PRESERVATION, RESTORATION AND EDUCATION
Battlefield Preservation:
Annually the Association aids various preservation groups, including the Civil War Trust, in purchasing lands endangered by development that were part of Civil War Battlefields to honor the men who fought on these grounds, including members of the 119th N.Y. Volunteers, and so that visitors to these battlefields may view the terrain as it was when the solders that fought there 150 years earlier saw it. The Association believes these land purchases are important not only for their educational value but also as memorials to honor the men, both Union and Confederate, who’s blood was shed on those acres to preserve the Union.
According to the records of the Civil War Trust the Association is one of their largest donors. Out of approximately 50,000 donors the Association is in the top 5% in the aggregate amount given for preservation. In addition the individual members of the Association contribute separately to the Trust.
Restoration of the Roslyn Cemetery Civil War Monument:
In September 2005, after an 18-month $25,000 fund raising campaign, the Association dedicated a replacement for the Civil War Statue stolen in 1992 from the Grand Army of the Republic Monument in the Roslyn Cemetery. No trace of the original statue has been found nor any clue as
The monument was erected in 1902 at a cost of $1,000 to honor the veterans of the Civil War and is inscribed with the names, ranks, units and date of death of each member. The principal donor was Mrs. Ellen E. Ward, widow of General Elijah Ward in whose honor the post was named.
Chuck Heroux Prize:
Each year the Association sponsors the Chuck Heroux Prize for the Walt Whitman High School (Huntington) senior who has demonstrated distinguished scholarship in history. The award is in memory of Chuck Heroux, a graduate of the High School and a member of the Association who died much too early.