Correspondent photo / Nancilynn Gatta Keith Workman of Bristolville stands next to the gravestone of John Cook, a Civil War soldier from the area who fought in the 105th regiment. He died in 1873 in the Battle of Perrysville. Workman told Cook’s personal story during a living history event Saturday afternoon at Brownwood Cemetery in North Bloomfield. Eleven Civil War veterans, including an emancipated slave, are buried there.

NORTH BLOOMFIELD — Most Trumbull County residents would be surprised to learn that Civil War soldiers are buried in our cemeteries.

On Saturday, a living history walk provided this knowledge at Brownwood Cemetery. Accounts of the men from our area who fought for the Union against slavery were told.

“This is the first time we are doing the live history walk. We want to make sure the stories in the cemetery are not lost,” said Roger M. Peterson Jr., president of the North Bloomfield Historical Society and a Bloomfield trustee.

The date selected for this event was between Veterans Day, Nov. 11, and Nov. 19, which is when President Abraham Lincoln gave his Gettysburg Address. The Battle of Gettysburg was fought July 1 and 2, 1863, and was a turning point in the Civil War between the northern and southern states.

Men and teenage boys from the local community dressed in replica Civil War uniforms, held rifles or wore packs that would have carried their supplies during the conflict that ran from 1861 to 1865. They talked about several of the 11 Civil War veterans buried at Brownwood Cemetery.

Lawrence Workman of Bristolville, a freshman homeschooled student, told the story of Martin Lewis.

“He joined West Point in 1855 and graduated in 1860. He was in the Eighth Infantry. He fought in the Battle of Winchester,” Workman said. The battle took place in the Shenandoah Valley, which is partially in Virginia and West Virginia.

Workman continued, “Lewis died at 26 years old at Winchester.”

Keith Workman discussed another Civil War veteran.

“John Cook fought in the battle of Perrysville,” he said.

This battle took place in Kentucky. The Confederates won the battle, but strategically lost Kentucky.

“Cook was in the 105th regiment. They were known as a literate group that could read and write, which was rare at that time. They were strong abolitionists. They would ‘adopt’ escaped slaves and hide them among their troops,” Keith Workman said.

An emancipated slave moved to North Bloomfield under the protection of Lieutenant Wing. The Union soldiers found a loophole to emancipate slaves. When slaves fled to the Union lines, they were called contrabands of war. They were treated as enemy property and could not be returned to their owners. This led them to a path of freedom, he said.

Andy Wilson’s grave sites his status as a contraband of war. He is the only escaped slave buried in the cemetery.

Kierstin Richoz of Girard and a Trumbull Career & Technical Center student, was filming the veteran accounts and interviewing the presenters with her partner on the project, Jaxson Bell of Niles. They are competing in a Business Professionals of America contest where they create a three to five-minute video of untold or forgotten events.

Bell, who moved to Trumbull County from Indiana, was not aware of the history of the Underground Railroad or that the Civil War had participants this far north.

Richoz said listening to Wilson’s story was quite emotional for her.

Not every soldier died in battle or returned home. Some veterans were captured and sent to prison.

“James Edney was a prisoner of war at Andersonville Prison in Georgia. It was built to hold 10,000 men but in 1864, it housed 43,00 prisoners. Thirty people died there a day and from the time it was in operation, 40% to 50% of the prisoners died. Edney was lucky. He was only there for three months. He came home to North Bloomfield, married, raised a family and he is buried here,” said Paul Sutliff of West Farmington.

Young women were guides for the walk. They dressed in period dresses of long lengths and full skirts except for day dresses made of cotton. Guinevere Sutliff of Newton Falls was dressed in full mourning for her Civil War spouse and was dressed in black from head to toe — including her hat, winter cape, dress, gloves and veil.

The stories of the veterans buried at Brownwood Cemetery brought Suzanne Frederick of Warren to the history walk.

“This event sounded very interesting to go to on a Saturday afternoon. I like to learn about cemeteries. The older, the better,” she said.

At the conclusion of the two scheduled history walks that drew over two dozen people in spite of a threatening storm, Peterson evaluated the event.

“This is a way to keep the history alive through the live reenactment, the youth becoming aware of the stories and multimedia projects like the students from TCTC,” Peterson said.