Connecticut in the American Civil War
Encyclopedia
The New England
state of Connecticut
played a relatively small, but important role in the American Civil War
, providing arms, equipment, money, supplies, and manpower for the Union Army
, as well as the Union Navy
. Several Connecticut politicians played significant roles in the Federal government and helped shape its policies during the war and the subsequent Reconstruction.
Leonard Bacon
, Simeon Baldwin
, Horace Bushnell
, Prudence Crandall
, Jonathan Edwards (the younger)
and Harriet Beecher Stowe
, were active in the abolitionist
movement, and towns such as Farmington
and Middletown
were stops along the Underground Railroad
.
Slavery in Connecticut had been gradually phased out beginning in 1797 with less than 100 slaves in Connecticut by 1820; slavery was not completely outlawed, however, until 1848.
The state, along with the rest of New England, had voted for Republican
presidential candidate John C. Frémont
in the 1856 presidential election
, giving "the Pathfinder" all 6 electoral votes. The Republicans opposed the extension of slavery into the territories, and Connecticut residents embraced their slogan "Free speech, free press, free soil, free men, Frémont and victory!" Four years later, once again Connecticut favored the Republican candidate, this time Illinois
lawyer Abraham Lincoln
. Residents cast 58.1% of their ballots for Lincoln, versus 20.6% for Northern Democrat
Stephen Douglas and 19.2% for Southern Democrat John C. Breckinridge
. A handful of voters (1,528 or 2% of the ballots cast) favored John Bell
of Tennessee.
The 1860 U.S. Census enumerated 460,147 people living in Connecticut as of June 1 of that year. Of that count, 451,504 were white, with only 8,627 blacks and 16 Indians. More than 80,000 of the whites were foreign-born, with 55,000 coming from Ireland
. More than 20% of the population was still engaged in farming, but industry and the trades had become major employers. Starting in the 1830s, and accelerating when Connecticut abolished slavery entirely in 1848, African Americans from in- and out-of-state began relocating to urban centers for employment and opportunity, forming new neighborhoods such as Bridgeport's Little Liberia.
in Charleston Harbor
in April 1861, a few days later, on the 15th, President Lincoln called for volunteers to join the new Union army. The next day, Governor William A. Buckingham
, like Lincoln a Republican, issued a proclamation urging his citizens to join state-sponsored regiment
s and artillery batteries
. In response, by the end of the month, the 1st Connecticut Infantry and two other regiments had been raised and recruited for a term of three months (all the time that was expected to be needed to crush the rebellion and end the war). Daniel Tyler
of Brooklyn
was selected as the 1st Regiment's initial colonel
, and the regiment arrived in Washington, D.C. on May 10.
The state would furnish thirty full regiments of infantry
, including two that were made up of black men. Two regiments of heavy artillery also served as infantry toward the end of the war. Connecticut also supplied three batteries of light artillery and one regiment of cavalry
.
Fort Trumbull
in New London
served as an organizational center for Union troops and headquarters for the U.S. 14th Infantry Regiment
. Here, troops were recruited and trained before being sent to war. Among the regiments trained there was the 14th Connecticut Infantry
, which played a prominent role in the Army of the Potomac
's defense of Cemetery Ridge
during the Battle of Gettysburg
. The 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery
(19th Connecticut Infantry) suffered significant casualties in the 1864 Overland Campaign
and the Siege of Petersburg
. Among the troops from the "Nutmeg State" that fought in the Trans-Mississippi Theater
was the 9th Connecticut Infantry
, which aided in the capture of New Orleans, Louisiana
, as part of the "New England Brigade."
During the war, the State Hospital in New Haven (a precursor to Yale-New Haven Hospital
) was leased to the government to serve as the Knight U.S. Army General Hospital. 23,340 soldiers were treated in the hospital with only 185 deaths.
One of the first officers killed in the Civil War was New Haven's Theodore Winthrop
, who died in an early engagement at Big Bethel
in western Virginia.
Casualties from Connecticut military units during the war included 97 officers and 1094 enlisted men killed in action, with another 700 men dying from wounds while more than 3,000 perished from disease. Twenty-seven men were executed for crimes, including desertion. More than 400 men were reported as missing; the majority were likely held by the Confederate Army
as prisoners of war.
, which provided the army with the Henry rifle
, developed by New Haven's
Benjamin Tyler Henry
. Colt's Manufacturing Company
, founded and owned by Hartford-born industrialist Samuel Colt
, was another significant arms and munitions supplier. The company shipped large quantities of sidearms to the Union Navy. The Hartford-based firm of Pratt & Whitney
provided machinery and support equipment to Army contractors to produce weapons. Most of the brass buttons used on Federal uniforms, belt buckles and other fittings, were made in Waterbury
, the "Brass City", notably by the Chase Brass and Copper Company. The shipyards at Mystic
provided ships for the Union Navy. The USS Monticello (1859)
, USS Galena (1862)
, USS Varuna (1861)
were all built at Mystic.
