The Forlorn Soldier Conservation Ceremony, July 2013

[SlideDeck2 id=42806 iframe=1]Officials stationed the statue of the Forlorn Soldier on Airport Road in Hartford’s South End for over 45 years—having moved it from Charter Oak Avenue in the spring of 1968. There it stood amidst an industrial, urban backdrop. On July 19, 2013, the Connecticut Civil War Commemoration Commission held a ceremony to honor another relocation of the statue. Before being lifted onto a truck, a color guard of Civil War reenactors honored the Forlorn Soldier. Peter G. Kelly and several of his family members attended and Tom Callinan, Connecticut’s former state troubadour, performed an original song dedicated to the Forlorn Soldier. The Mariano Brothers Specialty Movers used a crane to set the statue onto a truck bed. From that location they transported the Forlorn Soldier to ConservArt in Hamden, Connecticut. Francis Miller, the proprietor of ConservArt, worked over the next two months to stabilize the statue and repair previous restoration attempts before its final move to the Connecticut State Capitol.

Anthony Roy is a regional historian and social studies teacher at Connecticut River Academy whose work related to the Forlorn Soldier was completed as a part of his candidacy for a master’s in public history from Central Connecticut State University and as a part of the Connecticut Civil War Commemoration Commission’s efforts to study and inspire awareness of the American Civil War and Connecticut’s involvement in it.

Forlorn Soldier Conservation Ceremony Forlorn Soldier Time-Lapse Music Video
Tom Callinan performs “The Forlorn Soldier” Forlorn Soldier Living History Exhibition

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Learn More

Video

Connecticut Network. “Video - Ceremony to Relocate the Statue of the Forlorn Soldier,” July 19, 2013. Link.
Connecticut Network. “Video - State Capitol Dedication Ceremony For The Forlorn Soldier Statue,” September 17, 2013. Link.

Places

“Connecticut State Capitol Tours,” 2017. Link.

Books

Roy, Anthony. Neither Forlorn nor Forgotten: A History of James Batterson’s Old Soldier. Hartford, CT: Connecticut Civil War Commemoration Commission, 2013.

Articles

Dixon, Ken. “‘Forlorn Soldier’ Assumes New Post.” Greenwich Time, September 17, 2013. Link.
Drury, David. “Hartford’s ‘Forlorn Soldier’ To Get A Makeover.” Hartford Courant, July 19, 2013. Link.

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