Burial of Unoin soldiers, Fredericksburg, VA, 1864 – Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Civil War and Reconstruction (1850–1877)
The mid-nineteenth century was a period of massive upheaval in America. The country’s battles over race, slavery, and state’s rights ultimately degenerated into Civil War. Among those making significant contributions to the Union victory in the war were General (and 42nd governor of Connecticut) Joseph Hawley, General J. K. F. Mansfield of Middletown, and Connecticut’s 29th (Colored) Volunteer Infantry (CVI). The years that followed witnessed the rapid expansion of railroads and other means of transportation in Connecticut, helping foster in a period of mass industrialization that drew residents off of their farms and into the cities, while also attracting diverse foreign populations to Connecticut in record numbers.
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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. …[more]