The popular late war marching song Marching Through Georgia
was written by Henry Clay Work
, a Middletown resident.
native Gideon Welles
was a prominent member of the Lincoln Cabinet and perhaps its leading conservative. He was the Secretary of the Navy
from 1861 to 1869 and was the architect of the planning and execution of the blockade
of Southern ports. During his tenure, he increased the size of the United States Navy
tenfold.
Shortly after the war began, Col. Daniel Tyler of the 1st Connecticut was promoted to brigadier general
. Later, other field officers in Connecticut regiments such as Alfred Terry
, Henry Warner Birge
(both born in Hartford
), and Robert O. Tyler
of the 4th Connecticut Infantry would be raised in rank to general. Some Connecticut-born men with antebellum U.S. Army service also became leading generals early in the war, including Ashford-born
Nathaniel Lyon
, one of the war's earliest army commanders to be killed when he was shot down at the Battle of Wilson's Creek
in Missouri
. Cornwall's
John Sedgwick
commanded the Union VI Corps
for much of the war until killed at the Spotsylvania Court House
. He was succeeded by Horatio G. Wright of Clinton
, a long-time officer in the Regular Army.
Major General
Joseph K. Mansfield
of Middletown led the II Corps
of the Union Army of the Potomac
during the middle of 1862. He was killed in action at the Battle of Antietam
during the 1862 Maryland Campaign
. Another casualty of the fighting at Antietam was Brig. Gen. George Taylor
, who had been educated at a private military academy in Middletown.
Joseph R. Hawley
of New Haven commanded a division
in the Army of the Potomac during the Siege of Petersburg
and was promoted in September 1864 to brigadier general. Concerned over keeping the peace during the November elections, Hawley commanded a hand-picked brigade shipped to New York City
to safeguard the election process. Other Union generals with Connecticut roots included Henry W. Benham of Meriden
, Luther P. Bradley of New Haven, William T. Clark
of Norwich
, Orris S. Ferry
of Bethel
, and Alpheus S. Williams
of Deep River
.
New Haven native Andrew Hull Foote
received the Thanks of Congress
for his distinguished actions in commanding the Mississippi River Squadron
gunboat flotilla in the capture of Forts Henry
and Donelson
and Island No. 10
.
is housed in the Memorial Building in Rockville
. It includes the old headquarters of the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic
. The museum includes the Hirst brothers' collection (14th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry), the Thomas F. Burpee collection (colonel, 21st Connecticut Volunteer Infantry), and the Weston collection (musician, 5th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry). The museum and library (along with the hall and its rooms) are the property of the Alden Skinner Camp #45 of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War
. In addition, the Museum contains the O'Connell-Chapman Library, which has more than a thousand volumes of Civil War literature.
Fort Trumbull
now serves as a state park with exhibits detailing its history.
is located on the 366-foot summit of East Rock
in New Haven. The monument is visible for miles from the surrounding area. It honors the residents of New Haven who gave their lives in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812
, the Mexican-American War, and the American Civil War
. Other monuments in New Haven include the Broadway Civil War Memorial (1905) and the Yale
Civil War Memorial at Woolsey Hall
(1915). The memorial in Woolsey Hall is notable for honoring both Union and Confederate dead. The only other memorial honoring a confederate soldier in Connecticut is the G. W. Smith stone in New London.
Mountain Grove Cemetery
in Bridgeport
contains an impressive Civil War monument and the graves of 83 veterans of the Union Army.
There are also monuments dedicated to Connecticut soldiers at battle sites in other states, for example, the monument to the 27th Connecticut Infantry at Gettysburg
and the Joseph K. F. Mansfield monument at Antietam
.
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
state of Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
played a relatively small, but important role in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, providing arms, equipment, money, supplies, and manpower for the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
, as well as the Union Navy
Union Navy
The Union Navy is the label applied to the United States Navy during the American Civil War, to contrast it from its direct opponent, the Confederate States Navy...
. Several Connecticut politicians played significant roles in the Federal government and helped shape its policies during the war and the subsequent Reconstruction.
Connecticut at the beginning of the war
Before the Civil War, Connecticut residents such asLeonard Bacon
Leonard Bacon
Leonard Bacon was an American Congregational preacher and writer.-Biography:Leonard Bacon was born in Detroit, Michigan...
