Civil War Remembrances in Winsted, CT

It's been a busy few days for us attending the Civil War commemoration ceremonies. It was actually a celebration of the 125th anniversary of the dedication of the Winsted Soldiers' Monument. 

My husband, George, is a Civil War buff. I am okay tagging along, some things are interesting to me and some are not. It always seems that there are a couple of little things that jump out at me and then my mind wanders wanting to know more about those things and I tell myself I will research more when I have a chance.

Over the last few days we have attended a cemetery walk where we were told about the local men who signed up for the Civil War from Winsted, at another venue we heard Lincoln speak, attended a book talk at Whiting Mills (our first time there), were entertained with music from the Civil War at the library and attended the ending ceremony at the monument.

The highlight of these days for me, was seeing Howard Wright as Abraham Lincoln once again. It made us feel as if we were in the presence of Lincoln and enlightened us to his humor and his intelligence and made us long for such a great president again. I hope to write another post about Lincoln later as it brought up many good points relevant to today.

It was interesting hearing a local author, John Banks, from Avon, CT speak about his very specific book, "Connecticut Yankees at Antietam". My husband is most fascinated by Antietam, so this is up his alley. Mr. Banks has a second book on Connecticut and the Civil War coming out soon.

We almost didn't go to the "Greatest Hits of the Civil War' held at the Beardsley & Memorial Library but we made it and it was quite entertaining. Rick Spencer has a soothing voice and played banjo and guitar. He told the history of the songs singing ones representing both sides of the war. He does other historic period songs and we would go see him again.

There was a good turnout for all these events, but it all paled in comparison to realize that almost 20,000 people were at the dedication of the Soldiers' Monument in 1890. They came from all over the state via special trains. 

A couple of things we noted, Winsted is one of three towns in Connecticut that have three civil war monuments. Also the Soldier's Monument is the 2nd highest in the state, beat out by the Arch in Hartford. I can remember my high school days at Gilbert on the third floor being able to see the statue off in the distance. My husband thinks it probably can no longer be seen from there. I will have to find out. It lent itself to daydreaming in English class. 

If I were a Civil War buff, I could say so much more, but I can only mention a couple of items that made me ponder. I believe it was William F. Cogswell that our cemetery guide told us was actually from Barkhamsted and that he was a black man but was enlisted in a white regiment. I find it curious that there was a black family in Barkhamsted back then and wonder how they came to live here. 

Another thing that was mentioned in passing but took up residence in my mind was that there were orphanages that were opened because of the Civil War. I am curious how many orphans the war produced but have not yet found any numbers on line but there were several orphanages. Sadly, some children had not lost both parents, but in some cases, the mother may not have been able to bring them up without a husband and gave them up to the orphanages. I will have to read more on this, but from what I have read, these were not like the ones negatively portrayed in movies. 

Now, I have your mind wandering like mine did. I will leave you now with more pictures of the festivities.

The Gilbert School Band marching up the steps to the monument.

Civil War Reenactors entering

Happy Birthday, Soldiers' Monument!

Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Arch, Hartford, CT

Today we took advantage of a free tour of the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch in Hartford, CT. We had been by this many times, but never really looked at it this closely.

This was the first permanent triumphal arch in America. Designed by architect, George W. Keller,  it was dedicated on September 17, 1886 on the anniversary of the Battle of Antietam. It is interesting to note that Mr. Keller had a fear of cemeteries and asked that he and his wife's ashes be interred in the monument, and such is the case.

This memorial is a tribute to the 4,000 Hartford citizens who served in the Civil War. 400 of them died fighting for the Union. A bronze plaque (I guess I didn't get a picture of it) was added in 1987 after Airron Bethea, a 7th grade student, researching for an essay, drew it to the city's attention that 128 African Americans served in the war from Hartford.

The brownstone building with Gothic design was made with brownstone from Portland, CT. The two towers are joined by a frieze. The North frieze is the war side with scenes of General Grant and his troops and also marines getting ready to attack.

The South frieze is the peace side. The woman in the middle represents the city of Hartford. On each side are citizens welcoming soldiers home.

