Just in time for Memorial Day, dozens came to the Wyoming Monument to honor and remember the men who died during the Battle of Wyoming, one of the revolutionary war’s most harrowing losses.
“It’s a very special place and we pass it every day,” said Wyoming Monument Association Vice President Marian Czarnowski. “So many people on Route 11 don’t realize the history of this national historic site.”
Organized by the Wyoming Monument Association and hosted by the 24th Connecticut Militia Regiment, the regiment that fought in the fated battle, attendees were transported back to a recreation of what a church service would have been like in 18th century America.
Sherry Emershaw, president of the reenacting regiment, said, “It started at the forty-fort meeting house with like 20 people attending and every year thereafter, this is our sixth year, it has grown and this year is even bigger than last year. So, it’s very very heartwarming to see that.”
The Wyoming Monument was built to honor the men who died in the battle of Wyoming, their bones, buried under the obelisk.
“The young, the old, people that have lived here all their life, people that come to visit and stop and see it,” said Czarnowski. “I’ve met people from Kentucky and Georgia here that’s come to the monument, who used to live in the area and come back to see it. It’s very special and we want to keep our local history alive.”
And the 24th Connecticut Militia Regiment is part of living local history. Consisting of volunteers, the group does events and reenactments all year round, educating the public on life in colonial America – and the sacrifices that were made during the revolution.
Emershaw continued saying, “How do you get to know your community or get involved or respect your community if you don’t know where your community came from? It is our job to educate people at any event and tell them the story of Wyoming Valley and the role we played in the revolutionary war. It is hard to believe that we actually had a Revolutionary War battle here and it was for the sacrifice of these men, which are of course our regiment, whose bones are in the monument. If it wasn’t for the likes of them and the likes of all the other soldiers, we may be singing ‘God Save the King’ today!”
The memorial today was a necessary reminder of our rocky road to independence – honoring the men who gave their everything – and the people hundreds of years later that give their time to make sure they are never forgotten.