In 1895, veterans, families, and community members gathered in West Point to commemorate the
service of the soldiers who built and manned Fort Duffield during the Civil War. The reunion
brought together men who had served in the 9th Michigan, 1st Wisconsin, and other units that
passed through or were stationed at the fort.

The event included speeches, shared memories, and a renewed commitment to preserving the
history of Fort Duffield. Many attendees had not seen one another in decades, making the
reunion both emotional and historically significant.

The map below shows the official parade route for the 1895 G.A.R. Reunion. Veterans marched
through the streets of West Point, passing civic buildings, gathering areas, and the riverfront
before returning to the main assembly grounds.

Route of the 1895 G.A.R. Reunion parade through West Point.

Local newspapers covered the event, describing the parade, the veterans in attendance, and
the excitement in town as preparations were made for the reunion.

Newspaper article describing the 1895 G.A.R. parade in West Point.

Although the reunion took place in West Point, the fireworks display was held in Louisville,
along the riverfront between First and Second Avenue. Veterans and families traveled upriver or by rail
to attend the event, which was staged by the Pains Fireworks Company.

Fireworks display during the 1895 G.A.R. Reunion — held in Louisville, not West Point.

The official invitation for the September 12 fireworks display announced the location on the
Louisville riverfront and encouraged veterans and families to attend the evening celebration.

Invitation to the September 12, 1895 fireworks display on the Louisville riverfront.

The Pains Fireworks Company provided the pyrotechnics for the Louisville display. The receipt
below documents the purchase made for the reunion festivities.

Receipt from the Pains Fireworks Company for the 1895 fireworks display.

Many veterans returned to West Point in 1895 as elderly men, decades removed from their service
at Fort Duffield. The photograph below shows Sgt. Merrill Fuller (Co. A) and Sgt. William H.
Ostrom (Co. K), two of the men who once guarded the ridge and later returned for the reunion.

Sgt. Merrill Fuller (Co. A) and Sgt. William H. Ostrom (Co. K) — “Old soldiers never die.”

Cpl. Charles Anderson of the 9th Michigan Infantry served at Fort Duffield in 1861. He returned
for the 1895 reunion, photographed again as an elderly veteran. His images capture the passage
of time between the fort’s construction and the reunion.

Cpl. Charles Anderson — young infantryman at Fort Duffield (1861) and elderly veteran at the 1895 reunion.

Fort Duffield’s oral history preserves several humorous stories involving pigs. In one incident,
a local farmer complained that his pig had gone missing. Officers searched frantically while
soldiers made pig noises from their tents — having secretly roasted the animal in long earthen
pits used for cooking.

Long earthen pits used for roasting meat at Fort Duffield — the center of several legendary pig stories.

In another case, a soldier — possibly Hendershot — killed a pig without permission and was
placed in the guardhouse. These stories were retold at the 1895 reunion as reminders of the
mischief and camaraderie of camp life during the winter of 1861–62.

The original 1895 reunion letter — the official invitation — has been preserved and is available
for download below. It includes the list of invited units, event details, and the committee’s
formal announcement.

One company from Indiana was not invited to the 1895 reunion. Contemporary
correspondence and local accounts indicate that the unit had been involved in an incident
during the Civil War involving local citizens — specifically a dispute involving women in
the town. The matter caused lasting resentment, and the reunion committee chose not to
include that unit in the official invitation list.

Download: Official 1895 G.A.R. Encampment Book (PDF)