, Simeon Baldwin
Simeon Baldwin
Simeon Baldwin was son-in-law of Roger Sherman, father of Connecticut Governor Roger Sherman Baldwin and the grandfather of Connecticut Governor Simeon Eben Baldwin. He was born in Norwich, Connecticut. He completed preparatory studies Simeon Baldwin (December 14, 1761 – May 26, 1851) was...
, Horace Bushnell
Horace Bushnell
Horace Bushnell was an American Congregational clergyman and theologian.-Life:Bushnell was a Yankee born in the village of Bantam, township of Litchfield, Connecticut. He attended Yale College where he roomed with future magazinist Nathaniel Parker Willis. Willis credited Bushnell with teaching...
, Prudence Crandall
Prudence Crandall
Prudence Crandall , a schoolteacher raised as a Quaker, stirred controversy with her education of African-American girls in Canterbury, Connecticut...
, Jonathan Edwards (the younger)
Jonathan Edwards (the younger)
This article is about the theologian , for other uses of Jonathan Edwards see Jonathan Edwards.Jonathan Edwards was an American theologian and linguist.-Life and career:...
and Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe was an American abolitionist and author. Her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was a depiction of life for African-Americans under slavery; it reached millions as a novel and play, and became influential in the United States and United Kingdom...
, were active in the abolitionist
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
movement, and towns such as Farmington
Farmington, Connecticut
Farmington is a town located in Hartford County in the Farmington Valley area of central Connecticut in the United States. The population was 25,340 at the 2010 census. It is home to the world headquarters of several large corporations including Carrier Corporation, Otis Elevator Company, and Carvel...
and Middletown
Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, 16 miles south of Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated as a town under its original Indian name, Mattabeseck. It received its present name in 1653. In 1784, the central...
were stops along the Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
.
Slavery in Connecticut had been gradually phased out beginning in 1797 with less than 100 slaves in Connecticut by 1820; slavery was not completely outlawed, however, until 1848.
The state, along with the rest of New England, had voted for Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
presidential candidate John C. Frémont
John C. Frémont
John Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder...
in the 1856 presidential election
United States presidential election, 1856
The United States presidential election of 1856 was an unusually heated contest that led to the election of James Buchanan, the ambassador to the United Kingdom. Republican candidate John C. Frémont condemned the Kansas–Nebraska Act and crusaded against the expansion of slavery, while Democrat...
, giving "the Pathfinder" all 6 electoral votes. The Republicans opposed the extension of slavery into the territories, and Connecticut residents embraced their slogan "Free speech, free press, free soil, free men, Frémont and victory!" Four years later, once again Connecticut favored the Republican candidate, this time Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
lawyer Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
. Residents cast 58.1% of their ballots for Lincoln, versus 20.6% for Northern Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Stephen Douglas and 19.2% for Southern Democrat John C. Breckinridge
John C. Breckinridge
John Cabell Breckinridge was an American lawyer and politician. He served as a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from Kentucky and was the 14th Vice President of the United States , to date the youngest vice president in U.S...
. A handful of voters (1,528 or 2% of the ballots cast) favored John Bell
John Bell (Tennessee politician)
John Bell was a U.S. politician, attorney, and plantation owner. A wealthy slaveholder from Tennessee, Bell served in the United States Congress in both the House of Representatives and Senate. He began his career as a Democrat, he eventually fell out with Andrew Jackson and became a Whig...
of Tennessee.
The 1860 U.S. Census enumerated 460,147 people living in Connecticut as of June 1 of that year. Of that count, 451,504 were white, with only 8,627 blacks and 16 Indians. More than 80,000 of the whites were foreign-born, with 55,000 coming from Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. More than 20% of the population was still engaged in farming, but industry and the trades had become major employers. Starting in the 1830s, and accelerating when Connecticut abolished slavery entirely in 1848, African Americans from in- and out-of-state began relocating to urban centers for employment and opportunity, forming new neighborhoods such as Bridgeport's Little Liberia.
Military recruitment and participation
Following the bombardment of Fort SumterFort Sumter
Fort Sumter is a Third System masonry coastal fortification located in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The fort is best known as the site upon which the shots initiating the American Civil War were fired, at the Battle of Fort Sumter.- Construction :...
in Charleston Harbor
Charleston Harbor
The Charleston Harbor is an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean at Charleston, South Carolina. The inlet is formed by the junction of Ashley and Cooper rivers at . Morris and Sullivan's Island, shelter the entrance...
in April 1861, a few days later, on the 15th, President Lincoln called for volunteers to join the new Union army. The next day, Governor William A. Buckingham
William Alfred Buckingham
William Alfred Buckingham was a Republican United States Senator from Connecticut.Born in Lebanon, Connecticut, Buckingham attended the common schools and Bacon Academy in Colchester, Connecticut. He engaged in mercantile pursuits and in manufacturing. He served as the mayor of Norwich,...
