WEST VALLEY, N.Y. — Descendants of members of the 154th New York Volunteer Infantry, a Civil War regiment raised in Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties, will hold their 39th Annual Reunion from 2 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 26, at the Ashford Historical Society at 5380 School Street in West Valley.

The 154th New York — known as the Hardtack Regiment — was raised in the summer of 1862 and participated in many of the great campaigns and battles of the war, including Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Chattanooga, the Atlanta Campaign, and Gen. William T. Sherman’s marches through Georgia and the Carolinas.

Mark H. Dunkelman of Providence, R.I., will preside at the reunion, as he has every year since the inception in 1986. Stories and relics of his great-grandfather John Langhans of Ellicottville, who served in the 154th, inspired Dunkelman’s interest and led to his lifelong work as regimental historian.

He is the author of six highly regarded books and dozens of articles on various aspects of the 154th’s history, and creator of the renowned mural next to the regiment’s Gettysburg monument. To date he has connected with more than 1,300 fellow descendants of members of the 154th. The topic of the reunion program is “Camp Seward on Arlington Heights.”

Anyone descended from a member of the 154th New York is encouraged to attend the reunion, which is free and open to the public. Descendants are asked to bring photographs and relics of their soldier ancestors to be copied and added to the regimental archives. Attendees will receive a souvenir ribbon and a reproduction of a print depicting the camp. For more information about the reunion, contact Mark Dunkelman by phone or text at (401) 369-0637, or by e-mail at nyvi154th@aol.com. More information about his work, including summaries of previous reunions, can be found at his website, hardtackregiment.com