While some soldiers used the written word, many men chose to document their history in a different medium: photography. The camera caught their proud expressions as they posed in their new uniforms; or their weathered, philosophical faces transformed by hard service and the appalling scenes they had witnessed. In some images, a man’s intensity of gaze conveyed his resolve more clearly than any letter could.
Soldiers often brought home artifacts that held important memories. Levi Jewett carefully preserved his felt hat, marked with a bloodstained gash from a shell fragment that wounded him. George Stannard’s family treasured the bone ring he carved on the battlefield at Antietam. Such personal mementoes are vehicles to the past, connecting us to a soldier’s story with surprising immediacy.
Together, the individual stories of Connecticut soldiers create an astonishing whole that lays out the war before us. We offer this book so that, as one old soldier put it, “our children’s children may see with their eyes, as we saw with our eyes, the scenes and places of the great War for the Union. Lest we and they forget.”6
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A great many kind people went out of their way to help us. Dean Nelson, Museum Administrator of the Museum of Connecticut History, made the museum’s collection available to us time and again. Dean provided twenty-five years of Civil War tutelage, along with some memorable lines like “Right as rain” and “If you’re going to buy a fake, make it a good one.” Andy deCusati gave us his insights and advice. Bill McFarland graciously allowed the Wadhams brothers to be reunited. John Giammatteo, with camera, skill, and patience, was always there when we needed him.
At historical societies and museums in Connecticut and elsewhere, staff people were infinitely helpful. In particular we thank Deborah D. Shapiro at the Middlesex County Historical Society; Rich Malley, Diana McCain, Nancy Finlay, Judy Johnson, Sierra Dixon, and Karen DePauw of the Connecticut Historical Society; Gail Kruppa at the Torrington Historical Society; and Don McCue of the Lincoln Memorial Shrine.
We are also indebted to the New Haven Museum, Litchfield Historical Society, Deep River Historical Society, the Gunn Memorial Museum of Washington, Connecticut, Stamford Historical Society, the Cheshire Historical Society, Danbury Historical Society, Mansfield Historical Society, the New England Civil War Museum, the United States Army Military History Institute, the Virginia Historical Society, the Montana Historical Society, the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian, and the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center. Ted Alexander at Antietam National Battlefield, National Park Service, and Eric Leonard at Andersonville National Historic Site, National Park Service, also gave us their help.
We were fortunate to have the help of professionals at libraries and archives at colleges and universities, as well as public and private libraries. Our thanks go to Suzy Taraba and Leith Johnson of Special Collections and Archives at Wesleyan University, Peter J. Blodgett of the Huntington Library, Kate Collins and Valerie Gillispie of Duke University Archives, Tom Mullusky of Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, Mary Witkowski at the Bridgeport History Center, the Southington Library and Barnes Museum, Edith B. Nettleton Historical Room at the Guilford Free Library, the Pearce Museum at Navarro College, the Beinecke Library at Yale University, the State Archives at the Connecticut State Library, and of course the Library of Congress and National Archives.
Many generous people kindly allowed us to use images and manuscripts from their collections: Linda L. Goodyear, Lawrence S. Matthew, the family of Horace Purdy, Don Troiani, C. Paul Loane, Joyce Werkman, Cathy Branch Stebbins, Mary Rounsavall, Toddy Turrentine, Chris and Louise Wilkinson, Jeff Kowalis, Mike McAfee, Thomas Harris, Nancy George, Diane Ulbrich, Ken and Jean Owings, Scott Hann, Bruce Rebman, Gary O’Neil, Ron Coddington, Calvin Goddard Zon, Ernie Barker, the family of Evelyn E. Packard, Soldierstories.org, Cal Packard at MuseumQualityAmericana.com, Cowan’s Auctions, as well as several private owners who chose to remain anonymous.
To those who helped us with research and advice, we extend our warmest thanks: Nick Picerno, Frederick W. Chesson, Dale E. Call of the 17th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry website (www.17thcvi.org); Peter Drummey at the Massachusetts Historical Society; and Phil Devlin, Walt Powell, David Bingham, Michael Diamond, Jacques F. Peters, Geraldine and Bill Caughman. Mike McAfee and Roger Hunt answered countless questions over the years.
Our grateful thanks go to the ever-patient and supportive Suzanna Tamminen at Wesleyan University Press, as well as Leslie Starr, and Parker Smathers. Kudos to editors Cannon Labrie and the amazing E. Ann Brash. We offer our admiration to Dave Wolfram, who manages to be both a brilliant designer and a guy that we really like to be around.
To all those who helped us along the way—especially those whose names we’ve forgotten to include—we offer our gratitude. We each extend personal thanks as well.
Dione:
I’d like to blame my sister, Lois Thibault, for starting me down this path. At age seventeen, I felt the first magical shiver when Lois brought me to the Wilderness, where I stood in a hollow dug by soldiers in 1864, and imagined flames overtaking the wounded.
That first tentative interest in the Civil War was fostered years later by a dentist on his lunch hour, who showed up at the historical society where I worked and asked if we had any Civil War artifacts. Buck Zaidel’s enthusiasm was contagious, even to someone who didn’t know a haversack from a havelock. I quickly came to share his reverence for Civil War soldiers and Abraham Lincoln. After years of discussing history and playing hockey together, we hatched the idea for this book. Buck brought a highly trained eye and an unshakeable determination to the project, and remained patient and encouraging when I faltered. His dedication to honoring those who fought in the war continually inspires me.
Meredith Roberts, my sister, helped make this book a reality by keeping our household running smoothly while simultaneously cracking her metaphorical whip to keep me on task. Thank you, Meme. I’m also thankful for Kate Knopp’s thoughtful editing, Sarah Leavitt’s fine research, and Avery Schmitz’s curiosity.
My most heartfelt thanks go to Chris Diamond, always my cheerleader, who encouraged me at every step of this book. He read chapters, made suggestions, and somehow never looked bored when listening to my endless anecdotes about my “dead guys.” Our daughters Lilly Diamond and Meredith Diamond cheerfully traveled to battlefields, planted flowers on soldiers’ graves, and understood why I couldn’t be with them when I was researching and writing. Their three names should be on this book as surely as mine should.
Buck:
I thank Mom and Pop for the 1965 trip to Gettysburg, and the set of toy Civil War soldiers, which proved to be the seeds of a lifelong interest in history. Your enthusiastic and enduring support, encouragement, and occasional funding was and is most appreciated. Pop in particular would have loved to see this book and passion come to fruition. No folks ever did more for a number one son.
To S.P., Peter, and K.K.: thanks for the photo log, typing, transcriptions, and the annual trips to Gettysburg. Thank you for patiently listening to another story about some new little sepia-toned photo that’s neater than the last one. Peter said it best as a four-year-old at Civil War Day, when asked why we were there: “To remember the soldier men.”
Many thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Ramisk for many good newspaper clips on Lincoln and the Civil War, plus years of support for the C.W.R.A.F. Thanks to Unkie Mike for his insightful collecting philosophy: “I like what I like.”
I will always appreciate the late Bernie Rogers, whose stories of the early days of collecting could fill a ten-hour car ride (with no radio), and who always had a kid’s enthusiasm for what we