, like Lincoln a Republican, issued a proclamation urging his citizens to join state-sponsored regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
s and artillery batteries
Artillery battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...
. In response, by the end of the month, the 1st Connecticut Infantry and two other regiments had been raised and recruited for a term of three months (all the time that was expected to be needed to crush the rebellion and end the war). Daniel Tyler
Daniel Tyler
Daniel Tyler was an iron manufacturer, railroad president, and one of the first generals of the American Civil War.-Biography:...
of Brooklyn
Brooklyn, Connecticut
Brooklyn is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 7,173 at the 2000 census. The town center village is listed by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census-designated place...
was selected as the 1st Regiment's initial colonel
Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...
, and the regiment arrived in Washington, D.C. on May 10.
The state would furnish thirty full regiments of infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
, including two that were made up of black men. Two regiments of heavy artillery also served as infantry toward the end of the war. Connecticut also supplied three batteries of light artillery and one regiment of cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
.
Fort Trumbull
Fort Trumbull
Fort Trumbull refers to a fort in New London, Connecticut and to a nearby neighborhood.-Neighborhood:The neighborhood of Fort Trumbull was demolished as part of plan for the economic development of New London. The plan was appealed in a case that reached the US Supreme Court, Kelo v...
in New London
New London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States.It is located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, southeastern Connecticut....
served as an organizational center for Union troops and headquarters for the U.S. 14th Infantry Regiment
U.S. 14th Infantry Regiment
The 14th Infantry Regiment is a United States Army light infantry regiment, known as the Golden Dragons. It has been active in every major conflict since its creation, except World War I, including the American Civil War, Boxer Rebellion, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Operation Desert...
. Here, troops were recruited and trained before being sent to war. Among the regiments trained there was the 14th Connecticut Infantry
14th Connecticut Infantry
The 14th Connecticut Infantry was an infantry regiment that participated in the American Civil War. It participated in the Battle of Gettysburg, helping to repulse the Confederate attack on the third day known as Pickett's Charge....
, which played a prominent role in the Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
's defense of Cemetery Ridge
Cemetery Ridge
Cemetery Ridge is a geographic feature in Gettysburg National Military Park south of the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, that figured prominently in the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1 to July 3, 1863. It formed a primary defensive position for the Union Army during the battle, roughly the center of...
during the Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
. The 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery
2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery
The 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery was a volunteer infantry regiment which served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-History:...
(19th Connecticut Infantry) suffered significant casualties in the 1864 Overland Campaign
Overland Campaign
The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, in the American Civil War. Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, general-in-chief of all Union armies, directed the actions of the Army of the...
and the Siege of Petersburg
Siege of Petersburg
The Richmond–Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War...
. Among the troops from the "Nutmeg State" that fought in the Trans-Mississippi Theater
Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War
The Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War was the major military and naval operations west of the Mississippi River. The area excluded the states and territories bordering the Pacific Ocean, which formed the Pacific Coast Theater of the American Civil War.The campaign classification...
was the 9th Connecticut Infantry
9th Connecticut Infantry
The 9th Regiment Connecticut Volunteers was a volunteer infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was established in September 1861 as an Irish regiment, composed mainly of soldiers born in Ireland or first generation Irish Americans...
, which aided in the capture of New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, as part of the "New England Brigade."
During the war, the State Hospital in New Haven (a precursor to Yale-New Haven Hospital
Yale-New Haven Hospital
Yale-New Haven Hospital , Connecticut's largest hospital with 966 beds, is located in New Haven, Connecticut.The hospital is owned and operated by the Yale New Haven Health System, Inc...
) was leased to the government to serve as the Knight U.S. Army General Hospital. 23,340 soldiers were treated in the hospital with only 185 deaths.
One of the first officers killed in the Civil War was New Haven's Theodore Winthrop
Theodore Winthrop
Theodore Winthrop was a writer, lawyer, and world traveller. He was one of the first Union officers killed in the American Civil War.-Biography:...
, who died in an early engagement at Big Bethel
Battle of Big Bethel
The Battle of Big Bethel, also known as the Battle of Bethel Church or Great Bethel was one of the earliest land battles of the American Civil War after the surrender of Fort Sumter...
in western Virginia.
Casualties from Connecticut military units during the war included 97 officers and 1094 enlisted men killed in action, with another 700 men dying from wounds while more than 3,000 perished from disease. Twenty-seven men were executed for crimes, including desertion. More than 400 men were reported as missing; the majority were likely held by the Confederate Army
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
as prisoners of war.
