Army Of The Republic Veteran, 1861-1866, is in raised letters around the circumference of the pin. The fastening stud on the reverse allowed the Union veteran to proudly wear this pin in the lapel, which depicts a metal pot over a fire suspended by two vertical wood sticks. There is a minor bend on the lower portion of the stud. Minor oxidation is visible due to age. It is in the original condition, with the original patina, in which it was obtained. The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization of Union veterans who served in the American Civil War. Established in 1866, it was the largest veterans' organization in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. At its height, the GAR numbered over 400,000 members and was a social and political force, electing several Presidents who were Civil War Veterans themselves. Genuine medals were given only to bona fide members of the GAR, and were not to be sold or replicated. The medals were worn on occasions of any GAR meeting or any patriotic ceremony, especially when a veteran wanted to be identified as such to the public.