More than 100 people came out to Roslyn Cemetery on Saturday, Sept. 10 to witness the unveiling of a Civil War monument, thus completing a process that began when the original statue was stolen back in 1992.

The unveiling was greeted with clear skies and sunny weather. The day's festivities, meanwhile, included appearances by 30 Civil War re-enactors, a color guard, and a band playing period piece music.

The monument itself was shrouded in black and later unveiled for the crowd at the appropriate moment.

The unveiling was also the culmination of a partnership between the Village of Roslyn and Joseph Bresnan who is a Preservation Architect for Green-Wood Cemetery in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

Bresnan specializes in the restoration of Civil War monuments. Green-Wood Cemetery's own Civil War monument contains four life-sized soldiers, each representing a division of the Union Army: the artillery, the cavalry, the infantry, and the engineers. According to Richard J. Moylan, president of Green-Wood, molds of these statues, originally cast in 1866, are available, free of charge, to cemeteries around the nation.

The statue in Roslyn was of an infantry soldier. The Green-Wood infantry soldier was not the exact replica of the stolen one in Roslyn, but the posture was the same, making it close enough to be used for the new statue. Furthermore, Bresnan was able to have the reproduced statue made in bronze.

The statue was completed at the Modern Art Foundry in Steinway, Queens before being transported to Roslyn. In all, it took over a year to finish the project, Bresnan said. During that time, Company H, 119th N.Y. Volunteers Historical Association conducted a fund-raising drive. Having Green-Wood supply the replica saved a great deal of money for the entire project, Bresnan added.

"Roslyn was the first historic town to accept the idea [for the replication]," Bresnan said. "It was a unique project and we feel that a special relationship between Roslyn and Green-Wood developed."

Military and civilian members of Company H took part in the ceremonies, as did members of the Oliver Tilden Camp No. 26 and Moses Baldwin Camp No. 544, of the Sons of Union Veterans.

The original statue, which stood atop a 14-foot granite base, was erected in 1902 to honor the local men who had fought for the Union during the Civil War by the Roslyn chapter of the Grand Army of the Republic.

Located in the Roslyn Cemetery GAR plot which contains the remains of several local Civil War veterans, the statue was the center of Memorial Day remembrances for years after its dedication, even after the death of the last of the local GAR members.

The statue stood for a good 90 years, before it was stolen in May 1992. The statue was never recovered and Nassau County police have theorized that the theft was the work of professionals with ties to dealers in folk art or Civil War memorabilia.

And so, Company H began its restoration effort, one that saw its successful completion with the recent unveiling of the new statue.