The homefront
Prominent among military manufacturers with Connecticut ties was the New Haven Arms CompanyWinchester Repeating Arms Company
The Winchester Repeating Arms Company was a prominent American maker of repeating firearms, located in New Haven, Connecticut. The Winchester brand is today used under license by two subsidiaries of the Herstal Group, Fabrique Nationale of Belgium and the Browning Arms Company of Morgan, Utah.-...
, which provided the army with the Henry rifle
Henry rifle
The Henry repeating rifle was a lever-action, breech-loading, tubular magazine rifle.-History:The original Henry rifle was a .44 caliber rimfire, lever-action, breech-loading rifle designed by Benjamin Tyler Henry in the late 1850s. The Henry rifle was an improved version of the earlier Volcanic...
, developed by New Haven's
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
Benjamin Tyler Henry
Benjamin Tyler Henry
Benjamin Tyler Henry was an American gunsmith and manufacturer. He was the inventor of the Henry rifle, the first reliable lever-action repeating rifle....
. Colt's Manufacturing Company
Colt's Manufacturing Company
Colt's Manufacturing Company is a United States firearms manufacturer, whose first predecessor corporation was founded in 1836 by Sam Colt. Colt is best known for the engineering, production, and marketing of firearms over the later half of the 19th and the 20th century...
, founded and owned by Hartford-born industrialist Samuel Colt
Samuel Colt
Samuel Colt was an American inventor and industrialist. He was the founder of Colt's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company , and is widely credited with popularizing the revolver. Colt's innovative contributions to the weapons industry have been described by arms historian James E...
, was another significant arms and munitions supplier. The company shipped large quantities of sidearms to the Union Navy. The Hartford-based firm of Pratt & Whitney
Pratt & Whitney
Pratt & Whitney is a U.S.-based aerospace manufacturer with global service operations. It is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation . Pratt & Whitney's aircraft engines are widely used in both civil aviation and military aviation. Its headquarters are in East Hartford, Connecticut, USA...
provided machinery and support equipment to Army contractors to produce weapons. Most of the brass buttons used on Federal uniforms, belt buckles and other fittings, were made in Waterbury
Waterbury, Connecticut
Waterbury is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, on the Naugatuck River, 33 miles southwest of Hartford and 77 miles northeast of New York City...
, the "Brass City", notably by the Chase Brass and Copper Company. The shipyards at Mystic
Mystic, Connecticut
Mystic is a village and census-designated place in New London County, Connecticut, in the United States. The population was 4,001 at the 2000 census. A historic locality, Mystic has no independent government because it is not a legally recognized municipality in the state of Connecticut...
provided ships for the Union Navy. The USS Monticello (1859)
USS Monticello (1859)
The first USS Monticello was a wooden screw-steamer in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She was named for the home of Thomas Jefferson. She was briefly named Star in May 1861....
, USS Galena (1862)
USS Galena (1862)
USS Galena — an ironclad screw steamer — was one of the first three ironclads, each of a different design, built by the Union Navy during the American Civil War....
, USS Varuna (1861)
USS Varuna (1861)
USS Varuna was a heavy steam-powered ship acquired by the Union Navy during the early days of the American Civil War. She was outfitted with powerful 8-inch guns and assigned, as a gunboat, to the Union blockade of the waterways of the Confederate States of America.- Built in Connecticut :Varuna,...
were all built at Mystic.
The popular late war marching song Marching Through Georgia
Marching Through Georgia
"Marching Through Georgia" is a marching song written by Henry Clay Work at the end of the American Civil War in 1865. It refers to U.S. Maj. Gen...
was written by Henry Clay Work
Henry Clay Work
Henry Clay Work was an American composer and songwriter.-Biography:He was born in Middletown, Connecticut, to Alanson and Amelia Work. His father opposed slavery, and Work was himself an active abolitionist and Union supporter...
, a Middletown resident.
Notable leaders from Connecticut
GlastonburyGlastonbury, Connecticut
Glastonbury is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, founded in 1693. The population was 31,876 at the 2000 census. The town was named after Glastonbury in Somerset, England. Glastonbury is located on the banks of the Connecticut River, 7 miles southeast of Hartford. The town...
native Gideon Welles
Gideon Welles
Gideon Welles was the United States Secretary of the Navy from 1861 to 1869. His buildup of the Navy to successfully execute blockades of Southern ports was a key component of Northern victory of the Civil War...
was a prominent member of the Lincoln Cabinet and perhaps its leading conservative. He was the Secretary of the Navy
United States Secretary of the Navy
The Secretary of the Navy of the United States of America is the head of the Department of the Navy, a component organization of the Department of Defense...
from 1861 to 1869 and was the architect of the planning and execution of the blockade
Union blockade
The Union Blockade, or the Blockade of the South, took place between 1861 and 1865, during the American Civil War, when the Union Navy maintained a strenuous effort on the Atlantic and Gulf Coast of the Confederate States of America designed to prevent the passage of trade goods, supplies, and arms...
of Southern ports. During his tenure, he increased the size of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
tenfold.
