Woman's Relief Corps (U.S.)

National organization formed in 1883 at the Denver Encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic, as an auxiliary to that organization and to continue to "care for the Veteran and his dependent ones and to perpetuate the memory of their heroic dead". As the number of Corps grew, each state elected its own governing body, subordinate to the national governing body. In addition to helping veterans, these women worked to get pension help for the nurses who served in the Civil War, founded a home for the care of these nurses as they aged and also the widows of the veterans. They also raised money to help the victims of natural disasters and to help educate children and immigrants in patriotism and allegiance to the United States. The national headquarters moved each year to the city where the president lived, until 1941 when the national headquarters was moved permanently to Springfield, Ill.

From the description of General orders, 1888-1912. (Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library). WorldCat record id: 50674100