‘Connecticut’s Role In The Civil War’ At Next Historical Society Gathering

The nation is agog with events commemorating the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, and Newtown Historical Society will be joining in with a presentation in the community room of C.H. Booth Library, 25 Main Street, on Monday, November 14. The program will be presented by Sharon Smith, and is titled “Connecticut’s Role in the Civil War.”

It will begin at 7:30 pm and there is no charge.

The great national tragedy of Civil War began in April 1861, and virtually ended with Lee’s surrender at Appomattox almost exactly four years later. Fighting continued for a few weeks in the Southwest, however, and word did not reach the Confederate raiders at sea until late summer, but the Confederate States of America were done with the loss of Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia.

During that span of this country’s bloodiest war there were many battles, political developments, and human interest stories. While Connecticut can not claim any battles (St Albans, Vt., has the honor of the only battle fought in New England), it can certainly lay claim to the political and human interest aspects, as well as serving as a major manufacture for the war effort.

Connecticut played a large role in events leading up to the Civil War as well, with John Brown, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Prudence Crandall, and the Amistad case all fueling the abolition movement, and Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin ensuring the economic feasibility of the South’s plantation system worked by slaves.

Whitney did not stop there, and his development of interchangeable parts made his gun manufactory one of the leading military suppliers during the war, alongside Samuel Colt and many other Connecticut factories. The state also heavily supported the war effort with manpower, and in terms of public memory, one of the first war memorials in the nation is said to have been erected in Connecticut.

Not all was unqualified support, however, and dissident feelings in the state ranged from outright Southern support, to questions about the need to fight a war to free slaves, to a strong peace movement. Several violent clashes between war supporters and their opposition took place in the state, including at nearby New Fairfield, where the Peace Flag that led to the Battle of Charcoal Ridge has recently been rediscovered.

Susan Smith is a former broadcast journalist, working in Texas, New York, and at ESPN in Connecticut. She has written several books on horse racing and equine subjects, and has recently completed her Connecticut’s Civil War: A Guide for Travelers, which will serve as the basis for her presentation.

Refreshments will be served following the presentation. Call 203-426-5937 for further information.