Name: History Pub - The Old Boys in Blue: Washington's Grand Army of the Republic
Start: 2024-09-18T19:00:00-07:00
Location: Spanish Ballroom

McMenamins presents History Pub
The Old Boys in Blue: Washington's Grand Army of the Republic and the 1918 Tacoma Encampment
Presented by Richard Heisler
McMenamins Elks Temple
Spanish Ballroom
Tuesday, September 18, 2024
7pm/6pm doors
$7
All ages
In 1918, the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) held their annual state-wide encampment in Tacoma’s newly built Elks Temple. This national organization founded by Union veterans of the American Civil War was highly influential and well known in its day, but the GAR has been largely forgotten over time. Thousands of Civil War veterans made Washington their home in the decades after the conflict. GAR members included important civic and business leaders who played a vital role in the development of emerging towns and cities in Washington during the late 1800s.
Historian Richard Heisler recounts the GAR encampment at Tacoma’s Elks Temple with details about the organization, their advocacy for veterans, widows, and orphans of the Civil War, and their creation of patriotic traditions still practiced in America today.
Richard Heisler is the founder of Civil War Seattle and Seattle History Tours. He has presented for the Bothell Historical Society, Pacific Northwest Historians Guild, and Puget Sound Civil War Roundtable, among other organizations. Richard is a contributing writer for 𝐸𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐶𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑙 𝑊𝑎𝑟 and has been featured in the 𝑆𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑠, KIRO Radio, 𝑃𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐 𝑁𝑊 𝑀𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑧𝑖𝑛𝑒 and more. He has been a Seattle resident for over 30 years.