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Sons of Union Veterans Medal


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I like that one. Thanks to all of you for sharing . Are these pretty common as opposed to GAR medals ?

 

Not really common, particularly in this form. While the SUV is still active the old badges are actually hard to find.

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That sure is a nice presentation badge. And, seeing as it is almost 100 years old, I am sure you are not going to find many out there like it.

 

Thank you very much for sharing!

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  • 4 years later...

Recent estate sale find. Came with a plain WW1 Victory medal. First one of these for me. Reading this thread, there seems to be different ribbon variations. Was the ribbon on mine the original color combination? Thanks, Al

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While I am not an expert on Sons of Union Veterans membership badges, per se, I think that this ribbon is original. It has been exposed to sunlight and the white middle stripe has turned yellowish in color.

 

Kevin

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While I am not an expert on Sons of Union Veterans membership badges, per se, I think that this ribbon is original. It has been exposed to sunlight and the white middle stripe has turned yellowish in color.

 

Kevin

 

Thanks Kevin. I was curious about the ribbon design in your post #5. Also, that medal is like mine on the front, but yours is different on the reverse with the intertwined letters SUV, the later name change. Did the ribbon change at the time of the name change?

 

Thanks again, Al

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Al,

 

The ribbon and pendant in post #5 is a later version of the membership badge. Over the years there have been several changes that have been made. Yours is an earlier example whereas mine is a later.

 

Kevin

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Al,

 

The ribbon and pendant in post #5 is a later version of the membership badge. Over the years there have been several changes that have been made. Yours is an earlier example whereas mine is a later.

 

Kevin

 

Thanks Kevin.

 

Al

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  • 1 year later...
KevinBeyer

While searching through some old emails between me and an older collector who has since passed away, I came across an image he shared with me of the very first example of a Sons of Union Veterans membership badge. This version is not depicted in Bishop & Elliot's American Society Medals. Note its similarity to the Sergeant At Arms badge as shown above.

 

SUV_RJS_Type01.jpg

 

I believe this to be the earliest version of the Sons of Veterans membership badge.

 

Kevin

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  • 3 months later...

I have never seen a SUVCW Military Honorable Service medal before.

 

Did the organization have the medal engraved, or did you have it done privately?

Thanks for sharing!

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I have never seen a SUVCW Military Honorable Service medal before.

 

Did the organization have the medal engraved, or did you have it done privately?

Thanks for sharing!

 

I had to buy it, had to show my 214, and then had a jeweler friend engrave it.

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  • 2 years later...

Along with the SUVCW War Medals goes the associated bar for the conflict during which the member served.

 

attachicon.gifSUVCW_Cu...dalWBars.jpg

 

Kevin

Hi Kevin,

 

Would you know if there is a miniature version of the SUVCW War Medal? I haven't seen one, so I'm just curious.

 

Thank you!

 

Joe

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Would you know if there is a miniature version of the SUVCW War Medal? I haven't seen one, so I'm just curious.

 

 

Joe

 

Hi, Joe,

 

I have never seen a miniature version of the War Medal. That doesn't mean that they don't exist, though. If I were to hazard a guess, I don't believe that the SUVCW would go to the expense of having a mini medal made.

 

Excellent question! I wish I had a definitive answer.

 

Kevin

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Hi, Joe,

 

I have never seen a miniature version of the War Medal. That doesn't mean that they don't exist, though. If I were to hazard a guess, I don't believe that the SUVCW would go to the expense of having a mini medal made.

 

Excellent question! I wish I had a definitive answer.

 

Kevin

Hi Kevin,

 

Thank you for responding! I noticed that there are miniature medals for almost every other version, including the Member Badge and Military Service Badge, but not the War Badge.

 

If I learn anything, I'll let you know. Again, thank you!

 

Joe

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Hi again, Kevin,

 

Just wanted to follow up. I e-maailed the SUVCW Quartermaster and he told me there is no miniature for the War Medal. FYI...

 

Best regards,

 

Joe

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  • 3 years later...

Hi everyone...please bear with me as I'm new to this forum and new to civil war artifacts.  And if I'm being completely honest, I'm only casually familiar with the details of the Civil War. 

 

I was out metal detecting today in a wooded area that had a fair amount of activity in the past.  Along with slag, shotgun shell headstamps and random junk, I came across cents from 1822, 1866, and 1905.  Then I found this medallion:

20221030_194017.jpg.05b211b83b5ba673e423256a1b2e2dfc.jpg20221030_194022.jpg.35536b3d18de0f5c760a8cebba083422.jpg

 

It took a while to pick away enough dirt to make out some of the words.  I got enough to make a Google search work:  "Sixteenth annual encampment G A R".  There's also a date but a few characters are still unclear.  What I have is, "June 2x 188x".  I want to say it's june 21, 1882, but it's hard to tell.   