Shortly after the war began, Col. Daniel Tyler of the 1st Connecticut was promoted to brigadier general
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
. Later, other field officers in Connecticut regiments such as Alfred Terry
Alfred Terry
Alfred Howe Terry was a Union general in the American Civil War and the military commander of the Dakota Territory from 1866 to 1869 and again from 1872 to 1886.-Early life and career:...
, Henry Warner Birge
Henry Warner Birge
Henry Warner Birge was an American general during the American Civil War.-Biography:Birge was born at Hartford, Connecticut.At the opening of the Civil War Birge organized the first state regiment of three-year troops — the 4th Connecticut Infantry — in which he was appointed major...
(both born in Hartford
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
), and Robert O. Tyler
Robert O. Tyler
Robert Ogden Tyler was an American soldier who served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He is best known as the commander of the Artillery Reserve of the Army of the Potomac, including at the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863, where many of his batteries played...
of the 4th Connecticut Infantry would be raised in rank to general. Some Connecticut-born men with antebellum U.S. Army service also became leading generals early in the war, including Ashford-born
Ashford, Connecticut
President George Washington, returning from his tour of the country in the fall of 1789, was chagrined to be involuntarily abandoned in the village on a Sunday...
Nathaniel Lyon
Nathaniel Lyon
Nathaniel Lyon was the first Union general to be killed in the American Civil War and is noted for his actions in the state of Missouri at the beginning of the conflict....
, one of the war's earliest army commanders to be killed when he was shot down at the Battle of Wilson's Creek
Battle of Wilson's Creek
The Battle of Wilson's Creek, also known as the Battle of Oak Hills, was fought on August 10, 1861, near Springfield, Missouri, between Union forces and the Missouri State Guard, early in the American Civil War. It was the first major battle of the war west of the Mississippi River and is sometimes...
in Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. Cornwall's
Cornwall, Connecticut
Cornwall is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,434 at the 2000 census.In 1939 poet Mark Van Doren wrote "The Hills of Little Cornwall", a short poem in which the beauties of the countryside were portrayed as seductive:The town was also home to the Foreign...
John Sedgwick
John Sedgwick
John Sedgwick was a teacher, a career military officer, and a Union Army general in the American Civil War. He was the highest ranking Union casualty in the Civil War, killed by a sniper at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House.-Early life:Sedgwick was born in the Litchfield Hills town of...
commanded the Union VI Corps
VI Corps (ACW)
The VI Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Formation:The corps was organized as the Sixth Provisional Corps on May 18, 1862, by uniting Maj. Gen. William B. Franklin's Division, which had just arrived on the Virginia Peninsula, with Maj. Gen. William F. Smith's...
for much of the war until killed at the Spotsylvania Court House
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, sometimes simply referred to as the Battle of Spotsylvania , was the second major battle in Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Overland Campaign of the American Civil War. Following the bloody but inconclusive Battle of the Wilderness, Grant's army disengaged...
. He was succeeded by Horatio G. Wright of Clinton
Clinton, Connecticut
Clinton is a town located on Long Island Sound in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 13,094 at the 2000 census. The town center along the shore line was listed as a census-designated place by the U.S...
, a long-time officer in the Regular Army.
Major General
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...
Joseph K. Mansfield
Joseph K. Mansfield
Joseph King Fenno Mansfield was a career United States Army officer, civil engineer, and a Union general in the American Civil War, mortally wounded at the Battle of Antietam.-Early life:...
of Middletown led the II Corps
II Corps (ACW)
There were five corps in the Union Army designated as II Corps during the American Civil War.* Army of the Cumberland, II Corps commanded by Thomas L. Crittenden , later renumbered XX Corps...
of the Union Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
during the middle of 1862. He was killed in action at the Battle of Antietam
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000...
during the 1862 Maryland Campaign
Maryland Campaign
The Maryland Campaign, or the Antietam Campaign is widely considered one of the major turning points of the American Civil War. Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's first invasion of the North was repulsed by Maj. Gen. George B...
. Another casualty of the fighting at Antietam was Brig. Gen. George Taylor
George W. Taylor (general)
George William Taylor was a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He commanded a brigade in the Army of the Potomac before being mortally wounded at the Second Battle of Bull Run in Northern Virginia.-Early life and career:Taylor was born at "Solitude," the family's mansion near...
