Civil War: Litchfield, Connecticut photo journal

Close-up of Civil War memorial on the village green in Litchfield, Conn.

Close-up of the grave of Francis Barber, a private in Company E in the 8th Connecticut. He died
of disease in North Carolina on Jan. 30. 1862. "Death has no terror for me," his tombstone 
reads. Barber is buried in West Cemetery in Litchfield.

Memorial marker to the Wadhams brothers -- Henry, Luman and Edward -- at West Cemetery in
Litchfield. The brothers died within 18 days of each other in Virginia in late spring 1864.

Weathered flag on Francis Barber's grave.

Detail of a drum and ammunition pouches on the Civil War memorial 
on the village green in Litchfield.

Before checking out Tony Horwitz's excellent John Brown talk today in Litchfield, Conn., I took these photos of graves in nearby West Cemetery and the Civil War memorial on the village green. Steeped in history -- Washington apparently really did sleep there -- Litchfiield is a quintessential New England village: tall, whitewashed Congregational church near the center of town, several 200-year-old homes on the National Register of Historic Places and a picture-postcard main street of antique stores and restaurants. (Try the burger and a cold beer at The Village Restaurant.)  Horwitz is a terrific storyteller and a funny guy. When he found out that I am a longtime journalist, here's how he signed a copy of his book, Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid That Sparked the Civil War:

"To John: From one hack to another."

Nice.

Brothers: Connecticut's Civil War sacrifice

Each number on this map represents a Connecticut town in which a family lost at least two
 sons during the Civil War.  Numbers denote a story below. (CLICK TO ENLARGE.)

Five years of conflict.

Eight sets of brothers.

Seventeen separate Civil War tragedies.

The siblings from Connecticut whose stories are told below died far from their hometowns in such places as New Bern, N.C., Sharpsburg, Md., and Florence, S.C.

They died from gunshot wounds, disease ... or worse. Two of them lingered for weeks after being wounded, dying in their hometown. Two were only teenagers. One man's fiancee died almost exactly a month after he was killed in battle. Most left behind a wife and children. At least five were not even returned to their home state for burial. One soldier's brother and father died in service for their country during the war.

Who knows what all the ripple effects were of the deaths of these soldiers during the most tragic five years in American history?

In an e-mail to me more than two years ago, a descendant of a set of these brothers wrote that their loss is felt in her family even today. I'm not surprised.

Luman, Edward and Henry Wadhams: The brothers died in Virginia in 1864.

1. LITCHFIELD: The Wadhams brothers

In late spring 1864, Deacon Adams made several trips to the farmhouse of Edwin and Mary Wadhams, not far from the center of Litchfield, to deliver terrible news.

One of the Wadhams' sons had died.

Then another.

The Wadhams brothers' marker at 
West Cemetery in Litchfield, about 35 miles
 west of  Hartford.

And another.

Within an 18-day span, three Wadhams sons were killed in battles near Richmond.

The first to die was Edward, a 27-year-old sergeant in the 8th Connecticut who was killed at Fort Darling on May 16. Ten days later, Henry, a 33-year-old lieutenant in the 14th Connecticut, was killed at North Anna River. Finally, Luman, the well-regarded captain in the 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery, was mortally wounded at Cold Harbor on June 1. Carried off the field by fellow soldiers using muskets as a makeshift stretcher, Luman died in an ambulance two days later en route to White House Landing, Va. He was 29 years old.

Luman's funeral service, held at the Congregational Church opposite the Litchfield village green, was "crowded to its utmost capacity by sympathizing friends, and large numbers of strangers from out of town came to pay their respects to the lamented deceased." (1)

Luman is buried beneath an impressive, white marker in Litchfield's West Cemetery. Perhaps his brothers are buried there too, although that merits more research. On a side of the marker are these words:

"The battle is fought, the victory won. Rest, soldiers, rest."

Edwin Lee (left) is buried in Barkhamsted, Conn. His brother, Henry, is buried under in an
unknown  grave in Virginia. (Photos John Lee of Hartford Co. and His Descendants)

2. BARKHAMSTED: The Lee brothers

A captain in the 11th Connecticut Infantry, Edwin Lee was just 28 years old when he was struck and killed by an artillery shell on March 14, 1862 at the Battle of New Bern (N.C.). Before he died, Edwin reportedly said: "Tell my brother I died at the post of duty. Good-by. Go on for your country!" (2) He was buried near the battlefield and later disinterred and brought back north for re-burial at Riverside Cemetery in Barkhamsted, about 20 miles northwest of  Hartford.  Edwin's brother, Henry, was killed on Aug. 16, 1864 at the Battle of Deep Run (Va.). His final resting place is Fort Harrison National Cemetery, near Richmond, where his body lies with many other Union soldiers whose tombstones are marked "Unknown." The 35-year-old lieutenant in the 7th Connecticut, described as a "brave, faithful, uncomplaining soldier," left behind a wife and four young children. (3)

Brothers John and James Willard have memorial markers in West Avon Cemetery, next to
West Avon Congregational Church. Each man, however, is buried elsewhere.

