Seven score and nine years separate Spc. Aaron Aamot and his great, great, great grandfather, Horace Hinds.

Assigned to 1^st Battalion, 17^th Infantry Regiment, 5^th Brigade, 2^nd Infantry Division, Aamot died outside of Jelewar, Afghanistan in November 2009 when his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device.

Before enlisting in 2006 after graduation from high school, Aamot had been an avid Civil War reenactor.

"He loved history and loved being a reenactor, and there is a long blue line from then to now," said John Strand, spokesman for the Washington Civil War Association (WCWA), moments before a ceremony that honored both men.

About 400 members of the WCWA gathered this past Saturday to not only honor the two soldiers but to also relive a significant part of American history.

"We wanted to honor Aaron Aamot with our first major event of the year," continued Strand. 

"In learning that his great, great, great grandfather had served in the Union Army during the Civil War and was buried here, we knew we had an opportunity to honor both men."

Horace Hinds - who lied about his age to enlist - served with Company K, 16^th New York Infantry Regiment.

During the Peninsula Campaign in early 1862, he was shot in the belt buckle and rendered unconscious. 

When he regained his senses, Hinds found himself behind Confederate lines.  Making it back to Union lines, he was treated for his injuries.

Believing he would not recover, the medical staff discharged Hinds and sent him home to die.

He survived the wounds but suffered from rheumatism and chronic dysentery for the rest of his life.  In 1903, Hinds and wife moved to Washington.

Soon after, he was committed to Western State Hospital suffering from Alzheimer's or dementia.

Hinds passed in 1907 and was buried at Fort Steilacoom Park's Cemetery in plot 808.

To honor him, the Aamot family recently ordered a Union Army veteran's headstone.  The marker will arrive and be placed in the near future.

Standing nearby, Union reenactor 1^st Sgt. Jim Daily, 1^st US Cavalry, and his horse, Kit, waited for the ceremony honoring Aamot and Hinds to begin.

"Today is a wonderful opportunity to say thank you and to pay our respects to both soldiers who served this nation honorably," said the former helicopter pilot who flew in Vietnam.

"And I don't have enough love and respect for the young men and women of 5^th Brigade who are here today in remembrance."