To Care For Him Who Shall Have Borne the Battle: Union Veterans in Gilded Age Los Angeles
In 1869, four years after the Civil War, a transcontinental railroad connected California to the East. For many Eastern Americans the West became a land of opportunity, a new beginning, a place to escape the aftermath of war. Many Civil War veterans moved to Los Angeles for the clean air and hopes of rehabilitation. From the 1880s to the 1910s the veteran soldiers of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) and Allied Orders, now far from the battlefields of war, formed a movement in the Los Angeles basin advocating for the social welfare of Civil War veterans. In his latest presentation, Brian Chavez will demonstrate how the GAR’s guiding principles of charity, fraternity, and loyalty were used to bring awareness to the forgotten veteran and establish his place in the national conscience. Their efforts created a Pacific Branch of the National Soldier’s Home and National Cemetery, strengthened the fraternal bonds of war, and promoted remembrance of the Civil War veteran through rallies and memorials. In the process they laid the foundation for veteran advocacy in Los Angeles and established a Civil War legacy in the West. You will not want to miss this meeting!

Mr. Brian Chavez
At the age of 15, Brian Chavez fell in love with local history and the American Civil War narrative, becoming one of the youngest volunteers at the Drum Barracks Civil War Museum. His enthusiasm and dedication as a volunteer, led to Brian’s hiring as paid staff, by the Los Angeles City Department of Recreation and Parks. In his decade of service at the Drum, he excelled at educating the general public on Los Angeles’ Civil War past, through tours, exhibits, and lectures. He was also building experience in historic sites and institutions, with an emphasis on museum education and collection management. Near completion of his formal education, Brian recently sought permanent employment, and was hired as the Gallery and Collections Coordinator, for the Historical Society of Long Beach. He continues to volunteer at local historic sites, such as Rancho Los Cerritos, and still helps out at the Drum Barracks. In 2015, Brian earned an A.A. in history from Long Beach City College. He went on to complete his B.A. in history, at the University of California, Los Angeles, in 2017, and is currently completing an M.A. in history, with an emphasis on early Mexican American communities in the borderlands of the American Southwest, from California State University, Long Beach.