On Sunday, Nov. 1, the lawn outside the Castle at Fort Totten becomes a Union camp. The Bayside Historical Society is bringing back Company K of the 67th New York Infantry, a Civil War re-enactment unit, for a day of living history from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. It is free.

What happens

The 67th New York was known as the First Long Island Volunteers. The re-enactors who portray its Company K set up on the grounds of the Castle and walk visitors through daily life in the 1860s: what Union soldiers ate, how they dressed, how they fought, what they believed and how they got through the war.

The Society asks people to RSVP on its website. There is no rain date, so if the weather turns, the day does not move.

The Rangers' tour of the fort

The same morning, the NYC Parks Urban Park Rangers lead a free tour called Historic New York: Fort Totten, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., starting at the Fort Totten Park Visitors Center. It is about Joseph Gilbert Totten, the Army engineer the fort is named for. Totten spent most of his career as the Army's chief engineer with the rank of colonel and was promoted to brigadier general in 1863. The tour covers his fortification designs and the fort's historic structure, then walks down to the Castle to meet the re-enactors, so the two programs fit together into one visit.

About the Castle

The Castle is the former Fort Totten Officers' Club, at 208 Totten Avenue, and it is the home of the Bayside Historical Society. The Society runs exhibits, talks and programs there through the year.

More at the Castle in November

  • Second Sunday Castle Tours, Nov. 8: a guided tour of the building and its exhibitions by the Society's staff and volunteers. Reservations are taken on the Society's site.
  • Open Sew, Nov. 8: an afternoon for people who sew, quilt, embroider or knit.
  • The Music of Croatia, Nov. 15: an afternoon concert in the ballroom by the Croatian-American musician Damir Radov.
  • My Vietnam, Nov. 19: an author talk with Joan Furey, RN, about her experiences in Vietnam and after, as the Society's November program honoring veterans.

Getting there

Fort Totten Park sits at the northern tip of Bayside on Little Neck Bay, at the end of Totten Avenue. The Q13 bus runs up Bell Boulevard toward the fort, and the Long Island Rail Road's Bayside station is on the Port Washington Branch.

The living history day runs Sunday, Nov. 1, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the Castle grounds, 208 Totten Avenue. RSVP on the Bayside Historical Society's events page, and meet the Rangers at the Visitors Center at 11 a.m. for the tour.

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