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Explore > Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Hall > Story Archives
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More little known facts.
Submitted by Jan, Native Auroran
As was previously mentioned, when the Grand Army Posts across the country began to close, one by one, there was major concern of what would become of these most historical records. Basically, this charge was in the hands of the women and auxiliaries who then inherited the records of their fathers and grandfathers. Aurora women obviously felt that the best place for safe-keeping of these books, battle histories and records was to leave them just where they were: in Memorial Hall.
What an astounding discovery we had when we learned that nearly all the records of Post 20 were stored in lockers upstairs in what was referred to as "The Tower." There in the museum was their military memorabilia, and up in the tower, amidst the histories of later veterans records (burials and military histories included), was the story of Post 20, bundled and untouched for over three-quarters of a century!
In an effort to find out what might have happened to the other Posts in the country, several phone calls were made to different States and courthouses. Questions regarding where those Posts might have deposited their records led to the same answers at that time......"We really don't know." With the exception of Oregon, Illinois, where we learned that their Post records "might be" in the Courthouse attic, we found no one who knew the answers to our questions. The one exception to where some of them could be was when we visited the museums of the Women's Relief Corp and Daughters of Union Veterans in Springfield, Il. They have a wonderful collection and museum, but perhaps not as complete as did Aurora.
After the turn of the century, Aurora Post 20 served as pension headquarters. Here veterans, no matter where they lived or even if they ever joined the GAR, could come to apply for pension using as proof their military discharge document. Not only did these records provide insight into the life of the veteran in later years - his financial status and disabilities, but details included his wife and family names: a real genealogical find!
It is only right and fitting then, that these records and artifacts go back to the Post Home; that the Grand Army Memorial Building be restored so that the military history of our city and the American Civil War, as it affected our community and our Nation can be preserved for our posterity. That decision is now in our hands.
Please remember our veterans.
Jan Stiegleiter
Post History
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Grand Army of the Republic
Submitted by Jane, Aurora
My great-grandfather served in the Civil War. I never met him, but when we moved to Aurora, seeing the GAR Hall was a wonderful reminder of his dedicated service to his country. I would like to see this building restored to its former glory in honor of all those who have served .
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A different memorial
Submitted by Michael, West Chicagoland
The local story has it that the veterans of GAR Post 20 in Aurora discussed for some time what would be the appropriate way to honor the memory of their fallen comrades and to provide a lasting, and tangible, proof of the almost holy enterprise in which they had found themselves involved in 1861-1865. Many communities had erected the statue in the town square for this purpose, but Post 20 was apparently searching for something more meaningful, both in terms of symbolism and actual utility to the community.
That is when post member Fred Otis White made a journey to Foxboro (as it was spelled then), Massachusetts and visited the GAR Memorial Hall erected by veterans in that town. Here was something different: A purpose-built structure, with elements of contemporary church architecture, symbolic elements of statuary, a place to enumerate the participants, the accomplishments, to meet for continued comradeship and mutual support, and to form a visible center of the community itself. And so the fabric of the building took shape in 1876-77, similar in form to the Foxboro Hall, but in Illinois sandstone, not New England granite.
The Aurora GAR Hall has served many purposes in the community, from meeting place for the original veterans' group to the first public library--and in its renovated form will again be a "center" of the revitalized Aurora downtown. The stained glass windows to be recreated and restored will recover the orignal reverential atmosphere of the Angel Room, where the Recording Angel, forever, immortalizes the unknown dead--please help us realize this dream!
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1877-2007
Submitted by Jan, Aurora native - Tn
1876:
"Today we have laid the cornerstone of this Memorial Hall, which is to commemorate the deeds of the soldiers who lay buried in our cemeteries. If I had the time to call the roll of those soldiers we should hear responses from the sons of England, the sons of Scotland, Wales, Germany, and from the sons of every State in the Union, from Catholic to Protestant, from Democrat to Republican. Can we afford to let the heroic deeds of these men be forgotten?"
- Samuel D. Paine, Aurora, Illinois, 1st Lt. 2nd Battery, Mounted Artillery, Maine Volunteers - 1861
2007:
As the Grand Army buildings across the country made way for urban renewal, Aurora's 130 year old Memorial Building still stands, one of a few if not the only one of its kind left in the country. Once the heartbeat of the city, the hub of community events, parades, social gatherings, patriotic conventions as well as military funerals and vigils, Memorial Hall now stands alone - a silent reminder of a proud and patriotic city, a reflection of a people and their history, and in tribute to the millions of veterans across the Nation who fought and died for a country they believed in.
The years have taken their toll. Today Memorial Hall stands alone in solemn repose, a forgotten legacy, priceless, irreplaceable and deteriorating.
Please vote to save Memorial Hall.
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Who Where They?
Submitted by Jan, Native Auroran
The records of Post 20, Grand Army of the Republic tell a story of Aurora during the Civil War years when it was just a small community of about 4000 citizens, when Camp Hammond was established near Montgomery, Illinois, where 1200 proud and patriotic soldiers from the Fox River Valley marched off to war. They tell of the years following the war when those who survived, many of them decorated heroes, returned to make their homes in the Valley to become leading citizens of the community and state in the halls of city government to the halls of Congress.
