Published: Friday, November 7, 2008 at 6:01 a.m.

A Civil War soldier will be remembered Sunday November 9, 2008 during a Confederate memorial service at Old Harmony Cemetery in Rainbow City.

The service for James Madison Medcalf begins at 1 p.m. and is being presented by the 19th Alabama Infantry Regiment, C.S.A., a Civil War re-enactment organization.

"We’re honoring a soldier who is very special," said Robert Nichols, captain of the organization.

"He joined the 19th Alabama Regiment when it was formed in the spring of 1861. He fought in all of the major battles in the Army of Tennessee. He was captured, and then paroled at the battle of Missionary Ridge. ... He was one of the final 76 men who survived the war of the regiment and went home to Alabama to raise a beautiful family."

Medcalf’s granddaughter, Rebecca Harpole, said she wanted to have the service near Veterans Day because a lot of Civil War soldiers are forgotten.

"They gave up their livelihood," she said. "Like my great-grandfather, some were in until the surrender. These Confederate folks often gave up their lives, and others suffered the ill effects from their military service for the rest of their lives. They have physical health problems, and their lives were interrupted."

During the service, the organization will present a flag to Harpole in her great-grandfather’s memory.

"We’re also going to have our chaplain say some words as they traditionally would do in 1865," Nichols said.

"We’re going to do a modern-day tradition of laying a wreath at the headstone of Private Medcalf. We’re going to fire a 21-gun salute using Civil War muskets, and we’re going to play taps."

Nichols said the organization is bringing 35 to 40 people to the service.

The men will be dressed in uniform and wear black armbands, a tradition that goes back to the Civil War. The women will be dressed in period attire and mourning dresses.

"We have re-enactors, which are businessmen, who come from five different states to do this," Nichols said. "We have soldiers coming from Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama and Georgia.

"We enjoy this wonderful hobby and preserving the history of our country through living histories and teaching our youth what it was like to serve in the army during the Civil War."

Nichols said war veterans and their families are encouraged to attend the memorial service.

"One of the things we want to do is honor Private Medcalf’s service and also all veterans�?service to this country," he said.

The service should last about an hour. After the service, the organization will travel to Janney Furnace near Ohatchee for another event that begins at 2:30 p.m.

The organization also re-enacts the 42nd Indiana Infantry, which was a union organization during the Civil War.

For more information about the 19th Alabama Infantry Regiment, visit www.19thalabama.org.