The Grange Hall is located between the Oxford Center Firehouse and Oxford Center School on Route 67 in Oxford.

Admission to the event will be $5 for adults, and $2 for students, with a maximum cost of $10 per family. Proceeds will be used for continued restoration and preservation at the Society’s Twitchell-Rowland Homestead Museum.

Private Webb was an actual soldier, a native of Hartford. He was recruited in 1863 and served in the 29th (Colored) Regiment, Connecticut Volunteer Infantry in several battles in Virginia under Oxford native Colonel William B. Wooster.

In July 1862, Congress authorized President Lincoln to use “persons of African descent” in military service. The Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863 sanctioned their enlistment.

Johnson’s presentation of Webb is told from an emotional and exciting first-person perspective that vividly illustrates the struggle of African-Americans in the Colored Infantry during the Civil War. He speaks of his early life in Hartford, his recruitment and training and the traumatic final battles of the War. The presentation is based on extensive research in the collections of the Connecticut State Library and the Museum of Connecticut History.

Further information about the program is available by calling Nancy Farnum at (203) 888-0230.

The ceremony will take place from 11 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Oct. 20, at the monument to the 21st Regiment Connecticut Volunteers in Williams Memorial Park. A social hour will follow until 1 p.m.

The event is being sponsored by the Connecticut Civil War Commemoration Commission. Two descendants of Alvin M. Crane, who entered the service on Sept. 5, 1862, and mustered out of the Union Army as a captain in 1865, are organizing the event. The descendants, Alan Crane and Jenifer Dutton Bussa, will be present at the re-dedication and are interested in finding any other descendants of 21st Regiment soldiers.

The monument was first dedicated in 1898 in an event that included remarks from Governor Lorrin A. Cooke and General Joseph R. Hawley, a Civil War veteran who later became publisher of The Hartford Courant and a United States senator.

The meeting will take place at Fort Trumbull State Park. Steenburg recently has become vice president of the Association for the Study of Connecticut History, president of the New London County Historical Society, and a contributing author for the recently published, “The Rockets’ Red Glare,” about the War of 1812.

During her talk, she will draw on her article about Frances Manwaring Caulkins, published in “Connecticut History.”

The meeting is open to the public, but seating is limited. For information, visit: fortfriends.org.

The performance will frame each year of the War Between the States within a particular context: bravado and marching songs, camp songs, songs of home, spirituals, and songs of victory and defeat. The program was conceived and spearheaded by Stefanie Kies in collaboration with Nick Carter and Tim Schantz.

Notes Kies, “When I attended high school in the great state of Virginia back in the early 1960s, I soon realized that the Civil War was not over for everyone. Since then, I have been particularly fascinated by songs with compelling music and different sets of lyrics–one definitely of a Union flavor, the other Confederate.”

The program, underwritten by The Malkin Fund, was developed by the Greenwich Historical Society with Stefanie Kies. It is offered again in co-sponsorship with Greenwich Library as part of the programming of Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War, an exhibition developed by the American Library Association and currently on view at Norwalk Community College. The performance is designed to appeal to adults as well as middle, high school and college students.

The performance is set for Nov. 4, 4 to 5:30 pm, at Greenwich Library, Cole Auditorium, 101 West Putnam Avenue, in Greenwich.

Admission is free. For reservations, call 203-869-6899.

The meeting, which is open to the public without charge, will be at 1 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 13, in Fellowship Hall of the United Congregational Church in Tolland, two doors away from the society’s library in the Old County Courthouse at 53 Tolland Green.

The speaker will be Alfred H. Saulniers, Ph.D., of New Bedford, Mass., who has spent the last four years researching little known facts about the experiences of the French in the Civil War.

His talk comes as the country observes the 150th anniversary of the bloodiest war in its history. An estimated 20,000 French Canadians served in it, many who were born in the United States but also many who came down from Canada to take up arms. Those from New Bedford had worked in the textile mills there or had ties with the whaling industry.

Saulniers is an economist by profession. He has specialized in solving economic problems in developing countries in Africa and Latin America, working under the auspices of the World Bank and other international organizations.

He is now part of a team doing research on the French in New Bedford for a book to be called French New Bedford: An American Story.

His talk will follow a brief business session. Refreshments will be served.

Through correspondence, town records, church records and artifacts, a picture of Chester in 1862 emerges in the Chester Museum at The Mill’s seasonal exhibit, “Beyond the Battlefield.”

The result is a picture of life at the home front while the Civil War raged in other areas of the country. The exhibit was chaired by retired history teachers, Keith Dauer and Sandra Senior-Dauer.

Also at the museum is the award-winning permanent exhibit, “Streams of Change: Life & Industry along the Pattaconk,” which portrays the life of a New England village, telling the story of how the Chester community lived and prospered throughout changing economic conditions by utilizing natural resources, evolving technologies, talent and ingenuity.

Chester Museum at The Mill is open Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. through October 28. The museum will also be open Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving. Admission is free and the museum is handicapped accessible. The museum is located at 9 West Main St.(Rte. 148),Chester (Exit 6 off Rte. 9). More information: www.ChesterHistoricalSociety.org or call 860-526-5765.

Several members of Company F, 14th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry will portray the original regiment, give firing demonstrations, set up their camp and answer questions for the public.