For nearly 70 years The Grand Army of the Republic, Post 20, saw the mustering in of approximately 700 Civil War veterans, representing 70 Illinois regiments of infantry, cavalry, artillery and navy, together with soldiers from every state in the Union representing 125 regiments of the same, including the Southern states of Kentucky, Missouri and Arkansas. The membership included every rank from private to brigadier general, and comrades born in slavery.
In the ensuing years, as the Posts across the Nation began to dwindle in numbers, there was great concern with what will happen to all these Post histories. Since there never was a national repository established for storing the books and records at the demise of all GAR Posts across the Nation, Aurora veterans decidedly bundled and left their history in the Post Home. In those records you will have an amazing find: personal battle sketches, minute books, rosters, pension records, muster papers, veteran cemetery records, regimental documentaries, orders and conduct of post members, and descriptive wounds suffered in battle from the raging fights of the Wilderness, Antietam, Bull-Run; in the slaughter at Fredricksburg to the carnage that was Gettysburg, to name a few. These records need to go home, back to where they were intended - to be read, reviewed and studied by the generations yet to come.
Please strike a vote for Memorial Hall and help make this happen.
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Opening Ceremony
Submitted by Bob, West Chicagoland
At the opening ceremonies, Hon. F. L. Bartlett, President of the day, said "the United States government had spent $2,000,000,000 and sacrificed 500,000 lives for the preservation of the Union; the money we could afford to spare, but not the lives, and it was right that we should raise monuments to the memory of the noble dead. It was right that Aurora should be the first to erect so grand a monumental building to perpetuate the names and deeds of her soldiers- and eminently right and proper that the soldiers of the Grand Army of the Republic should place upon its summit this splendid statue of one of their own number." His remarks were full of patriotic devotion, and concluded with the hope that we should all return to our homes more than ever determined to defend and sustain a country where the people ruled. It is right that this memorial be preserved.
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A cause for this century...
Submitted by Michael, Plainfield
Slightly more than 100 years ago, the Aurora Beacon & News reported on the renovation of the GAR building that had been completed at that time. The 1906 article stated that the structure had "been put into first class condition and will doubtless remain near the east Fox street bridge for many decades to come, a monument to the veterans of the civil war."
The call for the preservation of this fabulously small structure has been made repeatedly throughout its 130 year history...each time with measured success. Hopefully, people of this century will recognize the architectural, civic, and communal importance of this building and will support the restoration of one element of the building which will return some of the grandeur to this memorial edifice. While the architectural space and details are impressive within the small confines, the preservation of the art glass windows and other artistic embellishments is what will induce, once again, the spiritual and memorial sense of this veterans hall. Without the restoration of the art glass windows, the true sense and original intentions of the contemplative space are nearly impossible to convey to contemporary visitors to the memorial building.
Perhaps in a year or two, the Beacon-News, once again, will be enticed to write that the G. A. R. Memorial Hall has "been put into first class condition and will doubtless remain, for many decades to come, a monument to the veterans of the civil war."
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130 Years Of History
Submitted by Jan, ChicagoLand
Dr. Abner Hard was the Regimental Surgeon for the 8th Illinois Cavalry when it mustered into the Civil War at St. Charles, Illinois. He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, treasurer of the Soldier's Monument Association and a highly respected Aurora physician.
In 1877, one hundred and thirty years ago, Dr. Hard gave the dedication speech on the day the Memorial Building or, Soldier's Memorial Hall, as it was known to Aurorans then was completed. As he climbed the steps and positioned himself before a large assembly which had gathered on the lawn and in the street to hear him speak, he said: "To commemorate the labors, the trials and the sacrifices of noble men, to keep ever before the generations that will rise up and enjoy the freedoms for which these patriots risked and lost their lives, an Association was formed in Aurora. It's purpose was to erect a suitable monument which would perpetuate the memory of our heroes ...There it stands, complete in all its appointments, well proportioned and enduring. May it stand there through sunshine and storm, calm and tempest, day and night, summer and winter, to remind not only the present, but future generations what the living soldier endured for the price of Liberty."
In 1987, one hundred and ten years later, Richard Haussmann, another well-known, highly regarded Aurora citizen, and GAR Memorial Association Post Chaplain spoke Dr. Hard's words to his envisioned "future generations" when once again another large assembly had gathered on the lawn and in the street to commemorate Soldier's Memorial Hall during Aurora's Sesquicentennial celebration.
Although the torch has been passed many times in the last century, today for the first time in history Memorial Hall sits dark and empty. It's time to pass the torch again and restore Memorial Hall to its former grandeur for the generations yet to come so they too will be reminded of "what the living soldier endured for the price of Liberty."
Please help turn the lights back on.
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THE PRESIDENT & JACKIE
Submitted by BIG RED, WEST CHICAGOLAND
I was a young lifelong Auroran and heard that JFK was coming to Aurora. A friend of mine & I went to the rally in front of the GAR Building with a couple of sisters from the East Side. One of the things that I remember about Jackie was the size of her feet. She had very long feet. The other thing that I remember was how young they looked. This was to be my first election. I have voted in every election since then.
