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Civil War and Reconstruction
The Many Layers to Onion Farming in Westport
Westport’s fertile soil and ease of access by boat and rail once made it home to a thriving onion farming industry.
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The First Battle of Bull Run: Connecticut Troops Stand Firm When the Battle Turns Against Them
Connecticut troops earned admiration for staying to fight when others fled.
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Up from the Ashes: Fire at the Meriden Britannia Company – Today in History: July 16
A manufacturer of silver-plated ware rebounds from the worst fire ever to occur in Meriden.
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One of the Honored Dead: General J. K. F. Mansfield
A resident of New Haven and Middletown, Joseph Mansfield rose to the rank of brigadier general in the Union army before losing his life at the Battle of Antietam.
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Crisis Management during the American Civil War: The Hartford Soldiers’ Aid Society
The Hartford Soldiers’ Aid Society was one of the most important relief organizations during the Civil War and provided new opportunities for women in the public sphere.
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Fighting Sons of Erin: Connecticut’s Irish Regiment in the Civil War
Men with names like O’Brien, Kennedy, Mahoney, Murphy, Donnelly, Fitzpatrick, and Sullivan flocked to enlist in what a recruiting poster confidently described as a “destined to be gallant Regiment.”
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A Civil War Soldier Engineers an Iconic Career
Horatio Wright was a Connecticut native who served with distinction…
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Abraham Lincoln’s Republican Rally – Today in History: March 5
On March 5, 1860, Abraham Lincoln addressed the Republicans of…
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The Gildersleeve Shipbuilding Legacy in Portland
The town of Portland has a rich history of shipbuilding….
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Charles Stratton and Lavinia Warren Wed – Today in History: February 10
He was rich, handsome and famous, she was considered a great beauty and their wedding was front page news around the nation.
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Sam Colt’s Funeral: The Day Hartford Stopped
The funeral of America’s first great munitions maker was spectacular—certainly the most spectacular ever seen in the state’s capital city.
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The Smith Sisters and Their Cows Strike a Blow for Equal Rights – Today in History: January 8
Abigail and Julia Smith of Glastonbury (along with Isabella Beecher Hooker) fought for a woman’s right to speak at town meetings and have a say in government.
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The First US Can Opener – Today in History: January 5
On January 5, 1858, Waterbury native Ezra J. Warner invented…
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Pierre Lallement and the Modern-Day Pedal Bicycle – Today in History: November 20
On November 20, 1866, mechanic Pierre Lallement, a temporary resident of New Haven, Connecticut, received a patent for an improvement in velocipedes.
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“’No Taxation without Representation’: Black Voting in Connecticut
In 1870, Connecticut ratified the 15th Amendment, but poll taxes, grandfather clauses, and other means of disenfranchising African Americans remained in place.
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A Baltic Mill Helps Found a New Town
The Baltic Mill was once the largest cotton mill in the United States and led to the founding of the town of Sprague.
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Bridgeport Women Answer the Call – Today in History: April 15
On April 15, 1861, the women of Bridgeport created the…
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An Orderly & Decent Government: Searching for the Common Good, 1819-1865
During the early 19th century, the General Assembly was slow to deal with rising crime, poverty and the other social costs of a rapidly changing society.
Read An Orderly & Decent Government: Making Self-Government Work, 1819-1865
In the mid-19th century, Connecticut looked toward changing its electoral processes as well as its civil rights record.
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Celebrating Civil War Men and Women – Today in History: April 9
Today marks the anniversary of not only one, but two…
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“An Admirable Portrait” of Frederick Douglass
Hartford photographer Stephen H. Waite capitalized on the public’s interest in the great abolitionist.
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Reel Lawn Mower Patent – Today in History: January 28
On January 28, 1868, Amariah Hills of Hockanum, Connecticut, received…
Read The Smith Sisters and Their Cows Strike a Blow for Equal Rights – Today in History: January 8
Abigail and Julia Smith of Glastonbury (along with Isabella Beecher Hooker) fought for a woman’s right to speak at town meetings and have a say in government.
