Civil War

One of the most rewarding aspects of our Civil War Project has been the information we have gotten from descendants of Civil War veterans who are interred at Green-Wood. Sometimes they contact us with bare bones information: my great grandfathers name is ---- and he served in the Civil War. Can you help me find him? Other times pension records and photographs follow.

I have been a collector my whole life. I started with baseball cards, then moved on to stereoview photographs of New York City. In fact, that's how I wound up at Green-Wood the first time. Like all collectors, I would sometimes go to a show and not find what I was looking for. It then became a question of going home empty-handed or slightly expanding the scope of what I was collecting.

The Medal of Honor has been awarded only 3,446 times since it was first given in 1863. 

Samuel Sims was described in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle as "one of the bravest and best beloved of all the brave men who went from Brooklyn to fight the battles for the preservation of the Union" and "as brave a man as ever drew a sword." That's Sims above, in his Civil War uniform, early in the war.

A few nights ago, I was working my way through forms that have been filled out several months ago by our Green-Wood Historic Fund Civil War Project volunteers.

Whenever I visit Washington, D.C., I try to visit my favorite museums there: the National Portrait Gallery, National Building Museum, the American Art Museum, and the National Museum of American History. Sometimes I find "old friends," items I've seen many times, on display; sometimes I come across things I've never seen before.

In September, 2002, we launched The Green-Wood Historic Fund’s Civil War Project. Our goal was to identify those who had served, to tell their story, and to honor them.

I have been leading The Green-Wood Historic Fund’s Civil War Project since September, 2002.

It is a remarkable story--a tale of service, sacrifice, research, and discovery.

A few months ago I received an e-mail from Kevin Canberg. I didn't know Kevin, but I was fascinated by his e-mail. Here's what Kevin wrote: 

This has been a great year for our Green-Wood Historic Fund volunteers--our best yet. Volunteers staffed our new Historic Fund cart, welcoming visitors to historic Green-Wood Cemetery, answering their questions, and selling self-guided walking tours, books, and other items.