A toy factory is converted to manufacture parachute flares, A. C. Gilbert Company, New Haven, 1942 – Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division

From the Pequot War of 1637, and its tragic consequences for indigenous peoples, to more recent armed conflicts overseas, Connecticut’s history is punctuated by the complex political, economic, and social entanglements of war. Not only did the state send troops to fight the most significant US wars of the past three centuries, it marshaled its manufacturing resources to provide supplies and weaponry critical to victory. This helped make the Revolutionary War, World War II, and other conflicts ongoing focal points for patriotic commemoration. And, while war has sometimes fueled technological innovation and economic growth, it has also brought great loss. Monuments across the state record the human toll exacted by war.

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Stubby

A True Dog of War: Sergeant Stubby

The stray dog "Stubby" quickly became the mascot of the 102nd Infantry during WWI, despite an official ban on pets in the camp. …[more]

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“Wadsworth Stable.” Connecticut Daughters of the American Revolution. https://www.govtrumbullhousedar.org/wadsworth-stable/.
“Trumbull War Office.” The Connecticut Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. https://www.sarconnecticut.org/historic-sites/trumbull-war-office/.
“The Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route.” National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/waro/learn/news/upload/WARO-brochure-both-sides-2.pdf.
Gosselin, Kenneth R. 2014. “State Soldiers Were First To Receive Honor Now Known As The Purple Heart.” Hartford Courant. https://www.courant.com/2014/05/20/state-soldiers-were-first-to-receive-honor-now-known-as-the-purple-heart-2/ (September 14, 2015).
“US Coast Guard Museum.” 2016. https://www.ncgm.uscg.mil/.
“Fort Nathan Hale & Black Rock Fort.” 2016. Fort-Nathan-Hale.org. http://www.fort-nathan-hale.org/Quinnipiac_History.html.
Connecticut. 2017. “Connecticut Men in the Civil War.” http://www.ct.gov/mil/cwp/view.asp?a=1351&q=270354.
“Research Guide to Civil War Materials.” 2017. Connecticut State Library. http://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/ld.php?content_id=8214201.
“World War I Veterans Database.” 2016. Connecticut State Library. http://ctstatelibrary.org/ww-1-veterans/.
“Research Guide to War of 1812 Sources.” 2016. Connecticut State Library. http://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/hg/militaryrecords/1812 (April 27, 2012).
“Battlefields of the Pequot War.” 2016. Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center. http://pequotwar.org/.
“Fort Trumbull State Park.” 2016. Department of Energy & Environmental Protection. http://www.ct.gov/deep/cwp/view.asp?a=2716&q=325200&deepNav_GID=1650.
“First Company Governor’s Foot Guard.” 2016. http://www.governorsfootguard.com/.
Mandell, Daniel R. 2010. King Philip’s War: Colonial Expansion, Native Resistance, and the End of Indian Sovereignty. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
“Research Guide to World War II Service Records.” 2012. Connecticut State Library. http://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/hg/militaryrecords/wwii.
Gardiner, Lion, and W. Dodge. 1860. A History of the Pequot War, or, a Relation of the War Between the Powerful Nation of Pequot Indians, Once Inhabiting the Coast of New-England, Westerly from Near Narraganset Bay and the English Inhabitants, in the Year 1638. Cincinnati, OH: J. Harpel for W. Dodge. http://archive.org/stream/ahistorypequotw00dodggoog#page/n4/mode/2up.
Croffut, W. 1868. The Military and Civil History of Connecticut During the War of 1861-65. New York, NY: Ledyard Bill. http://www.archive.org/stream/militarycivilhis00incrof#page/n9/mode/2up.
Hewes, Amy, and Henriette Rose Walter. 1917. Women as Munition Makers, a Study of Conditions in Bridgeport, Connecticut. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation. http://www.archive.org/stream/womenasmunitionm00hewerich#page/n3/mode/2up.
“New England Civil War Museum.” 2012. http://www.newenglandcivilwarmuseum.com/.
Lyman, Daniel. 1781. “A Sketch of New London & Groton with the Attacks Made on Forts Trumbull & Griswold by the British Troops Under the Command of Brigr. Genl. Arnold, Sept. 6th. 1781.” http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3784n.ar102700.
“Fort-Griswold.” 1781. http://www.flickr.com/photos/uconnlibrariesmagic/3399693954/.
Connecticut. Adjutant-General’s Office, and Henry Phelps Johnston. 1889. Record of Connecticut Men in the Military and Naval Service During the War of the Revolution, 1775-1783. Hartford, CT: Case, Lockwood & Brainard Company. http://www.archive.org/stream/waroftherevolution00recorich#page/n15/mode/2up.
White, David Oliver. 1973. Connecticut’s Black Soldiers, 1775-1783. Chester, CT: Pequot Press.
Illustrated Catalogue Waterbury Button Co.: Military and All Metal Buttons: Army, Navy, Police, Fire Department, School and Livery. 1900. Waterbury, CT: Waterbury Button Company. http://archive.org/stream/militaryallmetal00wate#page/n5/mode/2up (March 1, 2012).
Warshauer, Matthew. 2011. Connecticut in the American Civil War: Slavery, Sacrifice, and Survival. Middletown,  CT: Wesleyan University Press.
Connecticut. Adjutant-General’s Office. 1864. Catalogue of Connecticut Volunteer Organizations, with Additional Enlistments and Casualties to July 1, 1864. Hartford: Case,  Lockwood and Company. http://www.archive.org/stream/catalogueofconne00conn#page/n5/mode/2up.
Connecticut. 1889. Record of Service of Connecticut Men in the Army and Navy of the United States During the War of the Rebellion. Hartford,  CT: Case, Lockwood & Brainard Company.
Connecticut. Adjutant-General’s Office. 1919. Record of Service of Connecticut Men in the Army, Navy and Marine Corps of the United States in the Spanish-American War, Philippine Insurrection and China Relief Expedition from April 21, 1891, to July 4, 1904. Hartford, CT: Case, Lockwood and Brainard Company. http://archive.org/stream/menarmynavy00authrich#page/n3/mode/2up.