Not long after the armies disbanded, veterans of the Civil War began holding reunions. Veterans groups formed on t, and national levels, with the two best-known organizations being the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) formed in 1866 and the United Confederate Veterans (UCV) founded in 1889. These associations not only provided a social outlet for veterans to share their stories and often lobbied on behalf of their members, especially for funding pensions. Officially the GAR accepted black veterans, but due to racial tensions in the late nineteenth century, black veterans usually formed their own GAR posts.