It amazes me the detail and to think it can barely be seen from the street.
 

There are four symbols representing the Navy, Artillery, Calvary and Infantry around the towers.

Figures eight feet tall are around the monument and are meant to represent the type of people who gave up their livelihoods and left their families to join the war. They are a farmer, blacksmith, mason, student carpenter and an African American breaking chains of bondage.

On the top of each tower is an angel--the angels of peace. One is Raphael holding cymbals and the other is Gabriel playing a trumpet. These were originally terracotta, but were replaced with bronze ones in 1987.

The memorial is 116 feet tall and yes, we did hike the 96 steps up the spiral staircase. If you don't want to count, every tenth step is a wide one, so you can count by tens to know how much farther it is, since the stairway is dark and winding. Huffing and puffing aside, the view from the top was worth it. For those who are not comfortable with heights, like me, it is very sturdy and safe in the top of the arch. It is open but the sides are high enough to feel secure. The view of the Capitol is awesome. 

 

A group of students waiting to come up for a tour.
 



The inside of the top of the tower.
 

The stairway on the way down.
 

The tour guides were very informative. George did gently correct a couple of Civil War facts. The arch is open every Thursday for the summer 12-1:30 pm. We highly recommend taking advantage of this special opportunity. We won't look at it the same any more or take for granted its beauty.

"If you can't be an honest lawyer, just be honest."

 

This was one of many humorous quotes we were entertained by on Saturday at the Canton Public Library where we met President Abraham Lincoln. This was not the first time that we have seen Howard Wright, teacher from Renbrook School, impersonate the late president. Mr. Wright has painstakingly prepared such a presentation to include many quotes and readings of Lincoln told in a story-like manner. In preparation, he studied tapes of Kentucky accents and tried to present as real a presentation as he could of what it would be like to listen to the slow, twangy voice of Abraham Lincoln in person. The picture speaks for itself.

In his performance entitled, "Simply Lincoln" he read excerpts from letters written by Abraham Lincoln, messages to Congress, The Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address. Between the readings he commented on their relevance or of his feelings at the time. He spoke of his love and respect for the Bible. The entire presentation was in first person as Abraham Lincoln.

The following are a few of the things that stood out for me. When asked if he wanted to run for president, "the taste is in my mouth." He won with forty percent of the popular vote. The interesting thing was that his name was not even on the ballot in most of the southern states.

President Lincoln wanted a gradual emancipation. He wanted to reimburse the people for their slaves and to ship the slaves back to their home lands. This was not a popular solution.

He spoke of the Generals and the problems with them. McClellan was cautious, hesitant and not aggressive. He said that he even had painted logs to look like cannons to scare the South. Lincoln said these became referred to as Quaker guns.

General Grant did a good job but had a drinking problem. One interesting thing he pointed out about the Civil War was that the Southerners, while fighting, had slaves looking after their farms whereas the Northerners did not and it was a bigger sacrifice for them.

When he spoke of signing the Emancipation Proclamation, he knew that this was something for which he would be remembered. The importance of it caused his hand to shake when he signed it. It appeared that most times he signed "A. Lincoln" but when it came to this document, he signed, "Abraham Lincoln".

In reference to writing the Gettysburg Address, he said he specifically chose short words as they have a power of their own. He wanted to aim lower to reach the masses, not just the educated but to all the common people. He said, "If you give me six hours to chop down a tree, I'll spend four hours sharpening the ax." That showed how important it was to him to consider the right words in the right way.

The hour went by quickly and although I have told you some of what Mr. Wright said, I encourage you to see him if you have the chance. There are many activities centering on the anniversary of the Civil War. I'm sure he will be presenting his program again. If you are in awe of this amazing president or if you just like history, seize the opportunity to see Mr. Wright's presentation.

On a side note, we had to make reservations to go to this free program. The librarian was quite amused to find out that George Washington was coming to hear Abraham Lincoln.

"Welcome Home"

On Sunday, November 2, my husband and I went to Hartford to see the Veteran's Day Parade. We went last year for the first time and actually my attitude was, "been there, done that". I really did not want to go again, but then I realized how important it is to my husband. He is a Vietnam Vet.

