Connecticut’s Role in the War of the Rebellion, 1861 – 1865

During the five years from April, 1861 to April, 1865 casualties (killed, wounded, missing in action, or dying the was involved in a life and death of disease) reaching 20,000 men. struggle that would determine if the 34 United States would remain a unified nation or if they would be The Connecticut contingent was drawn into one cavalry divided between Union and Confederacy. The war cost regiment, two heavy artillery units, three battalions of the lives of over 620,000 Americans, more than in all light infantry and thirty regiments of infantry. the other wars in our nation’s history. Connecticut provided 2,100 men and 250 officers to the U.S. Navy. Many others joined regular U.S. Army units. Connecticut men and women played significant roles in the nation’s conflict. Eli Whitney, of Hamden, became Connecticut men fought in virtually every major battle an inadvertent contributor to the cause of the war when of the Civil War. One regiment, the First Infantry, fired he invented the cotton gin in 1793. Now, with cotton the first shots at Bull Run and then had the honor of cloth less expensive to produce, and a huge labor force escorting Grant to take Lee's surrender at Appomattox. needed to produce it, slavery became an essential part The war called forth many able Connecticut men. of the southern economy. Lincoln's Secretary of the Navy was Gideon Wells of Hartford. The most celebrated of the state's war heroes Efforts by northern abolitionists like John Brown of was General Alfred Terry, who participated in a number Torrington and Harriett Beecher Stowe of Hartford, of engagements, including the capture of in author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, fueled the flames. The . election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 led to the secession of eleven southern states from the Union and on April 12, 1861, cannon batteries in Charleston, For information and bookings contact: forced the surrender of the federal Robert L. Berthelson, 6 Rempsen Street garrison at Fort Sumpter. Trumbull, CT 06611, (203) 372-6809 E-mail: [email protected] Connecticut inventor Eli Whitney soon developed a www.rlbimages.com method of mass-producing parts that revolutionized the northern firearms industry. Samuel Colt of Hartford, Robert Berthelson is a photographer/historian with a using Whitney’s production techniques, produced life-long interest in American history and nostalgia. Bob 387,017 revolvers, 6,693 rifles and 113,980 muskets. is a member and past president of the Civil War Round Another Hartford firm, Sharp's, produced 30,000 rifles Table of South Central Connecticut, and is a member of yearly, while Winchester Arms in New Haven and the Connecticut League of History Organizations. He Alsop-Savage of Middletown passed all former arms has presented programs to over 1300 audiences production records. including senior centers, libraries, schools, historical societies, social groups, retirement communities and Hartford County plants made gunpowder, with the other organizations. Hazard Powder Company and its 125 buildings in Enfield a leader in the field. In Salisbury much of the armor for Union ironclads and heavy guns were forged. The Mystic shipyards launched fifty-six steamers for the U.S. Navy, while Connecticut's eighty-four woolen factories joined cotton, thread and silk industries in the state to furnish uniforms to the troops.

Connecticut made crucial contributions to Union victory. Governor William Buckingham did all in his power to insure full Connecticut support for the Union war effort. Into the nation's bloodiest conflict ever, Connecticut mobilized 55,000 volunteer troops, with