This black and white photograph shows an older man dressed in a Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) uUniform standing next to a boy in a Boy Scout uniform.

Grand Rapids war hero, businessman, and philanthropist Ralph Hauenstein has recalled assisting GAR veterans in Grand Rapids for a National Encampment as a 12 year old Boy Scout, much like the one pictured here.

After the end of American Civil War, organizations were formed for veterans to network and maintain connections with each other. Many of the veterans wished to keep in contact with each other, using their shared experiences as a basis for fellowship. Groups of men began joining together, first for camaraderie and later for political power. Emerging most powerful among the various organizations was the Grand Army of the Republic, founded on the principles of "Fraternity, Charity and Loyalty," in Decatur, Illinois, on April 6, 1866, by Benjamin F. Stephenson.