Green-Wood Cemetery and the Civil War Project

My husband and I have been volunteers for almost six years in the Historic Fund Civil War Veteran Project going on in historic Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York. The project has been working since 2002 to identify and remember the Civil War veterans who lie at rest in Green-Wood Cemetery.
Green-Wood Cemetery is one of the world’s great cemeteries and is a National Historic Landmark. Founded in 1838 as the third rural cemetery in America, it was a leading tourist attraction by the 1850’s, attracting 500,000 visitors per year, and is now the final resting place of over 600,000 persons, including some of history's most memorable figures. Of those buried there, it is now believed that at least 3,000 were veteran soldiers and sailors of the Civil War, many sadly lying in unmarked graves, or under gravestones that have been so badly weathered that the stones have become unreadable.


More than six million men served in the Civil War during the years of 1861 -1865, and approximately 500,00 were from New York State. Over 600,000 men nationwide were killed and many more were wounded during the Civil War.

When the project first started it was thought, based on earlier informal searches, that perhaps there were 500 or so Civil War Veterans interred in Green-Wood Cemetery, but now six years later under the guidance of Jeff Richman, Green-Wood Cemetery's official historian, we, along with other volunteers, have found more than 3,000 buried veterans within the cemetery! We have scoured not only Green-Wood’s grounds but also cemetery records, pension and enlistment archives, government databases, regimental histories, published obituaries and death notices. We have also filled out more than 1,200 applications for new markers since the Department of Veterans Affairs supplies them if originals are unreadable or lost.
Please take the time to watch a very poignant video about Green-Wood's Civil War Veteran effort on the New York Times website here.
In the pictures below you can see my husband and other volunteers poring over the cemetery's burial ledgers searching for names of men who were of Civil War service age, to then cross-reference them against military muster lists and other references. It is tedious but satisfying work, especially as some very interesting stories emerged about many of the men we identified.

A close up photo of some of the exquisite penmanship in the burial ledgers.

In conjunction with this research, Jeff Richman wrote and edited this book, Final Camping Ground: The Civil War Veterans at Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery, in Their Own Words.


This unforgettable book is a profusely illustrated account of the Civil War primarily in the words of Green-Wood Cemetery’s veterans—their letters, their journals, and their battlefield reports. The book is supplemented by a searchable computer CD containing a biographical dictionary of 3000 veterans, with more than 700 pages of text and hundreds of photographic portraits.
From the book's introduction: "Here are the veterans of the Civil War in their own words, many of which are published for the first time. They write from camp, just trying to survive. They write from the front, awaiting battle. And, they write from the battlefield, where they lie dying. Their words reflect their patriotism, their humor, their dedication. These men sacrificed so much for their country—their careers, their health, their lives. They deserve to be remembered. Here they are, in their own words. "
On Memorial Day, May 28, 2007, there was a dedication ceremony to mark the success of this project at Green-Wood, and many dignitaries, Civil War reenactors, descendants of Civil War soldiers, and the volunteers were in attendance.
Below is a photo of the 1.200 new Veteran's Administration headstones laying flat, awaiting placement on the grave sites of the Civil War Veterans interred in Green-Wood.


Some photos of Union and Confederate reenactors at the Memorial Day celebration, in soldiers field.




One of the more interesting stories that emerged from our Civil War Veteran research was that of the Prentiss brothers, two brothers buried side by side in Green-Wood Cemetery. One fought for the Union, the other for the Confederacy, and both were mortally wounded in the same battle at St. Petersburg, VA. Even though they had vowed to never again speak to each other when they joined opposite sides of the conflict, after they were wounded their nurse, the now famous poet Walt Whitman, reported that ultimately they achieved reconciliation before their deaths. Below is a photo of the new gravestones for the Prentiss brothers, The Union Clifton Prentiss on the left, and his Confederate younger brother William Prentiss on the right.

Next photo, is of the new gravestones installed in front of their nearly illegible original gravestones.


The Prentiss brother's unusual story has been recounted in a newly published fascinating historical fiction novel.

Two Brothers, One North One South by Author David H. Jones.

How gratifying that their story has been preserved and retold, and how honored we are that their final resting place has finally been recognized by our Veteran's Administration for the generations to come!

Below a view from one of the hills of Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York, looking towards Manhattan.

There are many more fascinating stories about the veterans buried in Green-Wood, as well as the many other famous people who are buried there, such as Leonard Bernstein, Charles Ebbets, Samuel F.B. Morse, Peter Cooper, Horace Greeley, Louis Comfort Tiffany, Henry Ward Beecher, General Henry Halleck, Lola Montez, Laura Keene, Elias Howe, and “Wizard of Oz” Frank Morgan, and infamous such as “Boss” Tweed, Bill "The Butcher" Poole, Albert Anastasia, and Joey Gallo, among others.
Consider taking one of the many guided tours available of the cemetery's beautiful grounds, as it is also a remarkable arboretum, wildlife sanctuary, sculpture garden, a place of architecture, landscape design, and history. The cemetery is open to visitors everyday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., weather permitting, see the web site for contact and further information.

It is certainly a wonderful place of interest to visit if you come to New York City!