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In 1889, the Connecticut National Guard published a summary of the service of each Connecticut unit’s service during the Civil War called “Record of Service of Connecticut Men in the War of Rebellion, 1861 to 1865.” Here are some experts:

First Connecticut Volunteers At Bull Run

“Before recrossing Bull Run, and until my brigade mingled with the retreating mass, it maintained perfect freedom from panic, and at the moment I received the order for retreat, and for some time afterward, it was in as good order as in the morning on the road. Half an hour earlier I supposed the victory to be ours.” — Col. Keyes.

History of the Second Connecticut Volunteers

The Second Connecticut took part in the battle of Bull Run, July 21st, acquitting itself with great credit, maintaining its regimental formations throughout the action, and demonstrating by its coolness under fire the excellence of its material and the thoroughness of its discipline.

Third Connecticut Volunteers at the Battle of Bull Run 

“General Tyler ordered me to take a battery on a height in front. The battery was strongly posted and supported by infantry and riflemen, sheltered by a building, a fence, and a hedge. My order to charge was obeyed with the utmost promptness.” – Col. Keyes

History of the First Squadron Connecticut Volunteer Cavalry

On almost every field where the cavalry of the Army of the Potomac was engaged throughout the war, the Connecticut squadron left its record of bravery, unmarred by any sign of faltering, however hotly pressed. Among the earliest in the field, it was in at the death of the rebellion.

History of the First Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Cavalry

Thirty-two of its officers and men were killed and ninety-seven wounded in battle, while of its entire number 205, or almost fifteen per cent, lost their lives in service. Its casualties of every sort were 772, or over fifty-six per cent. The twelve Medals of Honor awarded by Congress to Connecticut soldiers for distinguished bravery three, or one-quarter of the whole, were awarded to members of this regiment.

First Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Cavalry as a battalion

On June 1st, at dusk, it overtook and charged Jackson’s rear at Strasburgh, and in the pursuit of him up the valley was constantly in the advance. It joined in the sharp cavalry fight near Harrisonburg, June 6tb, where the rebel General Ashby was killed, and in Fremont’s battle at Cross Keys, two days later.

First Connecticut Cavalry History While Being Recruited to Regiment

On the 14th, with forty-nine men, he attacked a rebel picket on Bolivar Heights, numbering, with their reserve, 200 or more, but his horse becoming disabled under him, he was captured with more than half of his men; the remainder withdrew, bringing several prisoners captured by them.

First Connecticut Cavalry Under General Grant in the Wilderness

The First Connecticut, as advance guard, met Longstreet’s advance at Craig’s Church and opened the Wilderness battles on our left. Major Marcy, with about 200 men, reconnoitering, was cut off. As the only chance of escape, he ordered sabers drawn and a charge through the enemy.

First Connecticut Cavalry covers the retreat to Ream’s Station

The First Connecticut Cavalry distinguished itself in the unsuccessful but hotly-contested attempt to break through the enemy’s lines at this point, and then covered the rear in the perilous withdrawal to Ream’s Station. The enemy were met here on the 29th in heavy force. The command was in the utmost danger.

In the Shenandoah Valley with General Sheridan

“I attribute the breaking up of the main line of the enemy as it was falling back, to the charge around the left flank by the cavalry under General Custer.” – General Sheridan. The First Connecticut, under Captain French, led that charge, dispersing the enemy’s cavalry, and with the help of reinforcements, driving it across Cedar Creek.

With General Custer’s division at Five Forks

“The First Connecticut achieved the honor of being the first to leap the enemy’s breastworks, seize his cannon, and turn them on the retreating foe.” – General Custer. The two guns thus gallantly captured by the First Connecticut were the only ones taken at that time by Custer’s division.

First Connecticut Volunteer Light Battery Sees Action at Charleston

On May 29th it had its first experience in actual service at Pocotaligo Bridge, S. C., but without loss. The next service was in the movement under Gen. David Hunter, against Charleston, by way of James Island. It took part in the engagements June 2d, 3d, and 14th, also in the attack on the rebel fortified position at Secessionville on the 16th. This last named was one of the most severe battles for the Battery during the war, and although several horses were killed, not a man was injured. For good conduct and well-served guns the Battery was honorably mentioned in General Orders by the commander of the Department of the South.

