He wore the Union blue wool jacket which was fully buttoned and sported two stars on the epaulets. Beneath a broad rimed hat with tassels, General George Sears Greene smiled widely.

He moved to one side surveying those standing among the gravestones. Leaning on one of the more prominent memorials in the shape of a cross – actually that of his wife, Martha. He announced it is a good day, “both my wife and I are above ground.” Martha stood close by and nodded in agreement.

The words brought a ripple of laughter.

George Sears Greene, a member of the family of early settlers of Warwick and a descendent of the Revolutionary War General Nathanael Greene, reenlisted in the Union Army at the age of 63 during the Civil War. He was in command of a regiment of 1,350 troops charged with defending Culps Hill in the Battle of Gettysburg against nearly five times the number of Confederate soldiers.

Paul Bourget of Woonsocket was the reenactor for the gathering at the hilltop Greene cemetery plot off Tanner Avenue on May 6 as part of Rhode Island Historical Cemetery awareness month events. Bourget brought General Greene to life and what he and his men faced in that battle that raged through the night.

As Pegee Malcolm, chair of the Warwick Historical Cemeteries Commission  explained in a recent email the gathering at the Greene plot – a boulder from Culps Hill was transported to the cemetery as General Greene’s grave marker – is one in several events that are planned or have been held as part of the awareness campaign that concludes this Saturday with a scavenger hunt at Brayton Cemetery in Apponaug. The hunt starts at 1 p.m. and will go on to 4 p.m.

“We’re hoping it doesn’t start raining until five after four,” she said Wednesday. Those participating in the hunt can scan a QR code listing the 25 items to be found. As the items are found, they should be photographed. When all the items have been found, which Malcom estimates will take about an hour, the name or names of the hunters will be entered into a raffle for gift certificates provided by area businesses.

Malcolm gave the following examples of items to be found: death heads, someone who has the last name of a U.S. President, Judge Brayton, Thomas Vaill, who was on the Monitor, angels on a headstone,  a child, someone who died before 1900, Civil War soldier and  soldier of any other war.

“We will also have folks stationed at various headstones to speak about the folks buried beneath them,” Malcolm said.