Veterans Day ceremony set for Civil War troops buried at historic Black cemetery in Wyandanch

It’s never too late to show respect.

That’s the philosophy of Wheatley Heights resident Ron Wells, who has organized what is believed to be the first Veterans Day ceremony to honor Civil War soldiers buried at a historic cemetery in Wyandanch.

“The notion that someone who served their country and has been buried in their final resting place, that they’re not honored on Veterans Day, breaks my heart,” said Wells, 67, who served as a chaplain for 30 years in the Navy, including in Afghanistan.

The cemetery property, which is owned by Pinelawn Memorial Park and identified on historic maps as Greenlawn Cemetery, is believed to hold the remains of more than 375 Black and Indigenous people who died in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The individuals were reburied on the 11-acre site, which runs along North 28th Street, from cemeteries in Roslyn and Brooklyn in 1898 and 1903, respectively.

At least four Civil War veterans are confirmed buried there who served in the 20th and 26th regiments of the United States Colored Troops. Those soldiers’ remains were reburried from the Bridge Street A.W.M.E Church cemetery in Brooklyn.

Carol Clarke, an archivist for the Bryant Library in Roslyn, said there are believed to be at least four other Civil War veterans buried there, from Salem A.M.E. church’s Mt. Zion Cemetery in East Hills.

The majority of the Wyandanch cemetery has no headstones or grave markers. Pinelawn refers to the site as “Greenlawn East,” but its website map has no numbered grids to identify grave sites as the rest of Pinelawn’s property does. None of the four confirmed Civil War soldiers’ names can be found in the "Find a Loved One" database.

The grounds have no signage other than “No Trespassing” signs and are not open to the public except by permission from Pinelawn personnel, who must unlock a gate.

Wells, who received permission from Pinelawn for the event, said he has never observed a Veterans Day ceremony there. When asked by a Newsday reporter if a ceremony had ever occurred, Pinelawn spokeswoman Jackie Savage did not respond and instead emailed a statement that read: "Pinelawn is always grateful to collaborate with others to honor all veterans, and it is our pleasure to remember these particular veterans on the upcoming national holiday."

Unmarked graves until last year

Until last year, the soldiers’ graves were unmarked. Retired Suffolk County Police Officer Tom Crist, 71, of Melville, worked to get plaques from U.S. Veterans Affairs to honor the soldiers after discovering the cemetery and researching its inhabitants. Crist said he learned that the men were farmers who survived the war.

Still, the plaques are often covered by leaves or surrounded by tall grass, and the cemetery is not maintained to the same standards as Pinelawn’s other properties, residents said.

“Going from walking and seeing their headstones obscured to being able to see their names and to be able to finally offer a prayer for them with the community is the answer to a prayer,” Wells said.

The ceremony will be simple, according to Wells, with him saying a prayer and placing small flags at the site of the burials.

“I think it’s wonderful,” said Linda Rhodes Jones, 81, of Brooklyn, who is history chair of Bridge Street’s board of trustees. “Whatever efforts are made to keep [the cemetery] alive and in the public’s consciousness is very important.”

Babylon Town Councilman DuWayne Gregory said he will be speaking at the ceremony.

“At a time when there are active attempts to rewrite history, I think it’s important to remember, recognize and appreciate the history that exists, particularly the Civil War, which was the most fractious time in our history,” he said.

Banned, then welcomed to enlist

According to the website for the African American Civil War Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., New York had 4,125 enlistees in the United States Colored Troops. The Colored Troops made up more than 10% of the Union Army and 25% of the Union Navy, despite the men being banned from enlisting until over a year into the war.

Babylon Town Historian Mary Cascone said Civil War soldier records are limited, but there is a running list of 282 residents of the town who served in the war. It is unknown how many were in the Colored Troops, but one of the most noted was Charles Devine Brewster, who helped lead the charge to desegregate schools in Amityville.

While the ceremony is important for the soldiers, “it’s even more important . . . that we continue to have this as a sacred place for people to honor them,” Wells said.

The cemetery abuts the 100-acre site of a proposed industrial park that has drawn opposition from neighbors who charge that the cemetery will be further cut off from the rest of Pinelawn’s meticulously manicured cemeteries. Pinelawn representatives have said there is a beautification plan for Greenlawn, with flowers, benches and an irrigation system.

However, a letter from Pinelawn attorney Mark Cuthbertson that was submitted to the town from Bristol Group for the industrial park states improvements are “contingent on the approval and completed development” of the park. This is because “the financial assistance provided by the [park] would enable Pinelawn to implement these improvements and access related infrastructure,” the letter states.

“You see how beautiful their main cemetery is,” Crist said. “So for them to say they can’t put in just a little bit of effort into the rest of this. It just seems to me they could do a heck of a better job.”

Cascone, who once saw people riding dirt bikes through Greenlawn, said cemeteries “at a minimum” should have “a fence, landscaping and a sign” in order for people to respect them.

“You set it up and then you maintain it,” she said. “You have to set the table for people to know that it’s time to come to dinner.”

The ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the cemetery on North 28th Street.