The culmination of five years of work by the 155th New York Volunteer Infantry Reenactment Regiment, Inc. and UB's Casting Institute debuted on Saturday, as the Buffalo Civil War Memorial was unveiled along Buffalo's waterfront.
Buffalo artist Henry Schmitt, who is also a Civil War re-enactor, created the sculpture to commemorate the 155th Volunteer Infantry Regiment. The regiment is a group of 600 Buffalonians, mostly of Irish descent, who fought in defense of the Union from 1862 to 1865.
The sculpture, which depicts six soldiers charging into battle with bayonets and an American flag in hand, was unveiled as an American flag was flown simultaneously on a flagpole attached to the sculpture.
The flag blew in the breeze as cameras flashed and spectators stood on their toes, positioning themselves for a glimpse at the monument.
"This monument is a living history, a living memory of all those who fought so bravely and so well for the United States of America," said Buffalo Mayor Anthony Masiello as he addressed a crowd of about 400.
Among the crowd at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park were members of the 155th Reenactment Regiment, dressed in full regalia; descendants of the original members of the 155th Regiment; political figures; members of the Buffalo community; and contributing artists.
UB's Casting Institute was invited to join the team about two years ago, taking Schmitt's sculpture and turning it into a monument set in granite, which now stands at the Buffalo Naval Park.
Casting a sculpture is a long task, said Julie Silver, former director of the Casting Institute. After months of work preparing the sculpture for casting, 1,000 pounds of bronze was heated to a temperature of several thousand degrees, and the molten metal was poured in the sculpture's mold, which was made of chemically compressed sand.
At the time, Schmitt's piece was the second largest bronze sculpture ever poured in UB's foundry and was particularly tough for the Casting Institute because of the level of detail in the piece.
Members of the 155th Reenactment Regiment modeled for the sculpture, according to Schmitt, allowing him to capture the details, down to the brass buttons on the soldiers' coats. The soldiers' belt buckles are embossed with the letters "SNY," which Schmitt explained stood for "State of New York."
"It's the re-enactor in me," said Schmitt. "We (made) sure that all those details are in there."
Schmitt, who taught an illustration class at UB, first got involved with the 155th Regiment 10 years ago when his wife took him to a reenactment. Schmitt said that "history came alive" that day.
Gary Costello, president of the 155th New York Volunteer Infantry Reenactment Regiment, said that he was swept away the same way Schmitt was. Costello, who had always been interested in history, attended a reenactment 12 years ago and was hooked.
Costello organizes about five reenactments per year and said that there are sometimes over 17,000 people involved in the battles.
Costello said that his involvement with the reenactments is a way of honoring the past, and by doing so, honoring the present.
"I was in the army - six years in the reserves - I could say I did my part, but I don't feel like that," said Costello. "It might sound syrupy, but that's the way I feel."
Schmitt said that by the end of the project, the Casting Institute's crew also felt like they were part of history.
"I felt that they were involved throughout the whole process, and felt that even when we got done with the pour," said Schmitt. "I felt very strongly that they understood what we were doing."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