First Connecticut Volunteer Light Battery bombs Richmond

Early in the forenoon we entered the city, amid burning buildings and the explosion of shells at the arsenal, which was on fire. While in the city the glad news came of the capture of Lee and his army, and the war was ended.

Second Connecticut Light Battery at Getysburg

On arriving at Gettysburg on the afternoon of Friday, the second day of the battle, the Battery was ordered into position to the left of the center, where the enemy made a bold but ineffectual attempt to break through our lines, and just as the gallant Sickles was being borne to the rear.

Second Connecticut Light Battery with Admiral Farragut at Mobile Bay

The Battery witnessed the surrender of Fort Gaines, and on the 20th crossed to the rear of Fort Morgan and assisted in the bombardment of that stronghold. For twenty-four hours shot and shell poured in upon the fort from land and sea. The citadel was set on fire in the night, and at early dawn a white flag signaled the surrender. Read more.

Civil War uniforms, rifles and more shown in Winchester

The Winchester Historical Society is displaying Civil War items and documents in a special Civil War room. Visitors can see rifles, uniforms, pistols, ammunition, notes written by Winsted Civil War soldiers in addition to photographs, paintings and sketches.

The historical society has hundreds of Civil War era items and documents. There are remembrances of Col. Elisha Strong Kellogg, a tough-as-nails commander of the 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery who died in the Battle of Cold Harbor in June 1864, and the actual musical notebooks and drums of Charles Pine, a musician who served in the 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery Band. There is also a saddle and bridle used by Lt. Col. W. T. Batcheller, who would become a state legislator and later comptroller of Connecticut.

Noteworthy soldiers from Winsted include the legendary Samuel B. Horne, a state legislator who received the Medal of Honor for his service in the war. Horne was ordered to deliver a message to the front lines in September 1864. While riding to his destination, his horse was hit by a cannonball and the animal landed on him, breaking three ribs and causing internal injuries. Horne went on to deliver the message on foot before fainting at the front line. Dozens of ribbons and buttons collected by Horne during his storied social travels are featured in the Civil War room.

Historical Society Director Milly Hudak said Civil War historians said events commemorating Winsted’s participation in the Civil War will include a Civil War re-enactment at Forest View Cemetery on June 5 and a visit from Civil War historians in September. Located at 225 Prospect St., the Winchester Historical Society is open by appointment. Call 860-379-8433 for information.

Reenactment draws hundreds in New Britain

Hundreds of Civil War renactors partipated in Connecticut’s commemoration of the 150th Anniversary of the start of the U.S. Civil War with ceremonies and demonstrations at Central Connecticut State University and Stanley Quarter Park in New Britain. The reenactors come from Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia. They portrayed units from Connecticut, West Virginia and Maryland on Saturday. Read more.

Grant wrote on his Connecticut roots

In his Personal Memoirs, General Ulysses S. Grant reveals is ancestral ties to Connecticut. He writes that he was 8th in direct line from his ancestor, Matthew Grant, who set sail from England around 1630 on the Mary and John, settling first in Dorchester, MA. By 1635, Matthew had made his way to Windsor, CT, where he spent the rest of his life.

Matthew acted as town clerk and county surveyor for more than 40 years in Windsor. Six generations of the Grant family lived in Windsor or ‘across the river”—presumably South Windsor—up through General Grant’s grandfather, Noah Grant, himself a Revolutionary War veteran. The general’s great-grandfather, also named Noah, fought in the French and Indian Wars with his younger brother, Solomon. Both lost their lives in that 1756 conflict. Read more.

East Lyme painter wins Lincoln portrait contest

Christopher Zhang, a professional painter from East Lyme, won the Lincoln Portrait Project contest held at the Norwich Arts Center. Zhang won ’s prize is $8,000 for the purchase of the portrait of Abraham Lincoln by the city of Norwich.

The portrait will be mounted in the frame from which the 19th-century original was stolen in 1994. The frame has undergone a $15,000 restoration. The original was painted by John Denison Crocker in honor of Lincoln’s March 1860 visit to Norwich. The frame hangs empty in City Hall among other works by Crocker. For the contest, the city invited artists to re-create Crocker’s portrait from the only known photograph of that portrait. Read more.

Experience life in a Civil War Union Army camp

Children and families will be able to learn about life in a Union Army camp in the Civil War at a hands-on gallery at the Greenwich Historical Society.

