Annual Memorial Day observances at Fleischmanns and Margaretville on May 30 will include a reading of the names of 35 men from the Town of Middletown who died during the Civil War.
The Historical Society of the Town of Middletown (HSM) has prepared this tribute to mark the 150th anniversary of the start of the war. Local citizens will read the names, and a bit of information about each person – age, parents’ names, military unit, when and where they served, and how they died. The readings will follow parades and services that begin in Fleischmanns at 9:00 and Margaretville at 11. In case of rain, the Fleischmanns parade will be cancelled and a single ceremony will be held in the Margaretville Central School gym.
The primary source of the information is an 1866 accounting of Civil War veterans compiled by the Middletown Town Clerk at the time, William O’Connor. This period record listed 346 Middletown men who had served in the war, which raged from 1861 to 1865.
HSM, which two years ago compiled comprehensive lists of veterans of all wars buried in local cemeteries, will now attempt to develop as thorough a record as possible of Middletown Civil War veterans, including those who migrated here in the post-war years. Volunteers who would like to work on this ambitious project, researching source materials, transcribing records and compiling a database which can be utilized by genealogists and historical researchers, are urged to contact Diane Galusha at 845-586-4973 or history@catskill.net.
