The Litchfield Historical Society for their annual Family Day on Saturday, May 19 from noon to 4 p.m. It will feature a bandage rolling race, music, Civil War era refreshments, and a historical scavenger hunt around Litchfield center.
Historian to speak on General Lee’s 1862 campaign
Dennis E. Frye, chief historian of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, will speak on “September Suspense: Lincoln’s Union in Peril.” “September Suspense” refers to General Lee’s 1862 invasion of the North and the Maryland Campaign. Continue reading
Civil War music, artifacts at Trumbull Historical Society
The Spirit of Black Rock Fife and Drum Corp will perform songs from the Civil War outside the Trumbull Historical Society this Sunday, May 6, at 2 p.m. The fife and drum corp represents the same group that escorted General Grant to Appomattox. Continue reading
Talk on Civil War armaments, uniforms and other hardware in Connecticut
The Friends of Fort Trumbull will host Sharon Smith, author of “Connecticut’s Civil War,” as their speaker this month. Continue reading
Exhibit to feature Civil War artifacts, letters, and pictures
Shepaug Valley Middle School is planning a Civil War exhibit, “Life Through Letters: Samuel Jay’s Story,” to commemorate the Washington, CT, Civil War soldier Samuel Jay Nettleton of the 8th Connecticut Regiment. Continue reading
Historian to ponder ‘Why the Civil War?’
Local Historian Richard Meyer will address the age old question of why the Amercian Civil War occurred. His talk on “Why the Civil War?” is set for Sunday, April 29, at 2 p.m. at the Ellsworth Visitor Center, Simsbury Historical Society”s Ellsworth Visitor Center. Call (860) 658 2500 for more information. The cost is $7 for members and $10 for non-members.
Blacksmith demonstrations, antique machines, cemetery tours at farmstead
The Brookfield Museum and Historical Society will host a family-oriented open house at the Gurski Farmstead. Brookfield residents Ryan Blessey and Robert Pitcher will give hands-on blacksmithing demonstrations at the forge. In addition, the open house will include a working exhibit of antique farm machinery and a tour of Brookfield’s second oldest burial ground, the Merwin Brook Cemetery. Continue reading
The Hartford insured General Lee’s Arlington home
The Hartford Fire Insurance Company, one of the country’s oldest insurance companies, sold a policy during the Civil War to Confederate commander Robert E. Lee for his family home, “Arlington,” in Virginia, noted an insurance publication. The Union later consficated Arlington to use as a cemetery for soldiers killed in the Civil War. Continue reading
West Hartford woman recognized for historic preservation work
The Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation awarded the Janet Jainschigg Award of Excellence to Mary M. Donohue of West Hartford for her historic preservation work, including surveys of Civil War monuments. An expert on the state’s Civil War monuments, she serves as a gubernatorial appointee to the Connecticut Civil War Commemoration Commission. Continue reading
Emancipation was gradual in Connecticut
Emancipation was gradual in Connecticut, according to Norwalk historian Dale Plummer.
“Ten years after the first call to end slavery in Connecticut, the Legislature passed a gradual emancipation act,” Plummer writes in an article for the Norwich Bulletin. Continue reading
