The Civil War Commences

Connecticut's Involvement in the Civil War

By John Potter - Connecticut Historical Society

Published: Apr 01, 2011

Slideshow

View from the main gate at Andersonville Prison, August 17, 1864

By this time, over 33,000 Federal prisoners of war were held here. Several thousand Connecticut soldiers languished here in 1864, and over one third of them died. CHS Collections, 1987.40.0.p1

Major Edward F. Blake, 5th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry Regiment, of New Haven

Blake was killed in action at the Battle of Cedar Mountain, Va., on August 9, 1862. CHS Collections

Corporal George D. Phillips, Company D, 17th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry Regiment, of Bridgeport

Phillips was wounded and captured at the Battle of Chancellorsville, May 2, 1863. CHS Collections, 1991.186.0

A company of Connecticut infantrymen mustering into Federal service on Main Street in New Britain, 1861.

CHS Collections, 1999.66.1

Sergeant Major Frederick A. Lucas, 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery Regiment, of Goshen

Lucas exchanged many letters with his sweetheart Sarah Jane “Jennie” Wadhams throughout the war. He was wounded in action at the Battle of Cedar Creek, October 19, 1864. CHS Collections, 2010_66_139

The American Civil War sesquicentennial begins on April 12, 2011. 150 years ago, on that date, Confederate batteries in Charleston Harbor opened fire on Fort Sumter; the first shots fired in a war that would claim over 600,000 American lives. The State of Connecticut did not falter in its support of the federal government. Over 55,000 young men from Connecticut served in uniform during the war. Connecticut industry supplied the armed forces with firearms from the Colt Firearm Company and many independent contractors produced a plethora of weapons. Approximately 10% of the Connecticut men who served in the war died while in service, over 2,000 of them in battle. Almost 700 Connecticut soldiers died in Confederate prisons. The women of Connecticut stood by their men at war by creating Soldiers Aid Societies. The Hartford Ladies Aid Society was one of the largest in the nation during the war.

The men serving from Connecticut were present at nearly every major engagement of the war from the First Battle of Bull Run to Appomattox. Connecticut regiments fought with distinction at Antietam, Drewry’s Bluff, and Cold Harbor. As with the nation itself, Connecticut’s bloodiest day came on September 17, 1862 at Antietam, Maryland.

The sacrifices of Connecticut men and women can be witnessed firsthand in the collections of the Connecticut Historical Society. View the diary of Sergeant Samuel Grosvenor of the 16th Connecticut Regiment and learn of his trials and suffering during a seven month imprisonment at Andersonville. Read the words of the family of Major Edward Blake, who were in search of their lost son after his disappearance in battle in Virginia. Witness the affection, hope, and dreams for the future of couples like Frederick Lucas and Jennie Wadhams, or John Best Cuzner and Ellen “Nell” Sperry. These and countless other stories are found in documents in the library of The Connecticut Historical Society.

During the month of April, an exhibition of Kellogg lithographs and other images of the Civil War from The Connecticut Historical Society’s collection will be on view in Mahoney Hall at Central Connecticut State University. For more information, go to http://www.art.ccsu.edu/Gallery/2010-11/CivilWar.html