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Civil War

  • An hour and a half. Driving
  • Hartford

The American Civil War changed the nation forever. In the decades immediately after the wars end in 1865, civic authorities in the victorious north created many monuments to the heroes, the fallen and to the leaders who continued to serve the nation.

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Stop #1: Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch

Albert Entress, George Keller

The Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch, which stands on the Ford Street bridge, was intended to commemorate the soldiers and seamen of Hartford who died in the Civil War. Competitions for the design of the memorial took six years, with George Keller’s eclectic-style triumphal arch being chosen and constructed from 1884-1886.

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Stop #2: Union Soldier

James Goodwin Batterson

After the Civil War a great number of statues honoring Union Soldiers were commissioned for public greens and cemeteries. In Connecticut, some of these were made of fragile brownstone rather than from more durable marble or granite, including this one probably made by an anonymous craftsman working for the James Batterson Company of Hartford. The statue has been eroded significantly and has been damaged by vandals. The Kelly family now own the statue and have attempted to restore it to the best of their abilities.

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Stop #3: Capitol Sculpture, South Wing: Connecticut Heroes of the Civil War Era

Hermon Atkins MacNeil

The South Wing of the Capitol, above the covered arrival porch, was intended to have portrait statues of Connecticut's leading heroes of the Civil War.

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Stop #4: Andersonville Boy

Bela Lyon Pratt

Bela Lyon Pratt’s 1907 Andersonville Boy represents those Union soldiers who who died while imprisoned during the Civil War in the hated Andersonville Prison. The model that stands in Hartford is a second cast of the original version, which is in the National Cemetery in Andersonville, Georgia.

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Stop #5: Civil War Memorial of Trinity College, 1950: Cannons from the USS Hartford 1858

USS Hartford

The two cannons on the Trinity Quad are from the USS Hartford, the Union Battleship and flagship of the fleet of Admiral Farragut that won the surrender of New Orleans and the Battle of Mobile Bay. The cannons were brought to the Trinity campus in 1950 to commemorate all students of the college who died in the Civil War.

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Stop #6: West Hartford Veterans Memorial

Vincent Stryeski

The Connecticut Veterans Memorial in West Hartford is a sleek minimalist site sculpture and pocket garden in the city center. It was designed in 2002-2003 by Vincent Stryeski of Kaestle Boos Associates, New Britain. The monument itself is a circular timeline made of polished black granite blocks.

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Stop #7: New Britain Civil War Memorial (Sailors and Soldiers Monument)

Ernest Flagg

Ernest Flagg’s Civil War Memorial was commissioned in 1897 by members of the New Britain community in order to honor those who served in the “war of rebellion” in the public setting of New Britain’s Central Park. The monument was erected during a flourishing age of public sculpture projects that were constructed throughout Connecticut.

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The American Civil War changed the nation forever. In the decades immediately after the wars end in 1865, civic authorities in the victorious north created many monuments to the heroes, the fallen and to the leaders who continued to serve the nation.

The Stops

Starting at stop #1, this Driving tour is miles long.

Select a stop to start the tour and learn more:

  1. Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch
  2. Union Soldier
  3. Capitol Sculpture, South Wing: Connecticut Heroes of the Civil War Era
  4. Andersonville Boy
  5. Civil War Memorial of Trinity College, 1950: Cannons from the USS Hartford 1858
  6. West Hartford Veterans Memorial
  7. New Britain Civil War Memorial (Sailors and Soldiers Monument)