3. AVON: The Willard brothers

Two weather-worn markers stand in West Avon Cemetery in memory of  John and James Willard. Sadly, neither brother's final resting place is back home in Connecticut.  James, a 20-year-old private, was killed in the 7th Connecticut's attack on Fort Wagner, near Charleston, S.C., on July 10, 1863. He was buried on the battlefield, perhaps thrown into a trench by the enemy. The son of Julius and Damaris Willard "sleeps where he fell," according to his cemetery marker. John, a 32-year-old wagoner in the 11th Connecticut, died of yellow fever in New Bern, N.C., on Oct 3, 1864, and according to his marker, he is "buried in that city."

4. BERLIN: The Bacon brothers

Medal of Honor marker next to Elijah Bacon's grave
in Maple Cemetery in Berlin, Conn.

On July 3, 1863, Private Elijah William Bacon of the 14th Connecticut was a hero at Gettysburg, snatching the colors of the 16th North Carolina during Pickett's Charge. Less than a year later, on May 6, 1864, he was killed in action at the Wilderness. Posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for valor at Gettysburg, Elijah left behind a wife, Eliza, and two daughters. Elijah's brother, Andrew, was captured in early May at Ely's Ford, Va., and sent to Andersonville, the notorious Rebel prisoner-of-war camp in Georgia. After being transferred from Andersonville, Andrew died on Jan. 25, 1865 at a POW camp in Florence, S.C.  He and his wife, Marissa, had no children. The brothers are buried in Maple Cemetery in Berlin, about 15 miles south of Hartford.

5: EAST HARTFORD: The Flint brothers

Alvin Flint Jr.

Death was no stranger to the Flint family during the Civil War. In the winter of 1861-62, Alvin Flint Jr.'s mother and sister died of consumption in East Hartford. Just 18 years old, Alvin joined the 11th Connecticut as a private on Oct. 1, 1861. Less than a year later, he too was dead, killed in the 11th Connecticut's fruitless attack at Burnside Bridge at Antietam. The loss was no doubt excruciating for 53-year-old Alvin Flint Sr., who had enlisted in the 21st Connecticut along with his 13-year-old son, George, in August 1862. "Hardly had the sadness of the death of a dear daughter, that I had lost last January, worn off when this sad, sad calamity should come upon me," he lamented in a letter published in the Hartford Courant on Oct. 29, 1862. In another unbelievably tragic turn of events, Alvin Sr. and young George died of disease within several days of each other in mid-January 1863. In a 13-month timeframe, five family members -- including two brothers -- were dead. They are all buried in Center Cemetery in East Hartford.

6.  COVENTRY:  The Talcott brothers

A private in Company D of the 14th Connecticut, 26-year-old Henry Talcott was wounded when an artillery shell burst near a wall in the lane leading up to William Roulette's farmhouse, wounding three other men and killing three in his company. (4) Samuel, Henry's 20-year-old brother, also was severely wounded at Antietam; he lingered for several weeks before he died on Oct. 14, 1862.  Samuel was buried in Center Cemetery in his hometown of Coventry, about 25 miles west of Hartford. "After the services the congregation viewed the remains," the Hartford Courant reported on Oct. 27, 1862, "and the sad procession slowly wended its way to the cemetery. The flag draped in black was borne by the members of the Sunday School Class of Talcott, to whom he was strongly attached."  Like his brother, Henry also lingered for several weeks before he died on Nov. 10.  He is buried to the right of his brother in the family plot.

Close-up of Samuel Talcott's gravestone. The 20-year-old private was mortally
wounded on Sept. 17, 1862. He died four weeks later.

