Historical Society Exhibiting Civil War Artifacts

Newtown Historical Society is exhibiting recent acquisitions at C.H. Booth Library through Thanksgiving. Included in the exhibit are some rare Civil War artifacts that once belonged to a Newtown soldier, William Sniffen.

Sniffen was a proud man. He was proud of his Civil War service in the Second Connecticut Light Artillery, and particularly proud to have fought at what became the iconic and quintessential battle of the war, the three days of Gettysburg. Having served in the war for nearly three years, Sniffen was mustered out in the summer of 1865 at the war’s end.

He chose Newtown to make his new home, begin a new business, raise his family, and participate in the town’s civic life. Like many veterans anxious to continue the associations formed during the war, he soon joined the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR). Once again the proud veteran relived the camaraderie of the long days of guarding the capital at Washington and the horror and terror of battle.

For many years, Sniffen loaned a few of the souvenirs of his wartime service for display at the GAR meeting rooms in Sandy Hook. But time is inexorable in its passage, veterans do become older and pass along, and the GAR eventually began to fade. For many years, Sniffen’s hat and sword, his holster and canteen, were lost to the view of the next generations.

In September, these and other items of Sniffen’s service in both the war and the GAR surfaced at Fairfield Auctions, and Newtown Historical Society decided to keep these relics in town if at all possible. Bidding through the agency of the society’s president, Lincoln Sander, the organization was successful in rescuing this part of the town’s history in spite of the bidding going well beyond the presale estimate. Thanks to the generous contribution of the auction house’s commission and other private donations, the society has begun the long road toward replacing the funds it expended.

As the artifacts have not been seen publicly in Newtown for many years, the society has centered its final tercentennial exhibition at the Booth Library on them. To augment this highlight, other recent acquisitions have also been placed on display in the second floor library cases, along with a few older acquisitions.

From a wonderful oversized folk art tin tea pot given to Ezra and Jane Johnson on their tenth wedding anniversary (purchased at auction three years ago) and flax grown on a Newtown farm in 1859 to a journal begun in 1813 by a young Newtown woman and photographs of the town taken by Sniffen’s son Ernest, the exhibition serves to illustrate some of the historical society’s activities in preserving and making accessible the town’s history to the public.

For further information on Newtown Historical Society’s collections, activities, and opportunities for helping with its work of preservation, call 426-5937.