Civil War Vets Celebrate

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A marching unit makes its way down 3rd Avenue in a
 parade that highlighted the 1913 Huntington reunion
 of the Grand Army of the Republic.

 Courtesy of James E. Castos

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In 1913, a half century after the Civil War, the city of Huntington
 welcomed hundreds of grizzled veterans of that great conflict.
 First, in May, West Virginia members of the Grand Army
 of the Republic, an organization of Union veterans,
 conducted a reunion in the city.

After the end of the Civil War, various state and local organizations
 were formed for veterans to network and maintain connections
 with each other. Founded in 1866, the Grand Army of the
 Republic — often referred to as the GAR — emerged
 as the largest and most influential such organization.
 The first GAR post in West Virginia was organized
 at Martinsburg in 1880. By 1889, the organization
 had 3,161 members in 89 local posts throughout
 the state.  For many years the West Virginia
 GAR members held an annual encampment
 somewhere in the state, and in 1913, a
 May 20-22 event brought
 them to Huntington.

The visiting veterans, who arrived by train from all parts of the state,
 found virtually every building in the downtown business district
 either flying the nation’s flag or draped in red, white and blue
 bunting. Headquarters for the three-day event was the Elks
 Club, while the Ladies Auxiliary met at the Florentine
 Hotel. A highlight of the gathering was a grand
 march down 3rd Avenue. After voting to
 meet the following next year in
 Moundsville, the Union veterans
 adjourned and entrained
 for their homes.

Later that same year, on Oct. 9 and 10, downtown Huntington was
 “invaded” by nearly 200 members of the United Confederate
 Veterans of West Virginia. Like the Union veterans, the
 Confederate vets conducted their business sessions
at the Elks Club. A reception at the Fifth
 Avenue Hotel highlighted the convention’s
 social activities. A march through the
 city’s downtown marked the
 close of the convention.

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Note:  This Article and picture appeared in the Herald-Dispatch Newspaper on April 15, 2025.

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