GAR Badge, 61st National Encampment, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1927 (SOLD)

This is another nice piece being offered, it is a GAR Representative Medal for the 61^st Encampment in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The top bar has a clasp with an eagle grasping two cross cannons above cannon balls – in the eagle’s talons is a saber.   Suspended from the eagle is a rectangular plate that reads “G A R” in red, white, and blue enamel, with “REPRESNTATIVE” in enameled blue. A gold ribbon is suspended from the top bar. The overall measurement is 6 ¼” x 2”.

The second hanging medallion has a dark patina and is shaped like a shield with monuments at the Grand Rapids Veterans Memorial etched on the front. In the top left corner is a wolverine, appropriately placed because of the state nickname “Michigan Wolverines.” On the reverse there is a maker’s stamp. The final item is a coin with the image of Frank A Walsh. The top of the coin reads ‘FRANK A WALSH’ and the bottom reads ‘COMMANDER IN CHIEF.’ On the reverse, encircled in laurel branches are the words “61ST/ NATIONAL/ ENCAMPMENT/ G.A.R/ SEPT. 11TH-16TH 1927/ GRAND RAPIDS/ MICH.”

Frank Walsh enlisted in the Union army at the age of 15. He enlisted with Company H, 67th Illinois Volunteer Infantry in April of 1862 and was selected for prisoner exchange at Vicksburg to which he did not return till the fall of 1862. He would muster out and reenlist with Company G, 46th Illinois Infantry. He would become a machinist and entrepreneur and later elected to GAR Commander-In-Chief in 1926. This is a unique, intricate addition to any collector who wants to preserve the legacy of past Union service members via the GAR.