Ray LeMay’s hat tells a story that intertwines the history of America with his own family. Adorned with the insignia of the Company G, First New York Engineers regiment, the replica is not unlike the one his great-great-grandfather Daniel Pratt likely wore a century and a half ago fighting for the Union Army.

“My great-great-grandfather was in the Civil War,” LeMay said. “It was exhilarating just being able to connect to that history.”

What You Need To Know

  • A Civil War statue in Congress Park was destroyed by vandals in mid-July

  • The local chapter of Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War has started a fundraiser to replace the monument

  • So far, the members have raised more than $4,000

David Dziewulski can also connect his family’s story to that pivotal time in American history.

“I don’t have any lineage, my wife has lineage,” Dziewulski said. “She has an uncle, a great-uncle who served in the 14th Maine for the duration of the war.”

Both men are members of the local chapter of Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, a group that was formed by Civil War soldiers and their sons in the years after the fighting stopped. 

“As they aged, the grim realization was they are not going to be around,” Dziewulski said.

“Who best but their sons to keep green their memories?” said LeMay, who lives in Troy “So it is as their sons we keep green their memories.”

The group spends much of its time preserving graves, monuments, and memorials. That included the 77th New York Volunteers statue that stood in Saratoga’s Congress Park before it was destroyed by vandals two weeks ago.

“I was disgusted,” LeMay said.

“It was a lot of disappointment; there was anger,” Dziewulski said.

With only the pedestal remaining, Sons of Union Veterans have launched a GoFundMe page to raise funds to replace the statue.

“Our focus does not become the act, but rather how to make it right, how to get the statue back up, and that’s where our focus remains,” Dziewulski said.

The group has already raised more than $4,000. The two men believe restoring the monument will help preserve the memory of their ancestors’ sacrifices for generations to come.

“They were veterans, and yes, it was more than 150 years ago, but still they served, and they donned the blue,” LeMay said.

Correction: The previous version mistakenly referred to the statue as the "Colonel G.L. Willard statue."