By Florence Goodman

The American Civil War began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate soldiers opened fire on Fort Sumter in Charlestown, South Carolina. April 12, 2011, marks the 150th Anniversary of the beginning of that War which lasted until 1865.

Our state will be commemorating this anniversary with numerous events over the next four years. The commemoration will serve as a remembrance of this historic event. A quote cut into the stone on the Northfield Civil War monument states, "That the Generations to Come Might Know Them," says it all. We must never forget those thousands of soldiers who gave their lives to war. Who were the soldiers from Wolcott who fought in the Civil War and may have lost their lives in it? This month's edition will remember those soldiers.

If you visit three of our four cemeteries in town, you may come across the following tombstones. These were the soldiers who fought in the War and were buried in our town.

In 1933, Charles R. Hale, the State Military Necrologist, compiled a list of veterans buried in Wolcott cemeteries, as well as other town cemeteries. The list below shows veterans from the Civil War that are buried in three of the four cemeteries in town.

Woodtick Cemetery

NAME	COMPANY/REGMENT	DATE OF DEATH	AGE
BROWN, John P	E 1st. Hvy. Artillary	Feb. 24, 1908	64
COLE, George H.	B Private 98th N.Y. Infantry	Aug. 30, 1927	80
DOWNES, Levi B.	I 1st Regt. Hvy. Art. C.V.	Dec. 2, 1884	45
FRISBIE, David L.	C 14th CT.	Mar. 2, 1904	63
GARTHWAIT, George W.	Sergeant Major of 11th C.V.		88
HARRISON, Mark H.	A 23 CT	Feb. 12, 1924	81
SLADE, Thomas	M 13 CT	Mar. 3, 1873	52
UPSON, Lucian	E 8 CT	Nov. 22, 1894	79

Northeast/Beecher Cemetery

NAME	COMPANY/REGMENT	DATE OF DEATH	AGE
BAILEY, James	E 20 Ct.	May 3, 1863	No stone
BRADLEY, Moses	L 1 Ct. M.A.	Feb. 17, 1892	58
CHURCHILL, Francis	A 7 Ct.	Apr. 28,1864	No stone

Edgewood/Evergreen Cemetery (in the center of town)

NAME	COMPANY/REGMENT	DATE OF DEATH	AGE
ALCOTT, Burritt A.	F. 14th CT	May 12, 1862	24
ALCOTT, James P.	F. 14th CT	Mar. 5, 1872	63
ALCOTT, Newton A.	F. 14th CT	April 15, 1881	45
BRONSON, John	E. 8th CT	Nov. 25, 1866	31
BROWN, William E.	G. 10th NM	July 15, 1913	85
HARRISON, Frederick	F. 7th CT	July 13, 1864	---
MOULTHROP, Elihu	I, 20th CT	Nov. 27, 1890	---
MOULTHROP, Sherman	I. 9th CT	July 29, 1882	69
NORTON, Burritt M.	M. 15th CT	June 7, 1864	16
SPERRY, Samuel	G. 7th CT	Feb. 22, 1887	---
TUTTLE, Lucius	---	Nov. 25, 1929	89

Not all of the soldiers from Wolcott who were drafted or joined in to fight in the War between Union and Confederate armies are buried in our cemeteries. Reverend Samuel Orcutt lists the following additional men, whose names are not found on Hale's list. It may be that these men were buried in other town cemeteries or died in the War and their bodies were not recovered. Orcutt lists the following men as also serving in the War: Henry Alcox (Alcott), Eugene Atwood, Albert A. Andrews, Martin L. Andrews, Philo Andrews, Samuel M. Bailey, Pliny Bartholomew, John P. Butler, Charles E. Byington, Dwight Beecher, Benjamin F. Chipman, Orrin Harrison, Theron S. Johnston, Evelyn E. Moulthrop, Newell Moulthrop, David M. Manning, Samuel A. Merriman, John Mahon, John Milligan, Amon L. Norton, Lucius F. Norton, John Owens, Charles H. Robbins, William B. Rose, Joseph H. Somers, John Smith, James Sweeney, Alvah P. Tolman, Thomas P. Tompkins, Orrin Taylor, George E. Todd, Henry Todd, Rev. Henry E.F. Upson, Leroy Upson, George S. Wiard, William Wiard, and William Wray.

Orcutt states that the above list "are all Wolcott born citizens and of all substitutes for such citizens" and served in this War.

In the early 1900s, public sentiment was such that towns began erecting monuments to honor those men and women, who had served in past wars. A granite monument depicting a Civil War soldier was erected in the center of the Town Green in 1916. This monument was dedicated to the veterans of the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Civil War and was presented to the town by Leverette D. Kenea of Wolcott; thus it is referred to as the "Kenea Soldiers Monument."

If you would like to view the tombstones of some of Wolcott's Civil War veterans, visit one of the three cemeteries listed above. You will need to walk through the old section of the cemetery and peruse the names on the old stones. Also, if you are interested in partaking in some of the "Commemorative Kick-Off Events" in Hartford or at Central Connecticut State University, just Google CCSU's website or the Conneticut Civil War Commemorative website.

(Information for this article was taken from The History of Wolcott, Connecticut from 1731 to 1874 by Reverend Samuel Orcutt, from CCSU website: Connecticut Commemorates The Civil War 1861-2011, from the CT State Library website, An Introduction to The Charles R. Hale Collection).

Our Schoolhouse Museum is open by appointment only; you may visit the Museum by calling Loretta Leonard at 203-879-4310 or Flo Goodman at 203-879-9818. Our meetings are held on the first Thursday of each month at the Old Stone School on Nichols Road at 6:30 P.M. unless snow cancels them in the winter season.

Kenea Soldiers Monument on the Green in 1920.

Kenea Soldiers Monument on the Green now.

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