The 14th regiment marched and fought with Lincoln’s Army, the Army of the Potomac, and took part in 34 battles and skirmishes. The 14th lost more men killed in battle, in proportion to its size, and captured more prisoners, cannon and battle flags than any other Connecticut regiment.

Company F offers the military and civilian aspects of the era. In addition to presenting the life of the common soldier, Bill Mellow, a retired pastry chef, portrays a company cook, and demonstrates period cooking over an open fire. Its civilian re-enactors present the contributions of the U.S. Christian Commission and those of the home front to the success of the Union armies.

A misconception of the Civil War is that it was fought exclusively by white Anglo-Saxons, but many ethnic groups took part in this struggle. However, few people are aware that the Chinese were among them and the highest ranking of those, Joseph Pierce, fought with the 14th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry.

“Though our living history events and classroom presentations where our audience can see and touch the uniforms and equipment and be able to hear and ask questions about the contributions of both civilian and military and events that shaped that conflict, we hope to spark an interest where they will want to learn more about the Civil War and ultimately our nation’s history,” said Irving Moy, who portrays Cpl. Pierce.

Several civilian women will be presenting throughout the day on the effects the war had on the home front and the work that was done at home to support the North. Children will be able to play the kinds of games that youngsters enjoyed in the 1860s.

Representatives from Civil War Monument, Inc., Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War Wooster-Russell Camp #22, and the 20th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry and Ladies Auxillary will be in attendance.

Admission is $5/person or $15/family. Proceeds benefit the Shelton Historical Society and its programs. For more information or directions, call 203-925-1803 or visit www.sheltonhistoricalsociety.org.

Source: Huntington Herald

Visitors had a chance to walk through the camps of Union and Confederate troops and experience what camp life was like. Incredibly knowledgeable re-enactors spoke about all aspects of a soldier’s life, as well as about what their regiment did during the war. Visitors and re-enactors alike were thrilled to see the Commander-in-Chief of the Union Army, President Lincoln, who made his entrance to the sound of: “Hold on to your wallets, there’s a politician in the camp!”

The highlight of Saturday was a re-enactment of the Battle of Antietam, which sprawled across the massive slope abutting the park’s main entrance. On Sunday, a recreation of the Skirmish of Mount Nebo and the Battle of Fredericksburg took place.

Kent Sinram of West Hartford portrayed an impeccable Robert E. Lee. As a cannon team delivered a reverberating firing demonstration, Sinram explained the process of priming, wet swabbing, dry swabbing, powdering and loading a cannon. Deadly as the cannon was, a soldier was more likely to be killed or wounded by a rifle shot. “Seventy-nine percent of [killed or wounded] soldiers were shot with a rifle,” Sinram said. To correct a common Hollywood misrepresentation, he added: “Less than four-tenths of one percent were killed or wounded by a bayonet or saber.”

Jack Jenkins came from New Hampshire to brave the cloudy, dank weekend. Instilling future generations with an appreciation for our past is what motivates him. “If we can get a couple kids interested in history – not just Civil War history, but any kind of history – it’s worth it,” Jenkins said.

Source: Reminder News

The re-enactment will include military drills, a load and fire competitions, and cavalry, artillery and firing demonstrations. Visitors will be able to learn about Civil War medicine, women in the Civil War, and other aspects of life during the war. The event will also feature displays by the Connecticut Historical Society, East Hartford Historical Society, Manchester Historical Society, New England Civil War Museum, and Central Connecticut State University.

About 500 Union, Confederate and civilian will camp at the park, and visitors are invited to stroll throughout the hundreds of tents where the re-enactors will cook by campfire and sutlers (merchants) will sell their wares as they did 150 years ago.

Unique to Civil War encampments, kids, age 8-11, will learn how to march and drill the way Civil War soldiers did in the day. Part of their education will be learning how to maintain order in the lines, and how to load and fire toy rifles. Once their education is complete, they’ll put their new skills to the test in a mock battle.

The two-day event will be held Sept. 29, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sept. 30, 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Wickham Park in Manchester. There no rain date. The Civil War didn’t stop due to bad weather, so neither will the re-enactment.

The event is being sponsored by the Connecticut Civil War Commemoration Commission, The Travelers Companies Inc., and the Connecticut Humanities Council. Attendance is free, though the park charges $5 for parking.

Almost 700 Connecticut men were killed or wounded during the Battle of Antietam, a crucial turning point of the Civil War.

Central Connecticut State University is the primary partner of the Commission, which consists of members of more than 90 state and local government agencies, museums, media and historical and cultural groups. CCSU History Professor Matthew Warshauer is co-chairman of the Commission and a lead organizer of the Battle of Antietam event.

The speaker, Harlan Jessup, will illustrate the talk with examples from two of his great, great uncles, one who fought for the Union and one for the Confederacy and with local examples from Brookfield and Danbury.

Following the presentation complimentary refreshments will be served. Jessup, a resident of of Newtown, is a professional genealogist with a special interest in Connecticut and nearby areas of Massachusetts and New York. He edits the Connecticut Ancestry journal, and maintains the genealogy and local history collection at Newtown’s C. H. Booth Library. He is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists and of the Connecticut Professional Genealogists Council.

The presentation will be held Monday, Oct. 1., at Brookfield Museum 165 Whisconier Road (Junction of Routes 25 and 133) in Brookfield Center.