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After nearly nine months of planning, the long awaited 15th Massachusetts commemoration banquet has finally taken place. It was held on the evening of October 23rd at the Publick House Restaurant in Sturbridge Mass. and was a huge success. |  |
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Just two weeks prior to the evening an article was written in the Telegram and Gazette that described the original banquet held in 1864. The article told of how the 15th Mass reenactors were planning to commemorate the event with a remembrance banquet of their own and also stated that a few relatives of soldiers who served in the 15th would be in attendance. |  |
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Shortly after the article was published, Bob Ducharme began to get phone calls from folks who had read the newspaper, had relatives who served in the 15th and wanted information about the banquet. Most of these folks requested tickets, and by the weekend before the banquet all tickets had been sold. During the following week a number of people called for tickets and sadly had to be told that there were no more tickets available. |  |
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By the time the evening arrived it became obvious that we would have a diverse group in attendance, which would include reenactors, relatives of those who served with the regiment, and others who were just interested in the 15th's history. |  |
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Guests came from near and far.
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In all 15 men who served with the regiment were represented during the evening. Several artifacts belonging to members of the 15th were on display, and most relatives brought documents, journals, letters and artifacts belonging to their ancestors. |  |
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The evening began with a cocktail hour from 6:00 to 7:00 P.M. during which all in attendance had the opportunity to meet each other and share stories about the glorious regiment that we all admire so much. Most of the reenactors were in period dress, which went along with the period room and restaurant that added to the commemorative spirit of the evening. |  |
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The program for the evening began with the presentation of the "colors" and the pledge of allegiance. After that, all in attendance, while being accompanied by Art Phelps on his guitar, joined in to sing "The Vacant Chair", a song written after the death of Lieut. John William "Willie" Grout, a 19 year old soldier from Worcester who served with the 15th Massachusetts and was killed at the battle of Ball's Bluff on Oct. 21, 1861. |  |
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Upon conclusion of this most fitting and stirring song, Bob Ducharme told of the history of the 15th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment, the formation of the 15th Mass Association, the original banquet in 1864, and finally how the idea of a commemorative banquet came about. He followed this up by introducing the relatives present during the evening who were representing men who served with the 15th. |  |
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He concluded his introduction by pointing out that every single one of the men who were represented that evening was either killed, wounded, or taken prisoner during his time with the 15th, and that this was an indication of the severe action that this regiment experienced throughout the war. After a prayer, and a toast "To the Memory of the 15th Massachusetts" we proceeded to enjoy a wonderful meal served by the outstanding staff of the Publick House. |  |
| By 9:00 we had concluded with our
meal, and continued with our program for the evening. Our three speakers for the evening
covered three separate topics concerning the 15th Massachusetts Regiment. Our first speaker Steve Doucette, chairman of the 15th Mass reenactors, spoke on the origin and history of the recreated 15th Mass reenactors. During his excellent presentation, Steve also told of all the activities such as parades, dedications, ceremonies, living history programs, and school presentations, where reenactors participate in addition to battle reenactments. |
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| Our second speaker, Dave Ward, in a very moving speech, told of his feelings on what he thought drove these men to make such heroic sacrifices. He also spoke on the issue of how important it is for all of us to keep these stories and deeds alive so that future generations may appreciate the sacrifices that those who came before us made in order to preserve the Union. |  |
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| Our final speaker for the evening was Mrs. Susan Harnwell who spoke of how she came to create the 15th Massachusetts website. She described, how as a genealogist, she began researching family records which led to an ancestor that she found extremely interesting. The ancestor turned out to be Capt. Charles Watson of Co. E, 15th Mass. This led her to do research on the 15th. Having had some background in the computer industry she decided to create a webpage where she could post her information, and thus the 15th Mass webpage was born. |  |
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At the conclusion of the evening, our most respected Captain Cipriani presented Mrs. Harnwell with a certificate recognizing her contribution to the 15th Massachusetts Regiment and honoring her by bestowing upon her the title of "Daughter of the Regiment" of the 15th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Reenactors. |  |
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In closing I would like to thank all
who supported and attended this special event. I can't help but feel that the guys in the
15th were looking down upon us the evening of the 23rd October, and each of them was
smiling. "None has given more freely the blood of it's bravest and it's best" Bob Ducharme October 1999 |
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