Woman's Relief Corps

The Woman's Relief Corps (W.R.C.) is the official women's auxiliary to the [Grand Army of the Republic], recognized in 1883.

The National Woman's Relief Corps, Auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Republic, Inc., is a patriotic organization whose express purpose is to perpetuate the memory of the Grand Army of the Republic, as their auxiliary organized at their request on July 25 and 26, 1883 in Denver, Colorado, and incorporated by Public Act of the 87th Congress on September 7, 1962.^[1]

The W.R.C. is one of the many women's organizations that were founded after the American Civil War. In 1879 a group of Massachusetts women started a "secret" organization and its members were to be women who were loyal to the North during the Civil War.^[2]

From 1879, the Woman's Relief Corps held as the primary means to identify women who were eligible to become members was remaining loyal to the Union. It didn't matter where the applicants lived during the Civil War as long as they could prove loyal to the Union. While it might be easy to assume that this organization was only for white women, there were many Posts across the country that had African-American women as members. The only challenge identifying these women is that the Woman's Relief Corps records do not specify the races of its members very often. The organization was designed to assist the GAR, promote and help run Memorial Day (alongside the GAR), petition the federal government for nurses pensions, and promote patriotic education.

MISSION

The National Woman’s Relief Corps, Auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Republic, Inc., is a patriotic organization whose express purposes are:

1. To perpetuate the memory of the Grand Army of the Republic and its heroic dead (as we are their auxiliary organized at their request on July 25 and 26, 1883 in Denver, Colorado; and incorporated by Act of the 87th Congress, September 7, 1962); to assist in every practicable way in preserving, and making available for research, documents and records pertaining to the Grand Army of the Republic and its members;

2. To assist such Veterans of all wars of the United States of America as need our help and protection, to extend needful aid to their widows and orphans, and to assure them of sympathy and friends. To cherish and emulate the deeds of all loyal women who rendered loving service to our country in her hour of peril; and

3. To maintain true allegiance to the United States of America; inculcate lessons of patriotism and love of country among our children and in the communities in which we live; and encourage the spread of universal liberty and equal rights of all.^[3]

RULES AND REQULATIONS

Being the official auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Republic, the Woman's Relief Corps could not just operate as it wished or do whatever it pleased. The founding members of the WRC had to write rules and regulations that the GAR would approve of and also ran along similar lines of what the GAR was doing. The Rules and Regulations for the Government of the Woman's Relief Corps stipulated three main objectives. The third of these objectives was to "maintain true allegiance to the United States of America" and teach patriotism and "love of country."^[4]

STATE/TERRITORY DEPARTMENTS AND POSTS

The numbers of state and territory departments and posts changed regularly from year to year. In 1892, the WRC was made up of forty-five departments, provisional departments, and detached corps of various territories and states. There was a combined total of 2,797 corps (chapters) across the country. In 1892, the WRC also had 98,209 members.^[5]

MEMORIAL DAY

Early on in the creation of the WRC, Memorial Day was used to teach patriotism and nationalism to children of all ages across the North (there was an effort in the South, but there was a great deal of resistance). The members of the Woman's Relief Corps with the assistance of children would make floral wreaths and place them alongside American Flags at the graves of Union veterans and nurses who died during and since the Civil War.^[6]

The members of the GAR and WRC viewed Memorial Day as a holy day, but by 1915, the organizations were combating the view that Memorial Day was now a holiday and the memory of the Civil War began to dwindle.^[7]

PREPETUATE THE MEMORY OF THE GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC

Memorial Day – laying of wreaths at gravesites of Civil War veterans including the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington Cemetery and at Southern National Cemeteries; participate in local civic Memorial Day events.
Lincoln’s Death Day Commemoration – participate in the ceremony and lay a wreath at the tomb of Lincoln on this day of solemnity in April in Springfield, Illinois.
Gettysburg Remembrance Day – participate in the Ceremony of Remembrance commemorating the Gettysburg Address given by President Lincoln at the original dedication of the cemetery on November 19, 1863.
Memorials – annually present a Gettysburg Address plaque to an educational institution in memory of the Grand Army of the Republic.
Living Memorials – urge tree planting to beautify parks and cemeteries in the name of the Grand Army of the Republic.
National Holidays –participating in their proper observances.
Maintain and operate the Grand Army Memorial Museum - provide a place for research and records as a living Memorial to the Grand Army of the Republic, Inc. at 629 South Seventh Street, Springfield, Illinois 62703

TO ASSIST VETERANS, THEIR WIDOWS and ORPHANS

Hospital Volunteer Service/VAVS – our members are very active in the Veterans Administration Volunteer Service (VAVS) in V.A. hospitals throughout the country, donating freely of our time and resources through VAVS and in local hospitals, nursing homes, and for shut-ins, such as transportation services for doctor appointments or groceries, donating food or clothing, Christmas and other holiday baskets.
Active Soldiers (our future Veterans) – send cards and care packages to those soldiers in active duty.
Legislation – monitoring the U.S. Congress actions as it regards to our veterans.
Red Cross – participate and support their projects and programs.
Local Community Services – participate and support locally organized or individual projects and programs through volunteerism and donations.
Scholarships – annually giving assistance to worthy young people to procure education at the college level and maintaining numerous paid-up scholarships throughout the United States. Annual gifts to honor students at the West Point Military Academy (West Point, New York) and at the Naval Academy (Annapolis, Maryland).
Child Welfare – promoting with donations of money and volunteer service to private and government-sponsored child welfare programs on the local and national level.
Narcotic Prevention and Education – provide funds to print numerous publications on narcotics for distribution in schools from coast to coast.
Libraries – volunteer time and services at local libraries to advance child welfare and patriotism; set up displays to educate the public about the mission of the Woman’s Relief Corps.

TO PROMOTE PATRIOTISM TO OUR COUNTRY

Patriotic Education – distributing Patriotic literature, such as the American’s Creed and Pledge of Allegiance cards; stressing the patriotic duty and privilege of exercising our constitutional right to VOTE; to love and honor the heroic defenders of our country.
Etiquette of the Flag – distribute literature on what our Flag stands for and how to respect it.
Americanization – promote the teaching of the principles of true citizenship; urging foreigners to become naturalized U.S. citizens by cooperating diligently with other agencies actively engaged in constructive service for the foreign-born.
National Defense – contributing freely (to the limit of our capacity in every emergency) of our money and earnest efforts to learn and counteract influences antagonistic to our Government.
Schools/Education Programs - volunteer time and services at schools, museums, and other forums to advance patriotism and allegiance; to provide educational programs on Civil War history; set up displays to educate the public about the mission of the Woman’s Relief Corps.

^[8]

References

↑ http://suvcw.org/WRC/index.htm
↑ Janney, Caroline (2013). Remembering the Civil War: Reunion and the Limits of Reconciliation. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. p. 123.
↑ http://suvcw.org/WRC/mission.htm
↑ Woman's Relief Corps (1894). Rules and Regulations for the Government of the Woman's Relief Corps, Auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Republic. Boston: E.B. Stillings and Co. p. 3.
↑ Woman's Relief Corps (1892). Journal of the Tenth National Convention. Boston: E.B. Stillings and Co. pp. 507–511.
↑ Woman's Relief Corps (1885). Proceedings of the Third National Convention. Boston: E.B. Stillings and Co. pp. 110, 120.
↑ Woman's Relief Corps (1918). Journal of the Thirty-Sixth National Convention. Washington, D.C.: The National Tribune Company. p. 77.
↑ http://suvcw.org/WRC/whatwedo.htm

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/23/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.