, who had been educated at a private military academy in Middletown.
Joseph R. Hawley
Joseph Roswell Hawley
Joseph Roswell Hawley was the 42nd Governor of Connecticut, a U.S. politician in the Republican and Free Soil parties, a Civil War general, and a journalist and newspaper editor. He served two terms in the United States House of Representatives and was a four-term U.S...
of New Haven commanded a division
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
in the Army of the Potomac during the Siege of Petersburg
Siege of Petersburg
The Richmond–Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War...
and was promoted in September 1864 to brigadier general. Concerned over keeping the peace during the November elections, Hawley commanded a hand-picked brigade shipped to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to safeguard the election process. Other Union generals with Connecticut roots included Henry W. Benham of Meriden
Meriden, Connecticut
Meriden is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 59,653.-History:...
, Luther P. Bradley of New Haven, William T. Clark
William Thomas Clark
William Thomas Clark was an American soldier and politician, serving as a general in the Union army during the American Civil War and as a postbellum U.S. Congressman.-Birth and early years:...
of Norwich
Norwich, Connecticut
Regular steamship service between New York and Boston helped Norwich to prosper as a shipping center through the early part of the 20th century. During the Civil War, Norwich once again rallied and saw the growth of its textile, armaments, and specialty item manufacturing...
, Orris S. Ferry
Orris S. Ferry
Orris Sanford Ferry was a Republican American lawyer and politician from Connecticut who served in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. He was also a Brigadier General in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Early life:Ferry was born on August 15, 1823...
of Bethel
Bethel, Connecticut
Bethel is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, about sixty miles from New York City. Its population was 18,584 at the 2010 census. The town center is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census-designated place...
, and Alpheus S. Williams
Alpheus S. Williams
Alpheus Starkey Williams was a lawyer, judge, journalist, U.S. Congressman, and a Union general in the American Civil War.-Early life:...
of Deep River
Deep River, Connecticut
Deep River is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 4,629 at the 2010 census. The town center is also designated by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census-designated place...
.
New Haven native Andrew Hull Foote
Andrew Hull Foote
Andrew Hull Foote was an American naval officer who was noted for his service in the American Civil War and also for his contributions to several naval reforms in the years prior to the war. When the war came, he was appointed to command of the Western Gunboat Flotilla, predecessor of the...
received the Thanks of Congress
Thanks of Congress
The Thanks of Congress are a series of formal resolutions passed by the United States Congress originally to extend the government's formal thanks for significant victories or impressive actions by American military commanders and their troops. Although it began during the American Revolutionary...
for his distinguished actions in commanding the Mississippi River Squadron
Mississippi River Squadron
The Mississippi River Squadron was the Union naval squadron that operated on the western rivers during the American Civil War. It was initially created as a part of the Union Army, although it was commanded by naval officers, and was then known as the Western Gunboat Flotilla and sometimes as the...
gunboat flotilla in the capture of Forts Henry
Battle of Fort Henry
The Battle of Fort Henry was fought on February 6, 1862, in western Tennessee, during the American Civil War. It was the first important victory for the Union and Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in the Western Theater....
and Donelson
Battle of Fort Donelson
The Battle of Fort Donelson was fought from February 11 to February 16, 1862, in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. The capture of the fort by Union forces opened the Cumberland River as an avenue for the invasion of the South. The success elevated Brig. Gen. Ulysses S...
and Island No. 10
Battle of Island Number Ten
The Battle of Island Number Ten was an engagement at the New Madrid or Kentucky Bend on the Mississippi River during the American Civil War, lasting from February 28 to April 8, 1862. The position, an island at the base of a tight double turn in the course of the river, was held by the Confederates...
.
Civil War attractions in Connecticut
The New England Civil War MuseumNew England Civil War Museum
The New England Civil War Museum was established in March 1994. It is housed in the Memorial Building, a former Grand Army of the Republic Hall in Rockville, Connecticut. Its collection includes prints, paintings, lithographs, photos, and original papers. The museum has a large collection of...
is housed in the Memorial Building in Rockville
Rockville, Connecticut
Rockville is a census-designated place and a village of the town of Vernon in Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 7,708 at the 2000 census...
. It includes the old headquarters of the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic
Grand Army of the Republic
The Grand Army of the Republic was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army, US Navy, US Marines and US Revenue Cutter Service who served in the American Civil War. Founded in 1866 in Decatur, Illinois, it was dissolved in 1956 when its last member died...