The exhibit, designed for children and families, explores various aspects of a soldier’s day-to-day existence. Visitors will discover what soldiers wore, what they ate and how they entertained themselves. They’ll learn about medical practices of the time and the surprising fact that the mortality rate had more to do with poor living conditions and diet than wounds from battle.

The men of Greenwich who enlisted in the Union Army were mostly in their teens and had never been away from their families before. They joined the army with dreams of glory on the battlefield, but much of their war experience consisted of battling the privation and boredom of camp life.

The Life in a Union Army Camp gallery allows young visitors to not only learn about a crucial event in American history but to experience a connection with those who actually fought in the Civil War. Visitors can try on uniforms, pack and heft a knapsack with all the requisite gear, play the same games that helped soldiers pass idle hours, and explore and contrast the way news was conveyed through letters and diaries – which is the primary sources of information for this exhibition’s curators. 

The Civil War camp will continue through July 11 at the Greenwich Historical Society  Storehouse Gallery, 39 Strickland Road, in Cos Cob.

Artifacts reveal different viewpoints of the Civil War 

An exhibit at the Greenwich Historical Society, “Voices from the Civil War,” examines the impact of the Civil War on the people of Greenwich from a variety of perspectives, including soldiers on the frontline, an African-American and prisoner of war, an abolitionist, a war opponent, a female social activist, a young widow, a wife and mother, and a teenaged girl coming of age. 

The artifacts show that Greenwich citizens were not unanimous in their opinions about the war.

Using documents, photographs and artifacts from the Greenwich Historical Society’s collection, Voices from the Civil War brings to life the experiences of individuals whose lives were altered by the war and whose observations reflect the tenor of the times. Letters and diaries paint a rich portrait of the community at a pivotal juncture in our national story.

As part of the exhibition, the Greenwich Historical Society will feature a collection of never-before-exhibited maps drawn by Captain Daniel Merritt Mead and William Long, both Greenwich residents who served in the 10th Regiment, Company 1. The maps were probably created as remembrances of the soldiers’ travels but were also included in letters to family and friends at home and provide a very personal sense of place and time.

The exhibit at the Greenwich Historical Society is will continue through July 31.

On view in the same gallery is a 26-minute film produced by Greenwich High School student, Grant Radulovacki, which focuses on the 10th Connecticut Volunteers, notable Greenwich Civil War soldiers, Connecticut’s African American soldiers and Greenwich’s Civil War record. Grant Radulovacki has been a history buff since the age of eight. He and his family have toured many historic battlefields, including those where Greenwich soldiers fought. The film took over a year to research, write and produce and was completed in his sophomore year. 

What if the North had lost the Civil War?

The Civil War, or at least its outcome, was good, argued a Civil War expert speaking in Wilton.

“We often talk about the Civil War as a tragedy,” said Steven Hahn, a Pulitzer Prize winning author, at a lecture at the Wilton Historical Society on Sunday. “But I suggest the real tragedy would have been a Civil War that wasn’t fought, or a Civil War that didn’t end the way it did.

The Civil War prevented apartheid, no civil rights, and a uneasy marriage between southern slaveholders and northern industrialists.

Over 100 people attended the lecture, the second of four in a series about the Civil War. The Wilton Library Association co-sponsored the event with the historical society.

If the Civil War didn’t turn out the way it did, slavery might have existed into the 20th century. Racism would have remained in state constitutions, and the nation would have continued as separate confederacies. A Union victory was not inevitable, he said. For instance, if Lincoln had not fought at Fort Sumter or lost the election in 1864, the South might have won.

Hahn wrote the 2003 Pulitzer Prize book “A Nation Under Our Feed: Black Political Struggles in the Rural South from Slavery to the Great Migration. ”

Civil War artifacts shown in Southington

The Southington Historical Society is displaying Civil War artifacts through May. Visitors can view the display at the Southington Historical Society, 239 Main St., Southington, the second Saturday of the month, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and by appointment.

Items displayed include Civil War swords, rifles, pistols, clothing, photos and even an 1845 piano. The display concentrates on local Civil War veterans. Of the 322 Southington residents who fought, 13 were killed in action, 16 went missing in action, 20 died while not in direct combat, 49 were wounded in action and 25 were captured. The historical society can be reached at 860 621-4811 or webadmin@SouthingtonHistory.org.

The historical society also plans Civil War lectures on Thursdays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Topics will include weapons, uniforms, medical treatment and weapons appraisal.