Celebrating the Civil War's Sesquicentennial at Green-Wood Cemetery

On April 12, 1861, the Civil War commenced – and this month history buffs can pay tribute to the conflict at Green-Wood Cemetery.

As New York’s Civil War Sesquicentennial Headquarters, the cemetery will host a litany of events in tribute to the 150th anniversary of the war. The festivities kicked off last Saturday, with volunteers laying down marker flags on the graves of the 4,500 Civil War veterans buried in the Sunset Park cemetery.

Jeff Richman, Green-Wood’s historian, explained that Green-Wood’s Civil War Project, hopes to identify all the Civil War veterans buried in the cemetery. “

“Our Civil War Project aims to honor the sacrifices of our Civil War veterans,” he said. “And the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War is an appropriate time to remember these men and their causes.”

So far the Project has identified 4,500 veterans — among them 75 Confederate soldiers — buried in Green-Wood, as well as women involved in the war. They include Laura Keene, who was at Ford’s Theatre when Lincoln was assassinated; and Mary Ann Sanford, who was a nurse at the battle of Antietam.

Among those who served in the war was Samuel Sims, a Brooklyn glass worker and a Union captain of the 51st New York Volunteers Infantry. He was killed in the Battle of the Crater in 1864 and left behind a fiancée.

“Years later,” said Richman, “a comrade, wandering Green-Wood, noticed that his grave was unmarked. The veterans of the 51st took up a collection and erected a monument to his memory.”

As part of the festivities, a new exhibit, “Honoring Their Sacrifice,” that will debut at Green-Wood’s Historic Chapel on May 28, highlighting artifacts from the period, including zinc sculptures of soldiers and cannons. On May 29, a procession with musicians performing the sounds from the Civil War era, cavalry horses and the veterans’ descendants will parade through the candlelit cemetery. Music from the period will fill the air.

And on Memorial Day, the month of celebration will culminate with a “March of Honor” to the Civil War Soldiers' Lot, the resting place for 127 veterans from major battles such as Gettysburg and Antietam. The names of the veterans buried at the cemetery will be read by their descendants.  

 “It’s the 150th anniversary of the Civil War,” she said. “It is a once in a lifetime experience to be a part of a historical event,” said Marge Raymond, a Bensonhurst-based professional singer and Green-Wood tour guide, who will lead a choir to perform songs such as “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” “When Johnny Comes Home” and “Shenandoah” on May 29. Like the re-enactors, the choir will too be dressed up for the occasion — Raymond will be wearing a ball gown that is from the Civil War period.

Richman hopes that the events will inspire in locals a renewed respect for what these veterans have done. “Some paid with their lives; some lost a leg. Others were never healthy again. And all of this history is in Brooklyn, not in some faraway battlefield park.”

For more information about Green-Wood’s Civil War Sesquicentennial events this month, visit www.green-wood.com/2010/civil-war-sesquicentennial. To volunteer, please contact Jeff Richman at jeffrichman@green-wood.com or visit www.green-wood.com/2010/volunteer/.