The Grand Army of the Republic was established in 1866 and held its first national meeting that same year. Its membership consisted of Union veterans of the Civil War. The G.A.R. was concerned with veteran benefits and was actively involved in establishing soldiers’ homes, making provisions for soldiers’ graves, and lobbying for pension benefits. Membership in the organization reached its highest point in 1890, when its numbers exceeded 400,000. In 1949, with almost all its members deceased, the G.A.R. decided to disband as an organization after its last member died, which occurred in 1956. The G.A.R. was organized into departments, each one usually representing a state or region, with the departments divided locally into posts. The Litchfield post was organized in June 1886 and named for Lt. Seth F. Plumb, Co. E, 8th Regiment, Conn. Vols., who was killed at Fort Harrison, Va., on Sep 29, 1864. In 1918, the records of the post were turned over to the Litchfield Historical Society. The post had practically disbanded at this time, although the few remaining members continued to attend Memorial Day services. The last member of the post, Lucius D. Leonard, died in 1922.

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