7. EAST HADDAM: The Bingham brothers

John Bingham was killed at Antietam. Wells Bingham survived.
Another brother, Eliphalet, died during the Civil War.
It's unclear which brother is which in these photos.
(Photo courtesy of Military and Historical Image Bank)

A little more than a month after he enlisted in the Union army on Aug. 7, 1862, 17-year-old John Bingham, a private in the 16th Connecticut, was killed at Antietam. Younger brother Wells, also a private in Company H of the 16th Connecticut, apparently survived Antietam physically unscathed, but the memory of that terrible day was probably seared into the 16-year-old boy soldier's brain the rest of his life. Three other Bingham brothers served during the Civil War, including Eliphalet, who died May 1, 1864 at Arlington Heights, Va. It's unclear whether he died of a battle wound, disease or another cause. John and Eliphalet are buried at First Church Cemetery in East Haddam, about 35 miles southeast of Hartford. Apparently upset over a failing business, Wells committed suicide in 1904.

8. CANTERBURY: The Lewis brothers

A sergeant in Company F of  the 8th Connecticut, Charles Lewis -- described as a man who "had always fought in the front ranks" -- was killed at Antietam. (5) His fiancee, 21-year-old Sarah Hyde, died nearly a month later, on Oct. 16, 1862, and is buried next to Charles at Carey Cemetery in Canterbury. "They had been brought up together in life, in death they were not divided," the Hartford Courant reported on Oct. 24, 1862,  "and together they sleep the last sleep."  Charles' brother, Albert, was a 28-year-old corporal in the 5th Connecticut. Captured at Winchester, Va., on May 24, 1862, he was a prisoner of war for four months before he was paroled. Like other Union POWs who were paroled or released -- see my blog post on  Wallace Woodford of Avon -- Albert no doubt was in poor health when he finally returned home to Canterbury. Discharged because of a disability on Dec. 15, 1862, he died on March 23, 1863.

Charles Lewis, a sergeant in the 8th Connecticut killed at Antietam, is buried next to his
fiancee, Sarah Hyde, at Carey Cemetery in Canterbury, Conn.

(1)  The Litchfield Times, June 1864
(2)  The Military and Civil History of Connecticut During the War of 1861-65, William Augustus Croffut, John Moses Morrism 1869, Page 175
(3) Barkhamsted And Its Centennial, William Wallace Lee and Henry Roger Jones, 1881, Page 175
(4) History of the Fourteenth Regiment, Conneticut Volunteer Infantry, Charles Davis Page, Page 43, 1906
(5) The Military and Civil History of Connecticut During the War of 1861-65, William Augustus Croffut, John Moses Morris 1869, Page 272, Page 277

Faces of the Civil War: Wadhams brothers

Edward Wadhams: Killed at Fort Darling, Va., on May 16, 1864.

Luman Wadhams: Mortally wounded at Cold Harbor, Va., June 1, 1864.

Henry Wadhams: Killed at North Anna, Va., May 26, 1864.




Wadhams brothers monument, Litchfield, Conn.

In an 18-day span in 1864, three brothers from Litchfield, Conn., were killed on Civil War battlefields in Virginia. I traveled to the West Cemetery in Litchfield this afternoon to visit the gravesite of Luman Wadhams, taking with me a copy of a period photograph of him as well as one of each of his brothers killed during the war. Using the sepia tone option on my Blackberry, I photographed each brother by their tall, weather-worn stone memorial. (Further research will determine if Luman's brothers, Henry and Edward, are also buried by him.)

There were other instances of multiple members of the same family dying during the Civil War. But three brothers in 18 days? This story is "Saving Private Ryan" way before "Saving Private Ryan." One can only imagine the reaction of the brothers' parents, Edwin and Mary, when Deacon Adams delivered news of their deaths at the Wadhams farm just outside of town. In gathering information from the National Archives in Washington, the Litchfield Historical Society and from other sources, here's some of what I know about this fascinating story of three brothers:



Camp Dutton today: Luman Wadhams trained here.

 


Camp Dutton marker

LUMAN WADHAMS: The middle brother, Luman first enlisted in the 1st Connecticut Volunteer Infantry in 1861. He participated in the Bull Run campaign and later re- enlisted in the 8th Connecticut for three years, serving as a lieutenant in Company E. The 8th Connecticut saw action in North Carolina during Gen. Burnside's expedition at Roanoke Island and Newbern, after which Luman resigned because of poor health. Not one to remain out of the action, Luman later re-enlisted in the 19th Connecticut Volunteers, the "County Regiment" that trained at Camp Dutton, about two miles outside of Litchfield. (At right, marker put up in 1912 at the site by Civil War veterans.) The 19th consisted of farmers, machinists and laborers from towns surrounding Litchfield -- places such as Goshen, New Canaan, Barkhamsted, Winsted and Torrington.

