O’siders step back to the Civil War at Old Bethpage

They don their uniforms, take up their muskets and head off to the famous battles of the War Between the States. They are Civil War reenactors, a passion that takes men from 2016 and sends them back to the 1860’s for a time. Next weekend the Civil War is coming to Old Bethpage Village.

Company H of the 119th New York Volunteer Infantry was an entirely Long Island raised company of infantry during the Civil War. Organized and recruited by Roslyn native Captain Benjamin A. Willis in the summer of 1862, the 100 men from communities in the Towns of Hempstead, North Hempstead and Oyster Bay endured the hardships and boredom of camp life and fought in the defense of Washington DC, at the Battles of Chancellorsville, Gettysburg and Chattanooga through the fall of Atlanta. On Sept. 10 and 11, Company H, 119th New York Volunteer Historical Association will host a Civil War Weekend. They will be highlighting the history of Hempstead Town’s Company H, 119th New York Infantry Regiment from its enlistment on the streets of Hempstead in 1862, through their service at Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Chattanooga and Atlanta to the end of the Civil War and return of soldiers to their Long Island homes in 1865.

The event will be an interactive weekend focused on the service of Willis Company, men from Long Island who enlisted in 1862 and fought the war to its end in 1865. Presentations will include several scenarios each day, including a recruitment rally, military drills and camp life demonstrations, including mail call and musket firing, and the men’s triumphant return to Hempstead in the summer of 1865. As part of General William Tecumseh Sherman’s Army, the men of “Company H” participated in the March to the Sea and the capture of Savannah, Georgia. Battle worn, the men of the 119th New York were mustered out of service in June of 1865.

Old Bethpage Village Restoration provides a unique opportunity to step back in time and experience life in a recreated mid-19th-century American village set on more than 200 acres. The museum is open from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Entrance fees are $7 for children 5 - 12 (those under 5 are free), seniors and volunteer firefighters; and $10 for adults. It is located at 1303 Round Swamp Road in Old Bethpage; for more information regarding the Village, call 516-572-8400.