Connecticut’s Civil War Heritage:

A Special Exhibition

HARTFORD — Many people save certain mementos or have special treasures hidden away for safekeeping: a letter from our first love; a stuffed animal won at the fair; Grandma’s best china. Some treasures are passed down from generation to generation because of the special meaning attached to them. Others, unfortunately, are forever lost.

What may be a treasure for one person may not be considered a treasure in the eyes of another. When museums assemble a collection of treasures around a certain theme, however, an exciting transformation happens. Objects begin to tell tales of the past and treasures, in multitude, tell a chorus of different stories.

The Connecticut Historical Society has assembled such a collection of treasures — both rare and everyday — for the exhibition “Civil War Treasures,” which opened on July 5 and will remain on view until January 6, 2002. From letters and prints to clothing and soldiers’ supplies, CHS’ collection of treasures from the Civil War era tell a collective story about life — both on the battlefield and back home in Connecticut — during a pivotal time in America’s history.

Union and Confederate soldiers alike realized the historical significance of their participation in the war and many gathered souvenirs or mementos along the way, sometimes sending them home for their families to preserve, other times carrying them through battle. Because their service was a source of pride for themselves and their heirs, library and museum collections such as those at The Connecticut Historical Society have been enriched by donations honoring their experiences and sacrifices.

“The objects in our museum and library collections can be assembled in countless ways, each telling a different story,” said Kate Steinway, CHS’ director of exhibitions. “In looking at our collections and assessing recent acquisitions, we realized that we have a lot of items that could be put together to tell some very personal stories about the people in Connecticut affected by Abraham Lincoln’s presidency, his assassination, and the Civil War.”

The exhibition begins with an array of broadsides (printed news sheets) that form a framework for the period covered. The first exclaims Lincoln’s 1860 election victory and the last announces the “Sad News” of Lincoln’s assassination in 1865. In between are recruitment posters urging young men to volunteer, anti-Lincoln prints, and two tickets from the 1864 McClellan vs. Lincoln Presidential election.

The exhibition is anchored by two vignettes. One focuses on the soldier and the other on those left at home. The people both in battle and on the homefront made tremendous contributions to the war effort.

Items treasured by soldiers are displayed, such as the silver spoon that save the life of Enfield’s David Stevens, a private in Company B, 8th Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry. Stevens was lucky enough to be carrying the spoon in his haversack (a knapsack bag used to hold rations that is carried across the chest) when it deflected a bullet fired during the battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862. Other treasures include a wooden drinking cup made by prisoners at the notorious Andersonville Prison in Georgia and a Confederate soldier’s wooden canteen, traded by a Union soldier for his canteen.

Flags, also known as “colors” or “banners,” were powerful emotional symbols of the Civil War. If captured, enemy flags were sometimes handed out as triumphant souvenirs to the conquering soldiers. To avoid such a fate, flags shredded during battle by gunfire were often torn further into pieces and given to the regiment’s surviving soldiers.

A number of such flag fragments are on view in the exhibition, including one from the USS Congress, which was sunk by the ironclad CSS Virginia in March 1862. After more than three years submerged in Hampton Roods, some of the ship was salvaged, including the flag fragment.

Other fragments come from the last battle flag of the 7th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry; the first US flag flown over the Union dead at Andersonville Prison at the end of the war; and a Confederate flag taken at the fall of Fort Fisher, N.C., in 1865.

Exhibition visitors can learn about a Connecticut soldier’s daily life through uniforms, supplies and weapons. Colonel Frank Cheney, a member of the silk producing family in Manchester, enlisted in the 17th Connecticut Infantry in August 1862. Col Cheney’s field officer’s uniform, kepi and shirt — with a replaced left sleeve, as he was wounded by a cannonball that shattered his left elbow — are all on view.

Civil War camp life is also presented. Since officers were constantly on the move, portable field chairs such as the one owned by Newtown’s Albert Peck, Captain of Company D, 17th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, were essential. A particularly handsome and rustic pulpit made entirely by hand (of sticks from the field) for Chaplain Henry C. Trumbull by the men in his regiment is also on display.

