Antietam: Hidden history in Connecticut chapel

Stained-glass window honoring Wesleyan University students who served in both Civil War armies.

If you look hard enough, you can find a connection to the Civil War almost anywhere here in the miniature state of Connecticut. Across the road from our house is the grave of 16th Connecticut captain Nathaniel Hayden; a mile down the road is the Civil War memorial that Hayden funded and helped dedicate in 1915; and just over the hill is the grave of this Civil War Medal of Honor winner. During a research trip to nearby Middletown, Conn., on Saturday, I stopped by the Memorial Chapel on the Wesleyan University campus to take another look at a hidden gem: a stained-glass window that honors soldiers from the school who served in both armies during the Civil War. The beautiful window is in the brownstone Memorial Chapel, which was completed and dedicated in 1871 to honor the Wesleyan's Civil War soldiers. Lieutenant George Crosby, who was mortally wounded at the Battle of Antietam, is among the men represented on the window. The son of a ship captain, Crosby was only 19 years old when he died at the home of his parents in nearby Middle Haddam, 37 days after he was shot through the side on William Roulette's farm.

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FACES OF THE CIVIL WAR: Stories and photos of common soldiers who served during the war.
16TH CONNECTICUT SOLDIERS: Tales of the men in the hard-luck regiment.
MORE ON ANTIETAM: Read my extensive thread on the battle and the men who fought in it.