Contact: Eric Kirk                                    Col James D. Brady Camp #63

Phone: (757) 619-2177                                    Hampton Roads, Virginia

Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War

Press Release

160th Anniversary Memorial Day Observance at Cold Harbor National Cemetery

• Mechanicsville, VA: The local chapter of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) will hold a traditional Memorial Day Ceremony at the Cold Harbor National Cemetery on Monday, May 26th, 2025. The ceremony will begin at 11:00am, and the general public is most cordially invited.

• This year marks the 160th anniversary of the end of the American Civil War in 1865. The Colonel Brady Camp of Hampton Roads will celebrate the occasion by rededicating the Union Soldiers monument, as well as pausing to honor the fallen from all our country’s wars. The ceremony will feature an honor guard volley salute, and an opportunity for attendees to honor the graves of Hampton’s Union Soldiers and Sailors with flags and flowers, as well as time during the ceremony to speak their ancestor’s name and give his or her contributions to the effort to end slavery and preserve the union.

• The Colonel James D. Brady Camp No. 63 was founded in 2003 as the first SUVCW camp in historic Hampton Roads. The camp is named after James Dennis Brady, a native of Portsmouth, who served as commander of the 63rd New York Infantry under the famous Irish Brigade during the American Civil War. Colonel Brady later served as the U.S. Representative for Virginia’s 4th Congressional district from 1885-1887. He died in 1900 and is buried in Petersburg, Virginia.

• The National Cemetery is located at 6038 Cold Harbor Road in Mechanicsville, VA.

• The camp hosts other special events throughout the year which include museum events and tours of local battlefields. For more information, our website is: www.Unionsons.org, contact Mr. Kirk at [email protected], Mr. Russell at [email protected], or visit the national organization’s website at: www.SUVCW.org.