The Reunion Society of Vermont Officers was an organization of

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

veterans.

Founding

The Society was founded in 1864 by

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

veterans from

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

. Its original organizers included

Redfield Proctor Redfield Proctor (June 1, 1831March 4, 1908) was a U.S. politician of the Republican Party. He served as the 37th governor of Vermont from 1878 to 1880, as Secretary of War from 1889 to 1891, and as a United States Senator for Vermont from 189 ...

, George G. Benedict, and

Wheelock G. Veazey Wheelock Graves Veazey (December 5, 1835 – March 22, 1898) was an American attorney, judge, and government official. Veazey served as a justice of the Vermont Supreme Court, and as a member of the Interstate Commerce Commission. During the Ameri ...

Membership

Membership was open to Union

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

and

noncommissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

veterans A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that has ...

of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

and

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

from Vermont and Union veterans who were natives of

Purpose

According to its constitution, the Reunion Society of Vermont Officers was founded to: create and sustain fraternal ties among Civil War veterans; record recollections of fallen comrades; recall and memorialize the events of the war; and remember and promote to succeeding generations the ideals of liberty and national honor which prompted members to fight in the Civil War.

Activities

The Society met annually in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

chamber of the

Vermont State House The Vermont State House, located in Montpelier, is the state capitol of the U.S. state of Vermont. It is the seat of the Vermont General Assembly. The current Greek Revival structure is the third building on the same site to be used as the Sta ...

to hear an oration on a historical Civil War-related topic. In addition, the group conducted an annual reunion, at different cities in the state, at which it elected officers for the upcoming year. On two occasions during its existence the Society published the records of its annual proceedings, which included the text of its annual historical orations. The Reunion Society also endeavored to collect images of every Vermonter who served as an officer in the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, ultimately obtaining 859 photos of the 1363 officers, or 63%.

Prominent members

Almost all prominent Vermonters who had served in the Civil War were members of the Society, including

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

Interstate Commerce Commission The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later trucking) to ensure fair rates, to eliminat ...

member

, and Governors

Peter T. Washburn Peter Thacher Washburn (September 7, 1814 – February 7, 1870) was a Vermont lawyer, politician and soldier. A veteran of the American Civil War, he served as the 31st governor of Vermont as a Republican from 1869 to 1870, and was the first Verm ...

Roswell Farnham Roswell Farnham (July 23, 1827January 5, 1903) was an American politician of the Republican Party, an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War, a lawyer, and the 38th governor of Vermont. Biography Farnham was born in Boston, Mass ...

John L. Barstow John Lester Barstow (February 21, 1832 – June 28, 1913) was an American teacher, farmer, politician, and soldier who served as the 39th governor of Vermont, United States. Early life Barstow was born in Shelburne, Vermont, on February 21, 1832 ...

, Samuel E. Pingree,

Ebenezer J. Ormsbee Ebenezer Jolls Ormsbee (June 8, 1834 – April 3, 1924), the 41st governor of Vermont, was a Republican Party politician, a teacher, a lawyer and an American Civil War veteran. Early life Ormsbee was born in Shoreham, Vermont, the son of J ...

Urban A. Woodbury Urban Andrain Woodbury (July 11, 1838 – April 15, 1915) was an American Civil War veteran, an entrepreneur and a U.S. politician of the Republican Party. He served as mayor of Burlington, 37th lieutenant governor, and as the 45th governor of V ...

Josiah Grout Josiah Grout Jr. (May 28, 1841July 19, 1925) was an American lawyer and politician in the US state of Vermont. Born in the British Canadian Province of Lower Canada to Vermonter parents, he served in the American Civil War as a Union Army offic ...

, and Charles J. Bell.

Political influence

Vermont elected only Republicans to statewide office from the party's founding in the 1850s through the 1960s, a legacy largely possible in the second half of the 19th century because of the party's support among Union veterans. Among the earliest members who were prominent in government were

and

, who used loyalty among Civil War veterans as a base of political support to attain prominence in the Republican Party. One of the Vermont Republican party's devices for maintaining order and avoiding

primary elections Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

was to restrict governors to two one-year terms. When two-year terms were introduced, the party limited

governors A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...

to a single term. Another party device was the "Mountain Rule". Under the provisions of the Mountain Rule, one

was a resident of the east side of the

Green Mountains The Green Mountains are a mountain range in the U.S. state of Vermont. The range runs primarily south to north and extends approximately from the border with Massachusetts to the border with Quebec, Canada. The part of the same range that is in ...

and one resided on the west side, and the

governorship A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

and lieutenant governorship alternated between residents of the east and west side. These provisions were made possible in large part because members of the Reunion Society who were likely candidates for office agreed to abide by them in the interests of party unity.

Termination of activity

Membership in the society dwindled as Union veterans aged and died, but it remained active at least until 1915.Newspaper article, Annual reunion of Vermont Veterans
Boston Globe, January 29, 1915

Partial list of presidents and years of election

Resources

* *

References

{{Reflist American Civil War veterans and descendants organizations Organizations based in Vermont Vermont in the American Civil War Organizations established in 1864