Luman, commissioned a 1st lieutenant, was highly regarded by his men throughout his service, seldom punishing them. A visitor from Litchfield, while visiting Wadhams' troops after he became captain, remarked to him: "I find none of your men in the guard house, the boys say that is always so. How do you manage?" "I talk to my boys,” Wadhams replied. (1)

Luman Wadhams is in sixth row, second from left. (Litchfield Historical Society)



Luman Wadhams, dead at 29.

The 19th served mainly in the defenses of Washington, near Alexandria, Va., before being transferred to the artillery and becoming the 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery. Gen. Grant pulled the Connecticut boys out of the Washington defenses in May 1864, and they saw some action at North Anna River. But their first battle came June 1 at a little crossroads outside Richmond called Cold Harbor. Wadhams, by now a captain in command of Company A, and 333 other soldiers from the 2nd Connecticut were killed at Cold Harbor, mowed down by Rebels behind strong fortifications.

According to The Connecticut War Record: "In the moment of success [Wadhams] fell pierced through the body. His devoted men sprang to his assistance. In the absence of a stretcher they made a stretcher of their muskets, and carried him on their shoulders a mile and a half to the hospital."(2) Wadhams lingered for two days and died in an ambulance on the way to White House, Va., on June 3, 1864.  He was 29 years old.

Wadhams' funeral service, held at the Congregational Church opposite the Litchfield village green, was "crowded to its utmost capacity by sympathizing friends, and large numbers of strangers from out of town came to pay their respects to the lamented deceased." (3)

Following Luman's death, his widow, Louisa, worked as a nurse in the South, where she often encountered horrid conditions in Union hospitals. "There was not an arm, head, leg, or any wound even, I shrank from, however bad it was," she wrote in a letter to a Rev. George Richards in October 1864. "There was one poor boy that had his right eye entirely shot away, and his left was so filled with blood dirt and powder he thought that was gone too, as he told me: 'I am blind, Lady, blind for my flag.' ...

"Another has his left lung laid entirely bare," she wrote, "you can look in and see the beating and working of that delicate machinery, but there he lies, unmurmuringly, patiently awaiting death." (4)

More to come.

(1) The Connecticut War Record, Wadhams brothers obituary, published September 1864.
(2) The Connecticut War Record, Page 277.
(3) The Litchfield Times, June 1864
(4) The History of Litchfield, Page 227.

Luman Wadhams: Civil War research

I unearthed a goldmine of information today in my quest to find out more about the Wadhams brothers of Connecticut. As noted in this post, the brothers died within a span of about two weeks in fighting in Virginia in 1864 during the Civil War. Luman Wadhams, a captain in the 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery, was the last of the brothers to die. He was wounded at the Battle of Cold Harbor on June 1 and died two days later. Thanks to 2nd Connecticut re-enactor Matt Minor (in red shirt above), today I found the grave of Luman and his brothers, Henry and Edward, in Litchfield, Conn. We also discovered a copy of a photo of Edward (above) and a wealth of other information on the brothers at the Litchfield Historical Society archives. (Tonight I also found a photo of Henry Wadhams on the 14th Connecticut Infantry site.) In addition to visiting the brothers' grave site, we checked out the site of Camp Dutton, where the 19th Connecticut (which later became the 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery) trained before being shipped off to war. The grounds are now mostly open land about two miles from Litchfield. The Civil War affected nearly every family in the United States, but I haven't run across many accounts of a family losing three sons in the span of two weeks. With top-notch researcher Matt's help, we'll post much more information on the brothers here soon. I am still interested in contacting a relative of the brothers. I may be reached through this blog.

Update: At top is a photo of the 19th Connecticut -- it later became the 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery -- that I found at the small visitors center at the Cold Harbor battlefield. It shows the 19th in Litchfield,Conn., before heading south. Is Luman Wadhams among them?

Wadhams brothers information sought

I recently was contacted through this blog by Lois Dean regarding her ancestors who died during the Civil War. Capt. Luman Wadhams of the 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery, and his brothers, Edward (8th Connecticut Infantry) and Henry (14th Connecticut Infantry), were killed within 16 days of each other in 1864. Lois: Please contact me as I am very interested in finding out more regarding your ancestors. Luman, killed at Cold Harbor, Va., is honored on a Civil War memorial in Litchfield, Conn. (above).