Date: Fri 21-Aug-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: CURT

Quick Words:

Civil-War-Zimmermann

Full Text:

Bringing The Civil War To Life

(with cut)

BY ANDREA ZIMMERMANN

When Bill Barrante dons his Civil War uniform and heads to a meeting of the

2nd Connecticut Heavy Volunteer Artillery, he gets a lot of satisfaction. Not

as much as if he had been allowed to be a real soldier, but enough to assuage

that childhood dream.

"I was always, always interested in military history," said Mr Barrante, who

will be returning to the Booth Library in September to present a new series of

lectures on the Civil War. "I wanted to be a soldier, I wanted to go to West

Point, but at 14 I became diabetic."

He chose another career path and became an attorney specializing in real

estate and constitutional law, with a home office in Watertown and an office

in Wolcott. Although he belongs to the Bar Association and a number of civic

groups, he says the only group in which "everything clicks together so

perfectly" is the fledgling Civil War unit. "Everyone respects each other;

everyone knows what to do," he said. "We regard it as a hobby, and we have a

lot of fun. We're not authorities so no one is going to yell at me for wearing

modern glasses -- I do take them off for re-enactments. If someone makes

mistakes, we laugh."

One member is knowledgeable about the company history, another knows all about

Civil War food. Each participant brings something different to the group. "We

welcome new people and people want to join us," said Mr Barrante. "In a year

and a half we have tripled our size."

Right now, the Woodbury-based unit has 18 men, 5 boys, 3 women and 2 girls

active in the group. Their mission is to carry on the lineage, honors and

history of the original 19th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, which was

organized at Litchfield in the summer of 1862, and its successor (in November,

1863), the 2nd Connecticut Volunteer Heavy Artillery. Having been organized in

Litchfield County, the regiment has been known also as the Litchfield County

Regiment, the Mountain County Regiment, and the Mountain Valley Regiment.

"Although the unit is `artillery,' it fields most of the time as infantry

because, in May of 1864, General Grant took all but one of the heavy artillery

regiments out of the forts around Washington and put them into the field as

foot soldiers. We also field as `light artillery' and serve with Union light

batteries," said Mr Barrante. "The 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery retained

its artillery designation and scarlet-trimmed uniforms. The regiment served at

Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, 3rd Winchester, Fisher's Hill, Cedar Creek,

Petersburg, and Appomattox Courthouse as part of the VI Corps.

"At Cedar Creak, in the Shenandoah Valley, the 2nd Connecticut did not run

when General Early's Confederates pushed other Union regiments back,"

explained Mr Barrante. "General Sheridan came onto the field and said, `Don't

cheer me -- fight! There is the 2nd Connecticut, standing like granite!'"

The revived regiment, which is registered with the state as a military

organization, participates in Civil War re-enactments and living history

programs as well as parades and ceremonies. Members lecture to groups on the

history of the regiment and life during the Civil War period.

Soldiers in the unit are trained in Civil War-period military disciplines,

marching, manual of arms, and courtesies. Under the direction of First

Sergeant Ray Manzi of Woodbury, the men have learned to march in precision.

First Lt Duke Breon of Woodbury commands Company I.

Last spring, members of the group came to the Cyrenius Booth Library as part

of a lecture series given by Mr Barrante. Next month, the military historian

begins another free program at the library on Wednesdays from 7:30 to 9 pm. He

will discuss the formation of the Union and Confederate Armies (September 16),

Battle of Chancellorsville (September 23), Civil Rights and Election of 1864

(September 30), Civil War Movies (October 7).

"The Civil War attracts the most interest -- more so than the Zulu War, the

War of 1812, or even the Revolutionary War. There is twice the interest of the

World War I or II. Both sides were American. Plus there is the romance of it.

And there were great characters," said Mr Barrante. Although there have been

significant personalities in other eras of military history, we don't have an

"affection" for them as we do for Stonewall Jackson or Robert E. Lee, he said.

"It was really an American tragedy. I'm interested in the constitutional

aspects: Lincoln's reasoning for getting us into the war, the mistakes the

South made in causing it, and how it might have been avoided if the South

seceded."

Mr Barrante's interest in military history is not limited to the Civil War.

His areas of particular interest are regimental lineages, uniforms, and

insignias. He is working on a book about the Mexican War that presents a

narrative outlining the war followed by a list of the service and lineage of

both regular and volunteer American Units that includes anecdotes about

regiments. One of the appendices will list the Mexican War officers who later

served in the Civil War; others will be a chronological list of battles and

the brigades of the war.

The 2nd Connecticut Volunteer Heavy Artillery will host the 4th Annual Civil

War Re-enactment at Wickham Park, Manchester/East Hartford, on Saturday,

August 22 from 9:30 am to 4 pm, and Sunday, August 23 from 9:30 am to 3 pm.

The Battle of Fisher's Hill, Va., will be re-enacted. The event is sponsored

by the Friends of the Center Cemetery, the Town of East Hartford, and the

town's Patriotic Commission. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for children 6 to

12, and free for children under 6. The park entrance fee is an additional $2

per car. For more information on the event, call 860/568-6178.