. The museum includes the Hirst brothers' collection (14th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry), the Thomas F. Burpee collection (colonel, 21st Connecticut Volunteer Infantry), and the Weston collection (musician, 5th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry). The museum and library (along with the hall and its rooms) are the property of the Alden Skinner Camp #45 of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War
Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War
Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War is an American fraternal organization, the legal successor to the Grand Army of the Republic . Founded in late 1881, it was originally one of several competing organizations of descendants of Union veterans...
. In addition, the Museum contains the O'Connell-Chapman Library, which has more than a thousand volumes of Civil War literature.
Fort Trumbull
Fort Trumbull
Fort Trumbull refers to a fort in New London, Connecticut and to a nearby neighborhood.-Neighborhood:The neighborhood of Fort Trumbull was demolished as part of plan for the economic development of New London. The plan was appealed in a case that reached the US Supreme Court, Kelo v...
now serves as a state park with exhibits detailing its history.
Memorialization
There are well over 100 Civil War Monuments in Connecticut. In New Haven alone there are eight. The Soldiers and Sailors MonumentSoldiers and Sailors Monument (New Haven)
The Soldiers and Sailors Monument, located on the summit of East Rock in New Haven, Connecticut, is visible for miles from the surrounding urban metropolis and Long Island Sound. The monument was built in 1887 and honors the residents of New Haven who gave their lives in the Revolutionary War, the...
is located on the 366-foot summit of East Rock
East Rock
East Rock of south-central Connecticut, United States, with a high point of , is a long trap rock ridge located on the north side of the city of New Haven...
in New Haven. The monument is visible for miles from the surrounding area. It honors the residents of New Haven who gave their lives in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, the Mexican-American War, and the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. Other monuments in New Haven include the Broadway Civil War Memorial (1905) and the Yale
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
Civil War Memorial at Woolsey Hall
Woolsey Hall
Woolsey Hall is the primary auditorium at Yale University. Woolsey Hall, which seats 2,695 people, was built as part of the Yale bicentennial celebration in 1901. The architects were Carrère and Hastings, designers of the New York Public Library....
(1915). The memorial in Woolsey Hall is notable for honoring both Union and Confederate dead. The only other memorial honoring a confederate soldier in Connecticut is the G. W. Smith stone in New London.
Mountain Grove Cemetery
Mountain Grove Cemetery, Bridgeport
Mountain Grove Cemetery, Bridgeport, Connecticut, was laid out in 1849 in a park-like, rural setting away from the center of the city.The cemetery was designed by P. T. Barnum, who himself is buried there.-Notable interments:...
in Bridgeport
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in Fairfield County, the city had an estimated population of 144,229 at the 2010 United States Census and is the core of the Greater Bridgeport area...
contains an impressive Civil War monument and the graves of 83 veterans of the Union Army.
There are also monuments dedicated to Connecticut soldiers at battle sites in other states, for example, the monument to the 27th Connecticut Infantry at Gettysburg
Gettysburg Battlefield
The Gettysburg Battlefield is the area of the July 1–3, 1863, military engagements of the Battle of Gettysburg within and around the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Locations of military engagements extend from the 4 acre site of the first shot & at on the west of the borough, to East...
and the Joseph K. F. Mansfield monument at Antietam
Antietam National Battlefield
Antietam National Battlefield is a National Park Service protected area along Antietam Creek in Sharpsburg, Maryland which commemorates the American Civil War Battle of Antietam that occurred on September 17, 1862...
.
See also
- :Category:Connecticut Civil War regiments
- Greenwich in the American Civil WarGreenwich in the American Civil WarThe town of Greenwich, Connecticut, contributed 437 men to twenty six Connecticut regiments during the American civil war.[1] Greenwich soldiers fought in almost every major Union campaign, including Bull Run, Gettysburg and the siege of Petersburg...
- List of Connecticut Civil War units
- :Category:People of Connecticut in the American Civil War
External links
- Union Regimental Index, Connecticut, The Civil War Archive.
- Connecticut Men in the Civil War, Connecticut Military Department.
- Research Guide to Civil War Materials at the Connecticut State Library.
Further reading
- Cowden, Joanna D. "The Politics of Dissent: Civil War Democrats in Connecticut," New England Quarterly No. 56, December 1983.
- Hamblen, Charles P., Connecticut Yankees at Gettysburg, (edited By Walter L. Powell), Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1993.
- Lane, Robert Jarlath, A Political History of Connecticut During the Civil War, Washington: Catholic University Press, 1941.
- Niven, John, Connecticut for the Union: The Role of the State in the Civil War, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965.
- Record of the Service of the Connecticut Men of the Army and Navy of the United States During the War of the Rebellion, Hartford, 1889.