MACHIAS, N.Y. — Descendants of members of the 154th New York Volunteer Infantry, a Civil War regiment raised in Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties, will hold their 36th Annual Reunion from 2 to 5 p.m. July 16, at the Cattaraugus County Museum and Research Library in Machias.
The 154th New York — known as the Hardtack Regiment — was raised in the summer of 1862 and participated in many of the great campaigns and battles of the war, including Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Chattanooga, the Atlanta Campaign and Gen. William T. Sherman’s marches through Georgia and the Carolinas.
Historian Mark H. Dunkelman of Providence, R.I., will preside at the reunion, as he has every year since their inception in 1986. He is the great-grandson of John Langhans of Ellicottville, who served as a corporal in Company H of the 154th.
The reunion program will focus on “Preserving the Chancellorsville Battlefield.”
Anyone descended from a member of the 154th New York is encouraged to attend the reunion, which is free and open to the public. Descendants are asked to bring photographs and relics of their soldier ancestors to be copied and added to the regimental archives. Each attendee will receive a souvenir ribbon. Programming will take place under an event tent on the museum lawn, rain or shine. Some seating will be available, but attendees are encouraged to bring their own chairs if they wish.
For more information about the reunion, contact Mark Dunkelman by phone at (401) 369-0637, or by e-mail at nyvi154th@aol.com. More information about his work, including summaries of previous reunions, can be found at his website, www.hardtackregiment.com.