Rifles and swords, which were issued only to officers and cavalry units, were vital pieces of equipment. The Spencer Rifle, invented in Connecticut in 1860, improved upon existing firearms by shooting more rounds per minute. Better yet, Confederates who captured Spencer rifles, such as the one on display, were unable to use them because they did not have compatible ammunition.

Another artifact is the field sword and scabbard of Edward Woolsey Bacon, Captain of the 29th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, the only full Africa-American regiment sent by Connecticut to the Union forces.

Soldiers — and the war effort — relied upon support from home. Family and friends, school children and members of aid societies cooked, sewed and wrote countless letters to support the soldiers. Letters written by soldiers and sent back to Connecticut were filled with urgent requests for socks, shirts, favorite foods, alcoholic drinks, photographs of loved ones, and more letters.

The vignette depicting the home continues at a table devoted to books of quotes from the hundreds of Civil War era letters and diaries in the collection of CHS where excerpts are available. The letters are grouped by different themes, including hygiene and health, prison life and the enemy, comments about Abraham Lincoln, soldiers’ pastimes, African-Americans, and women.

In an area reserved for children, kids can dress up in Civil War-period clothing and play in a re-created “dog tent.” Tents like the one in the exhibition were carried by soldiers while on “bivouac,” or camping under the stars. A soldier and his “pard” or partner, would each carry half of the tent during the day and at nighttime would find sticks to make a frame and button their halves together.

Young volunteers can also try on a type of military jacket that was issued to soldiers during fatigue duty, such as digging ditches or cutting down trees. For those who want to experience the clothing available back in Connecticut, they can try on a man’s vest or a particularly fashionable woman’s jacket that was based on military uniforms.

Lincoln’s assassination at Ford’s Theater on the night of April 14, 1865 — five days after the war’s end — was a tremendously gripping moment for both the North and South. President Lincoln was genuinely mourned by a shattered nation and people collected souvenirs, some of which made their way to The Connecticut Historical Society’s collections.

On display is a framed letter and lock of Lincoln’s hair sent to Connecticut Senator James Dixon’s wife by one of Mary Lincoln’s relatives; a fragment of a bandage used to wipe blood from Lincoln’s head on the night of his assassination; and several color lithographs produced by Kellogg of Hartford, rivals to Currier & Ives, which mourn Lincoln’s death.

The last section presents artifacts from the CHS’s collections and poses the question, what makes a treasure? One such object is a maul, a large wooden sledgehammer that was used to drive stakes, piles or wedges, that was reportedly used by Lincoln as a young man. The object came to Connecticut by way of Jonathan F. Morris of Hartford, who was involved in the formation of the Republican Party and also a member of The Connecticut Historical Society.

Mr Morris wrote to a friend in Springfield, Ill., who was a neighbor of Lincoln’s, and the maul was sent to Hartford’s Wide Awake Club in 1860 amid much local fanfare. The maul was on display at the CHS until 1940, but it has not been on view since then.

For such a small state so far from the war’s battlefields, Connecticut played a surprisingly significant role in the war’s outcome, supplying firearms made by Colt, Spencer, and Henry; gunpowder from the Hazard Powder Company; and cannons from Salisbury Iron Works (see related sidebar). Connecticut even manufactured rubber for ponchos, blankets, and boots; machine tools; hardware; leather for saddles and harnesses; troop transports; sewing machines; and textiles.

While the exhibition mentions those contributions, it continually returns to the personal and often private thoughts and feelings expressed by people of the time. The Civil War was not settled quickly and it has never been forgotten. Collections such as those at CHS honor the sacrifices made by those who fought and those who supported them at home.

The Connecticut Historical Society is at One Elizabeth Street in Hartford’s historic West End, easily accessible from I-84 Exit 46 (Sisson Avenue). Museum exhibition hours are Tuesday through Sunday, noon to 5 pm. Library research collections are available without appointment Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm. Museum and print, photographic, and drawing collections are available for viewing by appointment by calling 860-236-5621.

An exhibition Web site, www.civilwartreasures.com, is available. Digital Connecticut-related Civil War exhibits are available at www.chs.org/cws.htm. For more information, call 860-236-5621 or visit www.chs.org.