GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC — E. D. BAKER POST 64 — CLINTON, MASSACHUSETTS
Illustrated GAR Veterans' Cover — 1¢ Green Franklin — Historic Johnson Family Collection
An attractive and historically significant illustrated envelope from E. D. Baker Post 64 of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), Clinton, Massachusetts.
The Grand Army of the Republic was the influential national fraternal organization established by Union veterans following the Civil War. Its local posts preserved wartime comradeship, honored fallen soldiers, and played important roles in Memorial Day observances throughout the country.
A STRIKING CIVIL WAR VETERANS' DESIGN
The elaborate printed illustration features an American eagle with outstretched wings, a draped United States flag, and the distinctive five-pointed GAR membership badge.
The badge bears the inscription “GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC” and depicts the organization's familiar veteran-and-civilian imagery.
Printed alongside the illustration: RETURN TO E. D. Baker Post 64, G.A.R., CLINTON, MASS.
The post was named in honor of Edward Dickinson Baker (1811–1861), a United States senator and Union Army colonel who was killed at the Battle of Ball's Bluff, Virginia, in October 1861.
POSTAL DETAILS
Franked with a 1¢ green Benjamin Franklin stamp of the 1908 Washington–Franklin series, cancelled at Clinton, Massachusetts. The postmark year is illegible. The cover is believed to date from the early 20th century, probably circa 1909–1912.
The envelope is addressed to Mr. Charles W. Houghton, also of Clinton.
A PERSONAL CONNECTION TO CLINTON'S CIVIL WAR VETERANS
This envelope comes from the Johnson family collection, preserved for more than eight decades.
According to recollections passed down through the family, Dr. Allan C. “Doc” Johnson (1889–1941), a Clinton dentist, attended Memorial Day parades with his young son during the 1920s and 1930s.
Doc's son, Allan C. Johnson Jr. (1921–2020), later told of having seen elderly Civil War veterans march in Memorial Day parades. By then, the surviving veterans would have been among the last living representatives of the generation that fought in the Civil War. It is entirely possible that some of those veterans belonged to E. D. Baker Post 64, the very organization represented by the illustration on this period envelope with an attractive, well-preserved printed GAR illustration.
There is tearing along the upper edge, affecting both front and back, but no paper is missing. The graphics and stamp are undisturbed. Additional age-related wear and creasing are present.
The reverse has no noteworthy markings. No original letter or contents are included.
Please examine the photographs carefully for the exact condition of the envelope, stamp, and postal markings.
PROVENANCE
From the collection of Dr. Allan C. “Doc” Johnson (1889-1941) of Clinton, Massachusetts, an active stamp collector during the early 20th century. Doc's collection has remained with his family for more than eight decades.
A tangible reminder of the Union veterans who helped shape Clinton's civic life, preserved by a family with its own long history in the community.
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