On Saturday, October 10, 1936, a steady rain that had been falling all day paused momentarily as a small gathering hoisted a new 12-foot U.S. flag up the recently erected flagpole at the Ethelbert B. Crawford Memorial Library on Broadway in Monticello.

The flagpole was being dedicated that afternoon in honor of the 143rd Regiment, New York Volunteers, “one of the most noted Civil War regiments, which was in 20 major engagements.”

Levi Van Keuren of Kiamesha, 92, and one of the last surviving Civil War veterans in the county, was the guest of honor.

“World War veterans, Mr. Van Keuren, and children of veterans of the Civil War and World War joined members of the board of the Ethelbert Crawford Memorial Library in the dedication on the library lawn,” the Liberty Register reported in its October 15, 1936 edition. “Mr. Van Keuren, tall and proud despite his years, stood at attention with tears in his eyes as the flag was unfolded. The flagstaff, presented on the 74th anniversary of the presentation of regimental colors to the 143rd, then encamped at Camp Holley, Kiamesha Lake, was erected with funds raised several years ago by survivors of the unit for a regimental memorial, and Dr. Alice Divine of Ellenville, Regent of Major Dwight Divine Chapter of the Daughters of the Union, was largely instrumental in procuring the memorial. She played a major role in the exercises here.”

On October 9, 1862, what was described as “an immense crowd of patriotic citizens of Sullivan County” had gathered on the shores of Pleasant Pond (present day Kiamesha Lake) to present an American flag to the members of the 143rd, who were about to march off to war.

The Honorable Osmer B. Wheeler, supervisor from the town of Forestburgh and one of the most respected men in the county in his day, gave the presentation speech that afternoon.

“And now brave Regiment, in presenting to you this splendid stand of colors, allow me to say that I am not delegated by the committee to present them in consideration of their intrinsic value; not because they contain a certain number of yards of the very finest bunting; but I am delegated by the committee to present them to you in consideration of their extrinsic value; because they are nothing less than the emblem of the greatness and power of this mighty nation, under the Constitution! And as such, are the incentive to deeds of valor on the battlefield; and in your hands will prove a precursor of victory after victory, over armed rebels, and the restoration of the Union, the supremacy of the Constitution and the enforcement of laws.”

Later that day, 1,007 men embarked by foot to the Erie Railroad station at Middletown, camping overnight in Wurtsboro, and leaving the following day on the train. They would pass through New York and Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Alexandria, Virginia, and along the way learned first-hand of the dangers of war as a major train wreck claimed a number of lives. Before long, the 143rd would see action in defense of the Capitol at Washington, at Chickamauga, Georgia and at Missionary Ridge. They would take part in Sherman's Atlanta Campaign and his march to the sea. And 187 of them would not return. Those that did return mustered out on July 20, 1865. On that occasion, General William Tecumseh Sherman told them, “you have done bravely and well all that men could do, and you have the right to join in the joy of the country that the war is ended.”

In Monticello on that Saturday afternoon in 1936, Reverend Dr. William A. Crawford, the secretary of the library board, spoke eloquently of the lessons to be learned from the sacrifices of the regiment.

“It is the hope of the library trustees that the institution may serve as effectively in the arts of peace as the 143rd Regiment served in the war between the states,” Dr. Crawford said. “There is a deep and lasting debt of gratitude owed these men. Our national greatness could never have been achieved with the country divided into two small nations. Each generation must learn anew the lessons they taught.”

John Conway is the Sullivan County Historian. Email him at jconway52@hotmail.com.