COVENTRY – The iconic navy blue uniforms of the soldiers who saved this great union from destruction 147 years ago will once again grace Chenango County Sunday as the lives of Civil War veterans from the area are commemorated. Eight years ago, concern over the lack of proper honor that Chenango Civil War Veterans had received sparked members of the Coventry community into action. On the behalf of the long-dead soldiers, Coventry history enthusiasts contacted the proper authorities in an effort to procure honorary Civil War cemetery markers.
“In some instances, we have even needed to get headstones for those without,” said organizer and Vice President of the Coventry Town Museum Association Janine E. Hakim. “When it began eight years ago, there was a collaboration with the historical society and the event was so popular we decided to do it again the next year,” she said.
Since then, the event has grown in scope with the help of private donations and grants from the Chenango County Council of the Arts. Now each year Civil War re-enactors come from all over to attend the event and demonstrate for eager onlookers just what it was like to live during the war.
Sunday’s event begins at 10:30 a.m. at the Coventryville Congregational Church, with a worship service. The day continues with historical reenactors, music and tours, culminating with a commemorative program at 2 p.m.
“I’ve being doing it all eight years,” said organizer, musical reenactor, and Coventry church pastor Joyce Besemer. “It started as a small event for a solider who seemed as though he did not receive the honor he deserved. Then we added music and Bill Searfoss, who loves doing historical research, designed a program for us.” After the first year, organizers found themselves wondering if there were any other such soldiers from the area who had likewise not been honored for their service to the nation. Twenty other similar cases were discovered and the organizers decided to turn the commemoration into an annual event.
Most of the soldiers who are remembered fought in the 114th regiment. Private John W. Wrench, the great grandfather of bluegrass musician Ted Wrench, will be honored during this weekend’s commemoration. Wrench enlisted in the Union Army in 1862 in New Berlin and was then mustered in Norwich along with fellow members of the 114th regiment.
Each year descendants of the veteran being honored take part in the ceremony, commemorating their ancestors. “Last year the soldiers descendants came from as far away as Delaware to participate,” said Hakim. At the end of this year’s ceremony, there will be a car caravan, traveling first to Wrench’s ancestral farm, and then proceeding to the Glenwood Cemetery where he now rests, at which point a honorary maker placed upon his grave.
“It is a real privilege to get to know the men that served our nation as well as how the community supported them and what was like back then because there was so much more going on in Coventry,” said Besemer. In a recent address to her congregation, Besemer spoke of how, in a sense, these veterans are still with us as part of the great cloud of witnesses. “They came before us, they are our heritage, and they send us out to do what we do today,” she said.
Though a member of the Coventry Museum, Besemer had never been involved in any reenactments, but as a singer she has been able to contribute greatly to the event by singing songs from the time period soldiers would have heard during marchs or around campfires. “It is very enjoyable and has gotten easier with each passing year,” she said.
Admission is free and there will be an authentic pig roast reminiscent of the 1860s. Each year at the end of the ceremony, war veterans present are asked to stand in order to be recognized and thanked for their services.