Spotlight On: The Grand Army of the Republic

Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum

Spotlight On:

The Grand Army of the Republic

November 9, 2023 7PM

Free Virtual Event – Join us on Facebook or YouTube

Please note: You can use the links above to watch archived Spotlight On programs!

Formed in 1866, The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) became the predominant veterans’ organization following the Civil War. Reaching a peak in 1890 with well over 400,000 members, this fraternal group wielded great political and economic power throughout the northern states. In Pittsburgh the GAR was responsible for conceiving and constructing Soldiers & Sailors in honor of the more than 25,000 veterans from Allegheny County. This program will examine the history of the GAR and will highlight artifacts from our collection.

Rich Condon Bio:

Rich Condon is a public historian from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with a BA in public history from Shepherd University. For over a decade Rich has worked with a multitude of sites and organizations including The Battle of Franklin Trust, Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum, National Museum of Civil War Medicine, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, Flight 93 National Memorial, Reconstruction Era National Historical Park, and Catoctin Mountain Park. He has written for Civil War Times Magazine, The American Battlefield Trust, as well as Emerging Civil War, and operates the Civil War Pittsburgh blog, which focuses on sharing stories related to Western Pennsylvania’s role in the Civil War.

Tim Neff Bio:

Tim Neff began working at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum Trust, Inc. in 2002 as the Director of Education. In 2017, Tim took on the role of Vice President and Director of Museum & Education at Soldiers & Sailors. He is a certified Social Studies teacher and holds a bachelor’s degree in History and Political Science from the University of Pittsburgh. During his time at Soldiers & Sailors, Tim has developed a variety of museum programs including: interactive and engaging tours and field trips, a footlocker outreach program, Boy Scout merit badge programs, teacher conferences, summer camps, community history events and much more.