Honoring Company G, 138th Regiment

On Sunday, June 30, at 1 pm, a program in conjunction with the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, will be held at Benderville's Bethlehem Lutheran Church on Church Street to honor the Company G, 138th Regiment veterans of the American Civil War. Several veterans of the 138th are buried in the cemetery.  Stephen Light, of Cooperstown, NY, will provide a brief history of the regiment. Light wrote, " They Shall Not Be Forgotten, A Narrative of the  138th Pennsylvania" while attending Gettysburg College. Descendents of the veterans are encouraged to attend.  Immediately following the program, descendents will go to the cemetery to locate the graves of the soldiers for a family remembrance. The public is also invited to this free event. 

Stephen Light is a museum professional and Civil War scholar from upstate New York. He graduated from Gettysburg College in 2005 with a major in History and a minor in Civil War Era Studies. While there he served for two years as President of the College's Civil War Club. He graduated from the Cooperstown Graduate Program in 2008 with a masters degree in History Museum Studies. His blog, Battlefield Back Stories (battlefieldbackstories.blogspot.com),covers interesting stories related to the Civil War and the Battle of Gettysburg, and he recently published an article entitled "Love at War: The Civil War Courtship of John L. Hoster and Josephine Cole," in New York History, a quarterly journal published by the New York State Historical Association. Steve is the manager of museum programs at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York.

The program is produced by Debra Sandoe McCauslin's For the Cause Productions. McCauslin is related to David Slaybaugh, a veteran of Company G of the 138th Regiment. Slaybaugh is buried at Bendersville's Bethlehem Lutheran Cemetery.  McCauslin recently learned of her relation to Slaybaugh and in researching him, learned that many other family members, including her husband, his cousin and many of her friends also had relatives in that same regiment.

McCauslin states, "Some of these men died at the Battle of the Wilderness and two of them died within days of the end of the war. They served for three years from 1862-1865 and we need to honor them in conjunction with the anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg as we give remembrance to the dedicated soldiers. They didn't fight there, but they did help the Union cause. Those who survived returned home to a hero's welcome on June 30, 1865 and for that reason, we are honoring them this June 30 and at the time we remember the Battle that saved America."

For more information, contact McCauslin at 717-357-5812. For information on McCauslin's tours and programs, visit her website at www.gettysburghistories.com.   The men who served in Company G of the 138th Regiment can be found on the world wide web and they are also listed below. Donations to the Bendersville Cemetery Association can be mailed to Nicholas Heller, 1079 Centre Mills Road, Aspers, PA 17304.