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United States of America. G.A.R. St Paul
National Staff Badge – GAR Commander in Chief Ivan N. Walker
1896 Bronze 47 x 38mm (26.43 grams)
COMMANDER IN CHIEF G.A.R. I.N. WALKER, Walker facing left.
WALKER NATIONAL STAFF ST PAUL 1896, Inscription in wreath.
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 Ivan N. Walker (February 3, 1839 – November 25, 1905) was an American soldier who served in the Union Army during the American Civil War and as the 24th Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, 1895-1896.
Early life and military career
Walker was born February 3, 1839, in Arlington, Indiana, to James and Jane (McBride) Walker. He moved to the Fort Wayne area with his family when he was a young boy, where he attended the local schools.
Walker was working as deputy warden at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City when the Civil War began. He enlisted at age 23 on August 5, 1862, in Company K, 73rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was commissioned captain.
Following the Battle of Stones River, Walker was promoted to major for his gallant service. In March 1863, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. Following the death of the regiment’s colonel in May 1863, Walker was given command of the regiment without further promotion.
During Streight’s Raid, the 73rd Indiana Infantry was captured. Walker was sent to Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia. He and other officers began working on a tunnel out of the prison on February 9, 1864. Walker succeeded in escaping the prison, but was recaptured by Confederates near Union lines. He was returned to prison and eventually exchanged in May 1864.
After his exchange, Walker returned to the 73rd Indiana Infantry, which was then guarding the supply lines along the Tennessee River between Decatur and Stevenson, Alabama, in support of Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign. Walker’s long imprisonment in harsh conditions weakened his health, and he resigned his commission on July 4, 1864. He returned to Michigan City where he married Anna Layton on October 27, 1864. Still wishing to serve, Walker relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, where he served as a volunteer aide on the staff of Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas and performed valuable service during the siege and Battle of Nashville.
Post-war service
Walker and his wife remained in Nashville until 1870, when they moved to Indianapolis, Indiana. He served as a Marion County deputy county auditor and state tax commissioner for several years.
He was an active member of the G.A.R. from its inception and served in every office from Post Commander up to Commander-in-Chief. Walker was serving as Post Commander of George H. Thomas Post No. 17 (Indianapolis) when he was appointed Assistant Adjutant General of the Department in 1887. In 1891 Walker was elected Department Commander and in 1893 he was elected Senior Vice-Commander-in-Chief.
Walker was unanimously elected 24th Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic and served 1895-1896. While attending the 1905 national convention in Denver, Colorado, he became seriously ill. Walker died on November 25, 1905, and is buried at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis.
 The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S. Navy), Marines and the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Springfield, Illinois, and grew to include hundreds of “posts” (local community units) across the nation (predominately in the North, but also a few in the South and West). It was dissolved in 1956 at the death of its last member, Albert Woolson (1850-1956) of Duluth, Minnesota.
Linking men through their experience of the war, the G.A.R. became among the first organized advocacy groups in American politics, supporting voting rights for black veterans, promoting patriotic education, helping to make Memorial Day a national holiday, lobbying the United States Congress to establish regular veterans’ pensions, and supporting Republican political candidates. Its peak membership, at 410,000, was in 1890, a high point of various Civil War commemorative and monument dedication ceremonies. It was succeeded by the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW), composed of male descendants of Union Army and Union Navy veterans.
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