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From the State Historian: Connecticut’s Slow Steps Toward Emancipation
Slavery remained in the Land of Steady Habits until 1848, and it was not quick to advance suffrage for African Americans, either.
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Connecticut’s Chickamauga Tree: An Investigation
The Connecticut State Capitol displays part of a tree with a cannonball lodged in it. While it is believed to be a remnant of the battle at Chickamauga Creek during the Civil War, evidence exists suggesting the artifact may have been fabricated for the purpose of commercial sale.
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Cornelius Bushnell and His Ironclad Ship
Cornelius Scranton Bushnell was a 19th-century Connecticut businessman and shipbuilder…
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The Civil War Commences: Connecticut’s Involvement in the Civil War
Diaries, letters, and other documents provide firsthand witness to the sacrifices of Connecticut men and women during the years of bloody conflict.
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Anna Elizabeth Dickinson at Touro Hall – Today in History: March 24
On March 24, 1863, Anna Elizabeth Dickinson, a 20-year-old Quaker…
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Gideon Welles, US Secretary of the Navy and Lincoln’s “Neptune”
“He was a man of no decorations; … but he understood his duty and he did it efficiently, continually and unwaveringly,” said a contemporary of this Glastonbury-born leader.
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Fales & Gray Explosion – Today in History: March 2
On March 2, 1854, a steam boiler explosion rocked the…
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Mystic-built USS Galena Part of Plan to Strengthen Union Navy
This 950-ton, steam-propelled gunboat took fire from critics and Confederates during the Civil War.
Read Charles Stratton and Lavinia Warren Wed – Today in History: February 10
He was rich, handsome and famous, she was considered a great beauty and their wedding was front page news around the nation.
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Ebenezer Bassett’s Historic Journey
This educator, activist, and associate of Frederick Douglass served the US as its first African American ambassador.
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Colt Armory Burns – Today in History: February 4
On February 4, 1864, most of Colt’s East Armory burned…
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Sam Colt’s Funeral: The Day Hartford Stopped
The funeral of America’s first great munitions maker was spectacular—certainly the most spectacular ever seen in the state’s capital city.
Read The First US Can Opener – Today in History: January 5
On January 5, 1858, Waterbury native Ezra J. Warner invented…
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The Great Remedy: Picturing the Emancipation Proclamation
On January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect, declaring more than three million African Americans in those states in rebellion against the United States to be forever free.
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William Hawkins Abbott Finds the Energy to Power the Northeast
William Hawkins Abbott was a 19th-century pioneer in the energy…
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29th Regiment Connecticut Volunteers Fought More than One War
The state’s first African American regiment of the Civil War distinguished itself by battling Confederate forces and 19th-century prejudices.
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Evaporated Milk’s Connecticut Connection – Who Knew?
…that in 1856 businessman Gail Borden Jr. opened the first…
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William Eaton, a Peace Democrat and Civil War Opponent
This 19th- century Connecticut politician took a controversial stand against a war that would divide the Union and decrease states’ rights.
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Remembering Civil War Prisoners of War
Outside the Connecticut State Capitol building in Hartford stands a monument to the Connecticut prisoners retained at the Andersonville Prison during the Civil War.
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From the State Historian: The Final Journey of Nathaniel Lyon
The first Union general to die in the Civil War, this soldier from Eastford received national attention as mourners from Missouri to Connecticut gathered to pay tribute.
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The Peace Movement in Litchfield
Connecticut saw no combat on its soil during the Civil War. Yet, the conflict left its mark on the state in ways that historians are still sorting out. This account details the war’s impact on two Connecticut towns.
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North Branford Vied for the Title of “Shredded Coconut Capital of the World” – Who Knew?
…that patents granted to North Branford residents included one for…
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Aristocratic Dental Cream Gets Squeezed
Dr. Washington Wentworth Sheffield was born in North Stonington, Connecticut….
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Christopher Miner Spencer, 19th-century Arms Manufacturer
A well-known American inventor in his day, this Manchester native obtained 42 patents during his lifetime and created the first successful breech-loading repeating rifle.
