Connecticut in the Civil War

IT IS quite unnecessary to record the events which led to the war of the great Rebellion. During the interval between the election of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency, in 1860, and the bombardment of Fort Sumter, in 1861, the position of Connecticut was not equivocal. The declaration and acts of her governor, her Legislature, and her representatives in Congress, were all in favor of a firm maintenance of the national honor, and against any concession to those who sought to compromise that honor, or to humiliate the nation.

There were, however, in Connecticut, as in the other loyal States, some who, if not in sympathy with those who had seceded from the Union, were not heartily in accord with those who advocated prompt and energetic measures for the defense of the national integrity. The attack on Fort Sumter, however, aroused in many of these their dormant patriotism, and the sympathizers with the rebels were reduced to an impotent minority.

As in other parts of the loyal North, there was here a spontaneous uprising for the support of the government; and such was the enthusiasm of the people that, in four days from the first call for troops, a regiment was at its rendezvous, and within three weeks 54 companies, or five times the quota of the State under the call, had tendered their services.

Did space permit, an account of the self-sacrificing patriotism which was manifested in all parts of the State would be of interest. Different localities seemed to vie with each other in their efforts to sustain the government which had conferred on them prosperity and happiness.

As time wore on, however, and the armies of the Union encountered disasters in the field, the opponents of the war became bolder and more outspoken. In the darkest hours of that struggle, however, they were not able to obtain control of the State government, and from the beginning to the end of that terrible war, Connecticut sustained her full share of the burden which it imposed on the nation.

It is worthy of remark that on the first day of the next session of the Legislature after the return of peace, the amendment to the Federal constitution abolishing and prohibiting slavery was ratified without a dissenting vote.

The number of men furnished by the State during the war was 54,882, of whom 1,804 were in the naval service. This total, when reduced to a three years’ standard, gives 41,483, a surplus, in three years’ men, of 6,698 over the total quota required to be furnished by the State. The number of men furnished, in proportion to the population of the State, was greater than that of any other State except Iowa and Illinois. The total war expenses of the State were estimated at $6,623,580.60.

Connecticut furnished the following general officers who were natives or residents of the State, or who were officers of Connecticut regiments, and became general officers during the war:

Henry W. Benham, Darius N. Couch, Joseph R. F. Mansfield, Joseph A. Mower, Newton, John Sedgwick, Alfred H. Terry, Horatio G. Wright, major-generals; Henry L. Abbott, Henry W. Birge, Joseph R. Hawley, Alexander Shaler, Joseph G. Totten, Robert O. Tyler, Henry W. Wessells, A. S. Williams, brevet major-generals; Luther P. Bradley, Henry B. Carrington, William T. Clark, Orris S. Ferry, Edward Harland, Henry M. Judah, William S. Ketchum, Nathaniel Lyon, Ranold S. Mackenzie, James W. Ripley, Benjamin S. Roberts, Truman Seymour, A. Von Steinwehr, Daniel Tyler, H. D. Terry, brigadier-generals; Erastus Blakeslee, William G. Ely, Theodore G. Ellis, E. D. S. Goodyear, Edwin S. Greeley, James Hubbard, Brayton Ives, Edward M. Lee, Gustavus Loomis, John Loomis, William H. Noble, John L. Otis, Joseph G. Perkins, William S. Pierson, Alfred P. Rockwell, Samuel Ross, Griffin A. Stedman, John E. Toutellotte, Edward W. Whitaker, Henry M. Whittlesey, Henry C. Ward, brevet brigadier-generals.

It is a fact, of which their descendants have reason to be proud, that the founders of Connecticut comprehended the great principles of civil and religious liberty, and established the government, from the first in strict accordance with those principles. While the other colonies were suffering under the domination, and often under the tyranny of royal governors, she had her affairs administered by officers of her own choice. As has been seen she firmly and successfully resisted every attempted encroachment on her rights, and every effort, whether by insidious craft or open intimidation, to deprive her of her charter.

In this State it was not found necessary after the Declaration of Independence to adopt a constitution, but simply to enact a statute providing that the government should be administered according to the provisions of the charter, which was already republican in its character. This form of government continued without essential change till 1818.

The changes that time had gradually wrought rendered the adoption of a new fundamental law desirable, and accordingly, in that year, a convention of delegates from the several towns assembled in Hartford, and in a session of about three weeks elaborated a constitution. This was submitted to the electors of the State, in October of that year, and was ratified by a majority of fifteen hundred and four.

