| Birth: | Oct. 3, 1823 | | Death: | Aug. 30, 1871 | 
Civil War Union Army Surgeon. He was the founder of the Grand Army of the Republic organization of Union Army veterans. A graduate of Rush Medical College in Chicago, Illinois, he joined the Union Army on April 7, 1862, when he was commissioned as Chief Surgeon of the 14th Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He served with the 14th Illinois through two full years, then was honorably mustered out on June 24, 1864. Concerned with the after-war lives of Union veterans, he formed the Grand Army of the Republic on April 6, 1866 at Decatur, Illinois, and served as it's first Commander-in-Chief. After a decline in the 1870s, it was reorganized and revised, and eventually grew to a peak of 490,000 veteran members in the 1890. Doctor Stephenson's organization lasted until 1956, when Albert Woolson, the last living Union veteran, passed away. (bio by: Russ Dodge)
Search Amazon for Benjamin Stephenson | | | Burial:
Rose Hill Cemetery
Petersburg
Menard County
Illinois, USA |
Maintained by: Find A Grave
Record added: Jun 02, 1998
Find A Grave Memorial# 3007 |
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(3.5 after 23 votes)
