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Civil War Monuments at the Capitol


The 29th First to Enter Confederate Capital When It Surrenders – Today in History: April 3

On the morning of April 3, 1865, the 29th (Colored) Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry awoke to find that the enemy had abandoned their positions in Richmond, Virginia.

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A Memorial to General Hawley at the State Capitol

Although not a native of Connecticut, one would be hard pressed to find a man more committed to the people of Connecticut than Joseph Roswell Hawley. He became Brigadier General of the 1st Connecticut Infantry during the Civil War and served the state as both a senator and as Connecticut’s 42nd governor. Within months of his death, the Connecticut legislature authorized construction of a memorial in his honor.

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A Monument Memorializes the Fallen

In front of the state capitol is a mortar commemorating the service of the First Connecticut Heavy Artillery Regiment. The mortar may or may not be the original “Petersburg Express” used at the famous siege of Petersburg, Virginia, during the Civil War.

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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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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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Gun Wheel of the First Light Battery, Connecticut Volunteers

A wheel damaged in battle now resides at the Connecticut State Capitol to commemorate the Civil War service of the First Light Battery Connecticut Volunteers.

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Sloop-of-War Ship’s Figurehead Lands at State Capitol

A figurehead from the USS Hartford currently resides at the Connecticut State Capitol and serves as a reminder of the state’s rich maritime heritage.

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The Ulysses S. Grant Memorial Tablet

The Connecticut Division of the Sons of Veterans, USA, commissioned a memorial tablet to Ulysses S. Grant who led Union forces during the Civil War.

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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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Connecticut’s War Governor, William A. Buckingham

Connecticut governor William Buckingham’s bronze statue at the Connecticut State Capitol honors his guidance of Connecticut through the Civil War.

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Connecticut’s Capitol Building – Inside and Out

The Connecticut State Capitol was built at a time when Civil War commemoration was gaining popularity.

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The Gettysburg Address and Heroic Fathers Bronze Tablets at the State Capitol

In 1927, two different women’s organizations dedicated plaques to commemorate events and service in the Civil War.

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Honor and Duty: The Life of Alfred Howe Terry

Born in Hartford, Alfred Howe Terry studied law before heroically capturing Fort Fisher during the Civil War.

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The Forlorn Soldier

The Forlorn Soldier, a statue by James G. Batterson, survived years of neglect, punishing weather, and movements to tear it down, and yet still serves an important purpose in Civil War commemoration.

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A Soldier’s Welcome

In September of 2013, officials arranged for the statue of the Forlorn Soldier to be placed in its new permanent home at the Connecticut State Capitol.

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Standing at Rest, at Last: The Story of the Forlorn Soldier

This story takes a look at the statue’s history, its care, conservation, and journey to the Connecticut State Capitol building where the Forlorn Soldier stands in all its glory.

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Civil War Monuments and Memorials in and Around the State Capitol

Monuments and memorials from the Civil War era in and around the state capitol in Hartford, Connecticut.

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Forlorn Soldier Oral History Interviews

Oral histories make up a substantial portion of our knowledge regarding the Forlorn Soldier.

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The Old Brownstone Soldier

Charles Conrads, a German immigrant and George Batterson’s lead sculptor, helped design the initial shape of the Forlorn Soldier.

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The Legend of Old Hayfoot, the Forlorn Soldier

A 1932 Hartford Courant report helped perpetuate a legend about the Forlorn Soldier, a Civil War statue designed with a nontraditional right-foot-forward stance many thought to be a mistake.

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Commemorating the USS Hartford at the Connecticut State Capitol

The Connecticut State Capitol currently houses two important artifacts to commemorate the service of the USS Hartford.

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The Forlorn Soldier Conservation Ceremony, July 2013

Originally located on Charter Oak Avenue, the statue of the Forlorn Soldier moved to Airport Road in the spring of 1968, after ConservArt worked to repair and restore the statue.

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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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View in Batterson, Canfield & Co.'s Monumental Works

James G. Batterson, Stone Contractor

James G. Batterson was an artist, inventor, and businessman. He helped commemorate the Civil War through his proficiency with stone.

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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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