The following is a list of the colonial and State governors of Connecticut:

Name	First Chosen	Years Served
John Haynes	1639	8
Edward Hopkins	1640	7
George Willys	1642	1
Thomas Weller	1655	2
John Webster	1658	1
John Winthrop	1657	18
William Leete	1676	7
Robert Treat	1683	4
Sir Edmund Andross	1687	2
Robert Treat	1689	9
Fitz John Winthrop	1698	9
Gurdon Saltonstall	1707	17
Joseph Talcott	1724	17
Jonathan Law	1741	9
Roger Wolcott	1750	4
Thomas Fitch	1754	12
William Pitkin	1766	3
Jonathan Trumbull	1769	15
Matthew Griswold	1784	2
Samuel Huntington	1786	10
Oliver Wolcott	1796	2
Jonathan Trumbull	1798	11
John Treadwell	1809	2
Roger Griswold	1811	1
John Cotton Smith	1813	4
Oliver Wolcott	1818	9
Gideon Tomlinson	1827	4
John Samuel Peters	1831	2
Henry W. Edwards	1833	1
Samuel A. Foot	1834	1
Henry W. Edwards	1835	3
William W. Ellsworth	1838	4
Chauncey F. Cleveland	1842	2
Roger Sherman Baldwin	1844	2
Isaac Toucey	1846	1
Clark Bissell	1847	2
Joseph Trumbull	1849	1
Thomas H. Seymour	1850	4
Henry Dutton	1854	1
William T. Minor	1855	2
Alexander H. Holley	1857	1
William A. Buckingham	1858	8
Joseph R. Hawley	1866	1
James E. English	1867	2
Marshall Jewell	1869	1
James E. English	1870	1
Marshall Jewell	1871	2
Charles R. Ingersoll	1873	4
Richard D. Hubbard	1877	2
Charles B. Andrews	1879	2
Hobart B. Bigelow	1881	2
Thomas M. Waller	1883	–

The deputy or lieutenant governors of the colony and State of Connecticut have been:

Name	First Chosen	Years Served
Roger Ludlow	1639	3
John Haynes	1640	5
George Willys	1641	1
Edward Hopkins	1643	6
Thomas Weller	1654	4
John Webster	1658	1
John Winthrop	1659	1
John Mason	1660	9
William Leete	1669	7
Robert Treat	1676	17
James Bishop	1683	7
William Jones	1692	5
Nathan Gold	1708	16
Joseph Talcott	1724	–
Jonathan Law	1724	17
Roger Wolcott	1741	9
Thomas Fitch	1750	4
William Pitkin	1754	12
Jonathan Trumbull	1766	3
Matthew Griswold	1769	15
Samuel Huntington	1784	2
Oliver Wolcott	1786	10
Jonathan Trumbull	1796	2
John Treadwell	1798	11
Roger Griswold	1809	2
John Cotton Smith	1811	2
Chauncey Goodrich	1813	2
Jonathan Ingersoll	1816	7
David Plant	1823	4
John S. Peters	1827	4
Henry W. Edwards	1831	1
Thaddeus Betts	1832	1
Ebenezer Stoddard	1833	1
Thaddeus Betts	1834	1
Ebenezer Stoddard	1835	3
Charles Hawley	1838	4
William S. Holabird	1842	2
Reuben Booth	1844	2
Noyes Billings	1846	1
Charles J. McCurdy	1847	2
Thomas Backus	1849	1
Charles H. Pond	1850	1
Green Kendrick	1851	1
Charles H. Pond	1852	1
Alexander H. Holley	1854	2
William Field	1855	1
Albert Day	1856	1
Alfred A. Burnham	1857	1
Julius Catlin	1858	3
Benjamin Douglas	1861	1
Roger Averill	1862	4
Oliver F. Winchester	1866	1
Ephraim H. Hyde	1867	2
Francis Wayland	1869	1
Julius Hotchkiss	1870	1
Morris Tyler	1871	2
George G. Sill	1873	4
Francis B. Loomis	1877	2
David Gallup	1879	2
William H. Bulkeley	1881	2
George G. Sumner	1883	–

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Source

Whittemore, Henry, History of Middlesex county, Connecticut, with biographical sketches of its prominent men, New York : J. B. Beers & Co., 1884.