It was a little warmer than last year, but not a lot. I bundled up with a blanket on my lap while I sat on a lawn chair watching one Veteran group after another and school bands and fife and drum corps pass by for nearly two hours. We were given signs to hold up which said "Thank you" to the Veterans as they went by. Every war or conflict was represented. Some Veterans walked with companies they work for now, some with veteran groups for their particular nationality, some by branch of the service and some just riding their motorcycles. There were groups representing the Civil War and Daughters of the American Revolution and even a group dressed up as the members of the 4077th from the MASH TV show. A replica of the Wall was wheeled by.

My husband wore his Vietnam Veteran cap, therefore, as those marching were honored, many of them, likewise acknowledged him on the side lines. He got a few "thank yous and a couple of "welcome homes". The one that touched me most and brought tears to my eyes was the black man who said, "Welcome home, brother."

How much my husband had wanted such a reception when he came home from Vietnam. How much we would have liked a "thank you" for risking his life. It is very important to my husband even now, to hear "thank you" for things he does now. He was forever effected by the negative way he and the other veterans were treated.

To this day, he feels bitter feelings toward Jane Fonda and other protesters. We researched and tried to send packages to every enlisted person from Barkhamsted two years ago. I know, though, as he watches ceremonies welcoming home soldiers now, he feels jealous. Who can blame him?

I was mentioning his feelings to someone and he said, "oh, get over it." Wrong choice of words this person was a proud descendant of American Indians and had been verbal about their mistreatment. I told him I could say the same to him about his feelings for his ancestors--He got the point.

Likewise, I wonder what it will take...hundreds of thousands of men died and fought brother against brother for the freedom of slaves in the Civil War. Why then, are all white Americans lumped into a category of basically, "them vs us"? Groups started up special scholarships for minorities, businesses established quotas for hiring minorities, government made a holiday for one of the most beloved leaders for racial equality, Martin Luther King Jr. Now we have a black president. Somehow, like my husband's long awaited "thank you", I just don't think it will be enough for some.

At least my husband's thorn in the side is one that he lived through--not something that happened over one hundred years ago. No doubt, there were still racial issues more recent than that, but I do believe such situations are only brought on by the people themselves, not by the nationality. Not every white man is a member of the KKK and not every black is a member of the Black Panthers and therefore, feel that way.

I'll admit, I will always feel uncomfortable if I am the only white person in a room of black people, though, likewise I would feel the same in a room of all men, all Asian or all Spanish. White people have not been the minority and therefore, those scenarios are unusual.

I have had a couple of black friends in my life. We saw past the racial issue. Yet I also worked with a mean black lady who hated whites and showed it any time she looked at us and was threatening to us. Some people can't get past it. Many people voted for Obama just because he was black. I'm sure, likewise, many people voted for McCain because he was a veteran and Palin, because she was a woman.

I can see when a person who's heritage is a minority and becomes the leader of our country, that would invoke pride in those people. I hope they too can now proudly put an American flag on their house. "This land is your land, this land is my land." Let's remember that fact is due to hundreds of thousands of men who fought in the Civil War and all the wars before and since, whether you agreed with the war or not. Just as minorities want respect, these men and women deserve respect.

It is a time of change. So, whether you supported the past wars, or the present, remember, these are individuals doing this for our country. Give them the respect they deserve and the thank you that they deserve. I was very touched when my husband came home from the grocery store one day and he said this little girl came up to him. He did not know her and thought she must have thought that he was someone else. He had his Vietnam cap on and this little child came up and said, "Thank you." He looked up and saw the mother watching. What a wonderful thing to instill in a child--gratitude for those who have served for us.

Surely in the next couple of days, you will see a veteran somewhere, take the time and thank them--and just don't do it on veteran's day. It will probably never be enough to erase the scars, but it certainly is a start. We have many things to be thankful for especially our freedom. When was the last time you said, "thank you"?

To any veterans reading this, I thank you.

If my husband wants, I will go to the parade again next year, and the year after and the year after....