Union Memorial at Greenfield Cemetery Near Hempstead, N.Y.

Although I have worked in Hempstead for over thirty-five years, I did not know that a cemetery on the border between Uniondale and Hempstead has a large monument dedicated to those who served in the Union Army during the Civil War. Until early December of 2023, I have ridden past the cemetery eight or nine times every year without stopping to see if there were any ties to the Civil War.

Greenfield Cemetery is a mid-size burial ground that is owned by the Town of Hempstead for its residents “exclusively.” This is not a “Rural Cemetery.” It is a well-kept, but simple, place to bury the town’s dead. The site itself was getting a lot of attention when I was there and town workers keep the site pristine. I came down from downtown Hempstead on Greenwich St and came upon the cemetery when it intersected with Harold Ave. I went in the entrance there, at the North-East point of the property and went straight in paralleling Nassau Rd. I went past the first right turn on the cemetery roadway and made the second right turn. Right before me I could see the monument.

In front of me was a bronze statue erected in 1888 by sculptor Karl Gerhardt. The artist was born in Massachusetts in 1853 and he became a skilled machinist. In his spare time he practiced as a sculptor. Living in Hartford, Mark Twain saw his work and he volunteered to finance Gerhardt’s art education in Paris. Sculptors John Quincy Adams Ward and August St. Gaudens endorsed his work. Major General Gouverneur K. Warren statue on Little Round Top is one of his well-known works.

The monument is in excellent shape with a circle of flags around the base. In front of the statue is an explanatory marker.

 

There is a Grand Army of the Republic burial ground nearby, but it only holds about ten percent of Civil War veterans buried in the cemetery. According to the marker, over 200 Union dead are buried in the cemetery. From what I could see, these were all veterans buried here after the war.

 

The Town of Hempstead erected the monument in 1888. Now a town may not seem like a big unit of government, but right now there are 793,409 people living here! So the “town” is about the size of Boston. Of course, back in 1889 there were just 18,000 living in Hempstead Town, so there has been some explosive growth.

 

While the design of the monument is fairly standard, I have seen dozens of similar sized statues of soldiers at parade rest, I noticed the fine detail of the elements.

 

The bayonet scabbard.

 

The cartridge belt.

The accuracy of the musket and uniform.

This led me  to find  out  who the sculptor was. Karl Gerhardt did this statue as well as two other similar statues. He was a master.

With the mark of the foundry at the base pf the bronze.

Below are the graves of the Grand Army of the Republic members. These are in Section 17, a few minutes walk from the statue.

 

The cemetery has put up a marker identifying those who lie here. Since several of the lettering on the headstones are difficult to read, this  is very helpful.

 

Most of those who lie here died in the 20th Century, with some living until after they turned eighty.

Here is the grave of James Lewis of the 6th Regiment New York Volunteers.

 

The four headstones below are of a modern design. They were all installed in 2022, with military honors, and were paid for with Veterans Administration funds. The local newspapers devoted space to covering the dedication.

John Rieth was fifteen when the war started. He was a musician. He lived until he was seventy-six or so.

Charles Hammond was sixteen when Fort Sumter was fired on. He would rise to become a sergeant in the 124th Ohio. The regiment was mustered into service in Cleveland and it served with the Army of the Cumberland. He died at 79 years of age.

 

Albert Rhodes was born in what is now called Malverne. When he was born in 1845, it was called Norwood. On Jan. 17, 1862, he enlisted as a private in the 95th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He was trained on Governor’s Island in New York City and then his regiment was sent to Washington. The first saw battle at the Second Bull Run. After that they were in almost every fight of the Army of the Potomac. By the end of the war, a quarter of the men were dead.

Rhodes was mustered out on May 13, 1865. He died at 80 or 81 years of age.

 

James Brightman was an eighteen year old when he enlisted in the Fighting 69th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment on September 3, 1864. The ’69th was one of the most famous regiments of the war. It had been a militia unit before 1861 and was closely entwined with the Irish national liberation struggle. Brightman was wounded a month after being mustered in on October 22, 1864 during fighting near Petersburgh, Virginia. He stayed with his unit until the end of the war. He lived to be 75.

 

Below is the grave of Sergeant Major John King of the 6th Connecticut Volunteers.

To the right (North) side of the statue, away from the GAR burial site, is where Lieutenant Moses A. Baldwin is buried. The local GAR and Sons of Union Veterans posts were named after him. While he was wounded during the war he did survive. He died in 1877 when he was 35 years old.

Baldwin was in the Long Island Company H of the 119th New York Volunteers. He was wounded on May 8, 1864 at Rocky Face Ridge, Georgia.

Baldwin died of injuries received during his work as Supervisor of the night watchmen at Washington Market in N.Y.C. Washington Market was established in 1812 and it lasted until the 1960s. Washington Market Park is in TriBeCa in Manhattan where the market used to be.

Moses Baldwin was born in Hempstead, N.Y., near where I am writing this post!

The 119th New York was attached to the Army of  the  Potomac’s XI Corps. The Long Island company was not made up of German immigrants. Here is the recruiting poster used in 1862. Although it was not designed to recruit German immigrants, it still heralded the commander of the Division, General Sigel.

Here is the statue from ground level at the GAR burial spot.

This century old GAR star marks this as a grave of the the Civil War.

 

All color photos were taken by Pat Young. To see more sites Pat visited CLICK HERE for Google Earth view.

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