 

What came back from Google led me to this forum and this thread.  What I'm trying to figure out is if it's commemorating something from 1882, or if it could actually be *from* 1882.  The date ranges of everything else I found today doesn't help narrow it down. 

 

I'm also a bit confused about how these annual encampments worked.  The Google results seem to indicate that they moved around.  But it also seems like each state had its own.  I'm in Chester County, PA...not terribly far from Philadelphia.  I'm left wondering if this medal was lost during some sort of reenactment, or if it ended up in the woods some other way. 

 

If anyone could help me fill in some of the gaps in my understanding that would be really appreciated.  I tried Google...it didn't help much because the 16th encampment seemed to have taken place in Indianapolis in September of 1897, not anywhere near Pennsylvania, and not in June like it's written on the medal.  

 

I'm going to try to make out more of the words but in general, it looks very similar to some of the medals in this thread. 

 

Thanks for reading this, and for whatever info anyone might be able to provide. 

 

 

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Hello,

 

Glad you could join us.

 

The G.A.R. held annual Department encampments every year in the various states.  Each state was considered a "Department", e.g. "Department of Pennsylvania".  Delegates from within the state would travel to the host city and conduct G.A.R. Department business as well as do the things one normally does at a reunion.  The G.A.R. also held National Encampments every year to accomplish the business of the organization as a whole.  It was an honor to host the National Encampments; representatives from potential host cities would lobby for their location to be chosen.  Lots of money would be spent in the host city, so it was a pretty big deal to be chosen.

 

Each encampment published their proceedings to show all of the work that had been accomplished over the previous year.  The Library of Congress has scans of some Proceedings from the Department of Pennsylvania.  They can be found here.

 

Each State and National Encampment would make commemorative reunion badges for the delegates and guests to wear.  The Badge Committee for each National Encampment always tried to outdo the previous year's Badge Committee.  That is why G.A.R. National Encampment badges are so ornate.  The Badge Committees for the Department level encampments oft times just reused the badge making dies, sometimes with slight alterations, as a cost saving measure.

 

The G.A.R. 16th Annual Encampment for the Department of Pennsylvania was in 1882.  The pendant you found is from 1882.  How it ended up where you found it is anybody's guess.

 

Collecting Department level G.A.R. reunion badges is an excellent hobby.  I, myself, have a decent collection of G.A.R. Department of Illinois badges.

 

 

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On 11/2/2022 at 1:48 AM, KevinBeyer said:

Hello,

 

Glad you could join us.

 

The G.A.R. held annual Department encampments every year in the various states.  Each state was considered a "Department", e.g. "Department of Pennsylvania".  Delegates from within the state would travel to the host city and conduct G.A.R. Department business as well as do the things one normally does at a reunion.  The G.A.R. also held National Encampments every year to accomplish the business of the organization as a whole.  It was an honor to host the National Encampments; representatives from potential host cities would lobby for their location to be chosen.  Lots of money would be spent in the host city, so it was a pretty big deal to be chosen.

 

Each encampment published their proceedings to show all of the work that had been accomplished over the previous year.  The Library of Congress has scans of some Proceedings from the Department of Pennsylvania.  They can be found here.

 

Each State and National Encampment would make commemorative reunion badges for the delegates and guests to wear.  The Badge Committee for each National Encampment always tried to outdo the previous year's Badge Committee.  That is why G.A.R. National Encampment badges are so ornate.  The Badge Committees for the Department level encampments oft times just reused the badge making dies, sometimes with slight alterations, as a cost saving measure.

 

The G.A.R. 16th Annual Encampment for the Department of Pennsylvania was in 1882.  The pendant you found is from 1882.  How it ended up where you found it is anybody's guess.

 

Collecting Department level G.A.R. reunion badges is an excellent hobby.  I, myself, have a decent collection of G.A.R. Department of Illinois badges.

 

 

Kevin - thank you so much for the detailed information!  Truly!  I could have made some guesses but had no certainty.  I know the exact spot I found it, so I'll definitely be returning to see if anything else was left behind.  Should I expect there to also be a piece with the recipient's name or rank or anything?

 

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These were souvenirs purchased by attendees of the encampments, possibly friends or family. The top bar would be decorative, but it would not have a place for a paper insert where the person would write their name. Reunion badges were sometimes made to have such a feature, but you won't find that with souvenirs of this type. 

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14 hours ago, KevinBeyer said:

These were souvenirs purchased by attendees of the encampments, possibly friends or family. The top bar would be decorative, but it would not have a place for a paper insert where the person would write their name. Reunion badges were sometimes made to have such a feature, but you won't find that with souvenirs of this type. 

Got it...thanks again!! 

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  • 5 months later...
BILL THE PATCH

Found this over the weekend did I Google search by brought me here . My ribbon is ripped in half by the seller trying to grab it out of a bag. Got it reduced to 5 bucks after she ruined it 

16818500310905762279761084030917.jpg

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