Garfield Invincible L.O.L. badge

A parade badge produced by Whitehead & Hoag Co. for a fraternal organization. The badge bar and medallion are made of celluloid inserts with metal frames. The upper flap has crossed flag staffs with American flags attached. The flags appear to wave, an effect patented by Whitehead & Hoag in 1892. The badge is reversible so it may be used for both parades and funerals.

The dates on the badge bar (1688-1690) refer to the period when James VII and II was fighting William III of Orange for the crown of England. The medallion has the names of various battles in the war, as well as the word "enniskillen," which is what Protestant Irish who fought with William called themselves. Boyne, the decisive battle in the war, was won by William III in 1690.

"L.O.L" likely stands for "Loyal Orange Lodge." The Orangemen were a Irish Protestant fraternal organization who celebrated the memory and ideals of William III of Orange. In the 1870s several disturbances, known as the "Orange Riots" broke out in New York City between Irish Protestant and Irish Catholic immigrants following celebratory parades of Orangemen held on the anniversary of the Battle of Boyne.

Source: "The Orange Riots of Fifty Years Ago," T. R. Ybarra, the New York Times. July 10, 1921.

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