DELEVAN, N.Y. — Descendants of the 154th New York Volunteer Infantry, a Civil War regiment raised in Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties, will hold their 37th annual reunion from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Delevan Firefighters Memorial Training Center located at 1006 North Main St. (Route 16) in Delevan. The program is free and open to the public.
The 154th, known as the Hardtack Regiment, was raised in the summer of 1862. Mark Dunkelman of Providence, R.I. will, again, preside at the reunion. In addition to the usual souvenir ribbon, attendees will receive a map of the actions and a list of the casualties. Anyone descended from a member of the 154th New York is encouraged to attend, bring photographs and other relics of their soldier ancestors. Items will be copied and added to the regimental archives.
The program will focus on two days of fighting during the 1864 Atlanta campaign in Georgia, when the 154th was deployed as skirmishers fronting an assault at Gilgal Church on June 15. The attack drove the enemy to a new set of entrenchments at Mud Creek and had them pinned down under fire the next day. Approximately 140 men were engaged in this two-day fight; four were killed, 21 wounded — one mortally. From their letters and diaries, the words of the soldiers will be retold.
Among the accounts are those of Maj. Lewis D. Warner of Portville, commander at the time, and Pvt. Emory Sweetland of Little Valley, medical staff. Reenactor Ed Brodbeck of Cheektowaga will read from Warner’s accounts, while Jeffrey Barnes of Jamestown will read of his great-great-grandfather Sweetland’s after battle writings and other memories that spanned 30 years.
Stories and relics of Dunkelman’s great-grandfather John Langhans of Ellicottville, a 154th soldier, were the inspiration of his work in regimental history. Dunkelman is an author and muralist. To date he has connected with more than 1,300 descendants of the regiment.
For more information, contact Dunkelman at (401) 369-0637 or nyvi154th@aol.com or visit www.hardtackregiment.com