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Connecticut’s War Governor, William A. Buckingham
Connecticut governor William Buckingham made significant contributions to the state’s war effort, sometimes even covering war expenses out of his own pocket. His bronze statue at the Connecticut State Capitol honors the selfless manner in which he guided the state through the Civil War.
Read Today in History – Fales & Gray Explosion Underscores Need for a Hartford Hospital
At 2 pm on March 2, 1854, the power of…
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Connecticut Arms the Union
Colt, Sharps, and other gun-makers weren’t the only Nutmeg-based firms that supplied armaments during the Civil War. Makers of kitchen utensils, sewing machines, textiles, and other goods re-geared production lines to meet demand.
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The Complicated Realities of Connecticut and the Civil War
Citizens’ dedication on the battlefield and home front did not always signal agreement on key issues of the day.
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Connecticut’s Black Civil War Regiment
“If you win freedom and citizenship, we shall share your freedom and citizenship.” With these words, abolitionist Frederick Douglass reminded African American soldiers from Connecticut that they fought for the hopes of many.
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Late 19th-Century Immigration in Connecticut
Immigration to Connecticut in the second half of the 19th…
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“A Noble and Precious Life”: Edgar M. Woodford, Civil Engineer, Abolitionist, and Soldier
This Avon-born man not only put his talents on the map, literally, he also went west to secure Kansas as a free state.
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New Haven: What Was Everyday Life Like During the Civil War?
Questions? We get a lot of them and some of…
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Civil War Monuments and Memorials in and Around the State Capitol
During the fall 2013 semester at Central Connecticut State University…
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Hall of Flags: Memorial to Connecticut’s Civil War Colors
Battle flags played an important strategic and ceremonial role in Civil War battles. The preservation of Connecticut’s Civil War colors has been a long, delicate, and expensive process.
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Pomp and Circumstance: Civil War Commemoration
The completion of the Forlorn Soldier did not meet with the pomp and circumstance of many other CIvil War commemorations, despite its media coverage and an overflowing sense of nationalism among the general public.
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Gideon Welles’s Role in Lincoln’s Cabinet
Earning the trust of Abraham Lincoln, despite reservations from many in Lincoln’s cabinet, Gideon Welles navigated the Union navy through the Civil War. He did this largely through expanding the navy and investing in new technology, such as ironclad ships.
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Thread Your Needle – Today in History: March 2
On March 2, 1866, the Excelsior Needle Company of Wolcottville…
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Workers at the Colt Armory, Hartford 1867
Colt Firearms has been one of the most prominent industries…
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John Frederick Kensett Illuminates the 19th-Century Landscape
John Frederick Kensett was a landscape painter who is now…
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Honor and Duty: The Life of Alfred Howe Terry
Born in New Haven, Alfred Howe Terry studied law before heroically capturing Fort Fisher during the Civil War. He earned the thanks of Congress for this victory before maintaining peace between whites and Native Americans in the Dakotas.
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The 29th Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry Flag and Display
Regimental flags played important symbolic and strategic roles in battle. The State of Connecticut maintains a collection of 110 such flags from the Civil War, among them, the flag of the 29th (Colored) Volunteer Infantry.
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Connecticut’s Naval Contributions to the Civil War
From makers of gun boats to bakers of ship biscuits, companies across the Nutmeg state helped keep the Union navy afloat while sea-savvy leaders and sailors from the state kept it in fighting form.
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Nathaniel Lyon: Colorful Commander from Connecticut
The military exploits of this passionate abolitionist include an attack on pro-secessionist forces that may have assured Missouri remained part of the Union.
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General Joseph R. Hawley Helps Commemorate Connecticut’s Civil War Soldiers
“Let monuments be raised in every town, let songs be sung and orations delivered,” urged this state politician and skilled speechmaker.
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Death and Mourning in the Civil War Era
The Civil War transformed traditional practices of death and mourning in Victorian-era Connecticut.
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