Brooklyn's Historic Green-Wood to Serve as New York's Civil War Sesquicentennial Headquarters
BROOKLYN, N.Y., March 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Brooklyn's historic Green-Wood Cemetery will serve as a Civil War Sesquicentennial Headquarters in New York as our nation marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. In honor of this historic milestone, the Green-Wood Historic Fund will host commemorative events throughout the 2011 Memorial Day weekend including a Civil War exhibition, cavalry-led candlelight procession, artillery and musket salutes, a stirring patriotic concert and more.
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In discussing Green-Wood's role as a Sesquicentennial Headquarters, President Richard J. Moylan noted Green-Wood's significant historic connection to the Civil War. In September of 2002, the Green-Wood Historic Fund launched an unprecedented Civil War Project to identify all of the Civil War veterans interred at the Cemetery. To date, this ongoing initiative has identified more than 4,500 such veterans who are interred at this National Historic Landmark.
Mr. Moylan said that volunteers are needed to work Memorial Day weekend and to help with preparations in the days leading up to the event.
Among Green-Wood's planned Sesquicentennial-related activities are:
An exhibition in Green-Wood's Historic Chapel, Honoring Their Sacrifice, will feature Civil War-era artifacts primarily drawn from Green-Wood's Historic Fund collections. The exhibition is free of charge and will run from Saturday, May 28 - Sunday, June 12, 2011.
On Sunday, May 29th, the graves of all 4,500 Civil War veterans will be illuminated by candlelight. A Grand Procession led by cavalry horses, fife and drum, and descendants of Green-Wood's Civil War veterans from across the globe, will traverse the grounds. Singers, a brass band and fiddlers will perform. Period re-enactors will stand as honor guards at many of the graves. Two encampments – one Union, the other Confederates – will be established where visitors can talk with uniformed re-enactors.
On Monday, May 30th, Memorial Day, The Historic Fund will hold a solemn Honor March to the Civil War Soldiers' Lot, where 127 veterans are buried – many of whom shed their blood at Antietam, Shiloh and Gettysburg. There, descendants and re-enactors will read the names of soldiers for whom Green-Wood is the "final camping ground." Songs will be sung and artillery and musket salutes will be fired.
The weekend will conclude with Green-Wood's free Memorial Day concert that will include Civil War music.
SOURCE The Green-Wood Historic Fund
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