The public is invited to join in a traditional vespers memorial rite at 6:15 p.m. Sunday, July 5, at Battle of Carthage State Park on east Chestnut at the railroad near the east city limits.
The ceremony will include appropriate recognition of the heroic behavior of those who fought here and the women who supported and assisted them in the Civil War’s first battle in 1861.
“All the participants now are gone from our midst but their heroism and the high ideals that inspired them live on in the memory of modern citizens who enjoy the effects of the legacy of their patriotism,” prominent Carthage resident Marvin VanGilder wrote.
VanGilder and members of his family will lead the ceremony. Reenactors, history scholars, public officials and community promoters will be among the celebrants.
Bring a lawn chair for seating and join the crowd at the park. This has become a community-wide ceremony. It is instituted after creation of the state park and continued annually thereafter.
Highlights of the battle, proof of its importance and a look at its effects upon the restoration of the Union that followed the war will be included, while “Taps” will be sounded to mark the passage of the warriors who were so effective in the contest here.
“So come out to the battle site and join in a sacred ceremonial salute to special heroes of our community past,” VanGilder said
