Join us for: “The History of the Grand Army of the Republic” (G.A.R.)
Guest Speaker: Dr. Andy Waskie

Tuesday, March 7, 2023

Soon after the American Civil War ended, many who had served began missing the comrades with whom they’d forged friendships in the fellowship of suffering and the trials and dangers they had faced together.

A few of the veterans’ clubs that soon sprang up around the county grew to became national organizations. Of these, the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) became the nation’s preeminent veterans’ organization and the most powerful single-issue political lobby of the late 19th century.

Professor Waskie was born in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, and pursued a Languages/History major at Bloomsburg University. He studied abroad at Salzburg, Austria, and Marburg, Germany; and received a scholarship to study Slavic Languages at Charles University, Prague. He received an M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from New York University. He performed duty with the Army in Germany and Army Reserves as an Army linguist. He became a teacher of languages and history at Pennsbury School District in Bucks County for 30 years, retiring in 1999 to accept a professorship at Temple University. Waskie was an Associate Professor of Languages and History at Temple University. He retired after 20 years of service in July 2019.

He is a co-founder of the “Civil War & Emancipation Studies” Program at Temple (CWEST) in 2003. As a Civil War historian, author and researcher specializing in Philadelphia, and historian of the life and career of Gen. George G. Meade, he seeks to promote the history of the Civil War Era and of the city. 
He is a member of the Union League of Philadelphia. Waskie serves as president of the General Meade Society of Philadelphia, and as a Board member of several history related institutions and organizations.

Join us as retired Univ. of Temple professor and historian Andy Waskie shares his extensive knowledge about Civil War era veterans’ organizations and, specifically, the G.A.R.