By Florence Goodman

This month I will conclude my discussion of Wolcott's participation in the Civil War by focusing on individual soldiers from town, who fought in the War. In the March edition, I listed names of the 60 men from Wolcott, who are on record as fighting in that War, but I'm sure there must be some that were missed for various reasons. I will mention men from three families, Andrews, Moulthrop and Norton because several men from each family fought in the War.

Martin Luther Andrews was born June 12, 1812. He married Lydian Lucinda Bassett. He and his eldest son, Philo enlisted in the army when the Civil War broke out and marched away together. He returned home from the War and lived until the age of 90 and died on February 7, 1903. Martin and Lydian's son, Philo Andrews was wounded at the battle of Third Winchester (Opequon) VA. After returning home from the War with his father, Philo died from those wounds. The battle of Third Winchester was one of the most important conflicts in the Shenandoah Valley because of its size, intensity and Union victory. There were 54,440 soldiers fighting in this battle with 8,630 estimated casualties. Philo Andrews and his parents are buried in a cemetery in Plymouth, Connecticut.

Sherman Moulthrop, son of Elishu and Wealthy (Minor) Moulthrop was born on May 18, 1813. He enlisted in the army as a drummer on August 17, 1861, in Company I, 9th Regt. C.V. He was in service at New Orleans and the Baton Rouge area during the War and returned to Wolcott after his discharge. Sherman was also a drummer in the Wolcott Drum Band. He died on July 29, 1882, and is buried in Edgewood Cemetery in Wolcott.

Elihu Moulthrop, another son of Elishu and Wealthy (Minor) Moulthrop and the brother of Sherman was born in Wolcott on March 16, 1816. He enlisted in the army on August 20, 1862, in Company I, 20th Regt. C.V. and served with General Sherman on his march through Georgia to the sea. After his discharge, he returned to Wolcott where he was a Drum Major in the Wolcott Drum Band. He died Nov. 27, 1880, and is buried in Edgewood Cemetery in Wolcott.

Evelyn E. Moulthrop, son of Elihu and Sarah (Tuttle) Moulthrop was born July 12, 1841. He enlisted in the army in the latter part of the War. He died fighting in Georgia on August 30, 1864.

Newell Moulthrop was born Feb. 29, 1840. His parents were Sherman and Sarah (Alcott) Moulthrop. He enlisted in the Army on August 13, 1862, and fought with Company H, 23rd Regt. C.V. In 1863, Confederate soldiers at the Battle of Irish Bend in western Louisiana, captured his bass drum. The Confederates may have taken Newell's drum, but the Union army won that battle. Newell married Jennie E. Thompson of Bristol on July 5, 1868. They had a son, George, who was born on May 24, 1870. Newell was also a drummer in the Wolcott Drum Band.

Lucius Norton, son of Hendrick and Eliza (Finch) Norton, and Ammon L. Norton, son of Stephen L. and Lucinda (Bradley) Norton, fought in the War, but no other information is available about them.

Luzern Norton, son of Simeon and Sarah Ann (Hall) Norton was born on July 22, 1841. His grandfather was Captain Levi Hall. Luzern died in the Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia on May 3, 1863. There were 154,734 men engaged in fighting this battle and 24,000 casualties. Many historians consider this battle to be one of the greatest victories for General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate army. Several other Wolcott men died in this battle, but their names are not available (Orcutt).

Three of the Moulthrop men, who fought in the War were drummers in the Wolcott Drum Band, which eventually became the Mattatuck Drum Band. Several other Wolcott men, who were members of the Band, fought in the War and there is an interesting story of how they enlisted in the War. Early in 1862, the 71st Regt of New York employed Col. H.C. Hart to organize their Regional Drum Corp. Col. Hart came to Connecticut looking for fifers and drummers, but was having no luck until he came to Southington. He was sitting outside on the porch of the hotel where he was staying when he heard drums in the distance. When he asked about it he was told that it was the Wolcott Drum Band practicing on the Wolcott Green. He immediately left for Wolcott to try to recruit these men. After his visit to Wolcott, he enlisted Mr. Henry Chatfield as Leader and instructor, and Hezskiah and Leslie Todd as fifers. Col. Hart was able to complete his Corp with soldiers from throughout Connecticut; the group became very efficient before marching off to the front lines. They were attached to the army of the Potomac and were said to be one of the best Drum Corps in the army.

I'll conclude with an excerpt from Newell Moulthrop's journal page written on November 27, 1862. "Nov 27th we are to have dinner at 1 o'clock. We had dinner at 8 pm. Cold turkey rather raw but we made quite a dinner. We had some confiscated property for supper; it was tip top. We took the boxes of those who gone home and burst them and ate the contents. I tell you that they were regular Connecticut turkeys well cooked. We ate and drank to the health of Connecticut's fair daughters, had a sing in the eve and went to bed and dreamed of the dear ones at Home." Corrections were made to the above quote for clarity sake. I will include a copy of the original page below.

(Information for this article was taken from The History of Wolcott, Connecticut from 1731 to 1874 by Reverend Samuel Orcutt, Andrews Genealogy from Tom & Jayne Howes, The History of the Mattatuck Drum Band by Charles S. Miller, 1928, and The Journal of Newell Moulthrop 1862.)

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.

SAVE THE DATE: Our annual Garden Tour is July 9th. Please support us in this fundraising event. For more information call Flo Goodman at 203-879-9818.

Page 4 of Newell Moulthrop's Civil War Journal.

Newell Moulthrop's Civil War hat.

Civil War sewing kit (closed).

Civil War sewing kit (opened).

October 15, 1922 --- Moulthrop Family Members in the Wolcott Drum Band. (Left to right) Edgar Moulthrop, Linus Norton (80), Newell Moulthrop (84), Harley Norton, Frederick Moulthrop.

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