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American Veterans
Submitted by Jan, Native Auroran - Tn
Few citizens today know that not only was Aurora Post 20, Memorial Hall home to the Grand Army of the Republic, but it was also the Post Home of the Woman's Relief Corp (official auxiliary to the GAR), the Ladies of the GAR, Sons and Daughters of Union Veterans, the Spanish American War veterans and veteran's of World War 1. Several patriotic orders met monthly for decades. The latter, First World War veteran's were the last to leave when their membership dwindled down to only 7 in the late 1980s.
Fewer people yet know, that through the portals of Memorial Hall passed many prominent statesmen and Civil War Generals. Known to have visited and toured Memorial Hall were Generals Grant, Sheridan, Sherman, Logan, Howard, Farnsworth, Sigel and Sherer to name a few, who were wined , dined and entertained in the once great dining hall.
Several decades ago, the above named patriotic orders rededicated Memorial Hall. By unanimous vote of the members, they resolved that Memorial Hall be rededicated as war memorial, to stand forever in tribute to all veteran services in which American's fought and died. Thus Memorial Hall became a repository for war memorabilia collected through the years. The official name then became: The Grand Army of the Republic Memorial and Veteran's Military Museum.
- Jan Stiegleiter, former GAR Memorial Assn, Post Historian
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local history is our history
Submitted by Joe, Aurora
This building is one of the last of it's kind. It was built in Aurora, with stone quarried in Aurora from a design made by an Auroran (Joseph P. Mulvey). There are few things left in our world today that truly connect our future with our past as well as the Memorial Hall in downtown Aurora. This building housed post 20 of the GAR, and the first free lending library in A-town. In past decades large parades passed it's watchful presence even President Teddy Roosevelt beheld it's glory when he visited A-town in 1903. This building means a lot to Aurora, and a lot to our country, the last of the GAR members is long since gone, and without their guidance most of the GAR halls are gone now as well. This is one of (I believe) only two left in Illinois. This building should not JUST be preserved, it should be CELEBRATED. Please help save our history.
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Civil War History
Submitted by Ron, Aurora
Not only is this building an important part of the architectural history of downtown riverfront Aurora, its re-opening as a museum will help illustrate Aurora's connection to a profound historical period in the timeline of the United States as well. I look forward to being able to enjoy the GAR Hall in all its glory once the restoration is finished!
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A "bulldog" of a building
Submitted by Julie, Aurora
The GAR Hall is a small, but strong, imposing building. Its limestone construction, flying buttresses and cannons at the entrance give the impression of a bull dog. But the windows are the eyes to the soul of the building; a soul that has inspired and comforted generations of veterans and their families. Now those windows are in need of restoration so they may continue to inspire and comfort our newest generation of veterans and their families.
- Julie DeNood, Aurora Preservation Commissioner
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They gave so much
Submitted by Michael, Aurora
After the war, what then? Standing in the GAR Memorial Hall in Aurora, Illinois, I could feel—and see—the Civil War veterans of GAR Post #20 posing that question, and answering it with the building: its design, its decoration, its specific content. They planned many stained glass windows, perhaps because this was really a shrine to their fallen comrades, and to the triumph of the ideals for which they all had fought. Not all of the windows were completed, and some are damaged with age, but one that is still in place bears Ulysses S. Grant's 1868 presidential campaign slogan: "Let us have peace"—undoubtedly a profound hope of many throughout the land, following a war that had killed and wounded more than in all other wars in U.S. history. The names of those who served were engraved on marble plaques around the walls of the hall—but with one plaque left blank, faced by a statue of the "Recording Angel," who is inscribing the names of the unknown dead. What I find so profoundly moving in the Aurora GAR Hall is that, although they returned to their private lives after the great conflict, the veterans of Post #20 also made it a work of their remaining days to create a memorial to both the individuals and the great, national ideas that had been bound up in that war. Because, after the war, there was the long rite of remembrance.
- Michael R. Sawdey
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Scholarship, Sanctuary and Shrine
Submitted by Rena, Aurora
While researching the early history of this organization I was struck by the wisdom of its founders. The proud members of Post 20 were visionaries. They had fought a long and bloody war for the abolition of slavery and preservation of the Union. In the very heart of a thriving new community they built a monument that would honor their fallen comrades while creating a legacy for the future. The G.A.R. Hall was a sanctuary. It served as a gathering place for men who had fought side by side on the battlefields, it was a shrine to the Union dead, and it was a place of scholarship—a free library. The Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Hall, Aurora Post 20 stands as a tribute to the character, the intellect, and the dedication of Aurora's founding citizens.
- Rena J. Church, Director/Curator, Aurora Public Art Commission
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An Aurora landmark
Submitted by Al, Aurora
Our GAR is one of the few remaining structures of its type across the country.....built to commemorate our area's war heroes. It is a unique presence in our downtown and one of Aurora's premier landmarks.
- Al Signorelli
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